MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) will debut its Airbus A380 on the Kuala Lumpur-London route on July 1, after the aircraft – the first of six – is delivered.
From thrice-weekly flights initially, MAS will increase the frequency to daily from August 25 upon receiving the second A380.
Sydney will be the second destination when the third aircraft is delivered in August. MAS will operate daily Kuala Lumpur-Sydney flights from September 1, increasing the frequency to daily when the fourth aircraft arrives in September.
MAS senior vice president of marketing and promotions, Al-Ishal Ishak, said: “A380 fares will be at a slight premium of about five to 10 per cent more than the B747 aircraft. They are still a far cry from our competitors though.”
MAS’ A380 will have capacity for 494 passengers in a three-class configuration, with eight first-class and 350 economy seats on the lower deck, and 66 busines-class and 70 economy-class seats on the upper deck.
MAS is the eighth carrier to receive the aircraft. Routes on which the remaining A380s – due in October this year and February 2013 – will be deployed have not been finalised.
Meanwhile, Korean Air has claimed its A380 will be ‘a game-changer’ when it begins daily Seoul-Frankfurt flights later this month with just 407 seats, the lowest configuration for any A380 operator so far.
Reporting by N. Nithiyananthan
