more competition coming up

Qantas under threat
By Sarah Jones
March 27, 2005
From:
MALAYSIA Airlines is set to take on rivals Qantas and British Airways in the lucrative Australia to London "kangaroo" route, spending $238.8 million upgrading its first class and business class cabins.

The airline is refurbishing 17 Boeing 747-400 and 17 Boeing 777-200 aircraft for its long-haul flights in a bid to capture a greater market share of the global high-end traveller market.
Malaysia Airlines is the third-largest foreign airline in Australia and flies Australia-UK daily.

Assistant general manager product development and services Encik Azmil said the kangaroo route was very important to the airline, with the new service aiming to snatch market share away from Qantas and British Airways.


"Overall, we are looking for very good growth, especially with the launch of the front-end product," he said.

"We look to be at the same level (of pricing) as that BA and Qantas are getting and we will be looking at that very closely."

Mr Azmil said the airline had a superior product to its rivals in both first and business classes.

"We now have the third generation of flat beds whereas BA has first generation and Qantas would probably be second," he said.

"For now, we have set the new benchmark."

The first fully refurbished B747-400 will touch down in Australia on April 1, with all planes scheduled for completion by mid-2006.

Malaysia Airlines chairman Dato' Dr Munir Majid described improving the company's fleet was a "never-ending process and the competition is relentless".

"It (the upgrade) is about taking on the top-end of the market, to compete more effectively with the best airlines in the world," he said.

The airline is also scheduled to roll out a new fleet of twin-deck Airbus A380s from 2007.

The new and improved aircraft have fewer seats and more room in both cabins, as well as upgraded customer service and equipment, and an inflight entertainment system complete with SMS and e-mail capabilities.

Marketed as "an experience redefined", the airline has installed an 80-inch seat and flat-bed facility in the first class of the B747-400 aircraft and 58-inch seat with new "third generation" angled flat beds in the business class of both the B747-400 and the B777-200.