MAS considering ‘unbundled’ business class offering
Struggling national carrier Malaysia Airlines is considering launching a new business class concept, removing services normally taken for granted such as lounge access and frequent flyer miles in exchange for discounted prices.
It is part of CEO Christoph Mueller’s vision for the ‘new’ airline to become a ‘value carrier’ that offers a base fare with optional high-end services, he told AviationWeek.com.
We want to go modular so that people can build their own product," Mueller said.
Customers might book a business-class seat, but opt out of the miles or lounge access. Or they could take a day flight in economy to Australia and return in business overnight. Our current systems cannot deliver that."
If it comes off, it is a fairly revolutionary move as although the concept is widely used for economy class, it has rarely been implemented for business class product.
Mueller said in order for it to work smoothly, major investment in direct distribution channels would be needed.
Even before the twin tragedies of MH370 and MH17, the airline had been racking up losses due to intense competition from low cost carriers such as AirAsia offering low base fares and unbundled services.
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