He was responding to the 2017 Skytrax Top 100 airlines rankings which placed Malaysia Airlines at 31st place, far behind other regional airlines including Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Thai Airways.
Malaysia Airlines, once renowned for its service, last made it to the top 10 of the Skytrax rankings in 2012.
Aziz, who was CEO and managing director of Malaysia Airlines from 1982 to 1992, said the issue was complex and that there was much more competition nowadays.
“What they need to do is revive the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) unit to not only reduce the cost of maintenance but obtain revenue from maintaining the aircraft of other airlines.
“If you do it well like we did in the past, you can earn money from there. In the past, our MRO unit had quality.”
He also suggested that Malaysia Airlines consider increasing its destinations, particularly in China where there is less competition for smaller routes and high interest among tourists to visit Malaysia.
“Lastly, Malaysia Airlines must look at where it can reduce its operating costs and reshuffle its management to be more efficient.”
Meanwhile, former adviser to the Malaysia Airlines System Employees Union (Maseu) Mohd Jabarullah Abdul Kadir said staff members and former personnel who had been in the industry should be given more opportunities to run the airline.
“There is enough talent in Malaysia Airlines, enough people who know how to run an airline. The company shouldn’t take those from outside the industry and place them in management roles.”
He told FMT that although Khazanah Nasional had been running the show for years, it had little to show for it.
He said it was a mistake for Khazanah to bring in foreign airline bosses from low-cost carriers, referring to former CEOs Christoph Mueller and Peter Bellew.
Bellew, who was Malaysia Airlines’ last foreign boss, had previously worked for Irish budget airline Ryanair.
Mueller meanwhile worked for Irish airline Aer Lingus before joining Malaysia Airlines. Although Aer Lingus was not a low-cost airline, Mueller was widely credited with successfully repositioning the airline to compete with Ryanair.
Jabarullah also said many of the lower-ranked staff had faced the axe when Malaysia Airlines was restructured while those at the top were mostly spared.
“A total revamp of Malaysia Airlines is needed.
“Identify the right people for the job and stay away from appointing those from Khazanah. Despite so many cost-cutting measures, Malaysia Airlines has yet to return to profitability,” he said.