The managing director of Malaysia Aviation Group says he is open to ordering Airbus narrowbodies, breaking the Boeing stranglehold on the narrowbody jet fleets at Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur International) and Firefly (FY, Penang), but also says its second aircraft order is likely to be delayed as the Request for Proposals (RfP) gets pushed back to the end of the year.
"The RfP will be for the second stage for the remaining 25 or more narrowbodies and it can be any type," Izham Ismail told Malaysia's Business Times recently. "We're agnostic. We'll see what's best on the table."
Malaysia Aviation Group ordered twenty-five B737-8s and twenty A330-900Ns in 2022 in the first stage of its fleet renewal plan. To date, the airline holding has leaned into Boeing for its narrowbody jet aircraft, specifically B737-800s and, more recently, the MAX, while Airbus now supplies the group's widebodies, primarily A330 types but also some A350-900s.
The fleet renewal program was split into two orders, the first already placed and the second upcoming. Ismail said the narrowbody options for the second order included the B737 MAX and A320neo and A321neo types, while the A330-900 was the probable widebody option. However, MAG has decided to extend the RfQ deadline while they re-evaluate the initial fleet renewal programme plans again. Nonetheless, he acknowledged the company cannot be too tardy in its decision making.
"We're halfway there (in terms of the RFP completion) but we're very cognisant it cannot be too long because we would not be able to get the factory production slots," said Izham.
Meanwhile, Izham says he doesn't expect any further B737-8 delivery delays or cuts. The company was originally due to receive 12 of the type this year but Boeing reduced that to seven. Four have arrived so far, and Izham expects the remaining three by the end of the year. However, he did say the leases on some B737-800s had been extended as contingency cover. The first A330-900N is due in September 2024.
"We cannot continue to operate ageing airplanes," he said. "No doubt our airplanes are safe but our planes are tired. That requires investment."
MAG's primary carrier, Malaysia Airlines, operates to 80 destinations in 24 countries. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, its 92 aircraft include six A330-200s, three A330-200Fs, A330-300s, seven A350-900s, nine (wet-leased) ATR72-500s, four B737-8s, forty-two B737-800s, and six DHC-6-400s (operated by MASwings (MY, Kota Kinabalu)). MAG's low-cost carrier, FireFly, flies to 25 airports in six countries with a fleet of 15 aircraft, including ten ATR72-500s and five B737-800s.
