KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) has announced its long-term relationship with Germany’s Airpas Aviation whereby it will use Airpas’s cost management solution to control and cut its direct operating costs (DOCs).

Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Christoph Müller said Airpas would support MAB on its way back to profitability by streamlining processes, enabling centralised control of the carrier’s contracts, budget and debit, and by cutting overspends.

“Furthermore, MAB will use the Airpas solution to change internal processes from station management all the way to procurement and finance,” Müller said in a statement today.

He said Airpas had been the market leader in cost management and route profitability solutions for over 12 years now and had helped airlines such as Emirates and Ryanair to effectively control their DOCs and manage their financial processes.

Airpas Aviation CEO Reinhold Renger said the company was proud to welcome Malaysia Airlines as its first customer in Southeast Asia, underlining its focus on growth in the important region.

“It confirms great confidence in our software and consultancy expertise and in the profitable investment Airpas stands for,” Renger said.

MAB, a member of oneworld, is expected to turn its first profit by 2017.

The company is going through an intense restructuring plan that included a relaunch of the carrier on September 1. — Bernama