Malaysia–Singapore Airlines

Malaysia–Singapore Airlines (abbreviation MSA) was the multinational flag carrier of Malaysia and Singapore. The airline was previously renamed twice, being founded as Malayan Airways from 1946 to 1963, Malaysian Airways from 1963 to 1965, and ultimately in 1966 as a result of a joint ownership of the airline by the governments of the two countries not long after Singapore was expelled from Malaysia. It was headquartered at Robinson Road in Singapore.

MSA was ultimately short-lived due to disagreements between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments as to how to manage the airline. Consequently, the airline would cease operations after just six years in 1972 when both governments decided to set up their own national airlines instead, Malaysian Airline System (MAS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA).

History

Malayan Airways

The airline traced its roots to the formation of Malayan Airways in 1946. With its first flight on 1 May 1947, piloted by Jimmy Brown with Ken Wood as his radio operator and navigator, the Singapore-based carrier flew on domestic routes between Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Penang and Singapore on an Airspeed Consul twin engined aeroplane. In April 1948, the airline flew direct international routes from Singapore to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam; Batavia (now Jakarta), Medan and Palembang in Indonesia; and to Bangkok in Thailand via Penang. It also flew a route connecting Penang with Medan.

The airline grew rapidly in the next few years, boosted by rising demand for air travel during the post-war period, where flying was no longer a privilege for the very rich. By 12 April 1960, the airline was operating Douglas DC-3s, Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations and Vickers Viscounts on new routes from Singapore to Hong Kong and from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok via Penang. Flights were also introduced from Singapore to cities in the Borneo Territories including Brunei, Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu), Kuching, Sandakan and Sibu.

Malaysian Airways

The airline saw its name changed twice due to political shifts. In 1963, the creation of the Federation of Malaysia prompted a change of name to "Malaysian Airways". Singapore's expulsion from the federation in 1965 led to another name change to Malaysia–Singapore Airlines (MSA) when the two separate governments took joint ownership of the airline in 1966.

Merger with Borneo Airways

On 1 April 1965, Borneo Airways Limited was officially amalgamated with Malaysian Airways and the merged company was renamed Malaysia–Singapore Airlines the following year to reflect the political changes between Malaysia and Singapore.

The last of 30 Boeing 737-100s built was delivered to Malaysia–Singapore Airlines in October 1969. This resulted in the return of the last MSA de Havilland Comet 4s leased from British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) being returned to that airline.

Breakup

The different needs of the two shareholders, however, led to the break-up of the airline just six years later. The Singapore government preferred to significantly develop the airline's international routes, while the Malaysian government preferred to develop a domestic network with regional and international routes being a secondary focus. MSA ceased operations in 1972, with its assets split between two new airlines; Malaysian Airline System Berhad (now Malaysia Airlines), and Singapore Airlines.

With Singapore Airlines determined to develop its international routes, it took the entire fleet of seven Boeing 707s and five Boeing 737s which would allow it to continue servicing the regional and long-haul international routes. Since most of MSA's international routes were flown out of Singapore, the vast majority of international routes were in the hands of Singapore Airlines. In addition, MSA's headquarters, which was located in Singapore, became the headquarters of Singapore Airlines.

Malaysian Airline System, on the other hand, took all domestic routes within Malaysia and international routes out of the country, as well as the remaining fleet of Fokker F27 Friendships and Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders. It began flights on 1 October 1972.

Legacy

The initials MSA were well regarded as an airline icon and both carriers tried to emulate them. Malaysian went for MAS by just transposing the last two letters and choosing the name Malaysian Airline System, whereas Singapore originally used the name Mercury Singapore Airlines to keep the MSA initials, but that was blocked following protests by Malaysia. Eventually, Singapore subsequently named the new entity as SIA, creating a new initial that would eventually be an airline icon itself within the following decades.

In 2024, Izham Ismail, the Executive Director of Malaysia Airlines, alleged that the decline of its airline when compared to Singapore Airlines was not due to the emergence of low-cost carriers (LCCs), but rather the break up of Malaysia–Singapore Airlines.

Corporate affairs

In the 1960s, Malaysian Airways was headquartered in Raffles Place, Singapore. By 1971, the headquarters had moved to the MSA Building at Robinson Road in Singapore. The building later became the SIA building.

Gallery

Fleet

Over the years, the airline operated many aircraft including:

Former destinations

Malayan Airways

• Brunei - Brunei Town
• Burma - Mergui, Rangoon
• British Hong Kong
• Indonesia - Batavia / Djakarta, Medan, Palembang
• Malaya - Alor Setar, Ipoh, Kota Bharu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Malacca, Penang, Singapore, Taiping
• Philippines - Manila
• Sabah - Jesselton, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Tawau
• Sarawak - Kuching, Sibu, Miri
• Thailand - Bangkok
• South Vietnam - Saigon

Malaysia–Singapore Airlines

• Australia
  • Melbourne - Melbourne Airport
  • Perth - Perth Airport
  • Sydney - Sydney Airport
• Bahrain
  • Manama - Bahrain International Airport
• Greece
  • Athens - Ellinikon International Airport
• British Hong Kong - Kai Tak Airport
• British Raj / India
  • Bombay - Santacruz International Airport
• Indonesia
  • Denpasar - Ngurah Rai International Airport
  • Jakarta - Kemayoran Airport
  • Medan - Polonia International Airport
• Italy
  • Rome - Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport
• Japan
  • Nagoya - Komaki Airport
  • Osaka - Itami Airport
  • Tokyo - Haneda Airport
• Malaysia
  • Kota Kinabalu - Kota Kinabalu International Airport
  • Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Lumpur International Airport
  • Kuching -
  • Penang - Penang International Airport
• Philippines
  • Manila - Manila International Airport
• Singapore - Kallang Airport and Singapore International Airport
• Ceylon / Sri Lanka
  • Colombo - Katunayake Airport
• Switzerland
  • Zürich - Zürich Airport
• Taiwan
  • Taipei - Songshan Airport
• Thailand
  • Bangkok - Don Mueang International Airport
• United Kingdom
  • London - Heathrow Airport
• South Vietnam
  • Saigon - Tan Son Nhat International Airport
• West Germany
  • Frankfurt - Frankfurt Airport

Incidents

Borneo Airways and Malaysian Airways each had one aircraft accident while operating. Aircraft operated by successor Malaysia–Singapore Airlines were involved in five accidents resulting in hull loss.

• 30 January 1967: Douglas DC-3 (9M-AMU)
• 5 March 1967: Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer (9M-ANO)
• 17 May 1967: Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer (9M-ANC)
• 5 December 1969: Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander (9M-APE)
• 23 November 1971: Fokker F27 Friendship (9V-BCU)

See also

• Borneo Airways
• Federation Air Service
• History of Malaysia Airlines
• History of Singapore Airlines

Notes and references

Further reading

• "MSA: the name may stay." Flight International. 22 July 1971. p. 115 (Archive)-116 (Archive).

External links

Media related to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

• Aviation Safety Network
• Airliners.net Photos
• Historical Timetables