Malaysia Airlines’ (MAB) chief executive Christoph Mueller revealed the carrier has delayed its plan to offload two of its Airbus A380s.
This is good news for customers as the A380 offers a superior passenger experience, for example, it is the only aircraft in the fleet to offer a lie-flat product.
The Oneworld carrier currently operates six superjumbos, but last year announced its intention to sell two of them in order to cut costs and restructure its struggling business.
MAB subsequently announced it would downsize its European presence by axing flights to Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris Charles de Gaulle. Instead, these destinations would be served by a codeshare with Emirates (see here), further diminishing the demand for its A380s which predominantly serve long-haul routes.
However, speaking to Reuters ahead of the Singapore Airshow, the airline’s chief stated that due to the accelerated retirement of its ageing B777-200 fleet, the A380s have been given a new lease on life.
“We need them for the long haul market,” said Mueller. “We are still evaluating what we want to do with the A380. We have six and we will keep them at least until 2018, when we get the first A350,” he added.
The A350 is due to be delivered in Q4, 2017 and will be operated on the airline’s medium-haul routes within Asia-Pacific.
MAB is also looking into the possibility of exercising its option for leasing two more A350s to add to the four that it currently has on order.
For more information, visit malaysiaairlines.com
