Malaysia Airlines
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Malaysia Airlines is the international airline of Malaysia. It also serves many domestic destinations.
Malaysia Airlines began in 1947, as Malayan Airways but was renamed Malaysian Airways following the creation of the Federation of Malaysia. Following the independence of Singapore, it was renamed Malaysian Singapore Airlines (MSA) in 1966. Six years later, MSA ceased operations, with the formation of Malaysian Airline System (MAS) and Singapore Airlines, which, separately, are two of the leading Asian air carriers. From 1987 the name Malaysia Airlines has been used for Malaysian Airline System.
MAS flies to numerous destinations in Asia, Australasia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and South America. It was the first airline in Southeast Asia to fly to Johannesburg in South Africa, following the demise of apartheid.
On December 4 of 1977 one of their 737s exploded over the Straits of Johor, killing all 100 passengers.
On December 12, 1983 a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A300B4-120 undershot runway 15 at Subang International Airport, Kuala Lumpur, now called Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. There were no fatalities among the 247 persons on board the aircraft.
In 1995, a Fokker F50 plane flying from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau crashed, 34 of the 53 people on board dying. These are the only three times Malaysia Airlines suffered major accidents.
Malaysia Airlines uses Boeing 747, Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 equipment for its long international routes, while the Boeing 737 is often used for shorter international destinations, and always used for domestic flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the airline's headquarters. Malaysia Airlines has recently signed a deal for 6 Airbus 380s.
In spite of the fact that it faced enormous financial difficulties after mismanagement by tycoon Tajudin Ramli, requiring the government to renationalise the airline, quality has consistently been excellent and it is considered to be one of the very best airlines in the world, rated 4th in the world and winning the Best Cabin Crew Award several times. Female flight attendants are famous for their baju kebaya uniforms. Passengers enjoy fine Malaysian cuisine. It is one of the few airlines that provides personal LCD monitors for inflight entertainment even in Economy class. It has been rated as a four-star airline by Skytrax. The airline also has a reputation of producing world class pilots.
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