SINGAPORE: Malaysia Airlines Bhd is priming itself for the seamless integration of its two new incoming A350XWB aircraft from European manufacturer Airbus in December 2017.
Malaysia Airlines chief operating officer Captain Izham Ismail said the two aircraft, scheduled for sequential entry into service on Dec 5 and Dec 25 respectively, will ultimately service the Kuala Lumpur-London-KL route.
The A350XWB will start plying the London route in the first quarter of next year, he added.
Malaysia Airlines is expected to take delivery of four more A350XWB by June 2018, but did not furnish details as to which routes the additional aircraft will be servicing.
Izham spoke to the Malaysian media during a visit to the Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) here today. The AATC is a 55:45 joint venture between Airbus SE and Singapore Airlines Ltd.
Ahead of the deliveries, Malaysia Airlines is training 26 pilots at the AATC. They are part of 144 pilots identified to undergo the A350XWB flight simulation training there. The whole team is expected to complete training by May 2018.
Malaysia Airlines chief pilot training and flight operations officer Captain Andrew Poh Vi Ming said the incoming aircraft in December will first fly KL-Penang and KL-Bangkok routes for at least a month.
Izham earlier said it will take possession of the first two mid-sized widebody long-haul airliners in Toulouse, France, a week before their respective entries into service with the national carrier in Malaysia.
The six new A350s, according to Izham, "is a leap that Malaysia Airlines is taking to be more efficient", and to turn around the company.
He said the aviation sector is set to remain highly competitive. "The aviation market is very unpredictable today. Consumers are very well informed, average fare price has become very competitive and airlines will do lots of things to get customers onboard."
AATC general manager Captain Yann Lardet said Malaysia Airlines could potentially save 20 per cent in costs by using the AATC. Otherwise, Malaysia Airlines would have to invest considerabley to buy simulators and conduct its own training for pilots in-house.
The AATC currently has six full-flight simulators and has the capacity to offer courses for 10,000 trainees per year. It offers full-flight simulator training for pilots of Airbus's A330, A350, and A380 planes.
Since it opened in Singapore's Seletar Aerospace Park in April 2016, Lardet said the AATC is being used by 42 airlines, a recognition of its role in Asia-Pacific is where the aviation industry is registering its biggest growth.
The AATC is set to become the largest in the world when it houses 12 flight simulators and becomes fully operational by 2019.