Malaysia Airlines has agreed to purchase 25 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation (ALC). The order will be placed on a long-term lease basis.
The aircraft – which will be new and from ALC’s order backlog with Boeing – are scheduled to begin delivery to the airline from early 2023 through 2026. The units come from an order Malaysia had placed in 2016 consisting of 15 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and ten 737 MAX 10s, with 25 purchase options.
Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Chief Executive Officer of Air Lease Corporation, said, «These 25 aircraft will help grow Malaysia Airlines’ growing route network. They will also help improve the airline’s fleet operations and efficiency.
On the other hand, Malaysia CEO Izham Ismail said, «We are pleased to work with ALC as lessor for our 737 fleet. The 737 MAX 8 is key to achieving our operational efficiency goals».
Malaysia Airlines currently has six ALC-owned Airbus A350-900s operating for the airline on lease.
