The Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) will establish a new, stand-alone cargo unit named MABkargo (Kuala Lumpur International) outgoing CEO, Christoph Mueller, has announced.

Unveiling the holding firm's structure, Mueller said MABkargo is expected to secure its AOC from the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) next year. The carrier will then operate alongside Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur International), Firefly (FY, Penang), and MASwings (MY, Kota Kinabalu) under the "Air Transportation Services" division of MAG.

“We are very pleased to announce the new group structure into separate and distinct companies," Mueller said. "This will align structures and processes more consistently to the needs of our customer groups and raise the Group’s overall efficiency and focus, reduce complexity and increase decision-making speeds. Looking forward the new structure will support every business unit’s capability to access the capital market with its own value proposition.”

Malaysia Airlines' current cargo set-up entails its MASkargo operation plying a fleet of four A330-200Fs and two B747-400(F)s (now parked) on its parent's AOC.

MASkargo CEO Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi said in March this year that in terms of segment, the freight specialist was turning its attention away from the longhaul market towards that of South East Asia. While connectivity to Europe would be maintained, it would only be done so in the form of partnerships with other carriers such as Silk Way Airlines (ZP, Baku Heydar Aliev International).

Going forward, the carrier is expected to make more use of belly-hold cargo space on board regular Malaysia Airlines flights.