MAB Orders 10 Boeing 737 MAX 10 with Lie-Flat Business Class Seats

[Josh T 0]

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that MH are kern on having flatbeds un business in the 737-MAX10. I can see it flying to Perth, India and China (especially on overnight or late night flights)

[flee 5]

I don't see why not.. QR and TK have narrowbody aircraft with premium business cabins to fly short to medium haul routes...

Yes, I think that it is good that MH is trying to upgrade their business class in B737s - the questions in my mind is whether MH can get good yields from them and whether there is sufficient premium pax demand on these flights.

[David.W 0]

-Direct Isle Access

-New Design

-From Thomson Aero

-16 lie flat beds

-INNOVATIVE SINGLE ISLE

could this be what PB is talking about?

 

yes please!

 

Edited July 22, 2017 by David.W

[flee 5]

Malaysia Airlines will launch a radical upgrade to its Boeing 737 business class, adopting lie-flat suites with direct aisle access for all passengers.

The airline will debut the seats on its new Boeing 737 MAX 10 fleet, due for delivery from 2021, with CEO Peter Bellew confirming to Australian Business Traveller they will use an all-new staggered design from Thompson Aero Seating.

Thompson provided the new business class seats for Malaysian flag-carrier's Airbus A330 fleet as well as first class and business class for the forthcoming Airbus A350s

The Irish company also developed the revolutionary Vantage design chosen by US airline JetBlue for its transcontinental Airbus A321 Mint class, which sees each pair of business class seats followed by a single seat with sliding suite-like privacy doors...

See: Malaysia Airlines plans lie-flat Boeing 737 business class seats

[Lim Kar Yong 0]

 

Malaysia Airlines will launch a radical upgrade to its Boeing 737 business class, adopting lie-flat suites with direct aisle access for all passengers.

The airline will debut the seats on its new Boeing 737 MAX 10 fleet, due for delivery from 2021, with CEO Peter Bellew confirming to Australian Business Traveller they will use an all-new staggered design from Thompson Aero Seating.

Thompson provided the new business class seats for Malaysian flag-carrier's Airbus A330 fleet as well as first class and business class for the forthcoming Airbus A350s

The Irish company also developed the revolutionary Vantage design chosen by US airline JetBlue for its transcontinental Airbus A321 Mint class, which sees each pair of business class seats followed by a single seat with sliding suite-like privacy doors...

See: Malaysia Airlines plans lie-flat Boeing 737 business class seats

 

 

This is good news - looks like game changer of 737 aircraft. If only the A350 and A330 would have all direct aisle access as well!

 

On the other hand, hope that the Y class would be decent as well, hopefully improvement from the current seats.

[Kenneth Chong WT 0]

I could use like a hammock style foot rest and more pockets for storage...and stand alone cup holder...

Edited July 31, 2017 by Kenneth Chong WT

[Amirul Mazlan 0]

2021.. This beats Qantas announcement of Perth service by miles

[flee 5]

The latest MoU for 8 Boeing 787-9s will mean that the MAB firm orders for the 737 Max 8 has been further eroded. So the orders are now:

 

8 B787-9 (MoU)

10 B737M10 (conversion of firm order)

7 B737M8 (firm order)

 

I think that there are still 25 options on B737s. Lets see what MAB does with them.

Edited September 14, 2017 by flee

[David.W 0]

Don't be surprised if there will be top up orders in the future. MAB is desperate for wide bodies they are willing to sacrifice or delay the 737Max plan?

[flee 5]

Don't be surprised if there will be top up orders in the future. MAB is desperate for wide bodies they are willing to sacrifice or delay the 737Max plan?

 

I think that they have already said they have surplus B738s at the moment. So the fleet utilisation is lower than it should be and they won't mind the Max delays if the oil price does not shoot up again.

 

I think that they now have to original 25 options PLUS the extra 8 they signed up for yesterday - so there are 32 B737 Max 8 options now.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Sharing the info from Jahur in bits corresponding to its respective threads for order of forum discussion.

 

Boeing 737 Fleet

We currently have 54 aircraft in our fleet of 737-800s with 48 actually operating. 6 of these aircraft are being handed back to lessors in December 2017 and are currently going through a lease return maintenance programme. In 2018, we will operate 44 737 aircraft daily, with 3 in maintenance and 1 available spare.

The current remaining 48 aircraft in the 737-800 fleet start reaching end of lease from early 2019. In 2016, we made 25 firm orders for the 737-MAX8 aircraft and 25 options. The aircraft were ordered as pure replacements for existing planes and arrive on the same month that the other aircraft are retired. The total value of this Boeing MAX8 order of 50 is USD$5.5 billion. The order also had an option to take delivery of some of the larger Boeing MAX9 aircraft instead of the MAX8.

In June 2017, we made a new agreement with Boeing to allow us to choose their new larger MAX10 aircraft for 10 out of the firm order of 25. With this, Malaysia Airlines can decide to take either the MAX8 or MAX10. The MAX10 aircraft are expected to commence delivery in early 2021.

In September 2017, we signed a non-binding MOU with Boeing to facilitate our negotiations with Boeing to change 8 of the firm 737 orders to 8 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. In addition to this, we also placed purchase rights for an additional 8 737MAX8, all while maintaining the total firm order at 25.

The Boeing MAX aircraft will be financed through pre-existing deposits that Malaysia Airlines paid to Boeing on older aircraft and sale and leaseback deals with a variety of international leasing companies.The aircraft will not be owned by Malaysia Airlines but are planned to be on operating leases which is a norm in modern airlines. The Boeing MAX aircraft will have a lease period of some 12 years.

While certain aspects of this fleet update may seem technical in nature, I hope it offers some clarity on the status of our overall fleet and on plans, moving forward. In all of this, I would like to reiterate that as of now, we have a firm order of 25 Boeing 737 aircraft with everything else being optional.

[Johan Z 0]

Peter Bellew posted some pictures on instagram, which could be 737 lie-flat seats.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZPXfAWHquh/?taken-by=bellewpeter

 

 

Edited September 22, 2017 by Johan Z

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Yes it is. Refer to David's post #28 above. However, this is more likely for the 10 MAX 10, not the 15 MAX 8.

[flee 5]

Yes, lie flats are only required for the longer, regional flights.

[Lim Kar Yong 0]

I thk the lie flat for Max10 would really be great. Great for overnight 5-6 hr flights. But a bit disappointed that the A350 biz product is the same as A330 but I guess a slight improvement from the current A380 biz.

[Chris Tan 0]

I thk the lie flat for Max10 would really be great. Great for overnight 5-6 hr flights. But a bit disappointed that the A350 biz product is the same as A330 but I guess a slight improvement from the current A380 biz.

I like the A330 J product. It has a decent balance between privacy, spaciousness and aisle access. On the A350, you'll just need to stay clear of those 3 out of 31 seats for direct aisle access.

 

Is it the best J product in the sky? Not quite, but it's also far from the most elusive. I'd much rather have a reasonably good J product that's actually accessible, than an OMG 270 degree lie-flat minibar-equipped double-aisle access product that I can only judge by looking at pictures.

[RaymondT 0]

I like the A330 J product. It has a decent balance between privacy, spaciousness and aisle access. On the A350, you'll just need to stay clear of those 3 out of 31 seats for direct aisle access.

 

Is it the best J product in the sky? Not quite, but it's also far from the most elusive. I'd much rather have a reasonably good J product that's actually accessible, than an OMG 270 degree lie-flat minibar-equipped double-aisle access product that I can only judge by looking at pictures.

 

My only grip with the current A330 J product is the lack of reliable storage space. (Reliable because it's very seat dependent). Thrones gets the best storage options, followed by those seated on the left side of the plane etc etc.

[Josh T 0]

From AusBT:

https://www.ausbt.com.au/malaysia-airlines-boeing-737-max-business-class-lie-flat-beds?utm_source=grid

 

Seriously...they need lie-flat seats in business for a subset of the new 737MAX aircraft. They're going to use them for flights over 5 hours and quite a few of them are red-eyes. This is an opportunity not to be missed!

[Suzanne Goh 0]

Those will come at a cost. If it means higher prices , reduced U class availability, reduced overall availability or harder MHupgrade opportunities - Im inclined to hope it doesnt happen.

[flee 5]

MH does not have a strategic fleet plan at the moment. That is why it is still unable to finalise any order for the A330 fleet replacement.

 

IMHO, flatbeds are probably a good idea for Max 10 aircraft as these can be used on sectors over 4 hours. Max 8 aircraft should probably have recliners as MH is not really a premium airline these days.

 

But really, MH should look at its entire network and plan the fleet accordingly. Then it will be much easier to decide on what strategy should be deployed.

[Mr.Bandit 0]

And of course to stand up or on par with upcoming SIA narrowbody fleet from the Silk Air merging.

[Chris Tan 0]

MH does not have a strategic fleet plan at the moment. That is why it is still unable to finalise any order for the A330 fleet replacement.

 

IMHO, flatbeds are probably a good idea for Max 10 aircraft as these can be used on sectors over 4 hours. Max 8 aircraft should probably have recliners as MH is not really a premium airline these days.

 

But really, MH should look at its entire network and plan the fleet accordingly. Then it will be much easier to decide on what strategy should be deployed.

But how would the MW community feel about narrowbodies on >4 hour flights?

 

And of course to stand up or on par with upcoming SIA narrowbody fleet from the Silk Air merging.

I don't quite understand the obsession with trying to put up a fight with SQ.

 

It's clear that MH isn't in the same league its sibling to the south. This is a fact that many MWers consistently bring up when trying to put MH back in its place after it tries something SQ-esque. Paradoxically, it's also the source of much disappointment and fantasy when MH doesn't do something SQ-esque.

 

 

[flee 5]

But how would the MW community feel about narrowbodies on >4 hour flights?

 

I don't quite understand the obsession with trying to put up a fight with SQ.

 

It's clear that MH isn't in the same league its sibling to the south. This is a fact that many MWers consistently bring up when trying to put MH back in its place after it tries something SQ-esque. Paradoxically, it's also the source of much disappointment and fantasy when MH doesn't do something SQ-esque.

Narrowbodies will soon dominate medium range flights for airlines that cannot fill wide bodies on these sectors. If the cabin is properly configured for medium haul flights, it should be quite comfortable. It will also help MH on those routes that are too thin for the A330s.

 

Max 8's featuring the current 738 LCCesque configuration is OK for short ASEAN and domestic flights should also help MH achieve good economics.

 

Clearly, MH is not in SQ's league - haven't they learnt that lesson from their A380 episode? There isn't much point in trying to keep up with the Jones'. People who fly SQ will not bother looking at MH. Even CX has admitted that the Malaysian market is too price sensitive for them - they came to the conclusion that a premium CX service is not required for Malaysian routes. So MH should focus its products to serve a market that is value based rather than prestige based.

[Izanee 0]

Narrowbodies will soon dominate medium range flights for airlines that cannot fill wide bodies on these sectors. If the cabin is properly configured for medium haul flights, it should be quite comfortable. It will also help MH on those routes that are too thin for the A330s.

 

Max 8's featuring the current 738 LCCesque configuration is OK for short ASEAN and domestic flights should also help MH achieve good economics.

 

Clearly, MH is not in SQ's league - haven't they learnt that lesson from their A380 episode? There isn't much point in trying to keep up with the Jones'. People who fly SQ will not bother looking at MH. Even CX has admitted that the Malaysian market is too price sensitive for them - they came to the conclusion that a premium CX service is not required for Malaysian routes. So MH should focus its products to serve a market that is value based rather than prestige based.

Well, it is a big ridiculous for CX - they fly to the rest of ASEAN with their Cathay Pacific brand but Malaysia is singled out for Cathay Dragon. Yes, we are price sensitive but I find it hard to believe that a relatively affluent country (compared to Vietnam, phillipines etc etc) cant sustain a CX service.

Maybe AK was too successful in lowering costs to these current levels? I dont know...

[David.W 0]

AK are the giants in Malaysia

they definitely make a dent on the premium market here