Addendum
Counter intuitive Bellew strikes again
June 1st 2017
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) group managing director and CEO, Peter Bellew, is bucking the industry trend by including a four-seat first class in the airline’s new A350s. Read More » He also has decided, again against current industry practice, that MAB will not have premium economy on the new Airbus jets.
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Bellew told Orient Aviation in May that the first class cabin would be smaller than the eight suites on each of its six A380s, but that the airline had more demand than four seats right now. “It is actually not enough,” he said.
Instead, MAB will install 25 extra leg room seats in economy that can be bought as an ancillary add-on. They will have a 36-inch seat pitch and will be sold as XL in size.
“We believe premium economy will damage our business class revenue in a very negative way,” Bellew said, and added “the carrier will be creating a world class business product in the next 12 months and that needs a very sharp focus’’.
MAB is evaluating a 25-30 wide body order. It is assessing the A330neo, the A350 and the B787-9. “We do not have an attractive enough offer yet. We are waiting for a good offer from the manufacturers,” Bellew said.
