Malaysia’s national flag carrier said it had placed firm orders for 25 Boeing 737 MAX jets and had purchase rights for another 25.
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The operator also has options for 25 more, with the combined deal valued at $5.5 billion including the options, the airline said in a statement Wednesday.
Oh, yeah, because taking off vertically in a Boeing 737 MAX is such a possibility for most of us.
“This deal is a game-changer for Malaysia Airlines with much lower costs and greater efficiency which we will pass on to our loyal customers with lower fares”, says chief executive Peter Bellew.
Malaysia Airlines now operates 56 Boeing 737-800s as well as smaller numbers of Airbus aircraft. Passenger confidence in the carrier, now fully owned by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd., took a dive two years ago after Flight MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014 and another was shot down over Ukraine four months later. Bellew was appointed after the airline’s group managing director and CEO, Christoph Mueller announced his decision to step down.
The company expects to be profitable in 2018.
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Its focus, however, is on the Asian market and narrowbody planes like the 737, which are used on short-haul routes of up to five hours, will help with that. “This new aircraft order will set the stage for our continued recovery and success into the next decade”, said Bellew.
