During an interview with the media in Singapore, Malaysia Airlines CEO Peter Bellew indicated that the Malaysian national airline was going to place an order for 25 long-haul aircraftto meet international demand, particularly from Asia. The order will enable replace 15 appliances of previous generation andadd capacity with 10 other aircraft. In the running are the new Airbus A350 and A330, as well as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
" We're going to be short of long-haul aircraft in the future, but we will not be offering any additional lines before 2020 or 2021. These devices will arrive at the right time, at the right price and with the ideal configuration. "said the company's CEO to journalists in Singapore.
The airline therefore confirms that it has no intention of returning to long-haul routes other than those it currently serves - London and Australia. On London, his only destination in EuropeMAS will replace its Airbus 380 flight with an Airbus A350 from 2018. According to the company's CEO, this will be the year in which MAS is expected to return to profit and break even in the third or fourth quarter of next year.
In the meantime, the airline has launched several business class promotion campaigns on its routes to Australia and London, in order to attract high-contribution passenger traffic which had deserted the airline after the two dramatic accidents in 2014. On London, MAS's market share has risen from 45% in May to 60% in October.
there will once again be room for direct services between Kuala Lumpur and Europe
Malaysia Airlines should nevertheless remain a minor player on long-haul routes in the future. It is conceivable that the company will not open untilone or two additional destinations in Europe as well as one or two destinations in the United States. "Competition is really intense on direct routes to Europe. But I think there will once again be a place for Malaysia Airlines on direct routes between Kuala Lumpur and Europe. "However, the company's CEO said.
On the other hand, the airline is repositioning itself on the medium-haul network, in order to promote Kuala Lumpur as an Asian hub. The airline has just announced the opening of around ten new routes to China throughout 2017. The airline will open eleven new routes to eight new Chinese destinations (including Chengdu, ChongqingNanjing and Wuhan), opening between December this year and October 2017.
