Claim: Air transport services for traveling passengers and freight are provided by the company Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines Berhad -LRB- MAB -RRB- -LRB- Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad -RRB- , formerly known as Malaysian Airline  System Berhad -LRB- MAS ; -RRB- ; branded as Malaysia Airlines ' is a major airline operating flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and from secondary hubs in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to destinations throughout Asia , Oceania and Europe . Malaysia Airlines is the flag carrier of Malaysia and a member of the oneworld airline alliance . The company 's headquarters are located at Kuala Lumpur International Airport . In August 2014 , the Malaysian government 's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional -- which then owned 69.37 % of the airline -- announced its intention to purchase remaining ownership from minority shareholders and de-list the airline from Malaysia 's stock exchange , thereby renationalising the airline .   Malaysia Airlines owns two subsidiary airlines : Firefly and MASwings . Firefly operates scheduled flights from its two home bases Penang International Airport and Subang International Airport . The airline focuses on tertiary cities . MASwings focuses on inter-Borneo flights . Malaysia Airlines has a freighter fleet operated by MASkargo , which manages freighter flights and aircraft cargo-hold capacity for all Malaysia Airlines ' passenger flights .   The airline began as Malayan Airways Limited and flew its first commercial flight in 1947 . Malayan Airways was headquartered in Singapore . In 1966 , the airline was renamed Malaysia Singapore Airlines -LRB- MSA -RRB- , before its assets were divided in 1972 to form Singapore 's flag carrier Singapore Airlines and Malaysian flag carrier Malaysian Airline System .   Despite numerous awards from the aviation industry , being crowned ` The World 's 5-Star Airline ' by Skytrax multiple times -LRB- 2009 , 2012 and 2013 -RRB- , and recognition from the World Travel Awards as ` Asia 's Leading Airline ' -LRB- 2010 , 2011 and 2013 -RRB- , the airline struggled to cut costs to compete with new , low-cost carriers in the region since the early 2000s . In 2013 , the airline initiated a turnaround plan after large losses beginning in 2011 and cut routes to prominent , but unprofitable , long-haul destinations , such as the Americas -LRB- Los Angeles and Buenos Aires -RRB- and South Africa . Malaysia Airlines also began an internal restructuring and intended to sell units such as engineering and pilot training .   In 2014 , Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraft -- Flight 370 and Flight 17 -- less than five months apart , exacerbating the airline 's financial troubles and leading to the renationalisation of the airline . Prior to 2014 , MAS had one of the world 's best safety records -- just two fatal accidents in 68 years of operation , including the hijacking in 1977 of Flight 653 that resulted in 100 deaths .