MAS to fly youngest fleet

By WONG SAI WAN

FOR the past five years, the story of Malaysia Airlines has largely been about turning in better profits and coming out with an effective business plan. These days, that is no longer the case. In fact, the airline is on an expansion path both in terms of raising frequency of flights to existing routes as well as offering new routes.

This growth phase, which comes on the back of its two business turnaround plans and two global economic crises, will be powered by 56 new aircraft that will change the capacity as well as the range of the airline.

MAS chief executive office and managing director Tengku Azmil Zaharuddin, speaking on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association AGM in Berlin, says the new aircraft are from firm orders of three type of aircraft including the delayed A380 (six units).

The other two are the new generation Boeing 737-800 (35 units) and the new variant Airbus A330-300 (15 units). This will bring the total number of aircraft in MAS’ fleet to over 100 and not include the option of 20 B737-800 and 10 A330-300 that it could exercise in the next five years. By 2015, the MAS fleet will total more than 110 aircraft excluding the options to obtain more.

“This year will mark the start of our growth programme that will be facilitated by the arrival of all the new aircraft over the next five years. By then, we will have the youngest fleet in the region if not the world. The average age of our planes would be 5.2 years compared to 11.6 years at present,” he adds.

Having a younger fleet, says Azmil, has several advantages – it’s operationally more efficient as new aircraft are built to handle faster turnaround and more frequency; more cost effective as MAS, for the first time, is buying the bulk of its fleet at one go, allowing for longer planning period; better fuel efficiency as the new generation aircraft from the A380 to the B737-800 are reported to be relatively more fuel efficient by 25%-40%; and cost less to maintain as they are within the warranty period and tend to break down less.

In addition, the purchase of the B737-800 has added another dimension to the MAS fleet which will have a much longer range by some 1,400km or a total range of over 5,600km “flying on a full tank.” The 737-800 seats 162 passengers in a two-class layout, or 189 in one class, and competes with the A320.

“With the longer range, our 737 new generation single-aisle jet can take over the role that we now assign to our A330-300s.

“North Asia – China, the Korean peninsula, Japan and India – can now be served by a narrow body aircraft. This means we can look at new routes in these destinations as previously we had to use a bigger A330 to serve them,” says the MAS boss.

It is not easy to fill up a wide-body A330-300, which carries about 250 passengers, but the B737-800 will make it more attractive for MAS to explore new routes.

Azmil admits that the B737-800 makes destinations like Xian, Dakka, Cheju Island and every city in Japan a possibility.

“We will first relook all the destinations which we have rights to but have either given up or never flew to and then move towards other places. But I must admit, China and India look very attractive with the new generation 737s.

“It does not matter if the traffic is seasonal or if it picks up suddenly as the new generation aircraft allows us to increase the frequency. We can fly two or even three times a day to a new destination if traffic volume justifies it. Having such a schedule may be an attraction in itself to travellers,” he adds.

The new generation A330-300 is a longer version of the present models and are made up of modern material, hence they are lighter and more fuel efficient. These aircraft, like the B737-800, also have longer range.

“The new A330-300 will replace the way we use of B777 now. It can serve North Africa, the Middle East, whole of Asia and Australia. With about 250 passengers, we will be able to mount more frequency and be able to turn it around faster,” he says.

As for the A380, MAS will use it like all its regional counterparts. The giant in the sky will be for non-stop long haul routes with high traffic. With a capacity of 500 travellers, there are only so many destinations MAS can fly with the A380 but it ultimately depends on how the airline configures the aircraft.

Azmil also reveals that MAS is looking to introduce the premium economy class on all its aircraft to attract economy-class travellers looking for improved comfort.

“We also want to attract those who had ‘downgraded’ themselves from business class to economy.”

Will the national carrier own all the aircraft? No, says Azmil. “We will not own all the planes. We are looking at the one-third, two-third policy – either own two-third of the new aircraft and lease one-third or vice versa.

“PMB (Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd) will have the first right of refusal for to the lessor but we have others waiting in the wings. The exact formula will depend on the various economic situation,” he adds.

Based on 2008 price catalogues for aircraft, a new A330-300 can cost between US$195.9mil and US$205.7mil while a B737-300 would cost in the range of US$72.5mil to US$81mil. Meanwhile, an A380 costs between US$317mil and US$337.5mil but it could cost MAS a lot less given the delayed compensation.

Source from The Star