Malaysia Airlines System Berhad 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.

Despite a financial restructuring exercise in 2006, 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 operates transatlantic flights from Kuala Lumpur to Buenos Aires, via Cape Town. 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.

Malaysia Airlines non-aeronautical revenue sources include maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and aircraft handling. Malaysia Airlines has two airline subsidiaries: Firefly and MASwings. Firefly operates scheduled flights from its two home bases Penang International Airport and Subang International Airport. The airline focuses on tertiary cities although has recently launched services to Borneo from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. MASwings focuses on inter-Borneo flights. Malaysia Airlines has a freighter fleet operated by MASKargo, which manages freighter flights and aircraft cargo-hold capacity for all Malaysia Airlines' passenger flights. MASCharter is another subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, operating charter flights using Malaysia Airlines' aircraft. After recovering from past losses, Malaysia Airlines is keen on merger and acquisition (M&A) activities: particularly airlines in the Asia Pacific region. Malaysia Airlines was ranked second with score 88 in Aviation Week's Top Performing Companies which accurately measures financial viability of an airline.

Since its inception in 1963, after Malayan Airways was separated into two parts, Malaysia Airlines has built up a strong brand name in the aviation industry for service and safety, coupled with numerous awards from international bodies such as Skytrax. Malaysia Airlines is accredited by International Air Transport Association with IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) for its operational safety practices.

Malaysia Airlines is one of the seven airlines to be ranked as a 5-star airline by the indepedent research consultancy firm Skytrax. Malaysia Airlines is also listed among Skytrax's Quality Approved Airlines.