The national carrier of Malaysia has stepped up its game in recent years. It has refurbished its Business Class cabin on the Airbus A330s that fly to and from Australia and upgraded its lounge network.
Malaysia Airlines offers quite good award availability to Qantas Frequent Flyer members. However, its Business Class product isn’t one of the best flying to Australia.
Malaysia Airlines routes, aircraft & cabins
Malaysia Airlines currently operates a 2x daily service from Sydney and Melbourne, 1-2x daily service from Perth and 4x weekly service from Brisbane and Adelaide.
Most routes are operated by two-cabin (Business and Economy Class) Airbus A330s. That’s except for one of the Perth flights, which has recliner seats on Boeing 737s.
Malaysia Airlines A330 cabin & seats
All of the A330s have lie-flat Business Class seats. On the A330, the configuration alternates between one row of 1-2-1 and the next of 1-2-2.
As usual, try to avoid the first and last rows if you want to be away from noise from lavatories and the galley.
Most routes operated with A330s, such as Kuala Lumpur – Hong Kong, have the refurbished cabin. However, note that the A330 on the Perth route has older-style seats, still lie-flat but it’s not the latest product.
Malaysia Airlines 737 Business Class cabin & seats
On the 737s, there are 16 recliner seats in Business Class, with a simple 2-2 configuration over four rows. This aircraft operates one of the daily Perth services.
Malaysia Airlines A350 Business Suites cabin & seats
During peak travel periods, Sydney and Tokyo sometimes get an Airbus A350 or A380. London flights operate with A350s year-round.
As of December 2018, First Class on Malaysia Airlines has been rebranded as ‘Business Suites’—it is just a name change.
You can find the older Business Suites seat on the A380 and the newer version on the A350.
Malaysia Airlines A380 Business Class cabin & seats
You can find this product flying to Tokyo as well as occasionally to Sydney. It’s a different Business Class product altogether, with a 2-2-2 configuration on the upper deck.
How to book Malaysia Airlines flights using points
American Airlines AAdvantage offers the cheapest redemption rates. Asia Miles is next, whilst Qantas Frequent Flyer is significantly more expensive. Malaysia Airlines’ own Enrich program turned revenue-based as of June 2017, wiping out its good value.
Prices are one-way in Business Class to Kuala Lumpur:
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | Asia Miles | AAdvantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perth | 61,200 | 30,000 | 40,000 |
| Adelaide | 61,200 | 61,000 | 40,000 |
| Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane | 75,000 | 61,000 | 40,000 |
I haven’t included Business Suites pricing as it is not usually available on Australian flights.
From Kuala Lumpur, you could then redeem more points for travel on British Airways to London. Alternatively, you could fly Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong for travel further afield, or take the short hop to Singapore to increase your redemptions out of Singapore.
Qantas American Express Ultimate
- Sign-up Bonus:
- Up to 100,000 bonus Qantas Points¹
- Rewards Earn Rate:
- 1.25 Qantas Points earned per $1 on eligible everyday purchases. 2.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on selected Qantas products and services in Australia. 0.5 Qantas Point per $1 at government bodies in Australia. After a total of 100,000 Qantas Points is earned in a calendar year, the everyday earn rate will change from 1.25 to 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent.
- Annual Fee:
- $450 p.a.
- Offer expires
- 5 May 2026
- Earn 70,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, plus an additional 30,000 Qantas Points when you spend a minimum of $1 on your Card within 90 days of paying your second year annual Card Fee¹. (Offer ends 5 May 2026. New Amex Card Members only. T&Cs apply.) This card includes an annual $450 Qantas Travel Credit, two Qantas Club Complimentary Lounge Invitations after eligible Qantas spend each year, complimentary international travel insurance, and Qantas Wine Premium Membership (valued at $99). Earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 on everyday spend, 2.25 on Qantas purchases, and 0.5 on government payments. The annual fee is $450.
How to search for Malaysia Airlines award availability
You can search for Malaysia Airlines award space on Qantas.com.
Award availability on Malaysia Airlines flights to/from Australia is usually pretty good for two or more passengers in Business Class. They are a useful option to have in oneworld and as a Qantas Frequent Flyer redemption partner.
You should be able to book Malaysia Airlines redemption seats up to 353 days before departure. Read more on when programs release award seats.
Malaysia Airlines lounge access
Malaysia Airlines operates lounges in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and London Heathrow.
There are four lounges at Kuala Lumpur, for:
- domestic flights
- regional flights
- long-haul flights in Business Class (including to Australia)
- long-haul flights in Business Studios
Business and Business Suites passengers also have access to oneworld partner lounges, such as the Qantas lounge network. If you are departing from Heathrow Terminal 4, the Malaysia Airlines lounge is great but the Qatar Airways one is also worth a visit.
Summing up
Malaysia Airlines has generally had an inferior hard and soft product to Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. However, with flat-bed Business seats on most flights to/from Australia, the attractiveness of travelling with them increases.
Redeeming for flights on Malaysia Airlines makes sense especially when flying point-to-point from Australia to Malaysia. Other airlines are perhaps a better option for destinations further afield, however, they do remain a useful redemption option to use points to get to Asia or beyond.
Supplementary photos courtesy Malaysia Airlines.
I am on akl-kul in J. Booked it for 75k AS miles. Only 10 of us in J. I noticed they aren’t going to keep releasing award space to one world partners to fill their J cabin. My husband is in Y. They offered an upgrade at the airport for $900nzd. Thanks but no thanks.
i have tried to book a points flight on qantas flying from either adel or melb to KL return & absolutely zero flights appear using malaysian airlines at all – there are none that come up either to pay for – it would appear that whilst they are both members of oneworld there is zero availability to use qantas points – very frustrating
Hi David, reward flights are always subject to availability, and it may be that there are none currently available on the routes and dates you are searching. In terms of buying a ticket instead for travel on Malaysia Airlines, you would need to go directly to the Malaysia Airlines website or a travel agent – not the Qantas website, as Qantas doesn’t sell codeshare flights on Malaysia Airlines metal. You would still be able to earn Qantas Points and Status Credits on eligible Malaysia Airlines fares (although note that generally, the cheapest Economy Class tickets earn nothing, and that the earning rates in Qantas Frequent Flyer are very low for travel on Malaysia Airlines between Australia and Asia, among other defined reduced-earn routes).
Despite reading this article multiple times, I am still no wiser as to HOW to book a flight with Malaysia Airlines (the title of this article…) Do I look for flights via Malaysia Airlines site? One World? Qantas? Asia Miles? Still have no clue. I don’t think this article is for the expert travel hacker, but it has no information for the beginner either.
Any idea when we’ll see qantas redemptions for MAS flights eg Sydney to Kuala Lumpur?
MH Business class is extremely bad choice to spend your Qantas points. I’ve used them once from Adelaide to KL. A330. Seats are smaller and service is very average. Crew looks tired and no smile in the face. Unless they upgrade their fleet to A350/Dreamliner and train their crew to smile I wont fly again.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
MH no longer has a MEL lounge sadly
Thank you for letting us know. I can confirm that the Melbourne lounge no longer appears on the Malaysia Airlines website and have updated our guide accordingly.
Is MH actually releasing more than 1 seat in J to award inventory now? That wasn’t the case very recently.
How do i get the MAS flights to appear as an option when logged in as a Qantas FF?
From memory Malaysia Airlines don’t appear as an option on Qantas.com, you’ll need to call.
That changed.
https://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-brings-malaysia-airlines-reward-flight-bookings-online
MH became available on Qantas.com late last year. When they went online there was lots of availability I snapped up a SYD-KUL-LHR Business/First for Peak Holiday period… winning!
Hi All,
My feedback on their business class A330 is that is still far inferior to Cathay or Singapore – seat and service.
I recently flew twice in Business Class on MH and basically when the seat is flat you have no space/movement possible from the thigh down. Its VERY uncomfortable and cramped to sleep.
I also tried to check in one large suitcase, one small carry-on that I wanted to check in, and a poster roll 1m long with prints inside. Was told this is 3 items and had to pay $65! Even though it was all very light and totalled under 30kgs total easily. I checked the same items into ECONOMY on the next flight with Sri Lankan who didnt charge me at all. Poor form.
Meals/service on board are average. But the seat is the most important thing (especially on overnight flights SYD-KUL-SYD) and the seat is very very average.
Id look at alternatives – SQ and CX
Hi Matt,
Whenever I’ve looked at using points to go to KL ex-SYD, and it’s only been me playing around with ideas of where to go and therefore the dates used have been quite open, I’ve never been about to find an MH award seat using QFF website. Is there some sort of trick to finding these using Qantas points?
Cheers,
Peter.
Oh nooo! You had to post this the day after the 15% discount disappears. Anyways maybe the value is still alright