KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd's first Airbus A330neo (new engine option) is believed to be arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 as early as tomorrow (Nov 29) should there be no rework done for any technical or quality issues.

Checks by Business Times on Aviation Flights, a global aviation data analytics platform for test, ferry and delivery flights showed that the widebody aircraft, with registration number 9M-MNG, is undergoing customer acceptance flight as at the time of writing. 

A customer acceptance flight is a flight that checks the systems and performance of an aircraft prior to the handover of the airplane to a customer. 

Business Times learnt that a group of Malaysia Airlines' handover crew had travelled to Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse, France early this week to do checks and flight tests of the new A330neo. 

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) spokesperson told Business Times that a photo release will be shared with the media once the aircraft arrives. 

MAG is the parent company of Malaysia Airlines. 

Airbus Asia Pacific president Anand Stanley recently said Malaysia Airlines' first A330neo will be delivered in just a few days, following a delay of nearly two months from its original September schedule. 

"Yes, there was a delay, but the delivery is imminent. The delivery will be done in days," he said in an interview on Nov 22.

MAG had said in an Oct 15 statement that it was expecting its first A330neo to arrive in Kuala Lumpur by late November as the delivery date was delayed due to findings identified by Airbus during the flight line stage.

The aviation group added that it expected to receive five A330neos by the first quarter of 2025. 

MAG bought 20 A330-900 aircraft in Aug 2022, with 10 aircraft purchased from Airbus and another 10 leased from Dublin-based aircraft lessor, Avolon.

The purchase of the widebody aircraft is part of MAG's first batch of fleet renewal program for Malaysia Airlines. 

The group has yet to announce the second batch of its new aircraft purchase.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/11/1140859/malaysia-airlines-first-airbus-a330neo-arrive-friday