Hi Avgeek,
It is not surprising that the national carrier of Malaysia to purchase 20 A330NEOs as this new type of aircraft will directly replace its current 21 A330-300/200s series.
According to endau analytics' LinkedIn, the airline will buy 10 A330Neos directly from Airbus and while the other 10 A330Neos will be operating leased. The value of the purchase was reported to be around USD 2 billion.
Endau Analytic's LinkedIn Post
So far, there is no official announcement or press release from Malaysia Airlines, especially on the date of the first aircraft delivery (or Enter Into Service-EIS), type of aircraft A330-900 or A330-800? etc.
Currently, Malaysia Airlines operates 15 A330-300s and 6 A330-200s on most medium-haul routes such as Kuala Lumpur - Sydney, Kuala Lumpur - Doha, Kuala Lumpur - New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur - Auckland, and some of the short/regional routes including Kuala Lumpur - Singapore, Kuala Lumpur - Denpasar and Kuala Lumpur - Bangkok.
Before the pandemic, during Peter Bellew's tenure as the CEO of the airline, the airline has signed to MoU (maybe it is just a Letter of Intent) to purchase 8 B787s and 8 B737MAXs - Later, the was abandoned, especially the widebody aircraft due to the airline's financial situation, changed management and the Pandemic.
It was also believed that the airline may also look to replace, expand the widebody aircraft, and operates a single type to streamline the operation and reduce the fixed costs.
So my only question is, does Malaysia Airlines ever consider adding more A350s aircraft into its operation?
The reason is A330NEO - has limited range, even though the aircraft is improvised with the latest engine/technologies.
The airline currently (and also before the pandemic) deploys its A350s on 14x Kuala Lumpur - London, 11x Kuala Lumpur - Narita, and daily Kuala Lumpur - Osaka Kansai services.
Does it mean that the airline has no intention to add long-haul flights to Europe or North America?
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