Originally Posted by
Saint4805
Hey folks,
Looking at options from MNL to KUL in a few months from now. Purely from a safety and reliability perspective which of these three options would you choose? Not too fussed about on board service as I can eat in the lounge at MNL before boarding.
1. AirAsia operates A321neo - my favourite narrow body although it could be cramped inside given they are a LCC.
2. Philippine airlines operates an A321
3. Malaysia airlines operates a B737
Thanks!
In my opinion all are equally safe for the most part. And all have their typical delays on a daily basis.
I thought 5J also flew this route (Cebu Pacific), I thought in early 2024 when my friend from Manila met me in KL they flew 5J both ways. Depending on which iteration of Air Asia you're dealing with, I prefer 5J over Philippines Air Asia (Z2).
On cheaper fares most MH economy fares earn nothing on oneworld partners so that probably wouldn't influence me much unless you have status and can get some benefits otherwise. However they so sell business class upgrades very cheaply intra-Asia if space is available.
I wouldn't choose PR over Z2 or 5J, no useful mileage earning for the premium.
Originally Posted by
IAN-UK
It must be irritating when respondents ignore the central tenets of your enquiry, but safety is a difficult, frustrating area to address and all three carriers can have their bad days in terms of reliability.
If you have a soft spot for Air Asia it sounds like a good choice: low fares with the ability to buy yourself into comfort at very little extra cost, plus it flies out of T3. Though good luck in finding a lounge
My choice is distorted by Oneworld membership. If the price is right I'll take MH, swallow the T1 penalty and enjoy lounge, seat selection and in-flight catering with maybe a handful of avios dropping into my account; though as often as not it's Air Asiia.
T3 International has PP lounges, and even last time I was there (about 1 year ago) the domestic lounge was open to PP as well, though I don't see it on the PP app now. Personally I'd take MH as well just for OW benefits, but very unlikely to have any mileage earning outside of MH's own program. But if the OP has no status that won't help them.
Typically as well, Air Asia has really crappy seat pitch in normal seats but their upcharge for exit rows isn't punitive. I've done that a few times.
Originally Posted by
Kacee
AirAsia is really tight in Y (listed as 28" pitch) unless you pay for the first row. I'd avoid for a flight that length on this basis alone. You'll get 2-3 inches more pitch on PR or MH. AirAsia is also super restrictive in terms of changes, even if your flight is delayed.
Exit rows are usually a pretty cheap upcharge. But yeah, very punitive for changes, even on what they call 'full flex'. I nearly got caught out by that once at DMK, but thankfully I was able to get there a lot earlier than I expected. I didn't check the terms very closely when I bought it and knew it was going to be tight, but didn't realize they require changes on 'full flex' tickets to still be 48 hours in advance. Kind of defeats the purpose of 'full flex'.