Malaysia Airlines CEO re-engages with Oneworld, reboots Enrich
By David Flynn, August 15 2017
Malaysia Airlines plans to be a more active member of the Oneworld alliance, says CEO Peter Bellew while also launching "a complete reboot" of its Enrich frequent flyer scheme.
The Malaysian flag-carrier joined Oneworld in early 2013 under the sponsorship of Qantas.
“But I think we did very little with Oneworld,” Bellew tells Australian Business Traveller, adding that the airline sometimes dropped the ball by not being “a very active” partner.
“There were some mistakes made in the past, we’ve had to make a few apologies, eat a bit of humble pie and admit we were the weakest link in the chain.”
“But I think there’s a great opportunity for Malaysia Airlines within the Oneworld alliance and there’s plenty of business to be done there.”
“We have a lot to offer the other carriers because we do fly to some relatively obscure places, and offer great connections at good value and a lovely product.”
Bellew says that Oneworld CEO Rob Gurney – a 25-year veteran of Qantas, British Airways and Emirates – “is kicking my butt to get me properly aligned with what’s happening, and he’s been very supportive to what we’re doing.”
Rebooting Enrich
The airline’s frequent flyer scheme is also subject of what Bellew describes to Australian Business Traveller as “a complete reboot.”
“I think the Enrich program has immense potential. In Malaysia, which is our core market, it’s the most recognised loyalty brand but we’ve done very, very little with it over the years… there’s been a lack of resources put on it, and maybe because of everything else that’s going on.”
“We haven’t been treating (Enrich) like a business,” Bellew reflects. “It’s been a little bit of an interesting sideshow, whereas it should have been core part of the business, so we’re going to invest in people and systems and the backend in the next 12 months.”
A cornerstone of this is the recent appointment of Australian Mark Ross-Smith – a loyalty consultant and champion of ‘big data’ – to head the Loyalty & Enrich portfolio.
“I think this time next year you’ll see a vastly different business” Bellew speculates. “Of all the things in the company, Enrich has got the most potential to be a very significant part of the business over the years.”
Bellew promises “the overall program will become much more attractive” as well as more competitive against competitors such as Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer.
This might also see an increase in the number of Qantas Points earned on Malaysia Airlines flights.
“We haven’t started discussions like that with Qantas, it’s a little bit further down the road,” Bellew says.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Apr 2014
Total posts 19
Pulling out of Darwin twice in the past 17 years doesn't seem to be a particularly good way of engaging with this region...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2011
Total posts 361
"We were the weakest link in the chain". I think he meant to say are.
sq
07 Aug 2015
Total posts 15
Thanks Russell for the comment that MH was dry on intra Asia flights. I had no idea - haven't flown them in years as their service was slipping and SQ and CX had better seating generally.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
They need to train their staff better re oneworld.
I've had MH ticketing staff tell me, when trying to change an MH flight on a oneworld RTW ticket, that I had to talk to SQ.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Aug 2012
Total posts 74
I also stopped flying with them.. mostly because of their miserly points and status points on QF. I wish them well but if they really are oneworld partners they need to try a little harder
23 Feb 2015
Total posts 262
Which it sounds like is the intention...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Mar 2014
Total posts 204
Its more QF which doesn't reward you for flying with MH, or for that matter most oneworld airlines. Even AA points have become next to worthless.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Jan 2013
Total posts 59
its a good product with terrific intra-asian connections. they'd be potentially an awesome strategic partner for both qf and ek especially codesharing into KL from Australia.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Jul 2013
Total posts 204
I used to travel extensively with MH throughout Asia and between Asia and Europe prior to them joining Oneworld and built up quite a tidy stash of Enrich points which always came in handy for upgrades and leisure trips. I also found their service, F&B and hard product to be very good - if not up to the same standard as SQ, but certainly excellent for the price point MH was pitched at - so I'd be very happy to see them step up on all fronts and it would be even better if they could forge a stronger partnership with QF.
25 May 2017
Total posts 4
If they can improve the Enrich offering and better communicate the benefits i.e. upgrades etc that would be great. The app just isn't up to speed. I can't believe they launched such a poor app
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Oct 2015
Total posts 27
No alcohol on Asian flights under 3 hours. Meal service without a glass of wine in Business Class - how can they claim to have One World standards ? .. and miserly QF points for Business Class flights.
Qatar Airways
06 Jul 2016
Total posts 47
I was very impressed in March, when MH checked my bags all the way from Langkawi, via KL, to LHR on a QR flight out of KL. That was good One World cooperation, which I didn't get on the outbound flights from QR.
12 Jul 2017
Total posts 9
Having reluctantly flown MH a few times in past years, they really have a lot of work to do to get back to a Oneworld standard. If Malaysia is not in the schedule there is just a whole lot of better options
CX
05 Jun 2012
Total posts 127
Like AWA2602 we have found them excellent value, especially for HKG-LHR flights. So much so that despite the boringly long layover on the way there, we are switching from Cathay's FF programme to Enrich - it is must easier to achieve top tier status, and the spouse gets a top-tier card too!! Since we often travel separately, having emerald status for us both is a major boon
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