Malaysia Airlines upgrades all Australian flights to Airbus A330
By David Flynn, April 2 2013
IN BRIEF | Malaysia Airlines is now operating its latest Airbus A330-300 jets on all routes between Australia and Kuala Lumpur.
The culmination of dual fleet and network overhauls for MAS has seen the airline remove both the Boeing 747 and 777 from Australian operations in favour of standardising on the Airbus A330 and A380 superjumbo for its longest flights.
From this week, both the afternoon MH122 and evening MH140 services out of Sydney run on an A330, the same plane as used on flights between KL and Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
These include angled lie-flat seats in business class, on-demand entertainment, adjustable headrests, AC sockets for charging your laptop and USB ports for topping up your tablet or smartphone.
MAS' A330 business class offers 36 Recaro seats with a spacious 60-inch seat pitch which transforms into a lie-flat seat at a 12 degree sleeping angle, and travellers can take advantage of the 'Chef on Call' service to pre-order their meal from a wider range of dishes than the standard inflight menu.
However, the airline has also tweaked its timetable "to provide better connectivity for our customers traveling beyond Kuala Lumpur".
Some flights now run at different times, while some non-daily services have changed their days of operation – travellers are advised to check with their booking agent or Malaysia Airlines.
"The Australia/New Zealand segment of our network remains an important market for our operations, especially for the connectivity it provides on the Kangaroo route to and from Europe" suggests Shihaj Abdulla Kutty, MAS' Head of Network & Revenue Management.
"For guests travelling long-haul from Australia and onwards to London and Paris, they will essentially be travelling on the new A330s out of Australia and connecting to the new A380 at Kuala Lumpur all the way to Europe."
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Malaysia Airlines - Enrich
11 Oct 2012
Total posts 19
I wonder if the A380s will be coming later. Wouldn't it make sense to convert the current twice daily SYD-KUL with A380 ? Wishful thinking on my part I guess :)
10 Mar 2011
Total posts 526
I won't fly with them since they only award 0.75 Qantas points per mile. With the re-timed QF Singapore flights I can easily connect in Singapore to get to KL and get the full gamut of points plus bonus points.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
Not sure if this can be called an upgrade. Smaller plane, still angled lie flat and no F offering. At least flying CX you have a full lie flat seat and also more points when crediting to QF. Unless your destination is KUL the are more attractive options to take.
07 Aug 2012
Total posts 193
Is this a reduction in capacity for MH? MH used to fly 744 & 77E to SYD, and now both flights are A333. I would have thought once they joined oneworld they would get more traffic ex-AU but seemingly not.
24 Oct 2011
Total posts 160
I believe so, because the 777 has more seats. And the jumbo jet definately has more seats.
Unfortunately for MH, their business class product is not as competitive anymore, in terms of the hard product that is the angled lie flat bed.
The price is basically toe to toe with the other airlines which offer fully flat bed.
For economy class, the A333 is a better option. the fleet is younger, so you won't see the tired interiors of the jumbo jet. That majestic lady looked great on the tarmac but the interior was worn.
Malaysia Airlines - Enrich
24 Feb 2013
Total posts 3
Doesnt matter what type of aircraft, as long as I can go to KL and have a nice beer and wine with the cheap price, its fair enough. Always heard M'sian said, Malaysia Boleh.... Now its time to enjoy in Malaysia Boleh....
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Oct 2012
Total posts 130
Re points issue: Yes I agree with the conversion with QF points BUT I have to say that after travelling with them in Jclass twice to LHR i had enough points for a free J class to LHR this year, not sure if that would be the case with QF? and was very easy to book online using points too. And I do agree the product could be better , the J class seats in A330 are quite uncomfortable compared to their 777.
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