Malaysia Airlines will start using the A380 on flights between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing from March 1 next year, according to industry website airlineroute.net.
Earlier this year the airline doubled its frequency on this route to two flights a day (see story here). Then from March next year, an A380 will replace the 777-200ER on one of the two daily flights on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
This will increase the number of seats available in each direction on these days from 1128 to 1976, with business class seats increasing from 140 to 264.
The airline will also start using an A330-300 instead of the existing 777-200ER for its Thursday, Friday and Sunday services between the two cities, giving an extra small increase in capacity.
China and Malaysia have growing business links. Eight Chinese companies are listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, while Chinese car manufacturer Chery has a factory located in Malaysia.
In April last year, the two countries signed several agreements to create further trade and investment ties, resulting in a number of joint ventures between telecommunications and infrastructure companies.
Several other airlines have also recently opted to use the A380 to serve Beijing, including Lufthansa (see story here), Emirates (see story here), and China Southern (see story here).
Read a review of Malaysia Airlines A380 business class.
For more information, visit www.malaysiaairlines.com
Nicholas Olczak
