Restructured Malaysia Airlines to take flight in July

Work on a restructured Malaysia Airlines is progressing toward a July 2015 debut, said a spokesperson for the carrier.

In a recent online presentation detailing the airline’s difficult year, Barbara Dirnberger, national account manager for MAS at Discover the World, said that the de-listing of the company is expected by the end of December, with the revisioned carrier anticipated to be in operation by next summer. Khazanah, the strategic investment fund of the government of Malaysia, will inject $1.9 billion into the airline as the sole shareholder, she said.

In a previous statement, Khazanah said that the proposal came following a comprehensive review of MAS earlier this year, adding that the restructuring of the airline would be a ‘complete overhaul’ of MAS’ ‘operations, business model, finances, human capital and regulatory environment.’

Yesterday, Dirnberger said that the review may include possible changes to MAS’ current route structure.

The purchase proposal came following two tragic events for the carrier in 2014. In March, Flight 370, carrying 239 people from Kuala Lampur to Beijing, disappeared from radar over the Indian Ocean and remains missing. In July, Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

Dirnberger said in Canada, the airline is also considering entering codeshare agreements “at a later date" with British Airways, Cathay Pacific and American Airlines, similar to its arrangements with those carriers in the U.S. Currently in Canada, MAS operates a codeshare agreement with Japan Airlines.