MAS & Airbus sign MoU for orders of up to 25 A330-300s

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Airbus signed (22-Dec-2009) an MoU covering the order of 15 A330-300 and purchase options for another ten. The total cost of the 25 aircraft is USD5 billion at list prices. The aircraft, to be delivered from 2011 to 2016, will serve its growing markets of South Asia, China, North Asia, Australia and the Middle East. Malaysia Airlines expects to gain annual operating savings of USD87.3 million, once all 15 A330 aircraft are delivered. [more]

Malaysia Airlines: "The A330 will complement our incoming fleet of six A380s and 35 B737-800s. The new fleet will create a strong platform for us to profitably grow - the A380 will serve key long haul destinations such as London and Sydney, the A330 for medium haul markets, while the B737-800 will be used to strengthen our domestic and regional routes. By 2016, all the aircraft we have ordered will be in. Our strategy is to transform from a 100% leased fleet to owning at least a third of the aircraft in our core fleet. We will fund the purchases through a combination of a proposed rights issue and borrowings. This will give us the flexibility to refresh the aircraft on a needs basis to provide our customers with the latest product," Azmil Zahruddin, CEO/Managing Director. Source: Malaysia Airlines, 22-Dec-2009.

Malaysia Airlines also entered (22-Dec-2009) into two agreements with stakeholder, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad (PMB) to take over its aircraft orders:

• Novation agreement with Airbus and PMB, and letter agreement with PMB for the acquisition of six undelivered A380 aircraft. MAS is expected to receive one A380 monthly, beginning in Aug-2011. Deliveries are expected to be completed by Jan-2012;
• Supplemental lease agreement with PMB for the revision of the existing operating lease rentals for two B777s and two B747s payable to PMB, for a total consideration of about USD928 million. [more - Maybank Investment Bank Berhad] [more - MAS]