Spinstorm

I am flying in two weeks to Tokyo from LHR via KUL and I am unable to book extra legroom seats with my BA Gold/OneWorld Emerald status.

I phoned CS and they told me I have to pay for this and access to the lounge. Is this correct?

Mwenenzi

Lounge access is a OW benefit. (exceptions in USA for AA AS)
Don't know for MH, but would be true on QF for seat selection
OW "preferred seat" is not defined and varies by airline. Have never seem anything written on what "preferred seat" means by airline

https://www.oneworld.com/travel-benefits

carrotjuice

Yes OWE still has to pay for bulkhead or extra legroom seats in Y at the time of booking.

But MH will give them for free to OWEs as priority at the time of counter checkin.

You don’t have to pay to use the lounge (including their F lounge in KUL) even when travelling Y.

Spinstorm

Are these seats worth paying for? It is around £40 per seat and my trip is two flights.

carrotjuice

At 6’ I’d say yes, definitely, for long haul segments.

Spinstorm

I couldn’t find a window seat with the extended space on the LHR-KUL leg so I went for the first window economy seat as I believe there is a partition between the extra space economy and standard.

I did this because I know that sitting in the aisle is going to me I get knocked by the crew and people walking past. Sitting in the normal economy with the partition in front means that no one can recline back into me which I think will be better.

I did get a window extra legroom between KUL-NRT.

Did I make the right choice?

eltoddo22

I flew KUL-BKI recently and was told differently.... no preferred seats for Oneworld Emerald's. I asked about this and instead agent said no and seated me in the LAST row of the plane. The preferred seats / exit rows evidently open up "1 hour" before the flight. So ultimately I asked to move to an exit row exactly 1 hour ahead of departure time at the gate and was then granted request.

So unfortunately no seating benefits for OWE... at least not in my experience.

carrotjuice

This is so silly. At SIN, all it takes is a phonecall to the onsite controller at the checkin counter, and they can override the system and assign to OWEs.

eltoddo22

I flew MH again KUL-DEL and same experience - One World Emerald gives access to "basic" seat selection which otherwise costs like $5 but not premium seats or exit row.

The trick is that premium leg room seats open up 1 hour before departure. I asked at lounge and switched to a very nice "premium" seat in it's own section of A330. Normally those cost extra $35 to book but no one really pays the up charge.

Also first time at the satellite Golden Lounge in KUL.. I was really impressed by First Class dining. Definitely one of better Oneworld lounge experiences... almost on same level as Cathay/JAL lounges. Pretty satisfied with flight / lounge experience given that I only paid 13,000 Avios!

OWF_NYC_SIN

Hi everyone,

I am taking MH 89 (sold as JL 7091) in Y, from NRT-KUL sometime during the December holiday times. The equipment is an A359, with my preference being a extra legroom/emergency exit window seat. I called the JAL agent and she said I was able to choose a complementary seat in row 12 (I am eyeing Seat 12K) or row 27 (Seats 27A/K) --> I think in this case, I can choose the economy extra space section because MH and JL have the joint venture on Japan-Malaysia flights.

Which seat would everyone choose, if they are in this situation? When I fly in Y, I choose emergency exit/bulkhead row seats because of the fact that I get up often and would hate to disturb my seat neighbors. Also, having a nice view outside (not blocked by the wing/engine) is another plus --> Seats 27 A/K fulfill this, based on Aerolopa seat maps, but wonder if this is too far back.

Thanks for any feedback! It's my first time flying MH in a medium-haul flight

carrotjuice

Having flown SIN-KUL-SIN this past week, I can confirm that:
- At SIN, OWE can get emergency exit row seats assigned for free at check-in, just requires a simple phone call to the seat controller.
- At KUL, the check-in person insists it can only be assigned to MH Plats. While standing at the Business Suite check-in zone, she even asked me to walk around to her computer screen where it showed the price that appeared for my booking (RM39) and said there's no way for her to override that.

As to why there's a discrepancy in approach... well, go figure.

Mwenenzi

OW "preferred seat" is not defined and varies by airline. Have never seem anything written on what "preferred seat" means by a specific airline.

nldogbert

Quite ridiculous, booked a light fare as a OWE - previously I had no issues getting basic seats complimentary - and even trying on the website, it says RM0.00 (this is for a KUL-PEN), However the website consistently returns an error here - where the seat does not stick.
Called the MH call centre (answered by a lazy/not interested agent) and started to argue with me that it's not complimentary and even seems that the supervisor indicates this is not complimentary.

Not sure what the real situation is as a few months ago, I did book another such light fare and I did manage to select seats complimentary.
Such situation is just not acceptable. Customer service has really gone downhill with no one wanting to help...

Cheers!

carrotjuice

Moot. But this discrepant practice is all within the SAME airline, just departing from different airports...

carrotjuice

I always have in the past booked Light fare as OWE and selected basic seats for free. Either this is done during the booking process (if purchasing on MH website) or subsequently via the MH website or app post booking (if purchase was made via OTA). My last purchase was done in May 2023 though, hence am unsure if anything has changed since then.