PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s national carrier will get 30 new planes to replace its ageing fleet, with the option of buying 30 more in the coming years, its top officials said.
These purchases are necessary for Malaysia Airlines to avoid the problems that plagued it last year said Malaysia Aviation Group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail.
The 30 new planes comprises 18 Boeing 737-8 and 12 Boeing 737-10 planes powered by CFM International LEAP-18 engines, Izham announced here on Friday (March 21).
"This is a very important milestone for Malaysia Airlines because you all know of the troubles we experienced last year with managing an ageing fleet and supply chain issues," Izham told reporters after a ceremony to exchange documents of the deal with The Boeing Company. Malaysia Aviation Group is the parent company of Malaysia Airlines.
"(The purchases) are very timely so MAS doesn’t repeat the same mistakes. So ordering these new planes must be well-timed otherwise we end up with what we had last year," Izham added.
Also present at the ceremony were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Boeing Global President Brendan Nelson.
Some of Malaysia Airlines’ flights made headlines last year after suffering disruptions due to technical issues, with one Melbourne-Kuala Lumpur flight forced to make an abrupt diversion following engine problems.
Izham had told a business weekly recently that the problems were caused by a shortage of planes, spare parts and workforce.
At today’s event, Izham said the new batch of 30 planes is supposed to complement an existing, different order for 25 Boeing 737-8 jets through a long-term lease with Air Lease Corporation.
Eleven of 25 planes from this batch are scheduled to arrive by
2027, Izham said.
These orders are aimed at replacing older planes and to prepare the airlines for growth in passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific region, he added.
“The expected (cumulative annual growth rate) in this region is between 5-6% if you put that arithmetically for MAS, if we don’t invest we will be behind the curve, Izham said.
“Notwithstanding that Malaysia Airlines needs to stand on its own two feet sustainably, if we don’t order the aircraft now we won’t be sustainable commercially”.
Nelson of Boeing said that the company was partnered with Malaysia to drive development in the nation’s aviation sector.
“This is a partnership, much more than a commercial relationship. We have more than 1,000 Malaysians employed in Malaysia now, and we will grow that by another 20 per cent over the next two years,” Nelson told reporters.
The Malaysia Aviation Group currently operates a fleet of 113 aircraft including 42 Boeing 737-800s under Malaysia Airlines and five under Firefly.
