Image courtesy of Malaysia Airlines
In dire financial straits after twin plane crash tragedies 2014, Malaysia Airlines is reportedly selling off over a dozen planes as part of a restructuring plan, said Aviation website Leeham News.
The sale includes all six of the airline's Airbus A380 superjumbos, two Boeing 747-400Fs, four Airbus A330-200Fs, and four Boeing 777-200ERs.
The selling of the 747 cargo-type aircraft signals the end for MASkargo, Malaysia Airlines' freight service.
Leeham News sees the sell-off of the A380s as a market test for used planes of that type, "and whether a key component to Airbus' strategy for the super jumbo going forward will work: allow airlines to try out the airplane without having to spent the huge amount of money required to buy new. After experiencing the A380, the theory goes, other carriers will understand how this can spur sales," Leeham News said.
Working in Malaysia's favor, according to Leeham is the fact that their A380s are "considerably younger" than those leased by Singapore or Emirates Airlines.
In Barry Neild's coverage of the sell-off for CNN, he said, "Analysts believe the A380 still has a strong future despite only 317 of the aircraft being sold over the past decade. They say demand is expected to rise as major aviation hubs become more congested and airlines seek to maximize increasingly scarce access to runways and departure gates."
The A380 seems to be a perfect fit for these conditions. Considered the world's largest passenger aircraft, it seats 544 comfortably and has a range of 8,200nm.
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