Malaysia Airlines just can't seem to get out of its own way, no matter how hard the beleaguered airline tries.
Reeling this year from twin tragedies - the disappearance of Flight MH370 in March, which has yet to be found, and the shooting down of Flight MH17 over Ukraine in July - the carrier had its second public relations gaffe in the last three months over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The carrier apologized after tweeting out a promotion in which it asked, "Want to go somewhere but don't know where?"
Twitter users reacted with shock and disbelief, with one stating the obvious: "Probably not the best choice of words for an airline that doesn't know where one of its planes is."
Malaysia Airlines said the tweet was "intended to inspire travellers during this holiday period to explore the destinations and deals. Unfortunately, it unintentionally caused offence to some, and we have since removed the tweet."
Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time Malaysia Airlines stumbled on the PR front. In September it asked potential customers in Australia and New Zealand, its two bigger markets, to write a 500-word essay to answer a promotional question: "What and where would you like to tick off on your bucket list, and explain why?"
Since most people consider a "bucket list" as a series of accomplishments they want to complete before dying, the promotion was ill-advised, to say the least.
In the meantime, Malaysia Airline's losses on the financial front deepened ahead of the government taking over the troubled carrier before year's end. The airline lost $167.7 million in the third quarter ending Sept. 30, saying that while "declining fuel prices have helped stem losses in our quarterly result, Malaysia Airlines continues to struggle despite efforts to reduce the financial bleeding."
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