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History of Malaysia Airlines

The story of Malaysia Airlines dates back 1937. Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) was launched on May 1, 1947 with an Airspeed Consul flight from Singapore’s Kallang Airport to Penang via Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. MAL was a joint venture between Imperial Airways, the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool and the Straits Steamship of Singapore.

A decade later in 1947, MAL expanded its network from domestic to international flights and had its initial commercial flight as the national airline.

As Malaysia gained their independence in 1963, Malayan Airways Limited changed its name to Malaysian Airlines Limited. The airline soon acquired Borneo Airways Limited, an airline founded in 1957 serving British Borneo (Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei).

In 1965, Singapore was expelled from the Malaysian Federation and gained independence. During this period of transition, MAL functioned as the national airline for both countries and its transformed into Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA). The airline adopted a new logo and expanded its services to Taipei, Perth and a couple of European destinations such as London and Rome.

This did not last very long, as the airline partners finally decided to split. The Singapore government decided to take over the airline’s international routes under Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines kept MSA’s widebody fleet including the Boeing 707 and Boeing 737, and Malaysian Airline Limited kept its smaller, regional planes such as the Fokker F27. Malaysian Airline Limited - then renamed to Malaysian Airline System - became the national flag carrier of Malaysia, first developing its network from domestic to regional and finally international. The airline introduced its brand name under Malaysian Airline System and commenced its initial flight on 1 October 1972.

In 1980s, Malaysia Airlines experienced a remarkable growth along with the country’s economic boom. In 1993, Malaysia Airlines became the first airline in Southeast Asia that managed to serve South America. A year later, it started operation to Mexico City.

Malaysia Airlines suffered around three times of net losses due to Asian financial crisis in 1997, rising fuel costs and inadequate quality of management in 2005, followed by even greater loss in 2011. But in 2011 they also managed to be a certified 5-star airline by Skytrax and ordered the new and advanced Airbus A380.

In the beginning of 2013, the airline had a successful financial recovery from the previous years’ crisis. MAS received the 100th Airbus A380 from Airbus Industrie, while in the same year, it gained a full-status of membership in Oneworld, a worldwide alliance of 13 airlines and is connected to 850 destinations in 150 countries across the alliance network. Recently, Malaysia Airlines keep focus on developing their business to the next level through special programs, such as promo flight and cheap flight tickets for certain routes regularly.

Malaysia Airlines Policies for Children and Infants

• Only infants older than 7 days are recommended to board plane.
• One adult passenger may carry only one infant.
• Baby stroller is available based on first-come first-served.
• Bassinets can be requested at least 24 hours before departure through call center: 1-300-88-3000 (in Malaysia) or +603-7843-3000 (outside Malaysia).