KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s (MAS) pilgrim-centric service dedicated for Umrah and Hajj, Amal is deemed as a “sensible” option for the national carrier to use the four-engined A380s superjumbo in its stable.
CAPA Centre for Aviation chief analyst and Southeast Asia chief representative Brendan Sobie said the initial plan for Amal was to have its own operator’s certificate and secure new investors, enabling MAS to focus on its turnaround without having to worry about the A380.
“Amal has long-term ambitions to expand in other Asian markets, potentially with A380 flights originating in other countries.
“Umrah is a huge and fast growing market that is potentially suitable for some of the A380s that will need new homes next decade as several airlines start to phase the type out,” he told the New Straits Times.
However, he said it would be challenging for Amal to operate outside Malaysia due to regulatory restrictions and the need to overcome airport infrastructure challenges that preclude A380 operations in several key Umrah markets.
In his report released recently, Sobie said Amal was targeting the massive Indonesia-Saudi Arabia pilgrimage market by offering connections via Kuala Lumpur.
“MAS already offers one-stop connections to Saudi Arabia from four Indonesia destinations and is planning to add another three or four Indonesia destinations in the second-quarter of 2019,” he said, adding that operating scheduled flights with 737-800s on which the passenger complement will consist almost entirely of passengers connecting to Amal’s Jeddah and Madinah flights.
He noted that Amal had taken over the management and sales of A380 charters from Malaysia to Jeddah and Madinah.
“In April 2019, Amal plans to take over scheduled flights to Jeddah and Madinah that are now under MAB’s brand using A330s.
“The Madinah scheduled flights will be upgauged to 486-seat A380-900s, whereas the Jeddah scheduled flights will continue to be operated with 290-seat A330-300s for the time being.
Sobie said the original plan was to have a separate airline take over and operate all six of MAS’ A380s, following a retrofit to a much higher density configuration.
In fourth-quarter of 2019, Amal is looking at doubling the number of block charter flights for the peak Umrah season, meeting demand from large agents that assume responsibility for entire A380s.
“In third-quarter of 2019, Amal’s schedule will change due to Hajj. During the brief Hajj period only charters are permitted by Saudi Authorities.
“MAS has always been the designated Hajj airline for the Malaysian market, enabling it to carry 50 per cent of Malaysia’s Hajj traffic,” he said.
He said Amal could potentially interested in wet leasing A380s for Hajj in other countries, making the charter service to work with a foreign airline designated to carry Hajj pilgrims.
Sobie said Amal’s wet leasing aircraft to foreign airlines would be a key component for its long-term strategy.
“Partnerships with foreign airlines such as Garuda or Nesma would potentially enable Amal and MAS to grow its A380 fleet, taking advantage of attractive lease rates as A380s.
Sobie said Amal was capable of carrying Umrah traffic from other countries by accessing MAS’ scheduled services to feed Amal’s flights from Kuala Lumpur to Saudi Arabia.
He, however, said Umrah is an extremely competitive market and the airline need to overcome stiff competition in Malaysia and Indonesia to prove its model can also work in other markets.
“In Malaysia, Amal is competing against AirAsia and Saudi (both operate non-stop services in the Malaysia-Saudi Arabia market) as well as several non-stop competitors,” he said.
He pointed out that Indonesia’s Umrah market was even more competitive with Garuda, Lion and Saudia offering non-stop products and several airlines offering one-stop products.
“Amal will need to forge partnerships with foreign airlines and overcome stiff competition in every new market,” he said.
An Airbus spokesperson told the New Straits Times the European airframe manufacturer would continue providing 24/7 support to its A380 operators.
“By 2021, around 250 A380s will be flying with 15 airlines. We (Airbus) will also support and promote the A380 second-hand market,” he said.
A MAS spokesperson said the decision to launch Amal was based on a few key factors. This included real opportunities to tap, expand and improve the pilgrimage service business for the Southeast Asia region with 250,000 and one million Umrah passengers from Malaysia and Indonesia respectively.
“With the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, the number of total pilgrims will be quadrupled to 30 million by year 2030. Therefore, Amal is envisaged to support this vision and benefit from the growth prospect,” he said.