MAG expects to outline plans to replace long-range widebody aircraft
Delivery delays could disrupt capacity planning, while the group has lifted average fares by 20 to 30 per cent to partly absorb higher fuel costs.
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) expects to set out plans for replacing its long-range widebody aircraft, president and group chief executive officer Captain Nasaruddin A. Bakar said on Nov 13. He warned that aircraft arriving late could disrupt planned operations and available capacity.
Nasaruddin was speaking in Kuala Lumpur at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) 70th Assembly of Presidents (AP70). He linked delivery delays partly to constraints in manufacturers’ supply chains.
Tickets are generally sold three to six months before travel, he said, with schedules relying on aircraft being available as expected. Late deliveries can require airlines to accommodate affected passengers on different aircraft.
He anticipated only a minimal earnings impact unless MAG had to reduce capacity substantially. Revenue was growing at 14 per cent year-on-year between 2025 and 2026, he added.
On costs, Nasaruddin said average airfares had been lifted by 20 to 30 per cent, providing a partial offset against jet fuel prices that were about 90 per cent above pre-war levels. Airlines could not recover all of that increase through fares, he said, and fuel prices were expected to stay elevated in 2027.
MAG’s ground handling business, meanwhile, was achieving about four per cent compound annual growth as more airlines entered Malaysia, according to Nasaruddin. It gained four airline customers during 2026 and also serves other carriers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
