Interesting Trivia About Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has been in the news a lot recently due to the mysterious disappearance of MH370. As we pray and hope for the safety of all 240 aboard the plane, here are some interesting trivia about the Malaysian award-winning national carrier:

1. MH stands for 'Malaysian Hospitality.'

2. MAS flies about 37,000 passengers aboard 250 departures daily aboard to 80 destinations.

3. MAS' fleet of 88 aircraft includes Boeing 747-400, 777-200ER, 737-800 and 737-400, as well as Airbus A330-300, A330-200 and its flagship A380-800.

4. MAS has been ranked the world's 14th best airline by Skytrax for the year 2013. 

5. Skytrax ranked MAS' cabin crew as being the third best in the world for the year 2013 after Singapore Airlines and Qantas. 

6. MAS is one of the only seven airlines in the world to be awarded the prestigious 5-star status by Skytrax in 2013.

7. MAS received the prestigious accolade of ‘Best Airline Signature Dish’ by Skytrax for its Satay, a traditional Malaysian dish, served in the First and Business Class cabins.

8. MAS cabin staff uniform has been named the second "nicest uniform" by travellers in a poll conducted by Skytrax with 15 per cent of the top 10 airline vote.

9. The iconic Sarong Kebaya worn by MAS' female flight attendants was designed by the School of Fashion at Universiti Teknologi MARA.

10. The name 'Malaysia Airlines System' was chosen because, in abbreviation, MAS (which is short for 'emas') in Malay means gold, and this symbolises high quality .

11. MAS and Singapore Airlines used to be one joined airline called Malaysia–Singapore Airlines (MSA) that resulted from a joint ownership of the airline by the governments of the two neighbouring countries following the seperation of Singapore from the Federation. This airline ceased operations after 6 years of operation in 1972 when both governments decided to set up their own national airlines. Singapore Airlines inherited MSA's Robinson Road headquarters, international routes from Changi Airport, the MSA signature uniform, all of MSA's Boeing 707s and 737s and MSA's chief JY Pillay. MAS only inherited the domestic routes within Malaysia and the few international routes out of the country, along with the remaining fleet of Fokker F27s and Britten-Norman Islanders. As a result, Singapore Airlines expanded overnight while MAS had to mostly start from scratch.

12. MAS changed the previous flight number of MH370 for Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flights to MH318. Its MH371 return flight, would be changed to MH319 and its frequency remains unchanged. This new flight number reflects the Chinese homonyms, with number 8 which sounds like "prosper" or "wealth" and the number 9, which means 'long lasting'.

#prayforMH370