So, it intends to lease a dozen second-hand wide-bodied aircraft from now till the end of 2019 to serve nine key routes across Asia.
The airline shrunk its route network after being hit by two major air disasters in 2014 but is now beginning to expand again.
MAS currently operates 77 jets. The first of its orders for new planes is expected to arrive at the end of the year.
The Star quoted Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Peter Bellew as saying passenger loads were rising and demand for the airline’s services, including business class, was growing.
The overall load factor, Bellew said, was looking very good with quarter one passenger count increasing double digits by 12.9% year-on-year to 3.6 million passengers.
“We just don’t have enough capacity, so we are looking at six wide-bodied A330 for 2018 and six more in 2019. The nine routes are across Japan, Taiwan, China, India and Indonesia.
“In the longer term, till 2023, we would need 30 to 35 wide-bodied aircraft,” Bellew was quoted as saying.
The airline will take delivery of the first of six new A350-XWB aircraft by year-end.
These will replace the A380 superjumbos which will be used to cater to haj flights from the end of the year.
Malaysia Airlines has also ordered 25 of the new B737-Max 8 planes. Delivery of the first plane is expected at the end of 2019.
“The biggest challenge is the lack of business class seats, as we have seen a 90% increase in bookings over the last nine months. Wide-bodied planes will have lie-flat beds and twin aisle, which gives great comfort,” The Star quoted him as saying.
Experts told The Star that Malaysia Airlines needed to have a plane replacement strategy fast, as the airline’s rivals in the region had the latest planes fitted with the latest livery.
“We would need to build the fleet by 2023 close to 30 to 35 wide-bodied aircraft. We will also need to replace some of the older A330 from 2019 onwards,” Bellew said.
Meanwhile, The Edge reported that Malaysia Airlines had shelved plans to introduce premium economy class seats on its upcoming fleet of six new Airbus A350-900s.
The premium economy class is a small area between economy class and business class. They offer extra legroom and wider seats than economy class, but are cheaper than business class.
The Edge quoted a Malaysia Airlines spokesman as saying the airline had initially planned to introduce premium economy seating on its A350-900s but decided against it to accommodate more business travellers.
“The 288-seat A350-900s will now comprise four first-class seats, 35 business-class seats and 249 economy-class seats,” the spokesman told a group of Malaysian journalists during a tour of Airbus’ Broughton plant in North Wales last week.
The Edge said the airline was replacing its six A380 superjumbos with the fuel-efficient A350s on the twice-daily Kuala Lumpur-London route starting in late 2017.