JuliusWong

Something related to AirAsia market scope, Vietjet signs a provisional order with Airbus for 20 A330-900neos, to be delivered from 2026 onwards. This will take out a chunk of Fly-Thru passengers from AirAsia, especially on Vietnam-Australia market. AirAsia X will only resume A330-900neo delivery next year 2025, having 15 on order. https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-02-vietjet-to-order-20-a330neo-widebodie

Airbus and Malaysia Airlines announces MOU for carbon emission studies during Singapore Airshow 2024.

Some updates for MAG:

Won't be surprised if he does so, he visited Toulouse last year something must have been brewing. His royal fleet needs some tender loving care. His B767-27G/ER needs a replacement since it is now 30 years old. His A340 retired without a proper Airbus replacement. B748i/B787-8/A330-800...perfect combo! Another B787-9 will be icing on top of the cake. Boeing will bend over their backwards for him definitely. If not, the Sultan will shell out a few hundred million to pay off any airline to grab one of their B787-9s. Like what he did for his previous B747-430 and B767-27G/ER. Royal Brunei livery looks.....hmmm...bland? on A330 though.

Yea true. It is a form of "public transport" for Brunei. Not supposed to make any money, not break even too. I wonder how much longer can the falling oil reserves and depleting $$ in national reserve can keep the country going. Brunei has been consistently recording deficit for the past few years. I missed those gold plated J lavatory though....

While I appreciate new technology and fleet replacement, this will be ultimate disaster to BI to be honest. Their current B787-8 utilisation is minimal at best, spending most of their time on the ground. Their schedule to Melbourne and London is no longer daily as pre-COVID 19 era, now transit via DXB and leasing out LHR slots to Qatar, bringing in the B787-9 will be even worse off. Unless they are planning to return to PER, BNE, SYD and AKL to support its (non-stop) LHR flight, I don't see how they can break even, let alone making marginal profit. 1990s/2000s BI with multiple hubs and eight B767s/two B757s flying weird route pattern like BWN-RGN-CCU-DXB-LHR all over again. Feeling deja vu....... This is the first airline in the world to do B787 fleet replacement, albeit with B787 as well. The four B787-9 will replace the first four B787-8 and will operate alongside with BI's fifth B787-8 V8-DLE. I don't see them flying nine B787s, that's suicidal with small international network.

IMO, I do not think MH has issue finding the right equipment, rather finding and getting an equipment at the right price is the main issue. It took them quite a while to get its seventh A350, and now dragging its feet on the eight. The plan might not happen at all since all used A350s in the market is now dried up. Moving onto B737max, MH could have taken up those 737max not taken up by other airlines, but they chose to wait for their own, which was and is still hit by several delays due to Boeing manufacturing quality issue. They could have taken the COVID19 as an opportunity to re-equip its older fleet quickly with new interiors. Retire the horrible A330-200, and get in more A350-900s. Well the new used equipment has different interior, at least it is better than current ones onboard A330-200. Or even the B787s, sign up a good support deal with Boeing, negotiate heavily with financial house for a good deal during the pandemic and get the equipment in. There were so many used B787s in the market back then. Now we are saddled with A330-900s which is one generation behind the newer equipment. Let's not forget, the B737max 10/ A321neos dilemma, the writing is on the wall for some time Boeing won't be able to get them certified and EIS anytime soon, MH should have just sign up with lessor for 20 pieces and get over and done with. If they are to place an order on its own now, they can only receive it towards the end of the decade. Most bigger SEA airlines has or will eventually A321neo in their fleet, except GA and MH now. To survive the ruthless aviation industry, you need to either go big or go home, especially now with the pent-up demand. No one knows how long it will last, best to max the opportunity now. TG has the same predicament as MH, but was very bold in making their moves. Absorbed ThaiSmile, sold properties in various location in Thailand and around the world, retire and sold older fleet and reequip their fleet quickly. They snapped up almost every available used A350s in the market, competing with Delta Airlines and Lufthansa. As a snapshot, those 45 B787-9 order they placed recently are mainly for capacity replacement and only 15 for expansion. MH is a case of "penny wi se, pound foolish". And that pound foolish will come back to bite their backside few years down the road. Oh well, some here may say, "Haiya, you dun know what is happening behind the scene la. Deal with it. Go fly SQ then." And that is the exact mindset is what is pushing premium passengers to SQ, EK, EY, QR, TK et al. You can only earn minute profit from Y class, you need sustainable profit both front and the back of the plane.

MH truly missed the boat in providing a premium hardware when they retrofitted the NG fleet and with the 737max EIS. They could have gone to Collins Aerospace Diamond or Thompson Vantage, which between the two, the latter will bring MH's narrowbody consistent with its widebody. Currently for MH has: Short Haul Business Class: Zodiac Aerospace Weber recliner seats on older B737-800NG 9M-FFF, MLK and MLL BE Aerospace Millennium recliner on non-retrofitted B737-800NG Safran Z600 recliner seats on retrofitted B737-800NG and B737-MAX8 Long Haul Business Class: Stelia Aerospace Solstys on A330-200 Thompson Vantage on A330-300 and A350-900 Thompson Vantage XL on A350-900 (9M-MAH) Collins Aerospace Diamond Thompson Vantage

Agree on the "delulu" part. LOL. Actually, TG is installing Recaro's CL4710 for its new narrowbody J class, also a recliner. Same as MH's Safran Z600i, both are classified as short-mid haul business class product by its respective OEM.

Batik Air tries Uzbekistan, AirAsia X tries Kazakhstan. Both by A330-343 C12 Y365, perhaps they did it in such a way not to cannibalize each other. Air Samarkand, a new Uzbekistan airline start-up, has Kuala Lumpur planned for its launching. Will be flown by ex-CI A330-302 C36 Y277.

With the resurgence of TG, I wonder what game plan MH has up its sleeve in the next decade. During the same period, TG will eventually have 54 B787s, 17 B77Ws, 26 A350s, 20 A320ceos, 21 A321neos= 138. That is a lot of widebody capacity being pumped into Asia, Europe and Australian routes. I hope MH will firm up the other 20 A330neos order and 20 A321neo/B737-MAX10 order. TG will also refurbish its narrowbody J class with recliner seat, MH is save here for now.

AirAsia X is doing promotion again for ALA. RM172 return, without luggage and food. Insider's news: The forward booking is looking very poor, need to do extra boost sales promotion to increase the load.

I don't think the route will last long, since Malaysians are required to apply for visa to enter Turkmenistan. Oil is cheap there, so I guess burning money by flying an empty aircraft to and fro is not a concern for them. Turkmenistan is one of the world's most bizarre tourist (lack thereof) destination, if you have watched Drew Binsky travelogue on YouTube.

Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and Batik Air will be doing a series of charter flights to China. Malaysia Airlines MH8827 from Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Operated by A330-323 9M-MTJ https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/mh8827 Others: Firefly route Nanjing-Tawau (starting Jan 23) Batik Air routes Chengdu-Langkawi (starting Feb 5) Zhengzhou-KUL (starting Feb 5) Chengdu-Kota Kinabalu (starting Feb 9) Chongqing-Langkawi (starting Feb 10) Xian-KUL (starting Feb 11) in addition, KUL is currently seeing frequency increase and a few new entrants in China-Malaysia market. China Eastern Airlines route Beijing-Kuala Lumpur (four times weekly, starting Jan 31) Loong Air route Hangzhou-KUL (three times weekly, starting Feb 1) Batik Air route Kunming-KUL (4 times weekly, starting Feb 9), and upcoming route Zhangjiajie-KUL (three times weekly, starting Feb 18).

Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and Batik Air will be doing a series of charter flights to China. Malaysia Airlines MH8827 from Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Operated by A330-323 9M-MTJ https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/mh8827 Others: Firefly route Nanjing-Tawau (starting Jan 23) Batik Air routes Chengdu-Langkawi (starting Feb 5) Zhengzhou-KUL (starting Feb 5) Chengdu-Kota Kinabalu (starting Feb 9) Chongqing-Langkawi (starting Feb 10) Xian-KUL (starting Feb 11) in addition, KUL is currently seeing frequency increase and a few new entrants in China-Malaysia market. China Eastern Airlines route Beijing-Kuala Lumpur (four times weekly, starting Jan 31) Loong Air route Hangzhou-KUL (three times weekly, starting Feb 1) Batik Air route Kunming-KUL (4 times weekly, starting Feb 9), and upcoming route Zhangjiajie-KUL (three times weekly, starting Feb 18).

Some fleet movement within AirAsia Group/ Capital A: A320-216 MSN 2926 AP-BLY Pakistan International delivery 07feb24 CGK-BKK-KHI ex 9M-AFL A320-214 MSN 4688 PK-AZX Indonesia AirAsia first in svc 03feb24 CGK-DPS-CGK ex N211FR Source: https://www.skyliner-aviation.de/regdb.main?LC=nav4&page=1 9M-AFL and 9M-AFM (MSN 2944) have now officially joined Pakistan Int'l Airlines after they settled the payment dispute with AirAsia Capital Leasing. AirAsia has now retired most of their first batch of A320ceo 9M-AF* series, with only AFD, AFE, AFF, AFV remaining. Another note, TF mentioned that they will bring back all 191 aircraft in their fleet by Q1, 2024, I believe he means for both A320s and A321s. Including the recent ex-MYAirlines, ex-Frontier Airlines A320ceos additions, the current total A320s fleet stands at 211. Minus four A321neos from 191= 187 A320s. That is 24 A320s unaccounted for. Out of these total 211 A320s, there are currently 42 A320 (both ceos neos) parked, either in storage or undergoing maintenance. My rough estimation is approximately 24 returning to the skies, another 18 will be slated for retirement. List of 42 A320s parked for storage or maintenance.

Some notes for the Year 2024 fleet movement for commercial airlines in Malaysia Malaysia Airlines is planning to add 12 new aircraft this year. Four A330-900neo and eight B737 MAX8 Firefly is planning to add three B737-800NG from parent company Batik Air is planning to add 10 aircraft. One B737 MAX8 and nine B737-800NG AirAsia plans to bring all 191 fleet back in service by Q1, 2024 and resume A321neo delivery this year AirAsia X's plan to merge all AirAsia Group airlines under it to create a single airline hits a snag as Thai AirAsia X is currently under bankruptcy protection status MYAirlines is now left without any aircraft after its last aircraft was deregistered from CAAM, need to secure at least two aircraft to restart air operator certificate (AOC) application process. MASwings is now in the process of transferring to Sarawak Government, currently on due diligence check status SKS Airways's new investors remain elusive as plan to introduce Embraer 195-E2 is up in the air

Malaysia Airlines missed the boat to add eight A350. SE-RSC MSN391 is going back to SAS https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/sas-looks-to-re-introduce-a350-previously-shed-during-fleet-restructuring/156844.article On a side note, all remaining HNA A350s which were repossessed are now heading to Thai Airways.

I do believe there were more to the meeting than just Hamas and Gaza. Some topics are definitely covered. Of course Gaza will definitely grab the headline.

Batik Air is going to another two A330-300ceo to its current fleet of two. Source

Not sure what happened, but Batik Air Malaysia only started flying into ADL last year July. With this, MH will dominate ADL market. Route map on their website is now updated: https://www.malindoair.com/destinations/route-map

I don't think any possible sane travelers in Malaysia would anticipate AA/DL/UA launching service to KUL. Malaysians have fairly lesser relationship to the US compared to say the UK. Malaysia is not a major financial hub compared to Hong Kong and Singapore and our government views are not in line with Uncle Sam most of the time. The government exchange between both is cordial but minimal at best, that's the reason why we will never be getting onto F-35A program or be upgraded to VWP. Those US officials visiting Malaysia was just nothing but courtesy visit, with intention to align Malaysia to them, make Malaysia their chess and styme China rise in the region. Glad that Malaysia (and Indonesia) are not playing their ball of game, unlike South Korea, Japan and Singapore. Plus the US3 have been retreating from South East Asia for the past few years, often relying on their Asian partners to bring their pax to the region. Delta Airlines (gained most Asians route via Northwest acquisition) Dropped - Singapore, Hong Kong, Fukuoka, Narita (Haneda still operating), Nagoya, Osaka Retained - Shanghai, Tokyo-Haneda United Airlines (gained most Asians route via Pan Am acquisition) Dropped - Bangkok, Chengdu, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Naha, Niigata Airport, Okayama, Sapporo, Sendai (mostly due to downsizing of Guam base), Ho Chi Minh City Retained - Taipei, Singapore, Manila (via Guam base), Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul, Fukuoka (via Guam base), Nagoya (via Guam base), Osaka (via Guam base), Tokyo (both Haneda and Narita) American Airlines Dropped - Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei Retained - Tokyo (both Haneda and Narita), Shanghai Malaysia (and China) are the manufacturing hubs for many German companies for Asia. Between Germany and the US, we should have a higher chance of seeing a route resumption to/from Frankfurt than Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Yes, AY has announced KUL for at least thrice but it was never materialised. This was back in MD-11/ A340 era. Last was in 2007 when they abandoned plan to launch KUL in favour of India, China and Japan. Singapore, then a tag-on from BKK was also dropped. AY later returned to SIN via direct flight using A340 then A350. https://www.businesstraveller.com/news/2007/01/24/finnair-drops-singapore-and-malaysia-in-favour-of-china-india-and-japan/ The weirdest of all these potentials is IB. I personally do not think there are enough O&D pax to sustain the route, if they are speaking of IB/BA codesharing then there is a very minimal possibility. Maybe QF (with MH) can feed the number to KUL and from KUL to Europe? LH now is very short of widebody to launch any new routes, since their factory new B787s are being parked in storage due to OEM supply chain issue. They are trying to mop up any second-hand B787s and A350s available in the market. With Condor now being LH competitor, and Eurowings Discover still in infancy, perhaps we can see LH returns quite soon. German President and Minister for Foreign Affairs were here few months ago, maybe something is happening behind the scene.

The locals here I mean the Aussie. Despite them hating Jetstar like how most Malaysians hate AirAsia, people are still buying their tickets. Haha!

Thanks for the correction. Apparently they used to fly from New Delhi and Bengaluru with Chennai to KUL before. LOL, A220 PER-KUL is a good idea since the longest flight now is 7 hr with airBaltic, but with AirAsia doubling its frequency on PER route, not sure if it will be a good start. A220/ A321/ A332/ A333 / B737...that's a good variety.