Malaysia Airlines, Malaysia's flag carrier, [1] traces its origins back to 1947, when Malayan Airways was jointly formed by Singapore's Straits Steamship Company and the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool. The carrier was registered in Singapore and was set up to link several cities within Malaya, as well as to provide an air connection with Borneo and other parts of the region. [2] In 1947, the newly formed airline started scheduled operations with a single Airspeed Consul, [3] : 362 linking Singapore-Kallang Airport with Kuala Lumpur and Penang, and Kuala Lumpur with Kota Bharu and Kuantan. [4]
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By 1948, the domestic route network comprised Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore, Kota Bharu and Kuantan, whereas international flights to Batavia, Bangkok, Medan, Saigon and Palembang were also operated. [3] : 363 In May 1949, Malayan Airways took over the Singapore–Kuching–Labuan–Jesselton route, which had been operated by the Royal Air Force since May 1946 and was the only air link between Singapore and Borneo. [5] : 147 The run was extended to Sandakan in October that same year. [6] In early 1950, the route network was 6,504 miles (10,467 km) long. [7]
Following the formation of Malaysia, Malayan Airways was renamed Malaysian Airways in November 1963. [8] On 14 May 1966, the airline officially became the national airline of Malaysia and Singapore, jointly operated by both countries. [9] [10]
The company was re-christened again on 1 January 1967, [11] this time to Malaysia–Singapore Airlines (MSA). [12] MSA began to deploy its de Havilland Comet aircraft on the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore route, and also on services radiating from these two cities to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, Perth and Taipei. These aircraft were used on selected domestic routes as well. [13] A year later, Jakarta and Sydney were already incorporated into the international route network, with the Singapore–Jakarta–Perth–Sydney service using a Boeing 707 that was leased from Qantas, [14] and by April 1969 Tokyo was included as well. [15] The inauguration of services to Colombo and Madras were announced in April 1970 for commencement in June that year [16] and flights to these two cities were operative by May 1971. [17]
Based at Subang International Airport, Malaysian Airlines System Berhad (MAS) was formed by the Malaysian government in April 1971 to succeed MSA, starting operations on 1 October 1972, a day after MSA became defunct over its splitting between MAS and Singapore Airlines. [18] [19] The new airline's route network initially consisted of domestic flights plus international services to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Medan and Singapore. [18] By March 1975, Bandar Seri Begawan, Dubai, Haadyai, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, London, Madras, Manila, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo were added to these destinations, [20] : 493 with Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Melbourne, Paris, Perth and Seoul also being served ten years later. [21]
In April 2000, from its main hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia Airlines operated scheduled services to domestic destinations including Alor Setar, Bakalalan, Bario, Belaga, Bintulu, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Langkawi, Lawas, Layang-Layang, Limbang, Long Lellang, Marudi, Medan, Miri, Mukah, Mulu, Penang, Pulau, Sandakan, Semporna, Sibu, Tarakan, Tawau and Tomanggong. International destinations served at the time included Adelaide, Amsterdam, Auckland, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Cairns, Cairo, Cape Town, Cebu, Chennai, Chiang Mai, Darwin, Delhi, Bali, Dhaka, Dubai, Frankfurt, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Hat Yai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kaohsiung, Karachi, London, Los Angeles, Malé, Manchester, Manila, Melbourne, Munich, Nagoya, New York, Osaka, Paris, Perth, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Pontianak, Rome, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Surabaya, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, Vienna, Xiamen, Yangon, Zagreb and Zürich. [22]
