Malaysia Airlines, pursuing a fleet modernisation plan designed to help lower carbon emissions, is nearing a deal to buy Airbus A330neo’s to replace its fleet of 21 earlier models.
Chief executive Izham Ismail said Malaysia was looking to make a decision on a one-for-one replacement of its A330 fleet by late July.
Malaysia Airlines placed a provisional order for Boeing 787 aircraft in 2017 but let that deal lapse. It is still trying to replace 15 A330-300s and six A330-200s.
Sources at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK said that the A330neo had been selected as the preferred model.
A Malaysia Airlines spokesperson said on Wednesday that the carrier had not yet made a decision on a replacement.
“We are still going through the process,” a spokesman said, while Airbus declined to comment.
The airline, which was loss-making for years even before the crippling coronavirus pandemic began, has been reporting positive cashflow since October.
Malaysia is also still struggling to repair its reputation after double disasters in 2014, when two Boeing 777 planes were lost in unrelated incidents.
Flight 370 disappeared in March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard.
Three months later, Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in Ukraine after being shot down by the Russian military, killing 298 people.
- Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell
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