Malaysia Airlines confirms 25 Boeing 737 orders

FILE PHOTO: Visitors take pictures of a model of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo - RC18EDD572A0

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines reiterated that it has a firm order of 25 Boeing 737 aircraft with further decision to purchase additional aircraft which best suits its operational environment.

The national carrier said it would continue to carefully evaluate all options available to ensure the purchases make both business and operational sense.

“This is necessary and in line with ongoing prudent fleet management and cost containment efforts across the group,” it said in a statement.

The airline said this in a response to media reports and statements regarding its aircraft fleet plans, including the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Boeing recently.

According to Malaysia Airlines, the recent MoU to potentially add eight of the widebody Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to its fleet from third quarter in 2019 is to add capacity to the airline’s wide-body fleet and provide a high level of quality on its most lucrative routes.

It also said that the funding for all aircraft was planned on a sale-and-operating leaseback or simple operational lease.

Malaysia Airlines currently has 54 aircraft in its fleet of 737-800, with 48 actually operating, as six of these aircraft are being handed back to lessors in December 2017 and are currently going through a lease return maintenance programme. - Bernama