Malaysia Airlines new 737-800
 

It looks like MH is now flying 737-800 on the KUL/BKK route.

Can someone confirm this? Has anyone flown this new plane? Is it a leased 737-800 such as they used to fly on the MNL route or a real NEW 737-800 with NEW interior?

How are the C class seats if anyone knows.

Thank you.

Not sure if the new 738 or leased ones are flying as they 738 seem to be freely rotated throughout the route network.

I just flew 9M-MLG today and from what I could tell, there are 16 JCL seats with IFE installed.(Headphone jacks only). I am quite sure the plane was equipped with drop down screens even though it wasn't deployed.

For the new 738, 9M-MX_ series, there will be fold out PTV with AVOD in JCL.

Thank you.

I realise that the 737-800 will be deployed on BKK route later this year (I was looking at dates in August), so it may be prematrue to ask.

From what you are saying, the new 737-800 will have proper business class equipment (shell seats?, AVOD etc.).

Judging by the pics on airliners.net, the Business Class seats on MH's new 738's are not shell seats like on the 777's and 744's. They look like recliners. MH.com indicates that Business Class pitch on the new birds is a generous 42" and the seats have leg rests. Compare that to 37-38" for domestic first class in the U.S., which is roughly the pitch MH has in J on its existing 734 fleet.

Even in August its hard to tell if the leased ones or new 738s are going to operate. Take for example, Bangalore, it gets a mix of the leased and new 738. So I doubt they differentiate between the new and leased on when it comes to route planning. Really depends on your luck.

Judging from pictures, definitely not shell seats. Similar to Garuda or Jet Airways JCL seat on the 738. Cradle seats. AVOD yes.

OK for craddle seats then :D

Last time I flew 737-800 was from MNL and they had NO biz class seats. Only blocked the middle seat.

Would the leased birds have proper business class seats now?

I believe those 738 have since gone to their subsidiary Firefly. MLA & MLB I think.

MH has two types of 737-800s. One (old style livery) is also old style. No in flight entertainment. Biz class are 2-2 not 3-3 with middle seats empty. No in flight power. The others are the new livery - biz is still normal recliners but slightly more room than the older 737-400s. All seats (econ and biz) have in seat screens with VOD.

They seem to interchange both types (e.g. KUL-MNL-KUL) have not worked out yet how to tell which of the two is flying.

BKK to KUL 737-800
 

I was on this flight in C. The service was good. No head phones were available from MH. If you did not have any you just looked at the screen. Avoid the last row. Limited recline. The foot rest was pretty useless. Food for the short sector was so so. The "hot" Malaysian would guess coffee drink was excellent. I am not a coffee person but liked it. Video content was good. The initial screen I was on showed limited content but after going to the home screen you get more access. Blanket available on request. The seat width even in C is also so so with the controller sticking into your thigh. Was expecting more comfortable. The MH Lounge is not well marked in terminal C. Upon arrival in the train system it will be above and behind you. The Lounge continues to be nice. Off for the next leg.

Economy
 

Does anyone know whether the new 737-800s of Malaysian have decent room in the window seats? Or they as bad as the window seats on an A320? As a wide-shouldered man, I just about go mental and die when I am forced to sit in a window seat on a 320.

Sounds like you just need to book an aisle seat everytime you fly.

Would anyone know what type of Business to expect on the 737-800 serving RGN?

Has anyone flown the KUL-MLE flight on this bird?

SQ cancelled their daytime flight and I have to decide whether to get to MLE twelve hours late (and miss a day at the Park Hyatt) on SQ J or switch to MH via KUL and not miss a day but ride a 738 in J instead of SQ's plane.

MH176 operates with either the ML-series birds or the MX-series birds. Only the later registered ML birds have the new seats whereas all MX-series birds are fitted with them. All down to luck really.

I have flown twice return trip in Dec 2012 and June 2013. Out of 4 flight, only 1 turn to be the new 737-8 which comes with personal LCD.

So... old or new - no at seat power? If so, sad for new aircraft. KUL-KTM is almost five hours.

The Later ML series, All MX and All MS series birds have inseat power. It's only the earlier ML series and FF series birds that don't.


Still, I much prefer the older leased birds. They're more comfortable, have more pitch and feel more airy - in both J and Y. I fly on MH 737's every single week without fail - from a sample size of about several hundred: Give me an old bird any day :) This is not necessarily a case of newer is better, IMHO.

I feel the same way, give me the old bird any day. I usually like sitting in bulkhead rows, the old birds have a nice cut out for storage. On the new ones, not only is there no place for in front of you storage, on the DEF side, I've had flight attendants not even allow me to store above the seats as half the storage bin is in Biz.

That cut out in row 5 serves as legroom for me! :) The awful bulkheads on the new birds extend all the way to the floor

In J in 1A and C..... you could build an 18 hole golf course in front of it before hitting the bulkhead. A bit less with 1D and F but still far superior to anything in J on the new birds.

All that new BSI razzmatazz doesn't impress me one bit.

PVG - KUL Seats
 

Hi there
Flying this route in October and it's a 737-800

What kind of business class seats are on this plane? Does anyone know?

Thanks

Hello orangemakker,

You'll be able to find the picture of the seats simply by googling it. It's not anything special (unless when one compares it with European Business Class), being standard blue coloured recliners with footrests. They come with seat back television similar to that in economy, although slightly bigger.

Urgh...i saw those photos on google, looks pretty awful. Its a nearly six hour flight at night (leaves at 2am).

Cant imagine those are very good for sleeping.

Im connecting to Melbourne at least thats a decent business class.

I presume you will be flying on the 01:45 am departure from Mumbai?

I've only flown them on short-haul flights, so I couldn't exactly comment about the comfort factor.

If you are bothered by reclining seats in the front, do try to get a bulkhead seat. Despite that, I personally do not like the bulkhead as there are limited storage options (cannot store bags under the seat in front), as well as the hassle of a pull-out PTV (same offering as the Qantas 737-800).

Malaysia Airlines does not currently have differentiated business class seats on long haul and short haul 737s. This may soon change as Peter Bellew has announced flat-beds on the 737max10s due to come in 2019.

Thanks I am on PVG-KUL MH387 which leave at 0215 and is a six hour scheduled flight.
Oh well, sleeping pill it is!:D

Am considering MH between HKG and KUL/BKI. Does anyone know what the economy seat pitch is on Malaysia's 737-800? Seat Guru and Google Flights say 30 inches, but I see occasional references to 32 or 33 inches. Malindo offers 32 inches on their 737s and they're cheaper. Thanks!

Hi MH experts...

Any insights into how many different types of seats MH has on their B738s? I flew on a couple of flights, and they seem to have different seats in J on each aircraft.. Thanks alot for your help.

Actually - there are (or rather were) several. There's the new (BSI, IFE as Silver Chris points out) - but with two subsets- the darker blue leather on the late ML/MX series birds, and the lighter grey on the MS series birds. Dimensions and designs are otherwise identical.

Then there's the mish mash of the old non-BSI birds There was the bigger la-z-boy style seats with light blue fabric: It was on 9M-MLK and a few others off the top of my head. Then there was the less padded dark grey leather without seat side wings, but with equal legroom on both sides of the aisle in row 1 (MLE amongst others). There was also the deeper dark grey leather with wings, more room on 1AC than DF. This was/is on the vast majority of birds - from FFA-FFF/early ML's. All these have no IFE.

i've flown on the vast majority of them - only missing FFD/MSC/MSF/MXI and the written off MXX. Have the notes on which is which..just need to dig it up from somewhere.

Thanks alot guys.. hopefully i wont get on an aircraft with a ‘rocking chair’ next time.. happy flying!

how is the meal service on B738 for flights between 3 - 5 hours ?

just thinking if it's worth going for J or sticking with an emergency row Y seat ...

Depends on your time of departure really.

Breakfast services tend to be just the normal breakfast options served in a single tray (bread, fruits, hot main, and yogurt) and a coffee/tea service afterwards.

Lunch and Dinner services tend to be more elaborate on >3 hour flights, with an appetiser/salad served separately from the main.

Given the food quality, at least on ex-Indonesia or ex-KL flights, I wouldn't consider upgrading to J unless if it was dirt cheap to do so, or if you want the extra space.

Well, I’d think it depends on a whole lot of other factors... on a completely packed KUL-MAA flight (or worse yet, a red eye MAA-KUL flight), even though it’s 3.5hrs, I’d take J anytime if I could...

Now, if you’re talking a half-full mid-day KUL-DPS flight where there’s space between passengers, or you even get a whole row, then yes, not as big of a need there...

thanks, it'll be the afternoon KUL - HKG flight. Will the meal be significantly different from the A333 service ?

I wouldn't really imagine a significant difference in the meal service between the 738 and the 333 to be honest.