Malaysia Airlines Welcomes New A350

Malaysia Airlines has secured another Airbus A350-900 as part of its commitment to widebody flying.

Malaysia Secures 7th A350-900

The Malaysian-based carrier has acquired its seventh A350-900 from Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).

This unit was previously registered as SE-RSB and delivered to SAS only in February of 2020 and was ferried from Toulouse (TLS) to Copenhagen (CPH).

However, this aircraft would ultimately be stored towards the backend of 2022 before being acquired by JP Lease (JLPS) and deployed to Malaysia Airlines.

Upon acquisition by Malaysia, it was ferried from Victorville (VCV) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL).

Malaysia Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 in 2017 and became the 17th airline to operate the widebody.

At the time, Malaysia Airlines wanted to deploy the aircraft on service within Asia. However, additionally, it would view the A350s for the long-term to be sent to more long-haul destinations.

The expectation is the newly acquired A350 from SAS will begin flying in December when it’ll be deployed down south to Australia.

What Happened To SAS?

SAS faced significant financial woes recently and, as a result, had to reduce areas of its business to cut costs radically.

As a result of these cost-cutting measures, the fleet was inspected under a fine microscope. Airbus A350s and A330s were put on the chopping board as the airline fought to try and emerge more sustainably.

More Airbus A350s On The Way?

New Strait Times reports Malaysia Airlines Group is elevating the A350 series from this latest commitment to a seventh aircraft.

When speaking to Business Times, the MAG Group Managing Director said a verdict could come in the first quarter of 2024.

As the company looks to advance its fleet and introduce more fuel-efficient aircraft, the A350 is the centre of attention.

The Fleet

Malaysia Airlines operates a fleet of 67 in-service aircraft, per the latest data from planespotters.net.

The company heavily relies on the services of the 737 series for its narrowbody operations, with 41 in-service.

However, its widebody operations are where massive streamlining has occurred recently, especially following the global pandemic.

Malaysian now flies 7 A330-200s and 14 A330-300s as part of its widebody fleet. These aircraft are alongside now seven A350-900s. Planespotters.net data shows five are in-service, with two being stored.

Included in the two units in storage is the newest acquisition, awaiting to begin scheduled passenger flights from December of 2023.

Notably, the airline said goodbye to its fleet of Airbus A380s during the height of the global pandemic. This came following a review that deemed this surplus to requirements and not efficient to operate.