LONDON – 2012-07-25 — /travelprnews.com/ — Malaysia Airlines (MAS) 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 upon a series of improvements to repositioning it as a premium carrier.
Commenting on the 5-Star Airline Certification, Edward Plaisted of SKYTRAX said: “In the last year, we had seen some areas of Malaysia Airlines’ product on the ground and onboard some aircraft becoming rather stale, and in need of change and modernisation. The introduction of their latest 5-Star product standards on the newly delivered A380 (with three more A380 to be delivered through 2012 and two aircraft set for delivery in 2013) marks the beginning of a thorough process to the momentum of 5-Star quality service delivery across all customer-facing areas of the airline.”
At its home base in KL International Airport, Malaysia Airlines’ First and Business class hospitality facilities in its flagship Satellite Golden Lounge have been totally refitted and are now set to deliver a true 5-Star Lounge experience with many new and exciting amenities and services offered to customers.
The lack of a consistent 5-Star quality Business class seat on the airline’s other wide body aircraft is being reviewed, with considerations for various latest flat-bed seat options that will position Malaysia Airlines on par or even better than other 5-star full service operators. The airline is committed to ensure that its implementation of the final design of this hospitality aspect reinforces its 5-star quality product and services.
Economy class customers are not overlooked, with new generation seats and next generation IFE systems being fitted onto these wide body aircraft. The gradual delivery of 15 new A330-300 aircraft for Malaysia Airlines that commenced in 2011 continues throughout 2012 and 2013 with all older generation A330 aircraft to be phased out over the next 18 months. Going by current plans, Malaysia Airlines will have reduced its fleet age to 5.6 years by the end of 2013.
Cabin staff service has long been a strong point for Malaysia Airlines, this underlined by their success in being named the – World’s Best Cabin Staff at the 2012 World Airline Awards.
“This award has become somewhat familiar to Malaysia Airlines over the last decade, having been a winner in most previous years since 2001. The recent award serves as a due recognition of all the hard work provided by their front-line cabin staff in delivering 5-Star quality levels. Malaysia Airlines cabin staff continue to be a favourite amongst passengers and we congratulate them for this noteworthy achievement,” said Edward Plaisted of SKYTRAX.
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