Malaysian Airlines, the national carrier of Malaysia, is receptive to partnerships with India, recognizing significant demand for business and VFR travel, provided it creates a "win-win" situation for both parties, according to its CEO Nasaruddin A Bakar.
The Southeast Asian airline, which operates flights to and from 10 locations in India, also mentioned its desire to grow its network in this region, but bilateral traffic rights limit its ability to achieve that.
It also noted that the Gulf war has increased fuel expenses to 55 percent from 40 percent of total operating costs, resulting in measures like reducing capacity by five percent and raising ticket prices by 20 percent, along with hedging 36 percent of its fuel for 2026, among other actions.
He mentioned that his airline has a strategic codeshare collaboration with IndiGo, enabling it to reach six more destinations in India, such as Goa, stating, "it (also) enhances our connectivity and flow to support from all stations we serve to Kuala Lumpur." Collaboration is a component of Malaysian Airlines' Long-Term Business Plan (LTBP) strategy, which consists of four main focus areas and is currently in its third phase this year, he mentioned. "Our approach to collaboration is extremely vital."
"We believe that through our partnership, we have achieved growth", he mentioned, highlighting that it is now possible to travel to over 1,000 destinations with Malaysian Airlines thanks to its codeshare and interline agreements with numerous global airlines".
"He stated that creating an alliance doesn't solely involve airlines; it could also include partnerships with non-airline entities like MROs, technology firms, digital companies, or sports organizations.
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Malaysia Airlines acts as the official worldwide airline partner and co-sponsor of the Mumbai Indians. He remarked that India is presently "very strong" for Malaysia Airlines, noting that the airline experienced a 13 percent year-on-year increase in the first half of this calendar year.
Passenger traffic from India made up almost 10 percent of the airline's overall total of approximately 10.6 million in the first half of 2026. "He stated that for India, we have transported approximately one million passengers, with 500,000 in each direction."
"I'm seeing a growing leisure market with a 13 percent incremental growth, along with this corporate and premium market, which has spiked, as well as VFR (visiting family, friends and relatives). We're seeing corporate travel demand grow by about 40 percent, while VFR demand is up about 24 percent. So this growth is very important (for the airline)," he adds.
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Malaysian Airlines now runs 80 flights each week and is exploring the possibility of increasing frequencies and acquiring more slots, he mentiones
Relations between Malaysia and India are very robust, contributing to an increase in passenger travel demand, "which is evident in our growth." "Certainly, we are capable of improving," he states.
The airline reports a very high load factor averaging 91 percent on its India network, indicating growth opportunities for the airline.
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"So hence, getting the bilateral to be better in terms of getting more slots and more frequency is something that we aspire to have. We have been discussing for quite a while with the government and also the related agencies," he says.