Malaysia Airlines: Perth flights to get Airbus A330 with lie-flat beds

Business travellers from Perth to Kuala Lumpur can now rest easier, with Malaysia Airlines finally swapping the cozy Boeing 737 for the twin-aisle Airbus A330 from Monday 1 April 2019 on daily flights MH126/MH127.

The bigger bird features 19 fully-flat business class berths which will be most welcome on the overnight MH126 flight from Perth to the Malaysian capital – although they'll also be a pleasure to settle into for the late-evening return journey of MH127.

That said, this are not the same seat as Malaysia Airline’s modern airbus A330 business class (below) which flies to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Instead, the Perth A330s are from a set of six formerly flown by Air Berlin until the German carrier collapsed in 2017, and they are fitted with the original Air Berlin seats (with some minor aesthetic changes to remove the former airline’s branding and update some of the seat functionality).

What counts, however, is that these 19 seats offer a fully lie-flat bed of 80 inches (2.03m), which is more than adequate for all but the lankiest of passengers...

This is what other people can see if you're sitting in an aisle seat

... along with having direct aise access due to a staggered 1-2-1 formation, plus a 16-inch HD screen and more personal space for each passenger.

Some seats are better than others, of course.

For solo travellers we recommend 2A, 4A, 6A, 2K or 4K, as they are set against the window and offer maximum privacy.

Sitting in the C or H seats mean you’ll be completely exposed to the aisle at all times.

Anyone travelling with a companion should aim for the E/F pairs in rows 1, 3 or 5, as the seats are close together in the centre while the consoles are on the outside for maximum privacy.

The five-weekly daytime flights between Perth and Kuala Lumpur – MH124 and MH125 – will continue to be run with the single-aisle Boeing 737-800, which has 16 reclining seats in business class.

In related news, Malaysia Airlines has also added three more weekly services between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur between Monday 1 July to Monday 30 September 2019, bumping the frequency up to 17 services each week for those three months.

Also read: Malaysia Airlines business class vs Business Suites – what's the difference?

Brandon Loo

Based in Perth, Brandon enjoys tucking into local delicacies, discovering new cocktails, and making aeroplane food look good on camera.