KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) — part of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), today inked an official commercial partnership with the Manchester United Football Club, an initiative to drive the airline’s business transformation plan.
The partnership was signed between chief executive officer of MAG’s Airline Business, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, and Manchester United FC’s chief executive of alliances and partnerships, Victoria Timpson, on the sidelines of the Matta Fair here.
“This collaboration brings together two global icons to create memorable experiences for fans and customers alike. Just as football unites people from all walks of life, transcending borders and cultures, travel has the power to connect in equally profound ways.
“Through this partnership, we are poised to extend our renowned Malaysian Hospitality to Manchester United’s vast community of over 1.1 billion fans and followers worldwide, including the 577 million Manchester United fans that are within Malaysia Airlines’ key markets,” Datuk Izham Ismail, the group managing director of MAG said.
Izham stopped short of revealing the sum spent to the partner with the Premier League team, but said such arrangements often produced strong returns on the investment.
“Manchester United has a long-standing and proud connection with Malaysia, with a history of passionate support from across the country. We have three official Malaysian supporter's clubs, with the Kuala Lumpur branch boasting one of the club's largest supporter communities, reflecting the country's love of all things United," Manchester United’s chief executive of alliances and partnerships, Victoria Timpson, said.
Former Manchester United players Patrice Evra and Wes Brown were also brought to the event to share their experiences of travelling the world as both players and ambassadors for the club.
"Manchester United has fans from all over the world, and the passionate support we have here in Asia never fails to impress me. I am pleased to be able to share our partnership with Malaysia Airlines with those fans and introduce them to the best in-class service they offer. Wes and I travelled here on Malaysia Airlines, and I would like to thank them for such a comfortable journey. From the food to the comfortable seats and friendly service, everything was perfect,” said Evra.
During a press conference later, MAG chief commercial officer of the airline business Dersenish Aresandiran said the strategic partnership between MAB and Manchester United will not see the airline's logo on the team kit, but would instead involve other business collaborations.
"So it's a commercial activation beyond just a jersey. There are a lot more that you will see when it comes out," Dersenish said.
