Malaysia Airlines eyes new Boeing jets should China reject them

[SEOUL] Malaysia Airlines’ parent company, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), is talking to Boeing about acquiring new jets that become available if Chinese airlines stop taking deliveries, its managing director told Malaysian state news outlet Bernama.

Boeing appears to be returning some of its 737 MAX jets to the US from China, where it had placed them ahead of delivery to Chinese customers.

Neither Boeing nor China has commented on why the jets are returning, and it is not clear which party made the decision.

Malaysia Airlines did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

If Boeing delivery slots become available as a result of the tariff war between the United States and China, MAG views this as a window to secure earlier-than-expected deliveries, Bernama reported MAG’s Izham Ismail as saying.

“MAG is in conversation with Boeing about whether we can take over those slots,” Ismail told Bernama.

Airlines globally are hungry for new planes but face extended delivery times because of post-pandemic supply chain bottlenecks, and a production slowdown at Boeing due to enhanced regulatory scrutiny and a labour strike.

MAG, owned by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, has been steadily growing and renewing its fleet and aims to operate a narrow-body fleet of 55 new generation 737 MAX aircraft by 2030.

Last month, it said it would buy 18 737 MAX 8 and 12 737 MAX 10 aircraft, with an option to purchase a further 30 jets.

It also has a deal to lease 25 737 MAX jets from Air Lease Corp between 2023 and 2026.

Ismail said any potential arrangement to take on additional planes from vacated delivery slots would not be part of that Air Lease Corp deal, and MAG would need to go to the capital market to raise additional funds. REUTERS