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Malaysia Airlines buying 36 new turboprop aircraft

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Anyone got more details on this new aircraft purchase? Are they buying the same type of ATR (ATR72-500)? or different type?

 

Malaysia Airlines buying 36 new turboprop aircraft By BK Sidhu

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is expanding its fleet of turboprop aircraft with the purchase of 36 new planes.

MAS said on Tuesday that of the 36 planes, 16 would be for MASwings and 20 would be allocated to Firefly. MASwings, which is Malaysia's first commuter airline, focuses on Sarawak and Sabah and provides connections within the two states.

Firefly operates out of the Penang and Subang hubs and flies to various points within Malaysia, Southern Thailand, Singapore and Sumatera.

 

SOURCE: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/18/business/20121218105821&sec=business

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New things always good though not necessarily. I am happy with ATR 72 so hopefully they stick with the one type -500 as per current (Air Crash Investigation episode came to mind) :pardon:

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Wow this is unexpected, but good for us! :yahoo:

Edited by Syukri

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Article was just updated.

MAS buying 36 new turboprop plans worth RM3bil from French-Italian aircraft maker (Update) By BK Sidhu


KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is expanding its fleet of turboprop aircraft with the purchase of 36 new ATR 72-600 aircraft worth RM3bil.

MAS and ATR, the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer inked an MoU on Tuesday for the purchase of the planes.

Of the 36 ordered, Firefly will take on 20 new aircraft whilst 16 will be inducted into the fleet of its sister company MASwings.

 

Source:http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/18/business/20121218105821&sec=business

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New Twin Otters please!!

Is just a matter of time from their judgement regarding how long can the remaining mighty Otters can fly...is simply too old already...

 

Article was just updated.

 

MAS buying 36 new turboprop plans worth RM3bil from French-Italian aircraft maker (Update) By BK Sidhu

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is expanding its fleet of turboprop aircraft with the purchase of 36 new ATR 72-600 aircraft worth RM3bil.

MAS and ATR, the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer inked an MoU on Tuesday for the purchase of the planes.

Of the 36 ordered, Firefly will take on 20 new aircraft whilst 16 will be inducted into the fleet of its sister company MASwings.

 

Source:http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/18/business/20121218105821&sec=business

 

Nice! looks like turborpop services / business is growing strong in Malaysia...merely 5 years plus another orders and larger than the previous one...Will watch for Firefly and MASwings growth...

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Congratulations to MH on the order. I read at Flightglobal that this order is to replace the old ATR72-500s as well as provide for growth. It is good to see that something has changed at MH - that they are thinking ahead in terms of fleet planning.

 

FYA and MWA were delivered in August 2008. So they will probably be ready for replacement by the time the final few aircraft of this order is delivered.

 

 



Also hope that FY will feature a more premium cabin than at present so that they can improve yields.

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I'm not surprised they are going to order more ATR72s but I wasn't expecting a figure of 36. I wonder over how many years the aircraft will be delivered and if the contract, when it is signed, is made up of orders and options. A signing ceremony at LIMA in March?

 

A good month for ATR with Avation PLC signing for 7 and AviancaTaca for 15 plus 15 options.

 

Geoff

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More jobs for everyone with right qualification ....... Certainly a good news ........ :good:

 

Going head on with 'red minibus' within Peninsular and Sabah/Sarawak sectors and let Malindo handle the rest regionally .......

 

 

:hi:

Edited by Lock SH

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More jobs for everyone with right qualification ....... Certainly a good news ........ :good:

 

Going head on with 'red minibus' within Peninsular and Sabah/Sarawak sectors and let Malindo handle the rest regionally .......

More job opportunities for local Malaysians.....that's fantastic!! Read today's newspaper, both FY and MW may lease more aircraft over the next two years to meet growing demand while waiting for their own ATR72 to arrive.

 

AirAsia is now fighting back with another 100s A320. The future will be interesting..................

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Currently FY have 12 ATR-72-500 in the fleet, taking 20 unit of -600 will more than double the fleet size unless FY intend to retire older plane. With limited service range, FY hasn't announce any drastic expansion plan, -500 are fairly new and -600 offer only marginal improvement, this order smell fishy this side of GE.

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MAS aircraft purchase a meaningful asset investment

 

EXPANDING REACH: OSK Research says RM3b aircraft purchase will strengthen Firefly, MASwings footprints


NATIONAL carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS)'s purchase of 36 brand-new ATR 72-600 aircraft is said to be a meaningful asset investment as both of its subsidiaries Firefly and MASwings' fleets are heavily utilised.

 

OSK Research Sdn Bhd said the purchase of these aircraft will allow both Firefly and MASwings to expand their route networks, which is positive given the strong demand of the niche market where competition is fairly limited.

 

"Firefly intends to add frequencies to existing routes to Penang, Selangor and Kota Baru, while new routes are being planned to destinations in Thailand and Indonesia.

 

"Meanwhile, the additional frequencies for MASwings will act as feeder traffic for MAS' hubs in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu," it said in a research note.

 

MAS and French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday on the purchase of turboprop planes worth RM3 billion.

 

Of the 36 aircraft ordered, Firefly will take 20 while 16 will be introduced into the fleet of its sister company MASwings.

 

Currently, Firefly operates 12 ATR 72-500s while MASwings operates 10 similar aircraft.

 

Three of the new ATR 72-600s will be delivered next year, five the following year and six in 2015.

 

Firefly's current fleet age profile is 4.5 years while MASwings' is 3.2 years. OSK Research said some of these aircraft delivered will replace the older aircraft to attain a younger fleet age profile.

 

"We understand that Firefly is looking to expand its total fleet size to 20 aircraft in three years. As such, we reckon that of these orders could be for fleet replacement.

 

"Funding for these aircraft will be tapped from MAS' recent sukuk issuance and the upcoming rights issue," it said.

 

Meanwhile, MIDF Research said Firefly and MASwings are expected to expand their capacity ahead of the full implementation of the Asean Open Sky policy in 2015.

 

The research firm added that the additional fleet growth will provide both subsidiaries to gain stronger footprint upon the liberalisation of the industry.

 

"Comparing Firefly against MASwings, our view is that the former may face stiff competition from AirAsia's aggressive financial year 2013 rollout plan and the new entrant, Malindo Air," it said in a research note.

 

MIDF maintained a neutral call on MAS with target price of RM1.02, which is under review, while OSK maintained a "sell" call with an unchanged fair value of 52 sen.

 

MAS share price dipped 0.015 sen to close at 69 sen on Bursa Malaysia yesterday with 15.3 million shares changing hands.

 

Read more: 'MAS aircraft purchase a meaningful asset investment' http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/MAS19/Article/index_html

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Instead of ATR, MH could have ordered CRJ/ERJ to compliment 738 on regional and to feed the network. Either MH management brain business model is cast in stone, decision was made at higher authority than the board or both.

Edited by KK Lee

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Instead of ATR, MH could have ordered CRJ/ERJ to compliment 738 on regional and to feed the network. Either MH management brain business model is cast in stone, decision was made at higher authority than the board or both.

 

For MASwings' ATR 72 operation, the question is does LMN and MZV fits an ERJ or a CRJ? That's the only 2 airstrips that come to my mind whether they are capable to handle a jet or not if MASwings are considering "mini-jets"...

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Turboprobs are simply more economical than jets such as in terms of fuel efficiency. Virgin Blue choose ATRs to reeplace their Embraer E-170s, The management in Virgin Blue must be idiots too I guess.

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From what I read, fuel costs for turboprops are cheaper compared to that of jets for flights of shorter distances or duration. Most, if not all, Maswings flights (not so familiar with Firefly) are within this category. As such, it's appropriate for the airline to use ATR72's.

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If you look at the history of MSA and MAS, all their short range flights have been carried out by F-27s, F-50s and now, ATR-72s. Turboprops are proven to deliver the lowest costs not only in fuel consumption but also in maintenance.

 

While RJs may be viable on some routes, it will require a whole new infrastructure as MAS have no experience with dealing with Embraer, Bombardier or Comac.So the business risk is higher.

 

What MAS learnt from their short time with Airasia is to keep things simple. They are doing it the right way with loads of Boeing 737-800s and ATR-72s in their fleet. They will derive economies of scale operating reasonably large numbers of these types, thus further reducing unit costs.

 

I think MAS made the right decision. Firefly is profitable operating turboprops with high frequency services while MASWings will not require heavy subsidies for its losses due to their economic operations.

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Maswings could always keep 2 ATR for LMN and MZV. Although CRJ/ERJ fuel cost is higher but faster speed means Maswings could squeeze in additional revenue flights at the end of day.

 

FY is profitable because SZB is the preferred airport and commanding a premium fare. If FY is to operate ERJ/CRJ, FY fare increment could more than pay for additional fuel.

 

AF, LH, KL, etc are operating a variety of ERJ/CRJ even fuel guzzler BAe-146, F-70, F-100 and profitable.

 

If MH believe in keeping the fleet simple than MH shouldn't consider transit pax, optimize load/yield or joining OW, and should become a full fledged LCC. MH record show its current business model is unprofitable.

Edited by KK Lee

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