KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — Tan Sri Tony Fernandes took a swipe today at rival Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for chalking up a staggering RM1.17 billion in losses last year, saying that it was unfair that the flag carrier could lose so much money and still afford to protect its market share.

In a series of tweets this morning, Fernandes drew comparisons between the national carrier and his own airline AirAsia, which he pointed out has done much better despite budget limitations and regulations currently imposed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).

“Airasia all stars. Take a bow. Malaysian airlines lost over a billion. Malaysia airport delay terminal by 3 years. Yet still great results,” Fernandes wrote this morning using his Twitter handle @tonyfernandes.

“I wonder if it's fair that Malaysia airlines can lose so much money and protect its market share. Can only do that with taxpayers money,” he added.

Fernandes also fired salvoes at MAHB, blaming it for the delay of KLIA2 and accusing it of not managing its finances responsibly to ensure that airport taxes could be lowered.

“So much money wasted. If people were more efficient Malaysians would spend less on travel,” he said.

Fernandes pointed out that AirAsia had done “amazing things” for Terminal 2 of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Sabah despite not being “supported” by MAHB.

“If we moved sabahans have to pay double airport tax. Makes toll rise look like a walk in the park. So we fight. So that sabahans can dream,” he said.

Struggling flag carrier Malaysia Airlines said yesterday it recorded its fourth straight quarterly loss in the last three months of 2013 and warned of a “challenging” year ahead due to intense competition.

The airline reported a net loss of RM343 million for the quarter ending December 31, compared to a RM51.4 million gain in the fourth quarter in 2012, it said.

For the full year, it chalked up RM1.17 billion in losses, almost three times as much as in 2012, when it lost RM433 million amid an aggressive cost-cutting campaign.

It said the 2013 fourth quarter losses were due to the ringgit depreciating, unrealised foreign exchange losses and finance costs.

“Intensified competition” also hurt the carrier with revenue for the quarter inching up less than one per cent to RM3.9 billion.

For the full year 2013, the airlines’ revenue was RM15.1 billion, up 10 per cent from 2012 as the number of passengers rose almost 30 per cent.

But expenditure also increased 10 per cent to RM14.9 billion year-on-year amid high fuel prices.

Analysts have blamed a combination of stiff competition, poor management, change-resistant unions and government interference for the carrier’s poor performance.

In 2012, the carrier admitted it was in “crisis”, forcing it to implement a cost-cutting campaign centred on slashing routes and other measures.

In 2011, it chalked up a record RM2.5 billion loss.