Struggling Malaysia Airlines, seeking to return to profitability, has said it is seeking more code share partners to improve its connections and expand its reach.

"We are in active negotiations with potential code share partners and hope to conclude these arrangements with selected partners in the near future," the carrier's chief executive Idris Jala said in a statement released late yesterday.

MAS currently has code share arrangements with 21 other Asian and European carriers.

To help revitalise its fortunes, the airline has started a hub-and-spoke strategy, flying to key destinations and then using code share deals to ferry travellers onwards.

Most recently, it signed a code share agreement with Bahrain's Gulf Air on Aug 3, which comes into effect on Sept 18, and an interline deal with low-cost carrier Virgin Blue in Australia on Aug 29.

The partnership with Gulf Air will "provide additional connectivity between KLIA and the Egyptian capital of Cairo through Bahrain and Muscat," said Jala, referring to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The deal with Virgin Blue, which came into effect on Sept 1, allows Malaysia Airlines passengers to travel onwards to Virgin's Australian destinations on a single ticket.

Seamless connectivity

The agreement "will provide travellers with seamless connectivity between 22 Australian cities and Malaysia Airlines' international flights," Jala said.

MAS in August posted a net loss of RM498.2 million in the first half to June.

It has said it hopes to be back in the black by 2007 and to achieve record profitability the following year.

The airline has axed a number of domestic and international routes, some already plied by code share partners, and plans to cut its workforce by 6,000 employees over two years in efforts to improve the balance sheet.