SINGAPORE, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines’ parent firm is still holding negotiations with lessors and creditors over a restructuring plan to keep the airline afloat, but the talks are taking “longer than expected,” according to a staff memo seen by Reuters. “The negotiations are still ongoing and taking longer than the planned timeline, but we are gaining encouraging traction from the lessors and creditors thus far,” Izham Ismail, CEO of Malaysia Airlines and group CEO of parent firm Malaysia Aviation Group, said in a memo to staff on Oct 16. In response to a Reuters query, Malaysia Aviation Group, owned by state fund Khazanah, said in an email on Saturday that it is “continuing discussions with creditors on its ongoing restructuring exercise.” (Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by William Mallard)