wzwjon
Dec 14, 05, 9:00 am
LHR-KUL
MH1
2200-1830+1 (Scheduled)
2200-1830+1 (Actual)
Check-in
Checked in 3.5 hrs before departure to beat the queue. Heathrow T3 was very very busy that time of day with almost all the Middle Eastern airlines (EK,GF) having flights later that evening. Check-in took about 2 minutes. Wandered off to get some dinner before entering the restricted area. It was a very unpleasant wait with announcements coming on every 10 seconds (or so it seemed). Heathrow has this system of only announcing the gate number 60-75 mins before the flight and everyone is 'forced' to wait in the duty free area. Eventually, the gate was announced.
Boarding
Boarding was efficient going by row number. This was the New Service Delivery aircraft with the new Business/First and AVOD in all classes. On entering the aircraft, the business class cabin had this weird white lights (similar) to daylight while economy had the usual lighting. It made a strange contrast and I think this is the new Mood Lighting. Having only that white, artificial 'daylight' throughout the flight would have been very tiring on the eyes. Flight was full of students returning for the Christmas break. Hot towelettes were offered prior to departure. It was about 95% full in Economy.
In-Flight
Headphones were given out but still no menus. Juice and beer were offered with peanuts. Meals were served shortly after (much appreciated especially for the night flights) and I opted for the Indian option of Chicken tandoori and briyani rice. The Western option was Chicken and potatoes (I think). This was served with cheese and crackers, a smoked salmon salad and a chocolate mousse cake. This was a rather tasty meal. Lights were turned off after the meal and since it was dark, crew did not (or perhaps forgot) to ask passengers to close the window shades. A while later, someone came round asking for the window shades to be shut. Some people were asleep then. Crew were visible in the cabin throughout the flight whether bringing drinks around or just walking round to see if anyone needed anything.
I enjoyed the wide array of movies and being able to pause, fast-forward, rewind and restart. There was a particularly wide selection of non-English movies which was great as well. After watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Rush Hour 2, I dozed off for the next 5 hours. The next meal was just as heavy as the first. Again, I chose the Indian option of Fish Tikka Masala and Pilaf Rice. The other option was a lamb pasta. This was served with some fruit, yoghurt and juice.
About 30 mins before we were scheduled to land, Captain informed us that we might have to divert to Penang (!!) because there were 7 aircraft ahead of us in the queue and there was bad weather at KLIA. Fortunately, we were able to get our landing slot and arrived at the gate at 1830.
Post-flight
The KLIA seemed rather empty at that time of the day and it was the fastest I went through immigration - ever. It probably took about 3 minutes in the queue and I was in the international passport line. Ironically, there was some sort of holdup at the Malaysian passport counters. Baggage took a long time (about 30 mins) to come out as usual.
Overall
All in all, a good flight with MAS. Crew worked hard and wore smiles right till the end of the flight. The new AVOD system did not disappoint and I have to say, this flight edged SQ out especially with an extra 2 inches of pitch - much appreciated on a full flight. MAS have a good thing going with an Indian food option from LHR. Don't think the Nasi Lemak would have been quite up to scratch.
MH1
2200-1830+1 (Scheduled)
2200-1830+1 (Actual)
Check-in
Checked in 3.5 hrs before departure to beat the queue. Heathrow T3 was very very busy that time of day with almost all the Middle Eastern airlines (EK,GF) having flights later that evening. Check-in took about 2 minutes. Wandered off to get some dinner before entering the restricted area. It was a very unpleasant wait with announcements coming on every 10 seconds (or so it seemed). Heathrow has this system of only announcing the gate number 60-75 mins before the flight and everyone is 'forced' to wait in the duty free area. Eventually, the gate was announced.
Boarding
Boarding was efficient going by row number. This was the New Service Delivery aircraft with the new Business/First and AVOD in all classes. On entering the aircraft, the business class cabin had this weird white lights (similar) to daylight while economy had the usual lighting. It made a strange contrast and I think this is the new Mood Lighting. Having only that white, artificial 'daylight' throughout the flight would have been very tiring on the eyes. Flight was full of students returning for the Christmas break. Hot towelettes were offered prior to departure. It was about 95% full in Economy.
In-Flight
Headphones were given out but still no menus. Juice and beer were offered with peanuts. Meals were served shortly after (much appreciated especially for the night flights) and I opted for the Indian option of Chicken tandoori and briyani rice. The Western option was Chicken and potatoes (I think). This was served with cheese and crackers, a smoked salmon salad and a chocolate mousse cake. This was a rather tasty meal. Lights were turned off after the meal and since it was dark, crew did not (or perhaps forgot) to ask passengers to close the window shades. A while later, someone came round asking for the window shades to be shut. Some people were asleep then. Crew were visible in the cabin throughout the flight whether bringing drinks around or just walking round to see if anyone needed anything.
I enjoyed the wide array of movies and being able to pause, fast-forward, rewind and restart. There was a particularly wide selection of non-English movies which was great as well. After watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Rush Hour 2, I dozed off for the next 5 hours. The next meal was just as heavy as the first. Again, I chose the Indian option of Fish Tikka Masala and Pilaf Rice. The other option was a lamb pasta. This was served with some fruit, yoghurt and juice.
About 30 mins before we were scheduled to land, Captain informed us that we might have to divert to Penang (!!) because there were 7 aircraft ahead of us in the queue and there was bad weather at KLIA. Fortunately, we were able to get our landing slot and arrived at the gate at 1830.
Post-flight
The KLIA seemed rather empty at that time of the day and it was the fastest I went through immigration - ever. It probably took about 3 minutes in the queue and I was in the international passport line. Ironically, there was some sort of holdup at the Malaysian passport counters. Baggage took a long time (about 30 mins) to come out as usual.
Overall
All in all, a good flight with MAS. Crew worked hard and wore smiles right till the end of the flight. The new AVOD system did not disappoint and I have to say, this flight edged SQ out especially with an extra 2 inches of pitch - much appreciated on a full flight. MAS have a good thing going with an Indian food option from LHR. Don't think the Nasi Lemak would have been quite up to scratch.