Malaysian Airlines, the flag carrier whose MH370 Boeing 777-200 disappeared on March 8 without a trace into the Indian Ocean, has been given high marks as a quality airline. Nonetheless it has a troubled corporate history and a series of scrapes going back almost to the launch of its flying operations in 1972.
The publicly traded airlineโs most recent annual reports indicate losses skyrocketed by 171 percent to RM1.17 billion ($359.12 million). That follows years of lackluster performance, management changes and exploitation by cronies connected to the countryโs ruling Barisan Nasional, or national coalition, particularly the United Malays National Organization. It has been the subject of repeated โturnaround plansโ that turned out to be cul-de-sacs. The 2013 losses followed 2011 losses of RM2.52 billion, the largest in the airlineโs history. The losses were laid to rising fuel costs and mismanagement, forcing it to cut back eight international routes.