Bellew: MAS trying to land best deal
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS) is looking to buy up to 30 new Airbus A330neo or Boeing 787 jets, with representatives of both aircraft manufacturers courting the national carrier over a sale worth as high as US$7 billion (RM30.1 billion) based on list prices.
The order could be preceded by lease agreements for up to a dozen used A330 or Boeing 777 jets, according to a report by Australian Business Traveller.
“It’s going well, we have a very good offer, but the prices aren’t good enough yet — we still think there’s more work to be done on that,” MAS chief executive officer Peter Bellew told the Australian portal during a briefing in Sydney.
Bellew said MAS was in active negotiations with both Airbus and Boeing to get a good deal.
He hoped to visit Brisbane Airport to begin preliminary discussions about restarting flights to Brisbane.
The report said the delivery schedules of the planes were also included in the discussion, as the airline intended for about 15 new jets to replace older aircraft in the fleet, with the rest earmarked for expansion.
Meanwhile, MAS was casting around for the lease of up to a dozen used A330 or Boeing 777 aircraft, some of which would be used to resume flights between Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur, as well as to add new routes into secondary Chinese cities.
It was also reported that the airline would be upgrading planes for popular routes such as India, Bali and Hong Kong from the current Boeing 737.
The Australian portal said MAS would also take delivery of 10 new Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets, which would have new fully-flat business-class seats with direct aisle access supplied by Thompson Aero, from 2021.