flee

MH might probably decide to soldier on with the B772s until they get new B787 or A350 planes. As some have said here, old planes are still OK provided the cabins are refreshed. Fully amortised old planes may also have lower total cost of ownership, thereby increasing yields.

It will probably be a 734 since MH is deploying the 738s for longer regional routes.

KC, Better late than never! Superb coverage, as usual. And great traffic at SIN. Hope to see you there next weekend for the MW anniversary.

Chaity, Thanks for sharing. Now I await its release on A.net.

Was it out of fuel?

9M-MLD was delivered to MH on 21-05-2010 and shot by MWinger Sri Ramani K at Sepang: http://www.malaysianwings.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=14500

You are booking such a long range trip - aren't you afraid AK might suspend the route (like D7 did with Abu Dhabi) if business is not good?

I was thinking more in line with what Royal Brunei is doing - lease some SQ T7's...

Unfortunately, Malaysian politicians mix politics with business in an effort to enrich themselves first before they even think of serving the people. MS-21 is supposed to be a civil airliner. If it follows the MiG-29 in terms of maintenance, then its future is bleak. As such, any success oriented company should stay away from such politically motivated projects.

New route! I noticed that destination available from the LCCT last week. With MH going to Bandung and AK going to Yangon, travellers now have more choice!

Embargo period for the AirAsia-CIMB Savers & AirAsia-Citibank account holders is one day. By tomorrow, the fares that are not already snapped up by them will be available to the public.

This reminds me of AK's not so distant past - the "sore losers" who did not read the T&C are the ones who are complaining loudest. Maybe that is a good sign for D7 - they must be doing something right that makes so many people want to go on their flights. And of course, they are following AK's footsteps - hopefully to sustained growth and long term success!

Hehehe, I am lazy and not as dedicated as you to trek to the ladang and Sepang! I was on a morning flight to TPE and the China Southern plane was at A10 queueing for takeoff at runway 32R while my plane was at A11.

Yields also improve if the capital cost of the aircraft is lower. That is why Delta and some other airlines are buying cheap, old aircraft these days. MH can also buy cheap and instantly available used aircraft, if it wants to improve yields. As the CEO said, they will look at more wide bodies at the end of the year. So lets wait and see what they decide.

9M-XXE is due to be delivered anytime soon. If I am not mistaken, 9M-XAA will go for seat refitting once XXE is put into service. Currently, 9M-XAB is in for refitting, so the STN service is reduced to 5X weekely. D7 has previously said that all aircraft are targetted to have the new seats by the end of June.

The question here is whether MH can justify maintaining so many types of aircraft just to provide a service. They have to do a cost vs benefit exercise. MH is a listed company and analysts pour over their financial results with a fine comb. Although MH is not an LCC, its fleet is comparatively small, at 90+ aircraft. In comparison, LH has 260+ aircraft, AF/KLM has 370+ aircraft. They will definitely have better economies of scale. They can even afford to operate both 737 and A320 families since their fleet is huge. MH is a small airline with a limited route network. Why does it need so many types of aircraft unless it is expanding into new markets with special requirements?

9M-XXB - this 3-3-3 cabin with reclining seats is now standard on all D7 economy seats. MH's A333 seats should be similar to their A380's for product consistency (if they follow SQ's example).

Best of luck in your finals. Look forward to seeing more pix from you soon!

This is a rather mysterious story from Russia - how credible is this? MOSCOW, June 7 (Itar-Tass) --The corporation Irkut on Monday signed a contract with Crecom Burj Resources for the supply of 50 MS-21 planes to Malaysia. “The sum of the contract is estimated at five billion U.S. dollars,” a source close to the negotiations told Itar-Tass. The first supplies will begin in 2014, he said. “After that the planes will be leased to air lines,” the official said, adding that several Southeast Asian air carriers have already expressed interest in the Russian MS-21 plane. “The work on the plane is proceeding as scheduled. We have completed the rough design and started working on technical design,” Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko said earlier. “This is a breakthrough-like product that should enter the global market in 2016-2017 and be 15 percent more efficient than the current offers,” he said earlier. The project was drafted in 2008. In 2009, a tender was held and a contract of about 1.5 billion roubles was signed for the development of the paper vehicle. In 2010, more than five billion roubles will be allocated for this project. Khristenko believes that the implementation of this project will mean “the creation of a whole range of new technologies, including the so-called black, or composite, wing. A tender for it has been held. The winner is the United Aircraft Corporation”. “Despite challenging financing obligations, we have all the funds for the near future. They have been concentrated and we will strictly stick to them,” the minister added. He said, “We plan to increase the share of civil aircraft on the global market from 1 percent now to 10 percent in 2020, and we have the opportunity to fulfil this ambitious task.” MS-21 planes will have a wider body for the comfort of passengers. They will have a better wing sweep to increase safety during landings and takeoffs. The wings will be a bit thicker in order to take on mire fuel, which will allow the planes to travel greater distances. All these factors will negatively affect aerodynamic properties of the planes. “This makes the success of the scientists who have improved this crucial property of any aircraft all the more important,” Zhukovsky Central Aerodynamic Institute (TsAGI) Director Sergei Chernyshev said. MS-21 Programme Director Andrei Matveyev said, “Increasing aerodynamic properties of a plane even by 1 percent over several years is considered to be a big achievement.” He said the new design would reduce operating costs by 12-15 percent as compared to that of existing foreign counterparts and give additional competitive advantages to the new plane. The Yakovlev Design Bureau is the principal designer of the MS-21 plane. It is working under the federal programme “Development of Civil Aircraft in Russia”. The state contractor is the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The MS-21 aircraft has been developed on the basis of Yak-242 type by the Yakovlev Design Bureau in association with the llyushin Aviation Complex. The MS-21 airplane has been readily embraced by the aircraft market since it meets all the requirements and can compete against similar Boeing and Airbus aircraft, outdoing them in price, fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. For instance, aircraft of the MS-21 project were compared against Airbus company's A320 and Boeing's latest models, B717 and B737. The Russian aircraft features an improved passenger comfort cabin, enhanced fuel efficiency and a reasonable price. In terms of cost-to-effectiveness ratio, the new Russian aircraft will significantly outperform similar advanced aircraft offered by Western producers. The MS-21 aircraft is to replace all models of Tu-154B and Tu-I54M aircraft as well as Yak-42 in Russia. It is planned to build around 600 aircraft of the MS-21 family within 20 years, with an annual production rate of 30 to 36 machines. It is planned to sell around 640 MS-21 aircraft in 2008-2009, including around 415 planes going to Russia's domestic market and 225 to foreign customers. The MS-21 will provide the basis for a whole family of aircraft, including an MS-21-100 plane capable of carrying 132 or 116 passengers in a two-class configuration, an MS-21-200 to carry 156 or 140 passengers in a two-class configuration, an MS-21-300 to carry 174 or 158 passengers in a two-class configuration, an MS-2IK to carry cargoes, an MS-21KP to carry cargoes and passengers. The MS-21 jet and the Sukhoi SuperJet-100 passenger plane together may meet 80 percent of Russian air carriers' demand for new aircraft. The Irkutsk aircraft plant will begin the production of MS-21 mainline planes in 2014. MS-21 will be manufactured in three modifications, for 150, 180 and 210 passengers. The first plane will be built in 2014, while a new model will appear on the market in 2015-2016. “The mainline MS-21 plane will replace the popular Tu-154. It's a very ambitious, colossal project, because by launching the production of MS-21, we are invading the world's elite aircraft making. This model will put competitive pressure on A-320 and Boeing-737,” United Aircraft Corporation President Alexei Fyodorov said earlier. Source: http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15203147&PageNum=0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHTdyoTZHi0

I am not sure if MH wants to have too many aircraft types. The B738 will be their short-medium haul workhorse while the A333 will take on flights that are up to about 9 or 10 hours. MH sees frequency as more important than capacity. The long haul flights will be handled by B744/B772/A380. If I remember correctly they did mention that they want to operate only 3 or 4 aircraft types as operating too many types will increase costs (no economies of scale; spare parts inventories problematic).

Here is a regular visitor to KUL: And home boy MRA taxiing to runway 32R for takeoff:

Respect you guys for attempting to spot under such hostile conditions. Many thanks for sharing your hard earned pixs!

9M-MRQ was delivered on 13-12-2004.

The MH CEO said that they will only look into it at the end of the year. I think that this probably means that they might go for the B77x to replace their older B772s and B744s if they want the new aircraft quickly. B787s and A350s will be longer term decisions because of the long queues for delivery slots. I don't think it would be technically difficult for Airbus to install extra centre fuel tanks on the A333. However, I think that the total payload will be reduced and that may totally change the economics of operating the aircraft. So it may not be economically feasible.

I suspect that when the new A333's arrive, MH will only use them for Asia/Middle East/Australia routes. The B772s will be deployed on their European routes.