Malaysia Airlines unveils the new A350 coming to London, and bookable on Avios
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Malaysia Airlines is one of the lesser known members of the oneworld alliance, in which it is a partner alongside British Airways. This means that you can both earn and redeem Avios, and earn British Airways tier points, when flying on Malaysia.
Malaysia Airlines has just taken delivery of its first A350-900 aircraft and, from January, this aircraft will be operating one of their two daily Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur services. Both daily Malaysia flights will switch to A350 operation by March.
Full details of the new planes are on their website here.
These aircraft will replace the current A380 services, which the airline intends to convert to an ‘all economy’ configuration to use exclusively on pilgrimage routes to Saudi Arabia.
These are three cabin aircraft – a super-exclusive First Class of just four seats (one row), Business Class (35 seats) and Economy. Three rows of Economy have additional leg room and will be sold at a premium.
These three pictures which are all that Malaysia has put on their website so far:
First Class:
and
As you see, you are getting a ‘suite’ with a closing door. The real difference between First and Business is that your feet are not tucked away in a cubby hole under the seat in front.
Business Class:
The Business Class layout looks pretty good. It is a staggered 1-2-1 or 1-2-2 layout, similar to Aer Lingus. It even has two Aer Lingus-style ‘throne’ seats on the right-hand side. On the left, one row has ‘table / seat’, the one behind ‘seat / table’ and so on, so that your feet slot under the table area of the seat in front. The Qatar Qsuite works in a similar way.
Here is an extract from the seat map which hopefully makes it clearer (click to enlarge):
If you want to find out more, Malaysia Airlines has a special A350 section on its website which you can find here.
Whilst this will be bookable on Avios via ba.com (not avios.com), remember the standard restrictions on booking partner awards. Every date is a peak date in terms of pricing, and you cannot use a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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