Malaysia Airlines in early talks to buy 35-40 long-range jets

Malaysia Airlines is meanwhile bringing in six second-hand Airbus A330s, which are available at attractive prices, he said at the Paris Airshow.

PARIS: Malaysia Airlines is in early negotiations with Airbus and Boeing for the purchase of 35-40 new long-range jets, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Peter Bellew told Reuters the restructured Malaysian carrier was interested either in Boeing 787-9 or Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, but did not believe either manufacturer was yet offering the right price or delivery schedule.

Malaysia Airlines is meanwhile bringing in six second-hand Airbus A330s, which are available at attractive prices, he said at the Paris Airshow.

That comes as the airline remains short of capacity to meet its short-term needs and to meet expansion such as the availability of a second slot at Shanghai, China.

"We just need lift," Bellew said.

He was speaking shortly after agreeing to convert orders for 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft into newly launched 737 MAX 10.

The order for 10 of the latest variant is worth $1.25 billion at list prices. 

 

Source: Reuters | 21 June 2017

Malaysia Airlines cancels Darwin - Kuala Lumpur flights

MALAYSIA AIRLINES is pulling the plug on flights between Darwin and Kuala Lumpur, with the last flight from the NT capital to Kuala Lumpur on July 28.

"As part of our ongoing network optimisation program, Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has recently conducted a detailed commercial review of our Australia and New Zealand operations," the airline said in a statement issued this evening.

"As a result of this commercial review, we have made the decision to end our three times weekly services to the Northern Territory capital of Darwin from our Kuala Lumpur hub."

Rebooking your Darwin-KL flight

Travellers booked on the Darwin-Kuala Lumpur flights beyond July 28 will be offered a full refund or can be rebooked and rerouted onto partner airlines.

Business class passengers will have the option to fly with Qantas from Darwin to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth, from where they can catch another Malaysia Airlines flight.

Economy class passengers will have the option to fly on Jetstar from Darwin to Singapore, and from there connect to Malaysia Airlines' flights to Kuala Lumpur.
 

 

More Aussie flights on the way

However, the airline says that despite dumping Darwin "we are working toward announcing frequency increases to Adelaide, Auckland and Perth in the future, while Sydney and Melbourne will likely see peak season capacity increases with our flagship A380s".

It's understood that Malaysia Airlines also hopes to restart Airbus A330 flights between Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur later this year.

The Oneworld member has been cutting into many routes over the past few years – including axing flights to Brisbane and reducing the number of services to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide – as it works to climb out of debt and back into profitability.

This will also see Airbus A380 flights to London scrapped from mid-2018 and replaced by smaller more fuel-efficient Airbus A350 jets.

At the same time, the Malaysian flag-carrier is planning to carefully rebuild its network with new aircraft orders and potential codeshare partnerships with Qantas and British Airways.

 

Source: Australian Business Traveller | 20 June 2017

Malaysia Airlines eyeing Airbus jets in multi-billion dollar deal

LONDON: Malaysia Airlines Bhd. has held discussions with Airbus SE about the purchase of A330neo wide-body jets but has so far been unable to agree a price for the planes.

The carrier is also seeking clarity regarding other aspects of the transaction, including delivery schedules, Chief Executive Officer Peter Bellew said in an interview Saturday. There’s no likelihood of an order being placed at this week’s Paris Air Show, and one could take until September at least, he said.

Malaysia Airlines said in March that it was looking at buying 25 to 30 A330neos or Boeing Co. 787s for delivery between 2019 and 2023, potentially worth more than US$7 billion (RM30 billion) at list prices. Around 15 would replace older aircraft, with the rest for expansion.

“With fuel still relatively low and likely to stabilize at that level second-hand aircraft are also attractive, so the figures need to add up,” Bellew said in the interview. Though the A330neo is an attractive proposition, the 787 isn’t yet out of the running while pricing remains an issue, he added.

The A330neo, featuring upgraded engines from Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, comes in two sizes advertised at US$255 million and US$291 million before discounts, while the 787 Dreamliner, a modern composite model, has three variants priced between US$230 million and US$313 million.

Talks are continuing regarding the lease of up to a dozen current-generation A330s, Bellew said, with half of the planes required in the first half of next year and the rest in 2019. They would mainly replace single-aisle Boeing 737s on medium-haul routes capable of supporting wide-bodies.

The carrier has been in touch with more than a dozen leasing firms and other suppliers about the planes and should reach a decision soon, the CEO said. It’s unlikely that they’ll be sourced from Alitalia SpA, which seems likely to survive a bankruptcy filing amid interest from various parties, he said.

Malaysian is seeking more aircraft after paring its fleet and route network in response to a bookings slump that followed two fatal crashes in 2014.

 

Source: Bloomberg | 18 Jun 2017

AirAsia, AirAsia X travellers advised to arrive earlier

PUTRAJAYA: AirAsia and AirAsia X have encouraged their guests travelling during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season to arrive early at the airport to avoid congestion due to the expected surge in travellers.

In a statement today, the airline said, it was advisable to arrive at least three hours before the scheduled time of departure for AirAsia flights and at least four hours earlier for AirAsia X flights.

"AirAsia would also like to remind guests to self-check-in on the website, mobile or available kiosks at the airport, all available 14 days and up to one hour before departure for all AirAsia flights and up to four hours for all AirAsia X flights," it said.

It said the self-service options, self check-in and self bag tag, were available at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, Langkawi International Airport, Penang International Airport, Senai International Airport, Kuching International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, Bintulu Airport, Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Sultan Mahmud Airport, Labuan Airport, Miri Airport, Sandakan Airport, Sibu Airport and Tawau Airport.

For guests with baggage to check-in, baggage drop counters are closed 60 minutes before departure time for all AirAsia and AirAsia X flights, it said.

"As congestion is expected at the security scanning, baggage clearance and immigration checkpoints, is best to complete baggage drop and proceed to boarding gates much earlier.

"Guests with group booking, reduced mobility or with special needs are allowed to check-in at the counter and should allocate more time to clear travelling formalities," it said.

Source: Bernama | 14 June 2017

MAS poised to ink deal on widebody A330 planes - CEO

CANCUN: Malaysia Airlines is close to signing deals for six or seven second-hand widebody A330 planes for its fleet this year as it seeks to grow on international routes amidst good demand for summer bookings, its chief executive said on Sunday.

Malaysia Airlines has been in talks with airlines and leasing companies about bringing in used widebody planes to replace the single-aisle planes it currently flies on some five-hour flights, such routes as to India, China and Hong Kong.

“We’ve found the planes, we’re in the process of doing due diligence,” Peter Bellew told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association. He said he hopes to sign a deal in July and the planes, which have Wi-Fi and lie-flat seats in business, could enter the airline’s fleet by the end of the year.

Bookings for the next six months are looking good and yields - a measure of revenue per passenger - are up around 10 percent from a year earlier in June, July and August after coming under pressure at the start of the year, Bellew said.

Uncertainty over failed travel bans in the United States and political turmoil in Europe has driven demand from travellers in the Middle East and India, Bellew said.

“We’ve seen a significant upturn in business from India because of that and I think that’s only set to continue,” he said.

Malaysia Airlines had offered to lease some A330s from Alitalia, in the event the struggling carrier collapsed. However, Bellew said it seemed Alitalia would survive as an airline operating medium and long-haul flights and so those planes would not become available.

Malaysia Airlines is also due to receive the first two of six new A350 planes this year from Airbus SE, but deliveries have been delayed due to issues with cabin equipment supplied by France’s Zodiac Aerospace PA.

The carrier was due to receive the first in October, but that has slipped to November and Bellew expects it may be the end of December before they arrive.

He confirmed Malaysia Airlines was still looking to order around 30 new widebody planes from Boeing or Airbus for delivery from 2019 and 2020 but that the prices they were asking were not realistic.

Source: Reuters | 5 June 2017

LTSAAS jangka kenaikan trafik penumpang

Terminal Skypark, Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (LTSAAS), Subang, Shah Alam, Selangor.

KUALA LUMPUR: Terminal Skypark, Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (LTSAAS) menjangkakan peningkatan dalam trafik penumpang melalui usaha yang diambil untuk memperbaiki sambungan, kos, dan kemudahan.

Ini termasuk meningkatkan sambungan keluar masuk lapangan terbang melalui kereta api dan jalan raya, kata Pengarah Eksekutif Subang SkyPark Sdn Bhd, Tan Sri Ravindran Menon.

Antara yang paling ketara ialah SkyPark KTM Rail Link, dijadualkan siap menjelang akhir 2017, yang akan berkhidmat sebagai lanjutan kepada landasan KTM Subang Jaya, yang akan menyambungkan lapangan terbang itu dengan KL Sentral.

Syarikat itu merancang memperluaskan lapangan terbang melalui cadangan pembangunan Terminal 2, yang akan bermula pada penghujung tahun ini, yang mana ia akan membawa kepada tambahan lima juta penumpang.

"Terminal Skypark baru-baru ini melepasi kiraan 15 juta penumpang, berbanding hanya 300,000 penumpang pada tahun pertama operasi pada 2008.

"Kami percaya usaha yang diambil bagi meningkatkan sambungan akan mampu meningkatkan bilangan penumpang kerana ia akan menjadi lebih mudah dan kos efektif bagi mereka untuk bergerak lancar dari satu titik ke satu lagi," katanya dalam satu kenyataan.

Sumber: Bernama | 1 Jun 2017