Malaysia Airlines A380 comes home

The A380 ferried from Toulouse as flight MH5439, arrived to a traditional water salute welcome, followed by a ceremony attended by Minister of Transport, Y.B. Dato' Seri Kong Cho Ha, airport and government officials, travel trade and invited guests.

The brand new, state-of-the-art Airbus A380 commanded by Captain Norshid Ali with 91 guests and selected Malaysia Airlines' staff from various divisions, including Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Malaysia Airports CEO Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad, DCA Director General Dato' Azharuddin Abdul Rahman and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance.

Speaking at the ceremony after greeting the passengers who arrived on the flight, Y.B. Dato' Seri Kong Cho Ha said "I am pleased to note that despite the mounting continuous challenges in the global commercial aviation industry, Malaysia Airlines has never neglected its obligation to fulfill the corporate objectives required by the government. The arrival of the A380 today is proof that the national carrier has once again taken the lead to support the nation's aspirations to be a leader in trade and tourism activities."

"The A380 in our fleet signals the start of a new level of product and experience for our guests. It is also part of our aggressive fleet renewal initiative where we are striving to bring down the average age of aircraft which will result in significant cost reductions as well. For the rest of 2012, we will take delivery of more B737-800, Airbus A330-300 and 3 A380 aircraft." said Ahmad Jauhari on arrival in the airport.

After the welcome formalities, Malaysia Airlines cabin crew hosted a guided static tour of the double-deck aircraft to around 50 guests, comprising officials from the Ministry of Transport, senior airport officials and members of the media.

Guests got a chance to view and experience the comfort of the seats, the wide range of meals and drinks and the new innovative amenities available for passengers of Malaysia Airlines A380.

In conjunction with the A380 arrival, the Minister of Transport also officiated the opening of the upgraded Malaysia Airlines flagship Golden Lounge at the KLIA Satellite Building. The upgraded Golden Lounge has 2 seating areas comprising the Platinum lounge for Enrich Platinum members and First Class guests as well as another zone for Enrich Gold members, Business Class guests and front-end passengers of customer airlines.

The 43,284 sq ft facility which is open 24 hours daily accommodates a maximum of 326 passengers in the Business Class zone and 64 passengers in the First Class zone. The lounge also includes private shower facilities, a new design and selection of meals and beverages, a sports bar, art pieces from MAP @ Publika, and many more facilities and amenities.

As part of enhancing the overall customer experience for Malaysia Airlines' guests, the airline's award winning cabin crew are on hand to serve guests in the Lounge. This way, guests can look forward to experiencing consistent high standards of service, both on ground and in the air.