This week we found out that Malaysian Airlines will be making aircraft changes for their route between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. These route changes are set for the (northern) winter 2019/20 season. The main change is that the Airbus A350 will be flying on select dates. Currently, the Airbus A330 mainly flies this route.

Details

According to Routes Online, an Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft is scheduled to fly  MH123/122 on various dates shown here:

  • 23NOV19 – 26NOV19,
  • 13DEC19 – 03JAN20,
  • 21JAN20 – 30JAN20,
  • 21MAR20 – 28MAR20.

MH123 is an overnight flight and departs Kuala Lumpur at 2335. It then arrives in Sydney the next day at 1055. On the return journey, MH122, the A350 will depart Sydney at 1310 and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 1845.

The new filing also states that MH141 will depart Kuala Lumpur at 0910 and arrive in Sydney at 2030. The return flight of MH140 will then depart Sydney as an overnight flight at 2215, arriving back in Kuala Lumpur the next day at 350.

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330. (File photo) Photo: Flox Papa via Wikipedia Commons

Malaysia Airlines' A350 experience

"No detail is too small when it comes to elevating the onboard experience of the new A350-900. -Malaysia Airlines"

For the Malaysia Airlines' A350 cabin the layout is as follows:

  • 4 business suites: "All business with a first class experience",
  • 35 business class seats,
  • 27 economy class seats with extra legroom,
  • and finally, 220 standard economy class seats.

According to SeatGuru, the economy class seats with extra legroom have 36 inches of pitch and 18 inches of seat width, while regular economy has 31-32 inches of pitch with an 18 inch seat width. At least this is a little more generous than the A350s on charter/leisure airlines of Air Caraibes and French bee. Both airlines have a seat width of 16.5 inches. This high-density configuration actually allows for 10-abreast seating.

The cabin layout for the Malaysian Airlines A350-900. Photo: Malaysian Airlines

MHConnect on the A350

The Malaysia Airlines A350 offers MHConnect - the carrier's brand of Wi-Fi service exclusive to the type of aircraft. MHConnect offers three options for internet:

  • Lite: For $2USD you'll get 10mb at 200kbps,
  • Social: For $10USD you'll get 50mb at 512kbps,
  • Business: For $25USD you'll get 200mb at 512kbps.

Interested in the latest news on inflight connectivity? Check out the site Get Connected.

Recent MH news

Earlier this month we wrote about a potential investor for the struggling airline. Datuk Pahamin Ab Rajab, Founder and former Chairman of the AirAsia Group, has submitted a takeover bid for Malaysia Airlines for 49% of the company.

Ab Rajab assures that there will not be any job cuts or rebranding, and Malaysia Airlines will remain a full-service airline. He has met with the Malaysian Prime Minister to discuss his bid.

Malaysia Airlines has six Airbus A350-900 jets. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

I remember choosing Malaysia Airlines specifically when I had to fly from Bangkok to London (via KUL) in February 2018. The main reason was to experience the A350 for the first time. Do you have any plans to fly on this route? Let us know by leaving a comment!