Malaysia Airlines To Join One World By Year End

By year-end Malaysia Airlines (MAS) would have become a full member of the oneworld alliance and would be able to offer connectivity to about 800 destinations in 150 countries by riding on an expanded oneworld network.

“This membership will be among the significant catalysts that will complement our efforts to win back customers and become a profitable preferred premium carrier as outlined in our Business Plan,'' said MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.

Jauhari said the entry into oneworld would enhance its network considerably while providing baseload demand from fellow oneworld members.

“The prospect of being able to offer improved global coverage and connectivity through an expanded network of great airlines to MAS guests is indeed very exciting. Our customers, in particular members of our Enrich loyalty programme, will benefit from increased rewards and recognition while enjoying more seamless air travel options

“We look forward to our full membership that will improve our brand awareness among the alliance members' customers and enhance our load factors through additional partner traffic,'' Jauhari said when witnessing the entry of airberlin into oneworld on Tuesday.

Airberlin now serves 162 destinations in 40 countries with a fleet of 170 aircraft and a workforce of 9,200 employees and it became part of oneworld, adding the second biggest airline in Germany and the sixth biggest in the European continent overall to the airline alliance. Austria's NIKI, also a member of the airberlin group, joined oneworld as an affiliate member at the same time.

Other oneworld members include American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, as well as 20 affiliates including Austria's NIKI, American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.

Malaysia Airlines will introduce its brand new Airbus A380 onto the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route beginning September 25th.
An MAS spokesperson confirmed to Australian Business Traveller that the A380 will run as the daily MH122/123 service, replacing the current Boeing 747-400. The other daily MAS flight (MH140/141) will continue on a Boeing 777.
This will be Malaysia Airlines' second A380 route, following the superjumbo's July 1st debut as a thrice-weekly KL-London service (MH002/MH003) before going daily in August.
We're hopeful that Malaysia Airlines will have begun frequent flyer point sharing with new chum Qantas by the time September rolls around, if not MAS' formal entry into the oneworld alliance.

The A380s will carry a dashingly revamped livery, combining the airline's iconic 'wau' (kite) symbol with modern fonts.
MAS' final A380 layout is similar to that of Qantas and Singapore Airlines – first class in the nose downstairs, business class upstairs and economy spanning both decks.
Eight 87 inch lie-flat beds with a generous 85 inch pitch (compared to 80 inches on MAS' Boeing 747) and massive 23 inch video screens will occupy first class at the front of the main deck in a 1-2-1 configuration.