Originally Posted by
MeltingAlf
I think that's the interesting bit and there hasn't been a full-bodied theory that explains why MH has a much much bigger share than say, SQ.
It's simple...Malaysia Airlines is, and always has been, cheaper than Singapore Airlines! So more people book the cheaper ticket
(I have only flown once to Australia with Singapore Airlines - but that was their special £400+ return fare from London back in 2009!)
Besides - Virgin can no longer get you to Australia (they stopped flying to SYD via HKG 2.5 years back) and BA can only get you to Sydney - so MH has the edge for Australia and NZ from Ireland. From KUL you can fly direct to ADL, DRW, MEL and PER - and for NZ to AKL - so you require one less stop that, say, BA [unless BA were to route you onto a codeshare out of HKG or somewhere...I am not very familiar with how BA proposes flights to cities other than SYD for Irish pax].
It would appear that, after the Emirates partnership, EI only transfers, at most, a trickle of passengers to Qantas.
Of course, you could go with China Airlines (and I sadly had to cancel a ticket I had booked on EI/CI this winter) quite cheaply too - or with more expensive combos offered by the likes of CX, SQ, and the Gulf carriers EY and QR.