Malaysia will soon see a second airline use the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as Malaysia Airlines is expected to receive its first plane within the next few days as the plane makes its way from Seattle to Malaysia. The first airline was Batik Air.
The plane, registry number 9M-MVA, will be making a tech stop in Guam as it makes its way to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The plane will be landing at KLIA on November 16. The tech stop is for refuelling as well as troubleshooting any mechanical problems encountered along the way.
The plane is currently stopping over at Honolulu as of the date of this article.
This 737 Max 8 is part of the 25 the airline ordered as part of its fleet modernisation plan. The plane was originally scheduled to arrive in August, but due to a manufacturing defect, Boeing delayed the delivery flight to November.
The interior of the new 737 Max 8 is expected to feature the new refreshed interior of the 737-800 aircraft. We can expect WiFi on board for connectivity as well as for the entertainment system for the passengers. The new cabin features device holders as well as charging ports in both USB-A and USB-C.
At the same time, Malaysia Airlines also received its seventh A350-900 to supplement the 6 already in the fleet. The new plane is not part of the new order of 60 planes that the airline is looking to do in the next seven years, but a new lease contract that the airline is making to add on capacity as air travel grows post-pandemic.
The new aircraft has the registry number 9M-MAH and was previously flown by Scandinavian Airlines before the airline filed for bankruptcy in 2022.
The plane flew from Victorville, where it was in storage, all the way to Kuala Lumpur in a single flight over the weekend. The new plane has a total of 300 seats, including 40 business class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 228 economy seats.
The new plane will be put into service from 31 December 2023, replacing the A330-300 previously used on this route according to Aeroroutes.com.
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