Planning is underway at Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) for three major widebody aircraft campaigns, its managing director Izham Ismail told the New Straits Times. He says the orders should take care of aircraft needs into the 2040s. MAG operates Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, Amal by Malaysia Airlines, and, until it is taken over by the Sarawak government later this year, MASwings.
Ismail told the newspaper that the three campaigns include deciding on whether to exercise options (or not) on an existing A330-900N order; deciding on a second long-range aircraft order; and deciding whether to convert existing A330s or acquire new freighters for cargo arm MASkargo.
Deliveries from the 2022 order for twenty A330-900Ns are now underway, and Ismail says MAG needs to decide whether to take up some or all of the 20 options. He says the business is evaluating whether to do so. MAG has received three of the aircraft on behalf of Malaysia Airlines. It expects seven more this year.
Ismail says another order needs to be placed to cover growth plans after the A330 deliveries end, and the group is evaluating A350s, B787s, and B777-9s. He says the long delivery timelines for the A350s and B787s are an issue, and the B777-9 is not yet in production.
"It's tough, because from 2031 onwards the slot availability is limited," he said. "If to secure an earlier slot is tough, and the B777-9 is a 400-seater aircraft, it is still doable to us if we spec it properly with maybe a three-class cabin. It is probably workable."
Malaysia Airlines' current widebody fleet includes the three A330neo, five A330-200s, fifteen A330-300s, and seven A350-900s. Recently, another MAG executive told the newspaper that the group wanted to increase the A350-900 fleet to 16. Ismail says MAG will likely issue a long-range aircraft request for proposal later this year.
The third campaign centres on MASKargo fleet renewal and replacing three A330-200Fs. "The current cargo fleet has aged considerably, 12-15 years," Ismail said. "So, it's either new freighters or converting."
The existing passenger-configured A330-200s are the likely aircraft if the decision is made to convert. MAG outsources MASKargo's narrowbody flights to other airlines.
"What we are doing today is not for tomorrow. We are looking at 2043, that far ahead. Buying an airplane is not like buying a car," Ismail said. "It is a huge capital expenditure, a huge investment, and the airplane can only be delivered starting from four to five years down the road."
In addition to its widebody fleet renewal, MAS has an extensive narrowbody fleet renewal programme underway, focusing on replacing existing B737-800s with B737-8s and B737-10s.
