Malaysia Airlines is facing dire economic straits after being involved in the two worst air tragedies of the year. Based on some recent photos taken by its few remaining passengers, some flights are operating nearly empty. 
 
 In March, Flight 370, scheduled to travel from from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared with 12 crew and 227 passengers on board — which remains a mystery. 
 
 Then, last month, tragedy struck again when Flight 17 was shot down while in Ukrainian airspace. All 283 passengers and 15 crew aboard were killed. 
 
 Blame for the second tragedy cannot be placed squarely on Malaysia Airlines, as many major carriers routinely fly over conflict zones. But the loss of lives was inextricably linked to the airline by people around the world. 
 
 The carrier, which was operating in the red for about five years before either of this year's tragedies, has continued operating despite the major damage to its reputation. 
 
 "The southeast Asia air carrier burns its cash reserves at nearly $2.16 million each day," wrote Howard University professor Oliver McGee. "Operations are losing about $1.6 million a day." 
 
 According to Australia's news.com.au, the airline has doubled the commission it offers to Australian travel agents, from 6% to 11%, for booking travelers on the carrier. It is also offering deep discounts compared to other carriers: A sample fare search on Malaysia Airlines showed a round trip flight between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing for $238, while a similar flight on other carriers was listed for more than $500. 
 
 But these efforts have not been enough to prevent nearly empty flights. 
 
 At Penang Airport, flying to Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysia Airlines check-in line is empty as a Richard Marx concert — malkovichmusic.com (@malkovichmusic) July 25, 2014 
 
 Earlier this month, Malaysia's state investment company Khazanah Nasional announced a complete overhaul of the tarnished carrier, announcing it would offer a buyout for the 31% of the airline stock it did not already own. 
 
 Details of the overhaul have not been explicit, but a name change, rebranding and labor restructuring are possible. But even if extreme measures are taken, it is difficult to imagine how the airline can overcome the shadow cast by the disastrous MH370 and MH17. 
 
 The importance of brand trust & values. Malaysia Airlines queue for check in empty 1.5hrs before the flight to KL pic.twitter.com/9MStJ66YeW — Ruslan Kogan (@ruslankogan) March 10, 2014 
 
 My flight back using Malaysia Airlines - pic.twitter.com/WT4YmO28YG — 9GAG Tweets (@9GAGTweets) August 6, 2014 
 
 Can confirm my mother arrived in KL in one piece after flying Malaysia Airlines. But plane so empty she had three seats to herself in A380 — Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) April 25, 2014 
 
 Picture sent to me of a Malaysia Airlines flight out of Australia today to Asia | pic.twitter.com/3nrsdKIBmg — Ricardo Goncalves (@BUSINESSricardo) August 15, 2014 
 
 UPDATE: Mashable has asked Malaysia Airlines for additional information and will post an update when it is provided. 
 
 Correction: An Instagram photo taken by Ping Coombes was previously included in this article. Coombes later posted that the flight she was on was full. ||||| Malaysia Airlines is likely to cut staff by a quarter and stop flying to some cities in China and Europe. Mohshin Aziz, aviation analyst at Maybank, discusses with the WSJ's Miguel Gonzalez whether the steps will be enough to turn the company around. 
 
 Malaysia Airlines is likely to cut a quarter of its staff and stop flying to some cities in China and Europe as a part of the embattled carrier's revival plan that may be disclosed this week, according to people familiar with the matter. 
 
 Malaysia's state investor, Khazanah Nasional Bhd., which is seeking to take the unprofitable carrier private, has prepared a restructuring plan after the loss of two aircraft in less than five months this year, killing 537 people. Khazanah currently owns about 70% of the airline's parent firm, Malaysian Airline System Bhd. 
 
 Any plan likely would need government approval. Prime Minister Najib Razak likely would allow Khazanah and Malaysia Airlines to work out the details, according to analysts. Government support is widely expected, following comments by Mr. Najib saying that major restructuring would be necessary at the carrier. 
 
 "We believe our national carrier must be renewed. This means wholesale change, to deliver a wholly different outcome," Mr. Najib said this month. The airline's overhaul "will involve painful steps and sacrifices from all parties," he said, adding, "Only through a complete overhaul of the company can we deliver a genuinely strong and sustainable national carrier…. Piecemeal changes will not work." 
 
 Malaysia's state investor, which is seeking to take Malaysia Airlines private, has prepared a restructuring plan for the embattled carrier. Reuters 
 
 Under the plan, Malaysia Airlines would stop flying to some unprofitable routes in China and other places such as Frankfurt, according to the people. Later, Khazanah may seek to relist the airline, one of the people said, and proposals under consideration didn't rule out introducing a strategic partner, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. 
 
 The revival plan to be announced this week will "probably be only the first step," said Mohshin Aziz, analyst at brokerage firm Maybank Kim Eng Securities. MBKET.TH +0.45% Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) PCL Thailand: Bangkok THB22.40 +0.10 +0.45% Volume (Delayed 30m) : 76,600 P/E Ratio 14.64 Market Cap THB12.73 Billion Dividend Yield 6.70% Rev. per Employee N/A 08/26/14 Malaysia Airlines Plans Reviva... 06/23/14 Investors Prepare for Volatili... More quote details and news » MBKET.TH in Your Value Your Change Short position "There needs to be more steps. These alone won't be sufficient" to revive the airline, he said. 
 
 Mr. Mohshin said Malaysia Airlines should consider reducing flights to Australia, where it faces stiff competition from Asia's emerging budget long-haul airlines including AirAsia 5099.KU +0.42% AirAsia Bhd Malaysia RM2.41 +0.01 +0.42% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 13.65M P/E Ratio 9.49 Market Cap RM6.68 Billion Dividend Yield 1.66% Rev. per Employee N/A 08/26/14 Malaysia Airlines Plans Reviva... 08/20/14 AirAsia Net Profit Rises on Fo... 08/19/14 Skymark: A Troubled Airline Wi... More quote details and news » 5099.KU in Your Value Your Change Short position X Bhd., an associate of Southeast Asia's biggest discount carrier, AirAsia Bhd. 
 
 The airline also is poorly placed to compete on the Dubai route, which is dominated by Emirates Airline, he said. Emirates flies four times daily to Kuala Lumpur from Dubai, while Malaysia Airlines has just one flight. 
 
 Malaysia Airlines has been losing business in China after Flight 370 disappeared on March 8 while on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. No trace has yet been found of the Boeing Co. BA -0.42% Boeing Co. U.S.: NYSE $126.58 -0.54 -0.42% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1.56M P/E Ratio 18.85 Market Cap $91.60 Billion Dividend Yield 2.31% Rev. per Employee $525,220 08/29/14 Good News: Bad Lawyers Pay 08/27/14 Ryanair to Make Nonbinding Cyp... 08/26/14 Durable Goods Orders Surge 22.... More quote details and news » BA in Your Value Your Change Short position 777 jet or the 239 passengers and crew on board. 
 
 The carrier received another jolt on July 17, when Flight 17 crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people. The plane, also a Boeing 777, is believed to have been downed by a surface-to-air missile while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. 
 
 Malaysia Airlines also would lay off staff, though it is yet to complete details, the people familiar with the revival plan said. One of them said that about a quarter of the company's nearly 20,000 staff may be asked to go, a proposal that will likely need the backing of the airline's powerful employees' union. 
 
 Senior union officials told The Wall Street Journal that they will support the airline's new leadership in its revival efforts. However, they said the company should be "fair" while laying off employees. The union had long demanded the resignation of Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, as it considers the former power- and media-industry executive an outsider who knows little about the business of running an airline. 
 
 "We hope the new managing director will be someone who understands the airline industry," said Alias Aziz, the president of the Malaysian Airline System Employees Union. "If they must retrench people, then I hope they won't force employees to resign but offer [a] voluntary separation scheme" to those affected, he said. 
 
 A committee will be formed to find a successor to Mr. Ahmad Jauhari, whose term runs out in September, one of the people aware of the plans said. 
 
 Under Mr. Ahmad Jauhari's leadership, Malaysia Airlines has reported a net loss in each of the past three years, stung by competition from low-cost rivals such as AirAsia in its home market and highly aggressive Gulf carriers Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways that have taken away long-distance passengers flying between Asia and Europe or the U.S. 
 
 Most Asian flag carriers, including Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Thai Airways International PCL, have faced similar problems, pushing many of the region's airlines into losses. 
 
 Malaysia Airlines reported that its loss widened to 443 million ringgit (US$140 million) in the first quarter of the year from 279 million ringgit a year earlier. It will report its second-quarter results Thursday, which may be its last before the company goes private. Analysts predict another quarter of deep losses. 
 
 Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at gaurav.raghuvanshi@wsj.com, P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com and Jason Ng at jason.ng@wsj.com
– In a year that's seen one plane disappear and another get shot down, Malaysia Airlines is feeling the financial pain. "The southeast Asia air carrier burns its cash reserves at nearly $2.16 million each day," said Howard University professor Oliver McGee, as per Mashable. "Operations are losing about $1.6 million a day." Customers are posting pictures of rows of empty seats, even as the company is reportedly offering commission hikes to travel agents and huge discounts to customers. On many carriers, a flight between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing can cost more than $500; on Malaysia Airlines, it's recently been less than half that, Mashable notes. What's an airline to do? Well, it's poised to cut about 25% of its staff, the Wall Street Journal reports. It also looks ready to get rid of some of its routes, including unprofitable journeys to some areas of China and flights to Frankfurt. A name change could also be on the table, Mashable notes. The possible changes are driven by state investor Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which owns some 70% of the carrier's parent company and is hoping to take the airline private, the Journal notes. "Only through a complete overhaul of the company can we deliver a genuinely strong and sustainable national carrier," says Prime Minister Najib Razak. "Piecemeal changes will not work."