Malaysia Airlines/Company History/The Malaysia Airlines Story
The Malaysia Airlines Story was published on the Malaysia Airlines' website in the 1990's.
The section quoted below was captured by the Internet Archive on 3 July 1997.
See also a later series of articles, Past, Present & Moving Forward, captured in 2004.
The Malaysia Airlines Story
Malaysia Airlines, though perceived as relatively young, has its beginnings dating as far back as 1937. In those pioneering days it was known as Malayan Airways Ltd (MAL), formed when the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool, the Straits Steamship Company of Singapore and Imperial Airways applied to the Straits Government to start an air service between Singapore and Penang.
In 1947, MAL began modestly with a small twin engined Airspeed Consul which could seat only 5 people over a conservative domestic network of just four destinations. Three months after operations MAL moved up to the 21 seater DC3 and went international, flying to Batavia (Jakarta), Medan, Palembang and Saigon by the end of its first year. The introduction of the DC3 was coupled with the debut of the flight service crew.
In 1958, MAL became a public limited company under BOAC/QANTAS and the Governments of the Federation of Malaya, Singapore and Borneo Territories. The company soon acquired 5 single-engined Beavers and later inaugurated the Hong Kong route with a new Douglas DC4 Skymaster.
At the end of 1959, Vickers Viscount propeller jets replaced the DC3s on some of the services. In March 1960 a Lockheed Super Constellation flew the Hong Kong route which was later operated by a Bristol Britannia which had an 82-passenger capacity. The Britannia operated the first non-stop Kuala Lumpur-Hong Kong service.
With the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the airline was renamed Malaysian Airways Ltd (MAL). That same year, it acquired five F27s. Following talks between the region's respective governments to strengthen the needs of air travel, Borneo Airways was amalgamated into MAL, thus increasing the fleet and network of MAL in 1965.
In 1966, the Governments of Malaysia and Singapore jointly acquired majority control of the airline. Its fleet then consisted of five Comet IVs, six F27s, eight DCs and two Twin Pioneers. It had 2,400 staff.
MAL was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines Limited (MSA) in 1967. That year, MSA expanded its international network to Manila, Perth, Sydney and Taipei. Three B707s and five B737s entered the fleet while the F27 fleet increased by two. By 1970, the airline had its own high-rise building in Robinson Road, Singapore.
When the MSA partnership was dissolved in 1971, Malaysia Airlines Berhad was incorporated on 3 April with an authorised capital of RM100 million. On 30 November, the company was renamed Malaysian Airline System Berhad (MAS).
After its incorporation, MAS, as Malaysia's national carrier, took to the skies on 1 October, 1972, with a network comprising 34 domestic and 6 international destinations. MAS was installed as a member of OAA (Orient Airlines Association) at the 13th Presidential Assembly of OAA held in Sydney, on November 6, 1972.
In May 1973, MAS reached the milestone of uplifting 1 million passengers. As development was fast during this period the 2 million passenger mark was reached in December of that same year. Services to Hat Yai and Taipei were introduced. Five new routes - Tokyo, London, Madras, Manila and Sydney - were soon added to the list, followed by Perth, Jeddah and Amman. The Wings of Gold inflight magazine was introduced in 1975.
MAS was computerized in 1976. That same year, it took delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, a DC10-30. Frankfurt, Seoul, Amsterdam and Paris were added to its destinations. Under the government's privatisation plan, MAS became the first government agency to go public. The balloting of 70 million shares for public subscription on 6 November 1985 marked a new era in the national carrier's development. It raised additional funds for the Company's capital expenditure on aircraft fleet expansion.
In 1986, MAS moved into its new RM88 million, 36-storey headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. In July, the first direct twice weekly service to Los Angeles via Tokyo was introduced with the Airlines' brand new B747-300 stretched upper deck Combi aircraft.
Network and fleet expansion continued and by 31 March, 1987, MAS had a total of 34 domestic and 27 international destinations in its network and a fleet of 37 aircraft. On 30 September, the MAS Esteemed Traveller loyalty programme was launched. On 15 October, Malaysian Airline System changed its trade name to Malaysia Airlines to create a greater awareness of the country, in line with the government's efforts to develop the tourism industry.
In 1989, Malaysia Airlines took delivery of its first two 747-400 aircraft and ordered eight A330 aircraft and equipment at a cost of RM2.4 billion to satisfy the airline's increasing frequencies, destinations and passengers. It also ventured into nine new international cities - New Delhi, Karachi, Guangzhou, Zurich, Fukuoka, Pontianak, Istanbul, Brussels and Auckland.
In 1990, the airline spread its wings to another seven new international destinations, namely Honolulu, Ho Chi Minh City, Vienna, Nagoya, Darwin, Brisbane and Adelaide. This same year, on 9 July, Malaysia Airlines joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as an active member.
In 1991, Beijing came on-line as Malaysia Airlines' 81st destination followed by Kaoshiung in Taiwan, and Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Munich and Madrid via Dubai in 1992. In 1993, the Passages frequent flyer programme was launched.
In 1994, under the leadership of Tan Sri Dato' Tajudin Ramli, Osaka became Malaysia Airlines' 95th global destination. By 30 October, through code-sharing arrangements the following cities came on line - Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds/Bradford and Teesside in the UK; Coolangatta (Gold Coast), Hobart (Tasmania), Canberra and Cairns in Australia on 1st November. The Cargo Division introduced a 24-hour cargo reservations facility in Kuala Lumpur to provide better cargo handling services to customers. A year later, Malaysia Airlines' authorised capital was increased to RM5 billion.
1995 also saw Malaysia Airlines entering into code-sharing with Virgin Atlantic to widen its destination reach. Dublin became Malaysia Airlines' 106th online destination on 1 June under another code-sharing arrangement with British Midlands. Dhaka, in Bangladesh was launched on 30 October.
Under another code-sharing arrangement with Canadian Airlines International Ltd, Vancouver was added to its destinations on 3 November. Malaysia Airlines became the first foreign airline to fly to Macao on 9 November. By the end of 1995, Beirut, Lebanon, and Davao in the Philippines came online.
Since 1971 Malaysia Airlines has continually maintained its position as one of the world's most reputable airlines with a modern fleet. Today that fleet includes the advanced B777-400s, B747-400s, B747-300s stretched upper deck, B747-200s, McDonnell Douglas DC10s, Airbus 300 and 330, B737s and Fokker 50s.
Malaysia Airlines' prowess in the sky has continually been manifested by a host of auspicious events and the winning of awards. In terms of performance excellence in aircraft maintenance, Boeing has accorded a total of five dispatch reliability awards to Malaysia Airlines.
Malaysia Airlines was rated 'Best In First Class Service' and 'Top Five For Business Class On Long-haul Flights' in 1994 by Inflight Research Services of UK.
Today, Malaysia Airlines is striving to reach new levels of service and global expansion to elevate it to an international airline. The airline's remarkable growth is testament to its commitment to the people of Malaysia and travellers worldwide.
The entry of prominent businessman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli who acquired a 32 per cent controlling stake in the airline in August 1994 signalled a new, dynamic era in the airline's history. Spurred by his vision, key business divisions in the airline were reorganised as profit centres and subsidiaries. Malaysia Airlines also increased frequencies on routes that proved highly profitable and set up code-sharing arrangements and strategic alliances with other carriers as this extended the airline's capacity to reach destinations outside the Asia Pacific region.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/19970703082058/http://www.malaysiaairlines.com.my/airline/history.html