Malaysia Airlines Celebrates 40 Years of World Renowned Malaysian Hospitality

Kelana Jaya, 01 October 2012 : Malaysia Airlines today celebrates its 40th anniversary of Malaysian Hospitality delivered to millions of guests from the day it took off as Malaysian Airline System Berhad on 1 October 1972.

The national flag carrier of Malaysia had its journey then mandated by the government of Malaysia to fulfill five national obligations.

1. To provide the people of Malaysia with an efficient and profitable air transport system which enhances the standing of the nation and the policies of the government.
2. To develop an efficient domestic service within Malaysia which also directly links Sabah and Sarawak with Peninsular Malaysia and contributes to the economic and social integration of the country as a whole
3. To select, train and develop local personnel using the most up-to-date and appropriate managerial techniques.
4. To provide simultaneously competitive and profitable international services which support Malaysia's trade, tourism and other activities.
5. To contribute meaningfully to national aspirations and foster an organization which is in harmony with the multi-racial objectives of Malaysia.

Today, from its humble beginnings with a modest fleet strength of 6 Boeing 737-200 jets, 9 Fokker Friendship 27 and 3 Britten Norman Islanders, the airline has now grown to be the undisputed flying ambassador of Malaysia spreading its wings to 76 destinations across the globe.

It flies an average of 37,000 passengers on around 300 flights daily using an evolving fleet of the most advanced jet aircraft, delivering 5-star airline service through the world’s Best Cabin Staff.

At the event today in Kelana Jaya to commemorate 40 years of Malaysian Hospitality, the national carrier’s Group Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya paid tribute to the founding fathers for their vision to evolve a truly national airline to deliver the government’s promise of an organisation that contributed to the economic growth of Malaysia and also developing a highly skilled workforce from amongst the locals who are much sought after now globally.

“Over the years, Malaysia Airlines has seen much success, many highs and some lows. Today, Malaysia Airlines is synonymous for its Malaysian Hospitality or MH brand. MH is not just our airline code. ‘MH’ is Malaysian Hospitality,” he said.

“We are now known globally for this exclusivity, and we pay tribute of this success to the thousands and thousands of Malaysia Airlines employees, whom over the years and till today have worked together to demonstrate Malaysian Hospitality,” he added.

The airline has built itself a strong brand name in the aviation industry for superior service and flight safety since 1 October 1972. It holds a lengthy record of service and best practices excellence, receiving more than 100 awards in the last 10 years from international bodies such as the UK based independent research consultancy firm, Skytrax.

This year, Malaysia Airlines marked the entry of its first A380 into the airline’s fleet by having its 5-Star Airline status renewed by Skytrax. The recognition comes at a time of great change within the national airline of Malaysia as it embarks on a series of improvements to repositioning it as a premium carrier.

This includes a thorough process to upgrade the momentum of 5-Star quality service delivery across all customer touch-points of the airline.

At its home base in KL International Airport, Malaysia Airlines’ First and Business class hospitality facilities in its flagship International Golden Lounge have been totally refitted to deliver a true 5-Star Lounge experience with many new and exciting amenities and services offered to customers.

To commemorate the 4 decades of flying as Malaysia Airlines and delivering the world renowned Malaysian Hospitality, the national flag carrier will launch a series of year-long activities to celebrate the 40 years of support from customers and staff.

Ahmad Jauhari provided a sneak preview of the delights by stating, “For the next 12 months, expect special commemorative gifts on flights, special menus and surprises at the Check-in and at Boarding. We’ll have open days for guests to see ‘behind-the-scenes’ operations at our engineering hangar, a special flight for underprivileged children and more. Also look forward to one of our aircraft that will be painted with our special ‘40 years of Malaysian Hospitality’ livery, an extra special guest experience for our customers who get to fly in that plane”.

He also added that, “Malaysia Airlines formal alliance membership of oneworld will be completed soon and the national carrier will start flying as part of the alliance by the turn of the year. The prospect of being able to offer improved global coverage and connectivity through an expanded network of great airlines to Malaysia Airlines’ guests is indeed very exciting. Our customers, in particular members of Enrich loyalty programme, will benefit from increased rewards and recognition whilst enjoying more seamless air travel options”.

This full membership in the alliance will improve the airline’s brand awareness amongst the alliance members’ customers and enhance load factors through additional partner traffic. These in turn will drive the hub connectivity to facilitate Malaysia Airlines global reach through oneworld’s network of some 800 destinations in 150 countries. The membership will be among the significant catalysts that will complement the airline’s efforts to win back customers and become a profitable preferred premium carrier as outlined in its Business Plan revealed on 7 December 2011.

-Malaysia Airlines.