Airline News
MAB mulls premium economy option as fleet shrinks
November 20th 2015
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) is considering the introduction of a premium economy option to attract long-haul business travellers as part of a broader strategy to help it stem years of losses, its chief, Christoph Mueller, said on the sidelines of the AAPA assembly of presidents in Bali last Friday, adding a decision would be made in “a couple of months”. Read More »
“We are very happy with business class demand, and this gives us the opportunity to increase the revenue per passenger in the economy class. The target passenger is in economy class, and you don’t want to cannibalize the business class,” Mueller told Reuters. MAB’s regional competitors Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines both offer premium economy options. Earlier this month, MAB announced a new lie-flat business class product debuting on its A330 fleet from April.
Meanwhile, the fate of the carrier’s A380s remains uncertain. MAB has tried in vain to sell two of its six superjumbos. As such, the two frames have been sitting on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for months now, while the other four are severely underutilized performing the carrier’s double-daily Heathrow services, as well as hajj services to Jeddah.
As for its current 56-strong fleet of leased B737-800s, CAPA has reported MAB plans to reduce this to 35 aircraft only, representing a steep 38% capacity reduction. However, CAPA has suggested “leasing companies view such statements as a threat, or bargaining tactic” to negotiate better terms going forward. However, if MAB’s regional fleet was indeed reduced to 35 aircraft, further domestic and short-haul network cuts are likely.
Since the restructuring began 15 months ago, MAB only decommissioned four aircraft – three B777-200ERs and a B737 – although it reduced its ASKs by 23% during the same period, in addition to shedding approximately 7,000 staff.
Meanwhile, in September, MAB signed a deal with Air Lease Corporation for four A350-900s, plus two options, for delivery in late 2017 and first-half 2018. These are ultimately slated to replace MAB’s ageing B777s on its remaining services to Europe (Amsterdam, Paris), as well as London when and if the controversy over its A380s is settled.
In the interim, Malindo Air, the Malaysian subsidiary of fast-growing Indonesian Lion Group, has been busy applying for traffic rights on routes once served by MAB. As such, Malindo has added Perth, Hong Kong and Colombo to its network, among several other former or reduced MAB destinations.
