Australia-Bound Flights to Get an Upgrade With This Airline’s Youngest Fleet

Malaysia Airlines announced in August 2022 that it would acquire 20 new Airbus A330-900, better known as the A330neo. Meanwhile, the two years have been gone, and on December 19th, 20224, the airline received its first aircraft of this type, registration 9M-MNG, on which Simply Flying had the opportunity to fly in business class. The airline even selected the route from Kuala Lumper, Malaysia, to Melbourne, Australia, as the next day’s inaugural route.

The key market in Malaysia Airlines’ network, Australia, has been increasing service offerings as part of the latest strategy to expand its reach to the island nation. Presently, the airline operates flights to four Australian cities & is slated to make its anticipated return to a fifth destination. Although the new A330neos are currently being flown only from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne and Auckland, Malaysia Airlines has set its sights on servicing its Australian routes with the all-new fleet.

Malaysia Airlines’ A330neo fleet 

In 2022, on August 15th, Malaysia Aviation Group-parent of Malaysia Airlines-signed agreements with Airbus, Roll-Royce and Avolon to acquire 20 A330neo aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. Ten of the aircraft were directly purchased from Airbus, and 10 were leased directly from Avalon. In fact, phased out its existing A300-300 fleet, replacing the aging aircraft with A330neos.

Malaysia Airlines’ decision to transition to the A330neo is driven by the aircraft’s innovative build, offering a 14% reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions compared to previous-generation aircraft. In a media statement, Captain Izham Ismail, Group Managing Director of MAG, said:

“The acquisition of the A330neos is a natural transition from our current A330ceos fleet, but the A330neo will not only provide modernization to our fleet and enhanced operational efficiency, but also meet environmental targets through reduced fuel-burn per seat while keeping passenger safety and comfort at its core.”

Recently, the airline’s first A330neo was delivered to its home base of Kuala Lumpur on December 19th, 2024, before taking off on its inaugural flight to Melbourne on December 20. Simple Flying had the opportunity to visit this aircraft during its final stages of assembly at Airbus’ Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France. This later experience involved flying the all-new enclosed business suite on this exact aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines ramps up flight frequencies To Australia 

Malaysian Airlines is a key international market with growing demand from both inbound and outbound segments. The airline currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide & Perth. 

On April 18th, 2025, Malaysia Airlines announced it would be making a long-awaited return to Brisbane starting November 29 this year, reinstating five weekly flights to the Queensland capital. The airline last flew to Brisbane in March 2023.

In addition to the resumption of flights to Brisbane, Malaysia Airlines also revealed that it would be ramping up its flight frequencies to Melbourne & Sydney, increasing from twice to three-a-day flights. The spokesperson from Simple Flying, Malaysia Aviation Group’s Chief Commercial Officer Airlines-Dersenish Aresandiran, said:

“Previously, we’ve had a shortage of aircraft. Now with more A330neos arriving, we have more capacity, and we’re returning to Brisbane. Overall, Australia is important to us.”

Malaysia Airlines’ new A330neo fleet will serve its Australian routes 

Brisbane flights initially operated on the Malaysia Airlines-A330-300 fleet; the airline plans to transition to its newer A330neo as more orders are fulfilled. It’s worth noting that it is already operating the A330neo on flights to Melbourne, using the three aircraft have delivered so far.

With the incoming deliveries of A330neos and the increase in flights to Australia, Malaysia Airlines is in the running to operate among the newest aircraft fleet in the region. Aresandiran said:

“We’re working towards operating one of the youngest fleets to Australia and New Zealand by early 2026. The A330neo will also elevate the experience of passengers traveling to Europe and our Asian destinations.”

The Malaysia Airline-first A330neo-delivered in late 2024, the oldest aircraft-A330neo fleet, would be just over a year old in 2026. Comparatively, some average ages of aircraft flying to Australia per; 

• Qantas - 15.6 years, with the latest addition, the Boeing 787, having an average fleet age of 5.8 years. 
• Virgin Australia - 12.1 years across its 737 NG / MAX-only fleet 
• Jetstar Airways - 10.4 years, with the Airbus A321 being the youngest model at 4.2 years. 
• Air New Zealand - mainly deploys its A320 and A321 on Australian routes, which are 9.3 and 5.4 years old, respectively. 
• Singapore Airlines - primarily flies the A350-900 to Australia, with an average age of 5.7 years. It also sometimes uses its 12.2-year-old fleet of Boeing 777-200ER and 777-300ER. 

Elevating its product and service offerings 

Since reporting a record-breaking financial year in 2023-achieving the first net profit in a decade, Malaysia Airlines has an upward trajectory. The flag carrier recently shared that its yearly capacity jumped by 7% in 2024, with a 17% increase in passengers carried and a load factor of 81% compared to 77% in the year prior.

The Malaysian Airlines earned the prestigious APEX Four Star Major Airline rating and secured a spot in Skytrax’s Top 10 for World’s Best Cabin Crew. They additionally climbed 39th place in the World’s Best Airline ranking, up from 47th the previous year. The airline also received accolades for its in-flight dining, underscoring its dedication to elevating the onboard experience—particularly through initiatives like its Best of Asia menu.

With the start of April 2025, the airline introduced fully lie-flat seats on its Boeing 737 10 aircraft, marking the first for the airline’s narrowbody fleet. This elevated product is driven by the airline’s desire to bring consistent end-to-end comfort to its regional network. Simple Flying, the airline said; 

“Passengers can enjoy seamless journeys, such as Trivandrum to Kuala Lumpur on the 737-10 with onward connections to Melbourne on the A330neo, all within a unified, premium cabin experience.”

World’s fastest growing airline brand in 2025 

Malaysia Airline-within ongoing efforts to improve its products-particularly in the premium market and services, resulted in an impressive award as reported by Brand Finance. The report also came up as Malaysia Airlines is the world’s fastest-growing airline brand-Impressively 209% increase in brand value to US$607 million.

This acknowledgment is a culmination of the following strategies employed by the airline as part of its Long-Term Business Plan 2.0:

• Fleet renewal: with the roll-out of 20 A330neos and a total of 55 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft by 2030. 
• Route expansion and realignment: including the introduction of flights to Male, the Maldives, Da Nang, Vietnam, and Chiang Mai, Thailand, as well as the resumption of flights to Kolkata, India, and Brisbane, Australia. 
• Upgraded cabin experience: with the Collins Aerospace Elevation Business Class enclosed suites (also found in British Airways’ Club Suite) on the A330neo – becoming the first airline to do so on this aircraft type – and the upcoming lie-flat business class seats on the 737-10. 

Overall, the combined brand value of the top 50 carriers rose by 29% to US$132.6 billion. Delta Air Lines maintained its position as one of the valuable airline companies, while Southwest Airlines was recognized as the strongest in terms of brand strength by Daily Express. 

Malaysia Airlines aims to bolster its position further with the aspiration to operate the youngest fleet in Oceania in support of the airline’s fleet modernization and ambition to be a Top 10 global and Top 5 Asian airline by 2030.

A young fleet with big potential 

Talking about the transformative era, Malaysia Airlines is underpinned by a modern fuel-efficient fleet. The commitment to fleet renewal with the A330 neo not only enhances environmental performance and operational efficiency but also elevates the passenger onboard experience. This reintroduction of Brisbane and increased frequencies to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, remains a key pillar in the international airline industry.