Statement by Malaysian Airlines System Bhd (MAS) on Flight QZ8501

Hey folks,

I actually feel sad about AirAsia Indonesia's Flight QZ8501, which was reportedly plunged into the sea.

Yesterday, MAS gave out a statement on the Flight QZ8501, and I wrote a piece on it, but was not published because our website was shut down for maintenance service last night.

The piece is as follow:

MAS extends condolences to families and friends of passengers in flight QZ8501

By Sulhi Azman

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 30, 2014): Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) – which was struck by two airline tragedies this year – has extended its heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to the families and friends of all passengers on PT AirAsia Indonesia’s flight QZ8501.

“As an airline that has recently experienced such great sadness, we stand in solidarity to offer our thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by this tragedy and with the team at AirAsia. This is indeed a sad time for everyone working in aviation and for all guests who fly,” the troubled national airline said in a media statement yesterday.

“We urge everyone to stay strong during this extremely trying time and to always respect the grieving families,” MAS added.

To recap, flight QZ8501 – en route to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia – had vanished from the radar screen on Sunday morning, after the pilot had reportedly requested to deviate from its original flight path to avoid thick clouds and rise to a height of 38,000 ft from the initial height of 32,000 ft.

The flight was speculated by the Indonesian authority to likely be “at the bottom of the sea”.

While this has yet to be fully ascertained, AirAsia Indonesia this evening confirmed that the debris found on the Java Sea earlier today is from its flight QZ8501.
The lost of flight QZ8501 is the first major blow to AirAsia founder and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, which he described via twitter as "his worst nightmare."

Meanwhile, loss-making MAS was hit by a double whammy this year, when it reported the loss of flight MH370 in March, and the shot down of flight MH17 which had killed all 283 passengers and 15 crews on board.

Following resuscitation from its largest shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the troubled national carrier – which has accumulated losses that has crossed the RM2 billion mark – will be taken private with an initial capital injection of RM6 billion on a staggered and conditional basis over a three-year period.
MAS will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia at 9am tomorrow (Dec 31).

END