MH CEO comments - aircraft acquisitions, bundled fares & other topics

[dajop]

I can think of at least one market, that the 737's are inadequate for, KUL-BOM. They probably need higher capacity in Y to sell more seats up the back, and a better product in J than coughpy recliner seats with the redeye overnight coming back. Some of the Chinese markets they are opening up could probably also benefit from higher capacity.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Some of the OMAAT comments noted India and China, as well as the previous retirement of their 777s (those routes downgraded to B737 could benefit from upgauge to A330), and plans to return to BNE and increase flights to PER.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I dunno where they see a massive increase in traffic for China coming from. Perhaps connecting traffic.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Malaysia Airlines will fly ex-Airberlin A330s to Auckland - Australian Business Traveller

Malaysia Airlines plans to fly the first of its six Airbus A330-200 jets – formerly leased to Airberlin – between Auckland and Kuala Lumpur in early 2018.

The Malaysian flag-carrier will retain Airberlin's original seating (shown below) rather than fit its latest A330 business class seats, although materials such as seat covers will be changed to remove the German airline's branding.

A spokesman for Malaysia Airlines told Australian Business Traveller that there were no plans to use the Airberlin A330-200 jets to recommence flights to Brisbane, as the airline wanted to offer the same A330-300 business class on all Australian routes.

 

[dairyfloss]

I can think of at least one market, that the 737's are inadequate for, KUL-BOM. They probably need higher capacity in Y to sell more seats up the back, and a better product in J than coughpy recliner seats with the redeye overnight coming back. Some of the Chinese markets they are opening up could probably also benefit from higher capacity.

You can add KUL<>BLR to the list, as well...

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Malaysia Airlines details Airbus A350 first class suites - Australian Business Traveller

Malaysia Airlines will outfit its Airbus A350 first class cabin with privacy doors with the aim of turning the seats into suites.

CEO Peter Bellew confirmed the design to Australian Business Traveller, detailing that the seats "will have sliding doors for privacy," adding to the seclusion of the single-row cabin of just four seats.

Those seats will be "a very highly customised version" of the Vantage XL design from Thompson Aero Seating, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed, including a massive 24" video screen

Malaysia Airlines' first Airbus A350 is due for delivery in November, with a second to follow in December, in order to allow the advanced jets to take over the daily Kuala Lumpur-London Airbus A380 flights MH3/MH4 by mid-January 2018.

Australian Business Traveller understands that two more A350s will arrive by March 2018, at which time the flagship MH1/MH2 flight would also be swapped from the double-decker superjumbo to the fuel-efficient A350.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Farewell Bellew ...

Ouch: Malaysia Airlines CEO Quits, Moves To Ryanair - One Mile at a Time

In May 2015, Christoph Mueller was hired as Malaysia Airlines’ CEO, tasked with turning the airline around after the had two major crashes and was in a terrible financial situation. Just over a year later, in June 2016, he quit suddenly. Shortly after the announcement it was revealed that Mueller would be moving to Emirates, where he’s the chief transformation officer.

At Malaysia Airlines, Mueller was replaced by Peter Bellew, who was Malaysia’s chief operating officer under Mueller. Well, just a bit over a year after taking the job, he has quit as well. Peter Bellew has stepped down as CEO of Malaysia Airlines, and will work for Ryanair, where he’ll be the chief operations officer. Even more interesting, the announcement was made by Ryanair rather than Malaysia, as it seems that his former employer had no clue he was quitting.

Two Malaysia Airlines CEOs have quit just a bit over a year after taking the job, and both have taken pretty significant job title “downgrades.”

Malaysia Airlines takes note of CEO’s ‘unexpected’ departure, says operations to continue - Malay Mail Online

The statement pointed out that during a press conference on September 27, Bellew had expressed his commitment to Malaysia Airlines when asked to comment on speculation that he would re-join Ryanair.

Bellew had reportedly said that he was happy to be in Malaysia and that the turnaround of Malaysia Airlines would be “the greatest achievement of my life”.

Bellew explains why he is leaving Malaysia Airlines to return to Ryanair - The Star Online

When I was asked on 27th Sept would I go to Ryanair I said “No”.

But a week later the call came and in life we can really never say never. I am looking forward to being close again to my family and friends 14 hours away in Ireland."

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Malaysia Airlines Appoints Veteran Employee (And Pilot) As New CEO - One Mile at a Time

Often it takes a while for an airline to find a new CEO, especially when the resignation of the previous one comes as a surprise. Well, it didn’t take long for Malaysia Airlines, as the airline has already found a new CEO.

Captain Izham Ismail will become Malaysia Airlines’ executive director and group chief executive officer with immediate effect. Captain Izham has been at Malaysia Airlines for 38 years and started his career as a pilot for the airline. Most recently he was Malaysia’s chief operating officer.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Malaysia Airlines is bringing its Airbus A380s back to London - Australian Business Traveller

Malaysia Airlines puts Amsterdam A350 plans on ice - Australian Business Traveller

Neither article includes quotes from CEO Ismail and one suspects that he will not have much public profile.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

A market tidbit from CAPA:-

Malaysia’s aviation market has grown by 50% over the past five years – from 50 million passengers in 2012 to 75 million passengers in 2017. And this in turn follows a decade of remarkable growth. The early 2013 launch and subsequent rapid expansion of the Lion Group affiliate Malindo Air has been a key driver of recent traffic increases, accounting for seven of the additional 25 million annual passengers.

Market leader AirAsia also has continued to expand, adding 13 million annual passengers, which includes 3 million for the long haul LCC AirAsia X. The Malaysia Airlines Group grew significantly in 2013 but subsequent reductions have since offset these gains.

The Malaysia Airline Group’s market share has dropped from 35% in 2013 to only 22% in 2017. A further decline in 2018 is likely as once again Malindo, AirAsia and AirAsia X will grow faster than the flag carrier. The overall Malaysian market should grow in the high single digits in 2018, representing a slight slowdown compared to the 10% achieved in 2017.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Malaysia Airlines' continued Australian growth, global plans - Australian Business Traveller

Chief Commercial Officer Arved Von Zur Muehlen comments including:-

• Malaysia Airlines resumes Brisbane flights - “I think ideally, (Brisbane is) five days or even daily, so we’ll see how it goes.”
• More Airbus A380 flights for Australia? - “Where we see quite strong bookings, such as for Sydney and London, we’re a bit flexible in how these aircraft are used, although the A380s are mainly great for supporting routes in peak seasons.”
• Melbourne - “It depends on slots, timing and market demands, and then we make that decision: and right now, Melbourne is double daily, but we want to have 17 flights per week later this year, using the A330s (not the A380s).”
• Canberra - “we always look for new markets and new destinations, but quite honestly, Canberra, I would not see on our roadmap in the near future.”
• Perth - “Our plan is still to move Perth to an Airbus A330 on flights from Kuala Lumpur ... It's just a question of timing on when we are going to do that, and then we’ll see if it's an A330-200 or an A330-300.”
• Inflight WiFi takes to the skies - “These planes right now are in testing – the hardware is already there, and the plan is to fly one of these aircraft to Auckland, but the question is whether we activate (the WiFi system) or not, because you need to activate it for the whole fleet, not only one aircraft.”
• New Malaysia Airlines lounges for London - “We’re looking at the furniture, looking at the carpets, these kind of things, but the layout will not change dramatically. We will work on the food concept though, because we feel the food is such an important part of the Malaysian Hospitality (MH), to introduce more live cooking.”