KUALA LUMPUR: 2022 is expected to be a recovery year for the local airlines to rebuilding capacity despite the ongoing challenging environment with the possible emergence of Covid-19 variants.
Aviation experts said the outlook for Malaysia’s aviation sector this year would likely be much brighter than 2021 and 2020, but the situation could remain challenging.
Sobie Aviation consultant and independent analyst Brendan Sobie said Malaysia’s domestic market could recover fully in 2022 from a demand perspective, but overcapacity is likely, impacting yields and profitability.
“The international market could take at least a few years to fully recover, prompting the existing competitors to rely more on domestic, exacerbating the overcapacity situation,” he told the New Straits Times (NST) recently.
Sobie said a new competitor might also enter the market, leading to an even less ‘rational’ pricing and capacity environment.
“Capacity discipline would be sensible but is unlikely given the highly competitive environment,” he added. Read more