The second fatal incident involving Malaysia Airlines in four months is posing questions about its survival. <br /><br />Malaysia’s government was already working on a rescue plan for the flag carrier which was struggling to cope with high costs, a bloated workforce and intense competition. <br /><br />The latest aircraft loss caused the company’s shares to fall sharply. <br /><br />At one stage on Friday they were down 18 percent, and they finished the session 11 percent lower.<br /><br />That brought the total loss for Malaysia Airlines shares to 35 percent since the start of 2014. <br /><br />The sell off of the stock accelerated after the still unexplained disappearance of Flight MH370 with 239 people on board in March after it left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.<br /><br />Asked about the airline’s future at a briefing in Kuala Lumpur on Friday<br />government officials declined to answer, but aviation experts have said bankruptcy is very probable unless urgent action is taken. <br /><br />Taking the airline private and restructuring it, slimming it down or possibly initiating a full-scale rebranding are among measures that could be considered, said Leo Fattorini, aviation partner at international law firm Bird & Bird.<br /><br />The other option is to seek a tie-up with a foreign airline such as Etihad Airways, he said.<br /><br />“This latest incident will now compromise the brand from a European perspective,” Fattorini said.<br /><br />“You’ve got to ask whether the brand can survive this latest tragedy?”
