Malindo Air Part 2: new all economy 737 MAX fleet results in more direct competition with AirAsia

Malaysia's Malindo Air will be able to compete better against AirAsia and other LCCs as the Lion Group affiliate starts to deploy its new fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8s on routes with limited premium demand. Malindo plans to take four 737 MAX 8s by the end of Jun-2017 and use the new type on routes of three to seven hours to South Asia and China.

Most of Malindo's 737 MAX routes are highly competitive and are served by rival AirAsia. The new aircraft, with its dense all economy configuration and improved fuel efficiency, should enable Malindo to reduce its already low unit costs significantly, resulting in improved profitability in several markets.

This is the second half of a two part analysis report on Malindo and its new fleet of 737 MAX aircraft. The first half focused on Malindo's emergence as the 737 MAX launch operator, with its decision to use all economy aircraft and a 31in pitch without IFE, in contrast to its two class aircraft with 32in pitch and IFE on its existing 737-800/900ER fleet.