Malaysia Airlines to Cut Staff, Rebrand; Even More Passenger Mischief

Unless they were offering a special deal from or to Beijing, we normally wouldn't write about machinations at Malaysia Airlines. But then again, it was a Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared almost a year ago while en route to Beijing, becoming the biggest aviation mystery of the 21st century so far.

After MH370 disappeared on March 8, and still hasn't been found, things only got worse for Malaysia's national carrier. Then, in July, MH117 was shot down over Ukraine, on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Not surprisingly, business has not gone well for the airline since then. 

As such, the airline is reorganizing, and plans to lay off as much as one-third of its workforce, along with the possibility of reducing flights or eliminating some routes altogether, Reuters reported.

The airline plans to rebrand on July 1.

It is not uncommon for major accidents to result in such action on the part of airlines. The crash of Swissair flight 111, off the coast of Nova Scotia on September 2, 1998, caused the bankruptcy and reorganization of Swissair, which was reborn as, and continues to operate as, Swiss International Air Lines.

And finally, just when you thought we'd made it a whole week without someone causing havoc on a plane, a Chinese couple and their baby were kicked off a Beijing-bound Dragonair flight in Chek Lap Kok on Saturday. The commotion arose when the female passenger refused to close the bathroom door while cleaning her child prior to take off, filling the cabin with l'eau de baby sh*t and causing hygiene concerns. The family refused to leave and were eventually removed after a two-and-a-half hour saga, flying back to Beijing on a later flight the same day. The fun never stops.

Photo: Wikimedia