Malaysia Airlines cuts more routes to stem losses

Flag carrier Malaysia Airlines said it would cut four more routes in Asia, a week after announcing a suspension to some global destinations as it tries to return to profit.

The airline, which has struggled to stay in the black in recent years, unveiled a business plan last week aimed at becoming profitable by 2013 that would include a route "rationalisation" but did not name the affected routes.

It said on Friday it would put a halt to trips from Kota Kinabalu to Osaka and Haneda in Japan, to Perth and to Seoul. The carrier added that the suspensions would come into effect between January and February.

"This suspension is until further notice and is part of our regional network consolidation involving single-aisle aircraft operations," Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, the airlines' chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The airline last week said routes servicing Rome, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Buenos Aires, Karachi, Dubai, the Saudi Arabian city of Dammam, and the city of Surabaya in Indonesia, will be dropped from January.

It plans to instead bolster services to major destinations in Asia that have better prospects.

In the third quarter of this year, the airline posted its third straight quarterly loss, owing to high fuel costs and increased competition.