Very informal Malaysia Airlines
Written: Jun 02 '05 (Updated Jun 02 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good seat pitch, generally reasonable service
Cons: So-so transit hub, Malay the primary language, cabin crew can be cold sometimes
The Bottom Line: Fly it if you are on a budget... If you wanna pamper yourself, the informal airline is not the way to go.
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| iljc82's Full Review: Malaysia Airlines |
I just flew Malaysia from SIN (Singapore) to KIX (Osaka) via the home airport KUL (Kuala Lumpur) last week, and will try as best as I can to give a fresh, objective epinion. It's pretty interesting now considering Malaysia has just recently bagged the best South East Asian airline Skytrax award ahead of Singapore Airlines which has often been imagined as premium (perhaps a price effect). I have broken down this review into sections for an easy read.
Check In: I found the check in staff rather mediocre. Not exceptionally friendly either. He gave me clear instructions and the procedure is pretty standard across different airports in different countries, so perhaps that's a plus. I was also checked through the final destination, and the onward boarding pass was placed in an envelope giving further written instructions.
Aircraft and Seats: It really depends on what route you are taking. The SIN-KUL sector (or vice versa) was absolutely horrible. The seat in front of me actually reclined abruptly by itself, startling its poor occupant, during take off. And then once more during taxi after landing. On my part, it's pretty hilarious and I was just trying to suppress a laugh. The seat backs were also very thin and loose parts would rattle during this flight. On the longer KUL-KIX sector, the aircraft appeared to be better maintained and cleaner. Seats were much more comfortable, with head rest wings, and even some mysterious air bag inside so that you can inflate/deflate it for better back support. The seat pitch for economy was excellent at 34", but it didn't make much of a difference to me who was sitting at the front row. At the first row, the in arm tray table was also quite antiquated and left me little room when set up.
Inflight Catering: This is generally good with large portions anyway you fly with Malaysia Airlines. Don't count too much on the snacks though, this is usually abject and not very palatable. Drinks were also often offered, even though I sensed that the variety was rather limited, compared with Singapore Airlines. One always gets orange juice (and not apple juice, tomato juice, carrot juice etc). There was no mention of wine either on board, and I guess you really have to make a special request for that. Generally, there's nothing you would go "yuck" at, though.
In Flight Entertainment: I think they pale in selection in this area. The IFE is pretty hard to use with unclear instructions. It seems impossible to rewind a movie and you have to watch it from whichever point they have played the movie already. And without need for mentioning, there's no way to pause either. There's no CD collection too, only a fixed radio channel, and you have to listen to its run up of songs.
Service: Malaysia Airlines has won the best cabin crew award for the last 3 consecutive years (Asiana Airlines just won 2005's). I didn't find anything particular special, except that the crew members were very informal and quite sincere in their service. On the KIX flight, they even had an FA who made Japanese announcements. On certain occasions, especially on the SIN-KUL flights, I found the cabin crew rather rude actually. One of them huh-ed impatiently at me because she couldn't hear what drink I'd wanted. Another gave me this smile-less cold look all the time.
Transit: Transiting in KUL can be rather uncomfortable if it's more than an hour. There's nothing much to do and something's wrong with the a/c. It seems to have been put on low or somethin. There's also not much of a view of aircrafts (most of them were Malaysia Airlines aircrafts anyway) and it's not very interesting. Signage is unclear, with English directions displayed in a smaller font.
Others: I found it disturbing that everything was announced in Malay first. The captain and FAs would make long announcemens in Malay, and then a much shorter one in English. It's as if you missed out on something. I'm not saying Malay should be omitted, but perhaps a global language should be used when it comes to an international flight, with potentially a mix of nationalities?
Overall, considering their prices, I would say the service is reasonable, perhaps even good. But all the awards and accolades given to them, putting Malaysia Airlines almost on par with Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, are a little misleading (and puzzling). I'm sayin this without taking into account the respective prices.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
iljc82
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Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 0 members
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