Malaysia Airlines reaches new milestone in Australian market
Dhaka: Malaysia Airlines has become the sixth-largest international carrier serving Australia by passenger numbers, showing a sharp rise in its market share over the past year, according to Australian government data.
The country's Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) data shows the Malaysian flag carrier handled 132,501 passengers to and from Australia in June, a 54.2% increase from 85,907 passengers in the same month last year. Meanwhile, the airline's international passenger market share in Australia rose from 2.5% to 3.9% over the period.
Malaysia Airlines now trails only Qantas, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, and Cathay Pacific. Qantas leads with a 16.7% share, followed by Jetstar at 14.8%, Singapore Airlines at 9.5%, Air New Zealand at 6.0%, and Cathay Pacific at 4.7%.
In January, the airline ranked ninth. It reached sixth place by March and has held that position since, benefiting from travelers avoiding Gulf carriers following the outbreak of the war in Iran, as have several other Asian airlines.
By contrast, Emirates was fifth in January with a 4.9% share but dropped to seventh in June. Qatar Airways, which held 2.6% and ranked tenth in January, has fallen out of the top 10.
A Malaysia Airlines spokeperson said as of September 2026, outbound flights from Australia grew 56% year on year, while inbound flights rose 50%.
The growth was mainly attributed to strong premium demand from corporate, student, and premium leisure travelers.
Malaysia Airlines currently serves five cities — Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide — in Australia. It operates thrice-daily A330-900 flights from Kuala Lumpur to both Sydney and Melbourne and one daily to Adelaide.
Brisbane currently gets six weekly flights, which will rise to daily later this month. Perth is served twice daily, one of which is operated with the Boeing 737-8 MAX instead of the A330-900.
The A330-900 seats 297 passengers, and the 737-8 MAX seats 174. The airline currently deploys 39,264 seats per week on the Australia-Malaysia route and serves as the only full-service carrier on the country pair.
BITRE data shows the airline filled over 90% of seats on flights from Australia in June and just under 70% on flights to Australia.
The airline said it is increasing frequencies in response to demand and is exploring further capacity increases next year.
Malaysia Airlines is also considering expansion in New Zealand, where it currently operates ten weekly flights to Auckland. Bryan Foong, CEO of Malaysia Aviation Group's Airline Business, said the airline aims to reach 14 weekly flights first.
Thereafter, the carrier could consider Wellington and Christchurch, subject to economics, demand, and aircraft availability.
