Emirates vs Malaysia Airlines

Planning a trip to Asia or the Middle East? You may well be stuck trying to choose between flights with Emirates and with Malaysia Airlines.

While Emirates is perhaps better-known than Malaysia Airlines, both offer excellent fares and pride themselves on providing high-quality passenger experiences.

Check out our comparison to see which airline can offer you the best deal on your next trip.

Emirates vs Malaysia Airlines

Who offers the best price?

Emirates price matches if you find a fare at least US$20 cheaper elsewhere online. Malaysia Airlines does not, so there’s no guarantee that you're getting the cheapest fare available. But price matching itself is no guarantee of the best price so we compared the two on a single journey below.

• Sample Emirates flight price: Melbourne to Delhi for $1,385

  

• Sample Malaysia Airlines flight price: Melbourne to Delhi for $655

  

The verdict?

We made identical flight searches through both Emirates and Malaysia Airlines and found that Malaysia Airlines offered a fare less than half the price of Emirates’ cheapest fare.

Prices may change depending on sale periods and seat availability and this is merely an idea of flight prices taken at the time of search.

Is it a good airline to fly with?

Emirates and Malaysia Airlines are both statistically safe airlines to fly with.

However, in 2014, Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraft within five months of each other. Prior to this, the airline had been highly awarded as a 5-star Skytrax airline, but now Skytrax makes no mention of Malaysia Airlines on its website.

Nonetheless, Malaysia Airlines strives for excellence in its service, safety and onboard experience. One advantage for consumers is that Malaysia Airlines still offers a premium experience for passengers, but at cheaper rates than pre-2014. It’s up to you whether you place more weight on the airline’s unfortunate history or on its overall track record.

Meanwhile, Emirates has a 4-star Skytrax rating, is rated 6/10 on AirlineEquality.com, and has a 4-star rating for all its flights except long haul first class, which receives 5-stars. Malaysia Airlines also rates 6/10 in AirlineEquality.com, with better staff service and value for money than Emirates, but one star less for seat comfort and inflight entertainment.

The verdict?

Both airlines have the same rating based on customer reviews. If seat comfort, inflight entertainment and an unmarred reputation for safety matter to you most, Emirates is a winner. If you consider value for money and staff service more important, Malaysia Airlines has our vote.

Any other differences worth noting?

Emirates provides free chauffeur services to and from the airport for Business and First Class passengers.

Coincidentally, Malaysia Airlines and Emirates have recently partnered. They now share miles for their frequent flyer programs, combine routes to allow both airlines to reach more destinations, share lounge privileges for First Class, Business Class and frequent flyer members, and more.

What are the deals like?

Emirates has a huge range of deals available. In the past, deals from Australia to Europe have started from $1,199 (Melbourne-London),

Some of Malaysia Airlines' flight specials from Australia have included Melbourne-Bangkok for $643 and Sydney-London for $1,065.

The verdict?

Emirates flies to more locations, and so has a wider range of locations included in its deals. however, both airlines offer deals to and from a large selection of their destinations, and it’s difficult to pick a winner.

For example, at the time of writing Malaysia Airlines and Emirates both had special offers on flights from Melbourne to London Heathrow for $1,110 and $1,199 respectively – a comparatively small difference. It seems your destination is the key factor in deciding which airline offers the better deal.