Airbus Updates No.3890

 

Malaysia Airlines says goodbye to its A380s

On 19 December 2022, Malaysia Airlines officially said goodbye to the Airbus A380 by flying its last one from Kuala Lumpur to Tarbes-Lourdes for storage. The A380 in question was 9M-MNF (114), which had its titles and logos removed, expect for the "100th A380" stickers.

Malaysia Airlines has traded-in its Airbus A380s as part of a deal it signed with Airbus for new A330-900s. In total, the airline operated six A380s between 2012 and 2020:

• 9M-MNA (078), delivered on 29 May 2012, retired on 7 February 2020 and flown to Tarbes-Lourdes on 12 December 2022.
• 9M-MNB (081), delivered on 10 August 2012, retired on 7 March 2020 and flown to Tarbes-Lourdes on 28 November 2022.
• 9M-MNC (084), delivered on 26 October 2012, retired on 26 February 2020 and flown to Tarbes-Lourdes on 14 November 2022.
• 9M-MND (089), delivered on 31 October 2012, retired on 20 April 2020 and ferried to Tarbes-Lourdes on 21 November 2022.
• 9M-MNE (094), delivered on 7 February 2013, retired on 11 February 2020 and arrived at Tarbes-Lourdes on 5 December 2022.
• 9M-MNF (114), delivered on 13 March 2013, retired on 30 April 2020 and ferried to Tarbes-Lourdes on 19 December 2022.

With the departure of the A380, Malaysia Airlines' fleet now consists of nine A330-200s, fifteen A330-300s, six A350-900s, and 43 Boeing B737-800s.

Airbus Updates No.3813

 

Malaysia Airlines to return A380s to Airbus by 2023

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380-800© Airbus Industrie

30.09.2022 - 00:40 UTC

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur Int'l), is returning its six inactive A380-800s to Airbus in a deal reportedly reached during recent negotiations to acquire twenty A330-900Ns. The first of the A380s - 9M-MNA (msn 78) - only arrived at the airline in 2012. Collectively, they were deployed on select routes to Europe, Australia, and within Asia.

Malaysia Airlines parked its A380s in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. In July 2021, the airline issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) soliciting bids for the sale of the six planes but attracted no serious interest.

In mid-August 2022, MAG ordered twenty A330neo jets on behalf of Malaysia Airlines. A total of 10 planes will be directly purchased from Airbus with a back-to-back sale/lease-back arrangement with Avolon, while the remaining 10 will be leased directly from Avolon. When the deal was announced, there was no mention of the fine print facilitating the A380s return. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, all six Malaysia Airlines A380s are inactive and stored at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

"The plan is for Airbus to take back all the aircraft by the end of this year. It's up to them what they want to do with the aircraft." an airline source told Malaysia's New Straits Times, adding that discussions about precise return dates and where the A380s would be sent are ongoing.

In a statement provided to ch-aviation, a Malaysia Airlines spokesperson said that "Malaysia Aviation Group plans to retire and exit A380 by the end of 2022. However, the terms related to the deal with Airbus remain confidential." Airbus also declined to provide further details, citing confidentiality.

Airbus Updates No.3456

 

Malaysia Airlines issues RFP for sale of six A380-800s

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380-800© Airbus Industrie

19.07.2021 - 10:19 UTC

Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur Int'l) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) soliciting bids for the sale of six A380-800s with a deadline for offers to be sent by August 13, 2021.

The carrier said it would only release the detailed documentation to pre-approved bidders who sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) by August 12. It tentatively plans to conclude the sale by November, although it also retained the right to not choose any of the bids.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the six Airbus double-deckers are 9.2 years old on average and range from 8.7 to 9.8 years of age individually. As of February 28, 2021, they have accumulated from 23,819 to 28,386 flight hours each, and from 2,277 to 2,618 flight cycles each. The aircraft are equipped with 412 seats in economy class (except for a single unit, 9M-MNA (msn 78), with 420), 66 in business class, and eight in first class.

The Malaysian carrier has long struggled with finding a good use for its A380s. In 2017, it resolved to transfer the six aircraft to a new unit, Amal by Malaysia Airlines, dedicated to Hajj and Umrah flights from Malaysia to Madinah and Jeddah. It initially planned to reconfigure the aircraft into high-density single-class layouts. However, it later scrapped these plans and for a while continued to operate the A380-800s on the most in-demand scheduled routes to Seoul Incheon and Tokyo Narita, even as it started taking deliveries of the replacement type, the A350-900s. Eventually, however, the aircraft were moved to serve exclusively the Saudi Arabian routes.

All of them were grounded in February and March 2020, when the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic halted all pilgrimages to the Muslim holy sites. Since then, the aircraft have only been reactivated for sporadic test flights around Kuala Lumpur. In May 2021, Malaysia Airlines confirmed that it would not seek to return the A380s to service and would instead try to sell them.

Airbus Updates No.726

First MAS A380 revealed in special livery

26 June 2012Press Release

The first A380 for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was unveiled today bearing its special celebration livery, ahead of entry-into-service next week on the Kuala Lumpur-London route.

The livery was designed by MAS specifically for it its new A380 flagship and was applied post-delivery by Airbus in Toulouse.

Altogether MAS has ordered six A380s with a premium layout seating 494 passengers in three classes.

Airbus Updates No.724

 Airbus A319  -115ACJ  2592     9H-AFK  Comlux Malta  ferried 28jun12 BSL-JER after paint on sale to?  ex HB-IPO
 Airbus A319  -133  5208     B-6422  Sichuan Airlines  delivery 29jun12 XFW-OVB  ex D-AVYU
 Airbus A320  -231  314     N389VL  Volito Aviation  ferried 28jun12 LDE-AUH, Indian Airlines cs on delivery to CGK to ?   ex VT-EVT
 Airbus A320  -214CJ  4528     UK 32000  Uzbekistan  re-delivery 28-29jun12 SKF-BGR-FRA-TAS after VIP cabin config   ex D-AUBV
Airbus A320  -232  5185     B-6898  Capital Airlines  delivery 29jun12 TLS-SVX  ex F-WWDX
 Airbus A320  -232  5190     VT-IEX  IndiGo Airlines  delivery 28-29jun12 TLS-FJR-DEL  ex F-WWID
 Airbus A320  -232  5196     HA-LWQ  Wizz Air  delivery 29jun12 TLS-BUD  ex F-WWIP
Airbus A320  -233  5207     N510VL  Volaris  delivery 29jun12 XFW-KEF-BGR-TLC   ex D-AVVS
Airbus A321  -231  5205     TC-JSB  Turkish Airlines  delivery 28jun12 XFW-IST  ex D-AVZS
 Airbus A321  -231  5210     B-6925  Shanghai Airlines  delivery 29jun12 XFW-OVB  ex D-AVZT
 Airbus A330  -223  343     N772RD  Ryan International  ferried 28jun12 IST-ZRH, TC-reg prior delivery  ex TC-ETP
Airbus A330  -343  1315     G-VNYC  Virgin Atlantic  delivery 29jun12 TLS-ZRH  ex F-WWKE
Airbus A380  -841  78     9M-MNA  Malaysia Airlines  re-delivery 28jun12 TLS-KUL after paint into new cs   ex F-WWSU

Airbus Updates No.716

Airbus A320	-232	1862		EC-LRY	Vueling	in full cs at DUB 07jun12, EI-reg prior delivery	ex EI-EUG
Airbus A320	-214	4128		EC-LSA	Vueling	ferried 09jun12 DUS-OSR, D-reg for paint prior delivery	ex D-ABFB
Airbus A320	-232	4977		B-6935	Shenzhen Airlines	delivery 05jun12 ex TSN	ex B-508L
Airbus A320	-232	5148		N805JB	jetBlue	delivery 09jun12 XFW-BGR-MCO	ex D-AVVP
Airbus A320	-216	5153		JA01AJ	Air Asia Japan	delivery 09jun12 TLS-ESB-DEL	ex F-WWDH
Airbus A320	-232	5156		B-6929	China Eastern	delivery 06jun12 TLS-SVX	ex F-WWDE
Airbus A320	-232	5170		B-6896	China Southern	delivery 08jun12 XFW-OVB	ex D-AXAG
Airbus A320	-214	5178		CC-BAX	LAN Airlines	delivery 09-10jun12 XFW-LPA-REC-SCL	ex D-AXAR
Airbus A330	-223	946		VT-VJP	Kingfisher Airlines	ferried 04jun12 BOM-ZRH on return to lessor ( + 939 VT-VJO 29may12)	ex F_WWYX
Airbus A340	-642	924		VP-CDD	Govt of Jordan	ferried 02jun12 BSL-DUB, F-reg for paint into all white after VIP cabin config	ex F-WJKG
Airbus A380	-861	67		F-HPJG	Air France	delivery 05jun12 XFW-CDG	ex F-WWSQ
Airbus A380	-841	78		9M-MNA	Malaysia Airlines	ferried 06jun12 KUL-TLS for partial cabin re-config and paint into new cs	ex F-WWSU

Airbus Updates No.712

Airbus A300  B4-203(F)  211     N821SC  Sky Lease Aero  ferried 29may12 MIA-SFB for interim storage, Transcarga cs   ex N862PA
Airbus A319  -112  794     D-AKNH  Lufthansa  ferried 30may12 BUD-MUC after storage on return to service (+1172 D-AKNJ)  ex D-AVYD
 Airbus A319  -112  946     HC-CMO  TAME  delivery 29-30may12 MPL-SID-REC-UIO  ex F-WTBM
 Airbus A319  -112  1016     D-AKNI  Lufthansa  ferried 29may12 SXF-FRA after storage on return to service   ex D-AVYK
 Airbus A319  -131  2188     G-DBCB  British Airways  in svc since 28may12 in golden “Dove” cs  ex D-AVYA
 Airbus A319  -111  2442     VP-BDY  RusLine  delivery 29may12 OSR-VOG  ex G-EZID
 Airbus A320  -212  419     LY-VEY  Avion Express  positioned 31may12 KEF-CDG prior Wow Air ops   ex N419AG
 Airbus A320  -232  661     TC-OBU  Onur Air  in full cs at DUB 28may12, EI-reg prior delivery  ex EI-EEI
 Airbus A320  -211  726     CS-TQS  White  ferried 27may12 LIS-KTW on wet-lease to Sprintair   ex YL-BCB
 Airbus A320  -214  1860     N263AV  Frontier  delivery 29may12 RME-GYR   ex D-AXLB
 Airbus A320  -232  2210     EI-EUA  Livingston  delivery 30may12 SNN-MXP  ex EC_IYG
 Airbus A320  -232  2747     TC-ATK  AtlasJet  delivery 29may12 BUD-IST  ex OE-IBD
 Airbus A320  -214  2810     EI-DET  Aer Lingus  ferried 20/27ay12 DUB-EMA-DUB, paint into all wh prior return to lessor   ex F-WWIP
 Airbus A320  -214  4487     N448AV  Avianca  at BOG 28may12 in Star Alliance cs prior entering svc  ex HC-CJW
 Airbus A320  -214  4967     B-6880  China Eastern  delivery 25may12 ex TSN  ex B-507L
Airbus A321  -231  1366     SU-TCD  Almasria Universal Airlines   delivery 29may12 PGF-CAI  ex EI-EUD
Airbus A321  -231  5160     B-6906  Sichuan Airlines  delivery 29may12 XFW-OVB  ex D-AVZF
 Airbus A340  -212  18     ZS-SLC  South African Airlines  ferried 27may12 JNB-LDE on return to lessor  ex D-AIBD
 Airbus A380  -861  67     F-HPJG  Air France  delivery 31may12 XFW-CDG  ex F-WWSQ
 Airbus A380  -841  78     9M-MNA  Malaysia Airlines  delivery 29may12 TLS-KUL  ex F-WWSU

Airbus Updates No.690

Malaysian Airlines First A380 9M-MNA