Malaysia Airlines Downturn To impact Tourism

Since the recovery of the Global Financial Crisis Asia's airlift has continued to soar both from a long haul and short haul perspective.

But pressure on legacy carriers is now putting serious pressure onto airlines operating from key international hubs such as Bangkok (Thai Airways) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines).
Last week's announcement that Malaysia Airlines will dispose of six Airbus A-380's and four Boeing 777-200ER's does not bode well for the travel sector.
These aircraft fly primarily long-haul traffic and feed business from Europe, Australia and other key destinations into Kuala Lumpur. From that hub, the ongoing traffic into Thai destinations such as Phuket and Samui has been rapidly growing at a high pace over the last few years.
The question is will the diminished airlift capacity have a knock on effect?
One key factor in Malaysia's troubled aviation has been that attractive pricing points have undoubtedly induced long-haul travelers to Asia. If seat capacity shrinks, this elemental driver of demand may be sidelined.
What is presently clear is that Asia's legacy aviation challenges are set to continue to impact the regions tourism destinations.