Flagship carrier Malaysia Airlines is planning to purchase 39 new jetliners in an estimated US$1 billion plan to replace nearly half of its fleet, a company executive said.
The plan indicates that Malaysia Airlines hopes to expand its routes and capacity despite rising fuel prices and competition from Asia's emerging low-cost carriers.
The carrier expects to reach a decision by the end of April on possibly buying the planes from Airbus SAS or Boeing Co., Low Chee Teng, chief executive officer of airline operator Malaysian Airline System Bhd., said in a recent interview with Dow Jones Newswires. Passenger comfort and fuel economy were the main reasons to replace the carrier's 39 narrow-body Boeing 737 planes, Low added. Malaysia Airlines has 97 aircraft. The cost of the new narrow-body passenger jet is between US$25 million and US$35 million each, meaning the planned purchase could exceed US$1 billion, Low said.
Malaysia Airlines is also hedging a bigger portion of its fuel needs and refurbishing business and first class seats to raise revenue and enhance its image, Low said. Jet fuel will probably account for more than 30 percent of the carrier's total costs in the fiscal year ending March next year, up from 23 percent in the previous year, he added. Low declined to say how much he expects the higher fuel cost to affect net profit.
Capacity is forecast to rise between 10 percent and 20 percent in the current fiscal year, mostly due to more flights to Australia, China and India, Low said. Those flights have been added despite the fact that low-cost carriers also plan to penetrate markets in China and Australia. Malaysian-based budget carrier AirAsia Bhd. has said it will begin flying to Kunming, China, from Bangkok, Thailand, by the end of this year. Singapore-based Valuair is expected to start flying to Perth, Australia, in early December.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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