Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday said it will buy 36 new ATR turboprop aircraft for 3.0 billion ringgit ($916 million) as it looks to further expand its regional and domestic networks.
Of the 36 ATR-72-600 planes, the carrier said 20 will go to subsidiary Firefly, which is fast expanding its lucrative routes, while 16 are for MASwings which flies to Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo island.
The purchase comes after struggling flag carrier Malaysia Airlines in November said it had swung back to a profit, ending six straight quarterly losses after slashing unprofitable routes to cut costs.
Malaysia Airlines group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said Firefly is expected to rapidly expand within the next five years, thanks to growing demand in Asia.
"The additional aircraft will be utilised to continue growing Firefly's network and providing customers with more travel options," said Ahmad Jauhari, who signed the deal with Filippo Bagnato, chief executive of French-Italian firm ATR.
The aircraft are slated to be delivered from the end of the second quarter of 2013.
Launched in April 2007, Firefly provides connections to various points within Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia's Sumatra.
Firefly currently has 12 ATR-72-500 aircraft while MASwings operates 10 similar aircraft.
SOURCE
After news came from ATR that Asia has an increasing demand for turboprop planes, MAS decided to purchase 36 of it. But don't worry, they're not using it in their main fleet, it will still be the A380 that you will fly in, in the KL-London route.
ATR, the world's largest regional aircraft maker, said the demand for its turboprop aircrafts in Asia has grown to a third of the total demand globally this year.
This is because airlines in the region are looking to expand short haul routes and increase flight frequencies.
Regional airlines are opting for 80-seater or less turboprop aircrafts to tap the growing market for short haul routes as experts note that regional passenger volumes may not support a large jet aircraft with a seating capacity of about 180.
The increased frequency of trips also appeal to business and leisure travellers as these aircrafts are able to make two trips daily.
With rising fuel prices, market watchers said airlines are replacing their old jets with fuel-efficient turboprop aircrafts for short haul routes as they use 50 percent less fuel.
Fuel costs typically accounts for 40 percent of airline costs.
ATR currently has a backlog of 220 aircrafts, with 100 going to customers in Asia.
ATR Aircraft's senior vice president of Product Support and Services, Lilian Brayle, said: "We can see that the demand is strong across the region. We have very dynamic sales across the recent years especially in Indonesia, but we're also very happy to report our first sale in Japan so really it's happening all across Asia."
Experts said switching to turboprop aircrafts will help airlines generate more revenue and profits.
Malaysia Airlines' subsidiary Firefly, has proven to be profitable with its fleet of turboprop aircrafts and access to the Subang Airport.
To remain competitive, market watchers said Garuda Indonesia is set to purchase 50 turboprop aircrafts this month.
This will allow Indonesia's national carrier to offer new routes which would be better serviced by smaller aircrafts.
Aviation Week's editor, Leithen Francis, said: "An airline needs to have a comprehensive network and a large number of destinations that it can provide business travellers with.
"One way to achieve a very large network is to supplement the network with some smaller aircraft that can fly to some of those routes with lower passenger volume."
Experts added that another advantage of turboprop aircrafts are that they are able to take-off and land in smaller-scale airports.
SOURCE
Wow, this is getting interesting. To be honest, I've never been on a flight flown by a turboprop, but from what I learned in ground school, such planes are very fuel efficient at low speeds. And from this article, ATR has planes that can carry just 80 passengers as compared to the 180-seater A320.
This is perfect for less popular short routes as there will be less wastage of fuel burnt. Perhaps we will see more of such planes in the Asian airports soon.
