Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur International) is boosting capacity into India at the expense of China, according to the airline's chief strategy officer, Bryan Foong. He recently told India's Travel Mail that India was the carrier's "focus for growth" while there remains uncertainty about what the Chinese government is up to regarding Covid-19

Amid a general trend at Malaysia Airlines to take capacity out of its domestic operations to put into international operations, Foong says the airline will be sending up to 60 flights per week into India over the Northern Hemisphere summer. In contrast, China is now seeing 13 weekly inbound Malaysia Airlines flights.

According to current ch-aviation Commercial Aviation Operator Schedule Data data, Malaysia Airlines flies to Beijing Daxing International thrice weekly using A330-300s; Guangzhou thrice weekly using A330-200; Shanghai Pudong four times weekly using A330-300s; and Xiamen three times weekly using B737-800s. In total, it makes for 26 weekly Malaysia Airlines aircraft movements in China, which provide 6,742 seats.

The data supports Foong's proposition that the airline's capacity into India is far greater, with Malaysia Airlines now running eight flights a week to Bengaluru International using B737-800s; 14 weekly flights into Chennai also using B737-800s; ten weekly flights to Delhi International International using a combination of B737-800s and A330-300s; daily flights into Hyderabad International International using B737-800s; four times weekly flights to Kochi International also using B737-800s; and ten flights per week into Mumbai International using both B737-800s and A330-300s. All flights at the Malaysia end arrive and depart from Kuala Lumpur International. Currently, there are 106 Malaysia Airlines aircraft movements a week at Indian airports that offer 20,340 seats, or more than triple the airline's present weekly capacity in and out of China.

Asian tourism bodies say it will take another 12 months for airline capacity and passenger numbers flying to and from China to normalise, adding that ongoing Covid-19 testing requirements remain a significant deterrent. This week, the Chinese government dropped its requirement that inbound passengers undergo a PCR test before departure in favour of a rapid antigen test.

Eleven airlines now operate scheduled flights on the Malaysia - China country pair, including seven Chinese carriers and four Malaysian carriers. The biggest operator on the country pair is AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International), providing 39.85% of all weekly available seats and 78 weekly roundtrips. In contrast, only five airlines fly the Malaysia - India country pair, with Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia joint leaders each providing 35.1% of the weekly available seats and 53 roundtrips each. Only one of those five airlines is India-based, IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International). According to recent reports, that airline is looking to acquire widebody aircraft to bolster its international flying.