Malaysia Airlines this week took delivery of their first Airbus A380, becoming the eighth airline to operate the superjumbo aircraft.
In a Tuesday ceremony at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Brégier handed over the keys of the first of six A380s on order to MAS Group Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. It is the 83rd A380 delivered to an airline customer, according to Airfleets.net data.
Malaysia has outfitted the new jet with 494 seats in three classes. First and Business Class feature lie-flat beds, while Economy Class seats are wider. All seats are equipped with individual in-flight entertainment systems, USB ports and satellite telephone facilities.
Registered 9M-MNA, the new plane wears a unique, two-tone livery, consisting of all white paint and blue titles. Malaysia’s regular livery mimicks the red, white and blue Malaysian flag, and has been known to appoint some of its planes with fantastic special paint schemes, such as its Hibiscus Boeing 747-400.
A380 service will begin on the Kuala Lumpur-London Heathrow route on July 1. Malaysia’s second A380 will also fly the route once delivered, while the third will be dedicated to Kuala Lumpur-Sydney duty.
