In years gone by, Malaysia Airlines had a much larger and much more diverse fleet of aircraft.
Indeed, the airline had once operated the Boeing 747 and, more recently, the Airbus A380.
Unfortunately for fans of those large jets, the airline has reduced its fleet size in
recent years. On the plus side, Malaysia Airlines and its fleet of twinjets operate with greater
efficiency with lower operating costs - an important characteristic for the post-COVID
world. Today, we examine the 2022 fleet of Southeast Asian carrier Malaysia Airlines.
Let's first take a look at the composition of the airline's fleet as a whole.
It should be noted that Malaysia Airlines is part of the larger Malaysia Aviation
Group - an entity that also includes subsidiaries MASwings and Firefly.
In this video, however, we will only look at the mainline carrier, Malaysia Airlines.
The aircraft types in this mainline fleet are as follows:
Nine Airbus A330-200s (this includes three Airbus A330-200 freighters for
cargo operations) 15 Airbus A330-300s
Six Airbus A350-900s and 44 Boeing 737-800s
It should also be noted that the carrier technically still owns six Airbus A380-800s.
While these quadjets have gone up for sale, they remain unsold and are under the care of
the airline. This is something we will cover in a later section of the video.
With 44 Boeing 737-800s operated by Malaysia Airlines, the type is truly the carrier's short
and medium-haul workhorse. The average age for this fleet at the time of producing this
video is exactly, with the airline already having retired or removed 18 of the type.
Comparing numbers with our 2021 report on the carrier's fleet,
we can see that Malaysia Airlines recently removed four 737-800s from its fleet. These
jets were re-allocated to Malaysia Aviation Group's low-cost subsidiary, Firefly.
In July 2022, Malaysia Airlines unveiled its first upgraded Boeing 737-800 Next Generation cabin.
Part of an ambitious renewal program, the carrier will be refreshing all units
of the model with updated interiors with a completion goal of mid-2023.
The refurbishment is the result of an in-depth analysis of pre-pandemic demand trends along
with customer feedback and recommendations. Indeed, Malaysia Airlines launched focus groups
and surveys to better understand customer needs - especially with regards to the short-haul sector.
Sustainability and efficiency is the focus of the refreshed cabins, with the airline boasting
slimmer and lighter seats. Whether you have a seat in domestic business or standard economy,
your experience will not include a seatback inflight entertainment system. Instead, passengers
can find entertainment through the airline's MHStudio service via their personal devices.
This wireless streaming service offers access to local and international movies
and show. Passengers can keep their personal devices charged with access
to in-seat power - which sees both USB type A and C power outlets.
When it comes to its widebodies used for medium and long-haul services, Malaysia Airlines relies
on a fleet of older Airbus A330-200s and -300s, as well as the newer A350-900. The six passenger
A330-200s were all acquired in 2018 but range between 12 and 18 years of age. Meanwhile,
the airline's A330-300s are slightly younger and range between eight and 12 years.
The carrier's flagship aircraft type is the Airbus A350-900. This type was introduced to
the fleet at the end of 2017, with its most recent A350 being delivered in July 2018.
At the moment, these jets range between four and five years of age.
If we examine the destinations served by the carrier, we can see that the 737-800 is used
both domestically and internationally. One of the airline's busiest 737-800 routes is the popular
Kulala Lumpur-Penang corridor, which now sees up to seven flights daily, all using the 737.
Internationally, the type also connects the capital Kuala Lumpur and Penang with Singapore,
with Kuala Lumpur-Singapore being one of the busiest international routes in the world.
You'll also find the narrowbody type flying out of Kuala Lumpur to various cities in India,
as well as to Australia, Hong Kong, The Philippines, and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the airline's A330s are also deployed on some of the same routes utilizing the 737.
This is due to the high volume of travel on rather short services, with the one-hour service between
Kuala Lumpur and Singapore being a prime example. Indeed, FlightRadar24.com data shows that there
are eight weekly A330 services between these two cities, with a mix of both the -200 and -300.
Going slightly further but still short-haul, the carrier uses the A330 for daily services
between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta - a flight that is less than two hours in duration.
With the exception of Perth, the airline's A330s are heavily used for services to
Australian cities like Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. The type is also
heavily featured on services to the Middle East as well as various East Asian countries.
Interestingly, this leaves the A350 with very few routes to operate - which makes sense with how
few of these aircraft are in service with Malaysia Airlines. At the time of this video’s production,
it looks like the airline really only flies the A350 to London and Tokyo.
It was only recently that Malaysia Airlines announced the selection of
the Airbus A330neo for its fleet renewal program. Made public in mid-August 2022,
the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for 20 A330-900s.
The future aircraft are a natural replacement for Malaysia Airlines' older widebodies, as the
majority of its operations utilize the A330-200 and -300. Interestingly, despite operating the
shorter A330-200, Malaysia Airlines has gone "all-in" on the longer A330neo variant, the -900.
The -200's direct replacement, the A330-800 has proven to be rather
unpopular in the commercial aviation industry, as airlines opt for the larger capacity -900.
The average age of the 737 fleet is now 10 years. Thus, replacements won’t be
needed anytime soon. However, when the time comes to modernize this part of the fleet,
Malaysia Airlines won’t be going in the same direction as KLM and Qantas,
who have decided to replace their fleets of Boeing 737NGs with A320neo Family aircraft.
Instead Malaysia Airlines has struck a deal with Air Lease Corporation (ALC)
to secure 25 new Boeing 737 MAX 8s under long-term lease.
This deal will see aircraft begin arriving at the airline in 2023 through early 2026
While still technically under the care of Malaysia Airlines,
the carrier's six Airbus A380 superjumbos are no longer in service with the carrier.
Indeed, the jets went up for sale in July of 2021 but have yet to find new homes.
As we noted last year, the airline took a slightly unconventional approach, opening
the tender process via its LinkedIn channel for anyone hoping for a good deal on the type.
As we reported in August 2022, all six A380s have been undertaking regular "flights to nowhere",
approximately once every three months. These regular, short flights keep the jets operational
and in good working order. This routine activity prevents the need for costly return-to-service
maintenance and allows any future owner to put the jets into service immediately.
These six aircraft have an average age of around 10 years and joined the fleet over the
course of 2012 and 2013. Malaysia Airlines had the pleasure of taking delivery of Airbus' 100th A380.
Registered as 9M-MNF, the aircraft had a special livery to recognize its special status.
While Qatar Airways' chief Akbar Al Baker publicly told Simple Flying that
purchasing the Airbus A380 was one of the airline's biggest mistakes,
the leadership at Malaysia Airlines defends their own decision to operate the superjumbo.
Speaking at a virtual airshow in April 2022, Group Chief Operations Officer Ahmad Luqman
Mohd Azmi said that purchasing the Airbus A380 was the right decision at the time:
“[W]e were trying to solve a slot issue. There were a lot of constrained airports out there
in the world, so because we didn’t get the slots we always wanted, we needed the A380
aircraft to solve that problem...It was a good decision then, but now as we have discussed,
with the huge fuel increases, not so much. In our case, we don't have many A380s, just six aircraft
out of the hundreds that we have. It's not really a main fleet for us to really hold on to.”
From an avgeek perspective, the Malaysia Airlines fleet is perhaps far less exciting than it used
to be: The Boeing 747s are long gone and the Airbus A380s are parked and waiting to be sold.
However, the simplified fleet of efficient twinjets will go a long
way (literally and figuratively speaking) in helping the carrier recover financially.
Indeed, it was nearly three years ago that the carrier reported needing some US$5 billion
to stay afloat. Operating efficient twinjets, along with the removal of travel restrictions,
should help greatly with this. Now, if only the airline could find a buyer for its A380s...
Have you ever flown with Malaysia Airlines? Which
aircraft have you flown on? Let us know by leaving a comment.