Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has unveiled a new livery that will adorn its Airbus A380 aircraft.
The new design marks a departure from the airline’s traditional white, blue and red colour scheme, combining two different shades of blue on both the tailfin emblem and fuselage, against a white background.
In a statement, MAS said the livery was designed to highlight its ‘wau’ heritage, referring to the traditional Malay kites.
“We are the first to introduce the A380 into service using a uniquely refreshed look and feel, instead of the regular corporate identity, to showcase our latest premium offering in products and services. This will be our flagship aircraft to launch our exciting new levels of comfort, luxury and convenience in long haul travel,” said MAS Group Chief Executive Officer, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.
The MAS A380 will have a capacity of 494 seats in a three-class configuration, with eight first class and 350 economy class seats on the main deck, along with 66 flatbed business class seats and 70 more economy class seats on the upper deck.
The largest capacity A380 in service today is operated by Air France and offers 538 seats – 131 more than Korean Air’s 407-seat A380.
The first MAS A380, scheduled to be delivered on 1 July 2012, will operate three times weekly on the Kuala Lumpur-London route. A second A380 will also be introduced on this route from late August 2012, while the third will be used for KL-Sydney flights.
The new paint job marks the second new livery in as many years for MAS. The airline rolled out a new red, white and blue livery on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft in November 2010.
