The business class section of Malaysia Airlines' new Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft offers longer seats and toilet ratio that is comparable to its peers, MAS chief executive officer Izham Ismail said.

He said the airline took notes of Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai's concern over passenger complaints on the interior seating arrangements and lack of toilets in the business class of its new Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft.

"However, what is most important to us is the experience of customers on board with us and customers spend 90 percent of the time during a flight on the seats, not in the toilets.

"We are very proud that the seat itself is equivalent to our peers, such as Lufthansa, KLM and British Airways," Izham told a press conference after witnessing the signing of a training partnership agreement by the Malaysia Airlines Academy and International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Petaling Jaya today.

He added that MAS defined its product as 'premium' and not 'luxury', like Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways.

The Malaysia Airlines Academy is the training arm of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG).

The partnership would allow the academy to offer 10 lATA courses at the initial stage, with the first to kick off on Feb 26.

- Bernama