Paul Lewis/LANGKAWI
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has reiterated that it is still interested in launching the proposed ultra-long-haul Boeing 777-200X, but in the wake of the recent slowdown in the programme, the carrier is warning that there is a limit to its patience.
In March, the Malaysian carrier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help launch the new 777 by purchasing up to 15 of the -200X twinjets, in addition to its earlier order for 11 -200IGWs and four stretch -300s. Boeing has still to launch the aircraft and recently put all further product development on hold for 90 days.
MAS commercial director Bashir Ahmad warns: "Boeing can't depend on one launch customer-.we can wait, but we cannot wait for ever." He adds: "Airbus Industrie has also given us a proposal on the A340-500/600, but we've not signed any MoU."
The airline needs the 15,900km (8,600nm)-range aircraft to take advantage of a recently concluded open-skies agreement with the USA to open new routes from Kuala Lumpur to New York, San Francisco and possibly Miami, as well as operate non-stop to Los Angeles. MAS' existing transpacific services are forced to stop en route at either Tokyo or Taipei.
Bashir adds that an aircraft with the 777-200X's performance would also prove useful on its Kuala Lumpur-Johannesburg-Buenos Aires route. The airline has been operating the larger capacity Boeing 747-400 on the route since the withdrawal in March of the last of three Boeing MD-11s leased from World Airways.
MAS is also planning to sell two General Electric CF6-80-powered 747-400s, two -400 Combis and a single Pratt & Whitney JT9D-powered -300 Combi. It wants to standardise its 747 fleet around 19 PW4056-powered -400 passenger aircraft and two Rolls-Royce RB.211-524-equipped -200 freighters by 2000/1.
Two leased Airbus A330-300s are to be returned to International Lease Finance at the end of 1998 and 1999 respectively, but contrary to rumours, the airline says that it has no plans to sell its ten remaining twinjets in the near term. "When you have ten aircraft, it is easy to scale operations, and so it all depends on how our routes develop and capacity grows," says Bashir.
While MAS' new 777s have been replacing the A330 on some Australian routes, the Airbus aircraft are in turn replacing many MAS 737s on shorter Asian sectors. The airline plans to cut the size of its 737 fleet to 36 -300/400s.
Source: Flight International
