seattle29

Trying to check-in online for my MH flight in 2 days, and it says "Check-in Status: On Standby", asking me to contact ground agents at the airport.

ExpertFlyer shows all fare classes zeroed out, so it appears the flight is heavily overbooked.

I have a confirmed e-ticket and really need to catch this flight as it's for a wedding, so how can I maximise my chance? I plan to arrive at KLIA 4 hours before the flight.

Globalist

seattle29

Just an update: Arrived at KLIA 4 hours before the flight, and was given a standby boarding pass with seat number "STBY", as all 166 seats were taken on the 737-800 (allocated from online check-ins or people coming from connecting flights). Forgot to mention that my ticket was an award redemption via Japan Airlines, and it seems that MH had given me least priority on the overbooked flight, not even letting me check-in online, which was disappointing, especially as I'm oneworld Silver.

I couldn't go through security so had to wait at check-in until 45 mins before the flight. Unfortunately, all 166 passengers made the flight and I couldn't get on. MH offered to rebook me to HKG the following morning, which would have been too late for the wedding. After some persuasion, they agreed to rebook me on CX later that day, but it was again standby with no guarantee. Malindo had 3 spare seats on their flight that evening, but MH refused to rebook me (their main competitor at KLIA and not in an alliance?) - I didn't want to risk standby on CX, so instead booked a cash ticket on Malindo for RM 2,400.

I'm in the process of claiming my miles + tax back from Japan Airlines, even though I was technically a "no show" for the MH flight. I'm just disappointed that I was blocked from checking-in online due to my award ticket, even though I tried when OLCI first opened at T-48h. I've made award redemptions on MH before via BA and QR, and never had a problem checking in online.

mihaid

SilverChris

I suspect this is why you were so far down the list.

CX hasn't been flying to KUL for quite a while now, so I wonder if they were offering you an option that never existed.

It's not about being a competitor or non-oneworld carrier. MH and OD don't have an interline agreement which would've allowed for FIM.

This sounds like a horrible experience and I really hope you get in touch with MH to find out what happened.

Also have a look at your entitlements prescribed by Mavcom

mihaid

OP surely meant KA.

seattle29

To answer another poster, yes I meant Cathay Dragon (KA). But I'm so used to flying CX from KUL that I still dub it as CX. By being oneworld silver, I meant oneworld sapphire - aka Silver in BA Executive Club which is my chief frequent flyer account.

To answer your questions:

1. Yes, the booking was visible on the MH website before online check-in (6-digit Amadeus PNR). "Manage my booking" didn't give the option to reserve a seat in advance and as it was an economy flight, I wasn't bothered about seat selection anyway.
2. I booked around 4 months ago, and it was ticketed by Japan Airlines (prefix 131).
3. I called MH when online check-in said I was on standby, but the call centre was useless. One agent got confused over my ticket and thought I was on an MH staff ticket, another agent said not to worry and just check-in at the airport, and another agent didn't know what standby meant.
4. I called JL from the airport and they've been very helpful. They confirmed with MH almost immediately that I'd been denied boarding, and will hopefully reimburse the miles + tax shortly.

sammyg901

Straight forward overbooking situation unfortunately - very little protection offered in those situations in Asia . However frustratingly beyond the refund from JL I very much doubt you'll get anything out of MH

Unlucky not to squeeze on - in my experience KL is a pretty fluid operation mainly caused by their timekeeping, along with a lot of no-shows. Have been on the bad side of this a few times due to misconnect but always cleared off standby in the end

No interline with OD so no way of getting a rebook. Bit of a pain as I am sure it would help them both out when there are issues

seattle29

I have no problem with overbooking, and I've been bumped off overbooked flights in the past. But I do have a problem with MH blocking me from online check-in, based solely on the type of ticket (a reward ticket issued by a different airline). All confirmed e-tickets should be treated equally and it should be "first come first served" when it comes to checking in.

SilverChris

That's not how it works with most airlines, I'm afraid. A passenger's itinerary, fare class, FFP status, disability/special assistance requst all come into play.

seattle29

It's true that all those come into play, but my experience on other airlines is that they decide who to offload at the airport - either at check-in or the gate. They let everyone check-in first, and only offload if everybody turns up at the gate.

I've checked in online with DL before in SEA and got a boarding pass, only to be offloaded at the gate due to my ticket being a reward flight and more important passengers checking in after me.

This is the first time I've actually been blocked from checking-in online - it appears MH already decided I would be denied boarding 48 hours before the flight, even though there was a chance of no-shows...