2023 Aircraft Deliveries to AirAsia & AirAsia X Groups, MAG, Batik Air Malaysia + other 9M Malaysia carriers

[BC Tam 2]

4 hours ago, jahur said:

9M-MAH No longer stopping by BKI anymore. Will be direct all the way to KUL

Overflown Mt K at 43,000 ft - nah, not gonna be serious about making BKI stopover I don't think 😁

[Craig 0]

So it’s about 18 hours or so flying time. Didn’t realize that Victorville is that far inland compared to LA. I always thought it’s about 30 mins or so additional flying time from LAX. I am curious if it’s empty or maybe carried some cargo with it.

[flee 5]

4 hours ago, jahur said:

9M-MAH No longer stopping by BKI anymore. Will be direct all the way to KUL. 

No reasons given but i suspect at VCV on ground the range was limited but halfway they got improved fuel prediction from winds. 

It is now crossing the South China Sea at 43,000 ft

[jahur 0]

34 minutes ago, Craig said:

So it’s about 18 hours or so flying time. Didn’t realize that Victorville is that far inland compared to LA. I always thought it’s about 30 mins or so additional flying time from LAX. I am curious if it’s empty or maybe carried some cargo with it.

No passenger should be very light i see the plane being able to tolerate 18.5hours of flying provided theres no crazy 50knots or more headwind which can cut its flying range by 2hours if theres strong tailwind you can add 2hours on top of that 18.5hours

Edited November 12, 2023 by jahur

[BC Tam 2]

If ever there is a messed up FR24 flight track ..... 😁

 

[Craig 0]

1 hour ago, jahur said:

No passenger should be very light i see the plane being able to tolerate 18.5hours of flying provided theres no crazy 50knots or more headwind which can cut its flying range by 2hours if theres strong tailwind you can add 2hours on top of that 18.5hours

I was surprised when they planned the BKI fuel stop. I thought SQ uses/used the normal 359 for SFO-SIN (but some higher range for LAX-SIN IIRC). 
 

Are they getting the second frame from SK as well? Or maybe 35K for their LHR flights 😬

[jahur 0]

36 minutes ago, Craig said:

I was surprised when they planned the BKI fuel stop. I thought SQ uses/used the normal 359 for SFO-SIN (but some higher range for LAX-SIN IIRC). 
 

Are they getting the second frame from SK as well? Or maybe 35K for their LHR flights 😬

Yea cause the initial prediction and multiple angle probably put it at a limit hence a BKI refuel is added. Like what happens if ATC incaps u at a lower cruising altitude on the majority of the trip or its a headwind mosty trip many variables at play. It is only halfway where i believe the crew found favorable margin that allows them to do the delivery nonstop thanks to higher cruise altitude and favorable winds.

If i am not mistaken the SQ flights nonstop to US are on a350s that can carry 250pax and there's also the 160 seater ULR variant which has a lower operating empty weight and increased maximum take off weight.

There's some info that the airline would get the 2nd frame delivered by march 2024. On the 3rd and 4th frame it is said those are expected to enter the fleet end of next year but the second hand market for the A350 is diminishing so am not sure how MAG would be able to source them by then. Used A350s are highly sought out since 2022.

Edited November 12, 2023 by jahur

[flee 5]

MAB's first Boeing 737-8 Max is on its way home!

https://www.flightradar24.com/MAS5041/

[flee 5]

9M-MVD is now flying customer acceptance flights.

https://aviation.flights/boe/737/66354

[flee 5]

Malaysia Airlines' parent MAG takes delivery of first Boeing 737-8

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2023/11/979104/malaysia-airlines-parent-mag-takes-delivery-first-boeing-737-8

[flee 5]

 

[flee 5]

First leg of MVD's delivery has begun!

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/9MMVD

[flee 5]

9M-MVD arrived safely - there were rumours that the next aircraft (9M-MVB) will depart on 6 Dec.

Not sure where this aircraft is coming from - is it a China NTU? There seems to be a lot of test flights of these 4-5 year old nearly new aircraft...

[jahur 0]

39 minutes ago, flee said:

9M-MVD arrived safely - there were rumours that the next aircraft (9M-MVB) will depart on 6 Dec.

Not sure where this aircraft is coming from - is it a China NTU? There seems to be a lot of test flights of these 4-5 year old nearly new aircraft...

So far none of MH 25 frames will be from China NTU at the moment cant say for the other options it has though. MVB i doubt it can come on 6th more likely mid december to late end of the year.

[flee 5]

First flight of MVB

https://aviation.flights/boe/737/8801

Edited December 5, 2023 by flee

[JuliusWong 0]

18 hours ago, flee said:

9M-MVD arrived safely - there were rumours that the next aircraft (9M-MVB) will depart on 6 Dec.

Not sure where this aircraft is coming from - is it a China NTU? There seems to be a lot of test flights of these 4-5 year old nearly new aircraft...

Malaysia Airlines has stated two years ago they would not be taking any of the China NTU as they are built to each Mainland China airline's specification. Malaysia Airlines prefers their own custom built B737 MAX.

China NTUs (About 140 of them) have mostly reassigned to United, Alaska, Air India Express (55 units), GOL Brasilia and some other smaller airlines.

[JuliusWong 0]

Fleet reassignment within AirAsia Group

1. Airbus A320-216   MSN 5619          HS-CBM     Thai AirAsia     ferried 30 Nov 2023 KUL-CGK after transfer     ex 9M-RCA, formerly AirAsia Malaysia 9M-AQV, AirAsia India VT-SIN
2. Airbus A320-216   MSN 4562          HS-CBL     Thai AirAsia     ferried 23 Nov 2023 KUL-DMK after transfer     ex 9M-RCF, formerly Frontier Airlines N208FR, AirAsia India VT-SXR

Source

Source

Edited December 5, 2023 by JuliusWong

[jahur 0]

1 hour ago, JuliusWong said:

Malaysia Airlines has stated two years ago they would not be taking any of the China NTU as they are built to each Mainland China airline's specification. Malaysia Airlines prefers their own custom built B737 MAX.

All these frames customised by other carriers often brings headache.

Heard for 9M-MAH a lot of stuff the way SAS configures behind the scenes made the plane too redundant for long haul. The good side it has a superior seat product for passengers lol.

Among some of the issues was the misplacement of safety and medical equipment, insufficient dedicated cabin crew seats(airline has to block seats on economy so that the crew can sit on it for take off and landing, Insufficient galley food storage that the aircraft can only serve 1 meal with options and 1 snack course cant serve 2 full meals effectively crossing out potentials for LHR/AKL. Aircraft also seems to have lower Max take off weight.

Similar headaches were also faced by Thai airways with their acquisition for the used a350s. If i am not mistaken SAS 6 hour flights or less are BOB, for long haul its only 1 choice complimentary meals hence they customised the planes with less food storage. These european carriers often simply configured their aircrafts like rojak to save some buck and operates almost no frills like. Same issue when MH took the 6 ex air berlin a330-200. All 6 were differently configured LOL.

Edited December 5, 2023 by jahur

[flee 5]

3 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Malaysia Airlines has stated two years ago they would not be taking any of the China NTU as they are built to each Mainland China airline's specification. Malaysia Airlines prefers their own custom built B737 MAX.

China NTUs (About 140 of them) have mostly reassigned to United, Alaska, Air India Express (55 units), GOL Brasilia and some other smaller airlines.

Do you think these airlines asked Boeing to rework the cabin? With big orders from United and Air India Express, it may be feasible to do the mods to the airline's requirements.

2 hours ago, jahur said:

All these frames customised by other carriers often brings headache.

Heard for 9M-MAH a lot of stuff the way SAS configures behind the scenes made the plane too redundant for long haul. The good side it has a superior seat product for passengers lol.

Among some of the issues was the misplacement of safety and medical equipment, insufficient dedicated cabin crew seats(airline has to block seats on economy so that the crew can sit on it for take off and landing, Insufficient galley food storage that the aircraft can only serve 1 meal with options and 1 snack course cant serve 2 full meals effectively crossing out potentials for LHR/AKL. Aircraft also seems to have lower Max take off weight.

Similar headaches were also faced by Thai airways with their acquisition for the used a350s. If i am not mistaken SAS 6 hour flights or less are BOB, for long haul its only 1 choice complimentary meals hence they customised the planes with less food storage. These european carriers often simply configured their aircrafts like rojak to save some buck and operates almost no frills like. Same issue when MH took the 6 ex air berlin a330-200. All 6 were differently configured LOL.

So it looks like without modification to MH's standard cabin, 9M-MAH will be confined to serving routes up to around 7 hours. So the runs to NRT and MEL are optimal for this aircraft. DOH might be stretching it to its limits.

[jahur 0]

28 minutes ago, flee said:

So it looks like without modification to MH's standard cabin, 9M-MAH will be confined to serving routes up to around 7 hours. So the runs to NRT and MEL are optimal for this aircraft. DOH might be stretching it to its limits.

It can do 8-9hours(which usually is a 1meal with options plus 1 snack/pie type of serving). Full Galley reconfiguration can fix this but judging how cash sensitive MH is they're unlikely to do this. 

As for Thai they're gearing to modify theirs middle of next year. 

[flee 5]

10 minutes ago, jahur said:

It can do 8-9hours(which usually is a 1meal with options plus 1 snack/pie type of serving). Full Galley reconfiguration can fix this but judging how cash sensitive MH is they're unlikely to do this. 

As for Thai they're gearing to modify theirs middle of next year. 

Well if they mod the galley, they will lose pax seating. But if they want to standardise the fleet, they need to do it. I guess it depends on their network requirements. I think it is probably better to get brand new builds if they plan to fly the aircraft to other European cities. Their new build standard is more efficient and can carry higher payloads too.

[jahur 0]

42 minutes ago, flee said:

Well if they mod the galley, they will lose pax seating. But if they want to standardise the fleet, they need to do it. I guess it depends on their network requirements. I think it is probably better to get brand new builds if they plan to fly the aircraft to other European cities. Their new build standard is more efficient and can carry higher payloads too.

Unlikely to lose seats as the galley just needs some more storage to hold food but this also takes up a huge bill.

As for new builds if they are to source them it will only enter the fleet in 2026 tops. Thats how long the waiting list is nowadays.

[Craig 0]

On 12/5/2023 at 5:25 PM, jahur said:

Heard for 9M-MAH a lot of stuff the way SAS configures behind the scenes made the plane too redundant for long haul. The good side it has a superior seat product for passengers lol.

Among some of the issues was the misplacement of safety and medical equipment, insufficient dedicated cabin crew seats(airline has to block seats on economy so that the crew can sit on it for take off and landing, Insufficient galley food storage that the aircraft can only serve 1 meal with options and 1 snack course cant serve 2 full meals effectively crossing out potentials for LHR/AKL. Aircraft also seems to have lower Max take off weight.

I thought the 350s weren't planned for AKL? Seeing how MH hasn't announced any new long-haul flights for Summer 2024, I guess it's safe to assume that they won't be launching new European destinations in 2024. I guess 9M-MAB-G will work for LHR and the rare AKL swap. Question is, if they have to swap one of the frames out, how will they handle passenger downgrades from F to J.

I think most people care about the seat more than the second meal. Seat is visual where as meal isn't as visual when you look for comfort. But of course, MH being an Asian airline serves a full second meal for flights >10h. Now that you mention it, I don't recall being served a second hot meal on SK flights. It was usually some cold cuts or sandwich (which in their defense was quite good). Their eastbound redeye usually consist of a hot meal after take off and a continental breakfast or some eggs dish were offered prior to landing. SK flights rarely exceed 10 hours - their longest flight is probably LAX/SFO/TYO. I do recall seeing crew sitting in Economy for take off/landing/rest, but I am not 100% positive if it was SK.

[JuliusWong 0]

13 hours ago, Craig said:

I thought the 350s weren't planned for AKL? Seeing how MH hasn't announced any new long-haul flights for Summer 2024, I guess it's safe to assume that they won't be launching new European destinations in 2024. I guess 9M-MAB-G will work for LHR and the rare AKL swap. Question is, if they have to swap one of the frames out, how will they handle passenger downgrades from F to J.

Actually MH does not offer F class as per se, since they have rebranded the previous F class to Business Suite. To "downgrade" four pax from Suite to J class shouldn't be too difficult though. The best solution would be not rotate MAH into LHR route. Not to stray off the topic thread too much, as mentioned in another thread MH is considering returning to CDG/AMS in 2025/2026 subject to government approval. 

[JuliusWong 0]

On 12/5/2023 at 8:19 PM, jahur said:

It can do 8-9hours(which usually is a 1meal with options plus 1 snack/pie type of serving). Full Galley reconfiguration can fix this but judging how cash sensitive MH is they're unlikely to do this. 

As for Thai they're gearing to modify theirs middle of next year. 

Great details on 9M-MAH interior. Interesting to note European and majority of airlines would skimp on the interior fittings to save some money on fuel and probably weight. Unlike SQ they usually go all out with best equipment and fully fitted out their fleet to do any mission without the hassle or headache.

8-9 hours would be just nice for AKL, plus one hour. The queue for OEM equipment is quite long now though, MH has been cash positive for last few quarters, hope they will invest some money in bringing their fleet to standard configuration since all their current A350s and A330-300s are slated for reconfiguration once the A330neo delivery begins. Lead time 18-24 months fits in OEM timeline now. By then the B737-800NG reconfiguration will be nearing completion or would have completed. 

By 2024/2025, MH fleet will roughly look like:

1. A330-200 = 6 (some will be withdrawn from service once A330neo delivery commences)
2. A330-300 = 15 (some will be withdrawn from service once A330neo delivery commences)
3. A330-900 = 5 
4. A350-900 = 7 (assuming MH does not take 8th airframe)
5. B737-800 = 39 (number will further decrease with more MAX 8 delivery)
6. B737 MAX 8 = 10 (assuming Boeing delivers consistently)

By 2028, widebody will be 55. Narrow body will be around the same.

1. A330-900 = 40 (assuming MH exercises all 20 options)
2. A350-900 = 7 (assuming MH does not take 8th airframe)

This leaves room for eight additional widebody.

1. B737-800 = 15
2. B737 MAX 8 = 25
3. B737 MAX 10/ A321neo = 20 (assuming they can secure the slots, otherwise it will be pushed back to 2030)

55 widebody + 60 narrowbody is possible fleet set-up by end of the decade.