On 2 April 1947, MAL took to the skies with its first commercial flight as the national airline. Fuelled by a young and dynamic team of visionaries, the domestic carrier turned into an international airline in less than a decade.
With the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the airline changed its name to Malaysian Airlines Limited. Soon after, Borneo Airways was incorporated into MAL. Within 20 years, MAL grew from a single aircraft operator into a company with 2,400 employees and a fleet operator using the then latest Comet IV jet aircraft, six F27s, eight DCs and two Pioneers.
In 1965, with the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, MAL became a bi-national airline and was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA). A new logo was introduced and the airline grew exponentially with new services to Perth, Taipei, Rome and London. However, in 1973, the partners went separate ways. Malaysia introduced Malaysian Airline Limited, which was subsequently renamed Malaysian Airline System or in short, Malaysia Airlines. Today, Malaysia Airlines flies around 37,000 passengers daily to some 80 destinations worldwide.
The airline holds a lengthy record of service and best practices excellence, having received more than 100 awards in the last 10 years – the more notable ones are listed below.
Awarded by Skytrax UK
World's Best Cabin Crew (2001–2004, 2007, 2009)
5-star Airline (2005–2007, 2009)
Economy Class Onboard Excellence (2006)
World’s Best Economy Class Award (2010)
Staff Service Excellence for Asia Award (2010)
Awarded by World Travel Awards
World’s Leading Airline to