KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) will announce its second batch of new narrowbody aircraft orders on Friday, March 21.
It is believed that the aviation group had set its eyes on a combination of up to 25 Boeing 737 MAX family aircraft, most likely the MAX 8 and MAX 10.
Business Times learnt that the group is considering offering luxurious cabin configuration with lie-flat Business Class seats on its new single-aisle fleet, similar to what is being offered by Singapore Airlines, flydubai and America's United Airlines.
The new aircraft would be part of MAG's fleet renewal programme.
When asked about potential aircraft delivery delays from Boeing, sources said that the earliest delivery for any new planes would be from 2031 onwards.
"In any case, the earliest delivery for any new (aircraft) order now is 2031 onwards for both Boeing and Airbus," the sources said.
Earlier today (March 18), MAG had sent out a media invitation for the official announcement for the replacement of its narrowbody aircraft.
The event will be attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The second batch of the new aircraft order was supposed to be announced in 2024.
However, MAG's managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail told Business Times in an interview last year that the group had to review its network again due to global external changes.
MAG, who was then Malaysia Airlines Bhd, had ordered 25 B737 MAX 8 in 2016 as part of its first batch of new narrowbody orders.
The group received its first B737 MAX 8 on 16 Nov 2023 after a series of delays by Boeing.
MAG said in a statement on Nov 16, 2023, that the delivery of all of its B737 MAX 8 will be progressively through to 2026.
Since after the pandemic, the American aircraft manufacturing giant has faced several challenges including supply chain issues and a seven-week factory workers' strike which halted the production of its best-selling B737 family airplanes.
However, in early Dec 2024, Boeing announced that it had resumed production of the B737 airplanes.
Ch-aviation reported that currently, Boeing has an outstanding order of 6,211 airplanes worldwide, including nine Boeing Business Jets.
It added that the most in-demand aircraft type is the B737-8 with 2,667 planes on order, followed by B737-10 with 1,219 orders, B787-9 with 619 orders, B777-9 with 383 orders and B737-7 with 331 orders.
"The Boeing Company is facing delays in aircraft deliveries due to supply chain disruptions and production challenges, and these issues have impacted delivery schedules, leading to extended timelines for many customers," ch-aviation said.
According to ch-aviation, the top 15 airlines with the largest Boeing orders by the number of aircraft ordered are Southwest Airlines (484 aircraft on order), United Airlines (451), Emirates (248), Lion Air (229), Akasa Air (199), Ryanair (185), American Airlines (175), flydubai (157), VietJetAir (150), Air India Express (149), Qatar Airways (130), SpiceJet (129), Delta Air Lines (100), Pegasus Airlines (100) and GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes with 80 orders.
Boeing on Jan 28 announced that it had delivered 348 commercial airplanes in the full year 2024 which clinched in revenue of US$22,861 billion.
