Malaysia Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380 which it will use on the London Heathrow-Kuala Lumpur route from 2 July.

The A380 will be flown to Kuala Lumpur today where it will be used for staff training. It will return to Toulouse in June for completion of its paintscheme.

Configured with a total of 494 seats, the aircraft has a three-class layout. This comprises 350 economy-class and eight lie-flat first-class seats on the lower deck and 66 lie-flat business-class and 70 economy-class seats on the upper deck.

MAS A380 delivery 

 Airbus

"The A380 showcases our latest premium offering. This will be our flagship aircraft offering new levels of comfort, luxury and convenience for long-haul travel," says Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Malaysia Airlines' chief executive.

Malaysia has six Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered A380s on order, with the second due to be introduced on the London-Kuala Lumpur route in August.

The carrier is due to join the Oneworld alliance in the last quarter of 2012.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news