In an internal email sighted by FMT, the airline said it has “explored all avenues for potential partnerships and capital raising exercises” to rescue the airline.
“Sadly, time constraints have left us with no alternative but to take this decision.”
The budget carrier had on Sunday announced that Rayner Teo had resigned as its CEO effective Oct 7 due to “health considerations”.
Chief operating officer Stuart Cross had then assumed the responsibilities of interim CEO.
MYAirline had said its operations remained “steadfast”, and that the company was in advanced stages of finalising “strategic partnerships”, though it was consolidating certain routes in the transition from its first summer to winter flight schedules.
“The situation has been further compounded by the delayed delivery of some aircraft that were originally scheduled to be operational by now,” it had said at the time.
Soon after, a source close to the matter said the carrier was expected to welcome a new owner, a local entrepreneur, who would pump in more funds into the airline.
“We had a town hall with the incoming owner, and now they are fine-tuning the details,” the source told FMT Business on condition of anonymity.
In October last year, it was reported that private firms Zillion Wealth and Trillion Cove Holdings – both owned by local businessman Goh Hwan Hua – have stakes of 88% and 10%, respectively, in the airline.
The remaining 2% share is owned by Rayner Teo, who with the airline’s senior management had previously been with AirAsia, the low-cost carrier.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) said it has put in place dedicated hotlines and channels to assist consumers affected by MYAirline’s suspension of operations.
Mavcom said that it stands firm that MYAirline is still liable to refund consumers who have purchased tickets with the airline but are unable to travel.
“Mavcom has instructed MYAirline to immediately manage affected consumers, which includes amongst others notifying them of the suspension, and publishing the said notification in the airline’s available communication channels.
“MYAirline has also been instructed by the commission to immediately discontinue the sale and booking
of flights from all booking platforms until further notice.”
MYAirline, which previously described its business model as “ultra low cost”, had started off flying domestic routes, beginning with Langkawi, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu.
In June, Bangkok became its international destination, flying to the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports, both located in the Thai capital.
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