Malaysia Aviation Group Awarded the ‘Restructuring Deal of the Year’ Award at The Aviation 100 Deals of the Year Awards 2022

KLIA, 13 May 2022: Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) has emerged as the winning entity for ‘Restructuring Deal of the Year’ at the Airline Economics’ The Aviation 100 Deals of the Year Awards 2022 following the successful restructuring exercise, which saw the Group reduce its liabilities of over RM15 billion and eliminating RM10 billion in debt mounted from decades-long issues of its balance sheet.

The ‘Deals of the Year Awards’ highlight the successful aviation finance and leasing transactions undertaken across the globe, with the 2022 edition receiving an excess of 150 nominations; highlighting the record levels of financial support airlines and lessors have received as it undergoes along and winding recovery journey of the industry.

Having navigated under unfavourable circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, MAG took proactive measures to reduce costs, preserve cash, reset its balance sheet, transform the business dynamic to realign with its long-term aspirations and ensure business survivability by embarking on a Group-wide restructuring exercise in 2021.

Through this effort, the Group were able to strengthen its balance sheet by securing over RM15 billion savings in liabilities and equity restructuring through secured savings over the life of key aircraft leasing and maintenance contracts; addressing a large proportion of debt on its capital structure; secured significant liquidity support from creditors through payment deferrals and moratoriums; variabilised fixed-cost structure on aircraft operating leases and a number of maintenance contracts in 2021/22; and other cost saving efforts.

Group Chief Executive Officer of MAG, Captain Izham Ismail, said, “We are honoured to have been recognised as the ‘Restructuring Deal of the Year’. This is truly a testament to the hard work, longhours, sacrifice, and ultimate passion for the organisation and national brand. The restructuring was driven by a group of extraordinary individuals who worked tirelessly to keep this organisation on its feet at a time where many like us struggled to stay afloat, affecting lives and livelihoods. With the restructuring behind us, we can now focus on the next crucial task as we act on our Long-Term Business Plan 2.0 (LTBP 2.0) and target to break even by 2023. We will continue to optimise our operating cost, enhance our customer service delivery and facilitate safe and seamless travels so we can continue to carry our duties as the flag bearer in connecting people and places.”

With global borders steadily reopening, the Group is seeing a strong uptake in ticket sales and healthy load factors as it steadily recovers from the impacts of the pandemic. The Group is also on the path to realise its LTBP2.0 aspirations of becoming Asia’s Leading Travel and Aviation Services Group to deliver customised, end-to-end solutions for the travel ecosystem for enhanced connectivity, and improved customer experience, that is economically viable for the sustainability of the organisation.