Malaysia Airlines Has To Wait Longer For Its A380

Malaysia Airlines and its parent company, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad (PMB), have been advised that the delivery of the six Airbus A380 aircraft will be delayed by an average of six months, similar to the revised deliveries for all launch customer airlines of the aircraft.

In a recent letter to PMB and Malaysia Airlines, Airbus confirmed that the first A380-800 aircraft will be delivered in July 2007 instead of January 2007 and the last (sixth) aircraft will be delivered in May 2009.

Airbus also confirmed that it will continue to review the revised schedule for opportunities to slightly advance the delivery of some of the ordered aircraft.

PMB and Malaysia Airlines will discuss further with Airbus to firm up the new delivery dates and in the meantime continue to observe all Airbus requirements to ensure that the new delivery deadlines are met.

"We are naturally disappointed with this delay. We are considering our options on this matter, but will continue to engage with Airbus to ensure that any inconvenience to our customers and financial impact to the airline are minimized," said Malaysia Airlines Executive Director Tengku Azmil Zahruddin.

Contingency options, if necessary, will be also activated to minimize the impact of the delayed delivery on the airline’s operations. The contingency plans, amongst others, include reappraising the aircraft deployment for existing and future routes as well as the weekly frequencies.

Meanwhile, PMB and Malaysia Airlines will discuss with Airbus on the compensation for the delayed delivery.

On a positive note, Malaysia Airlines will take advantage of the revised delivery timings to further enhance and fine-tune its overall readiness to operate this aircraft by mid-2007.

On 10 Jan 2003, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad (PMB), the holding company of Malaysia Airlines, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus to acquire six Airbus A380-800 passenger aircraft for delivery scheduled to commence in 2007. This was ratified on 11 Dec 2003 when PMB signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for this acquisition. On 10 Dec 2004 Malaysia Airlines and PMB agreed to the selection of Rolls Royce Trent 900 Engines for the six Airbus A380 aircraft.

FMI: www.malaysiaairlines.com, www.airbus.com