Malaysia Airlines to phase out A380s, say reports
Malaysia Airlines reportedly plans to phase out its entire fleet of Airbus A380s in a move to cut longhaul capacity and concentrate on regional routes.
Although the airline has yet to confirm it, media reports say it will either sell or lease its six A380 aircraft as part of comprehensive cost cutting measures following heavy losses.
MAS said that ‘exploring fleet options to enhance viability of long haul sectors is one area being looked into’.
It is also reportedly looking to offload some of its Boeing 777-200ERs and Airbus A330-200 planes.
Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah, which took control of MAS, said last year it would likely cut its fleet size once a full review of its route network had been completed.
Comprehensive cost-cutting plans also include the laying off of up to 6,000 of its workforce after suffering two major air disasters in 2014.
Meanwhile Airbus said any decision by MAS to offload its A380s would not affect the plane maker’s future order book.
Airbus chief financial officer Harald Wilhelm called the move ‘a fleet-planning decision by a customer that would not impact our campaigns’ for more orders.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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