Malaysia Airlines is the government-owned flag carrier of Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates flights from its home base, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and its secondary hub in Kota Kinabalu. It has its headquarters on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor.

Malaysia Airlines maintains a strong presence in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and on the Kangaroo Route between Europe and Australasia. Malaysia Airlines also operated transatlantic flights from Kuala Lumpur to Newark, via Stockholm until October 2009. It operates transpacific flights from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles, via Taipei. In 1997, the airline flew the world's longest non-commercial, non-stop flight from Boeing Field in Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, flying eastward passing the European and African continents and breaking the "Great Circle Distance Without Landing" record for an airliner on a Boeing 777-200ER, longer than the record held by the Boeing 777-200LR.

It is one of only six airlines to be given a 5-star status airline by Skytrax (the other 5 are Asiana Airlines from South Korea, Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong, Qatar Airways from Qatar, Singapore Airlines from Singapore and Kingfisher Airlines from India). Malaysia Airlines is also listed among Skytrax's Quality Approved Airlines, alongside fellow 5-star carriers Asiana Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines and Qatar Airways.

Malaysia Airlines operates a fleet of 99 aircraft with two-cabin and three-cabin configurations. The B777-200 fleet has a two-cabin configuration, with Golden Club Class and Economy Class. The B747-400 fleet has a three-cabin configuration, also including First Class. The A330-300, A330-200 and B737-400 aircraft have a two-cabin configuration. Malaysia Airlines' premium cabins and Economy Class have won numerous awards for excellence in product and service delivery.

Malaysia Airlines now flies to 87 destinations across six continents from its primary hub in Kuala Lumpur.