Any experience flying Malaysian Airlines?
 

Some friends of mine are considering Malaysian Airlines to Sydney. Being a oneworld FF, I would tend to recommend Qantas, but wanted to find out whether anyone here has flown Malaysian and other airlines to Australia and was willing to comment on the service, flights, etc. (or direct me to a site that would have that information?) Many thanks!

It might help by mentioning where your friends will be flying from as well. Obviously if they're flying from somewhere like LAX then it's a bit of a detour taking Malaysian rather than Qantas and this should be factored into their plans. Flying from Europe on the other hand is basically the same when it comes to flight times between the two airlines.

Malaysian has good legroom in Economy class, 34" pitch or so, rather than Qantas and their 31" pitch which can be a bit snug. Service is good on Malaysian as well, and their entertainment systems are decent too. If mileage isn't of a concern for your friends, then Malaysian is a good option (and a stopover in Malaysia is worthwhile too - MAS usually has good packages available, certainly worth investigating if your friends have any interest at all in seeing that part of the world).

sorry, they're flying out of NYC.

So, your friends will be flying EWR-KUL (via Stockholm, ARN) to connect to KUL-SYD. You should get very good service on all legs. EWR-KUL is served 3x a week by a 2-class B777-200ER and KUL-SYD (twice a day) by the same aircraft type or a three-class B747-400.

Generous 34" seat pitch in Y and acres of leg room (more than 65") in angled lie-flats in C. You will get two hot meals for the transatlantic flights with another two from ARN to KUL, with snacks available in between. One hot meal and a light meal/snack for the KUL-SYD leg. AVOD available in all classes + free beverages. Generally, quality of service should be at par with QF, but with more pampering and more legroom.

Your friends should also consider a stopover in KUL, and MH may be able to offer very cost-effective stopover options for Malaysia or even regional South East Asian destinations.

Just as long as their booking class isn't G, L, V or W, they can accrue mileage on NW Worldperks for example.

http://www.nwa.com/worldperks/earn/a...shtml#malaysia

If the fares are as such, see if they can 'buy up' to another class of service so that they can earn miles.

EWR-KUL-SYD-KUL-EWR would earn quite a number of miles!

MH rivals CX and SQ in service. Their seat pitch is better of the two (rivals TG), their IFE is good (better than TG, equals CX), and their food is good too. Except that everything is halal - so no pork dishes! But it is not a dry airline - hardly.

I just took Malaysia Airlines MEL-KUL-MEL recently. They are definitely not something to be talked about and don't expect anything too much from them. Flight attendants are not 5 stars, they dissapeared after meals, I don't see them distributing drinks every 30minutes like CX or SQ. In addition, they never pay attention to your call button, you have to wait for them to passed by to get their attention. Food is mediocre for airlines such as MH. For snack in Australia sectors, you will get a cold hard sandwich. I never get sandwich in any SQ or CX's australian sectors. IFE is good though. Overall, they are not at the same league as SQ or CX.

Once when I went down to the biz class section of the main deck to check on the seat layout of their newly refurbished 747, almost the entire crew were comfortably tucked in the new biz class seats watching movies on the IFE. They were not pleased with my "intrusion".

I jus flew PER-KUL-BOM-KUL-PER on J class, all new seats apart from BOM-KUL, and it was fantastic. Service, food, entertainment, seats, amenity kits lounge etc was 5 star. I thouroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone and can't wait til I get the opportunityof flying them again.

Hi Josh,

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Just want to find out, for your BOM-KUL flight, what aircraft is that on? 772?

Cheers,
Kenn.

Mh 737-400 , Sgn-kul
 

Any experience about MH C class SGN-KUL ?. Is there any MH lounge in SGN. ? Also is it possible to visit MH lounges in KUL upon arrival.? Transiting to domestic flight in Y....

India to KUL is typically A330 with old business class

I took a handful of those shorter Asian MH hops a couple of years back and they're so-so.

The food looks to me like what they serve in Economy but with the foil container sitting on a porcelin plate.*

Service onboard has been quite good mind you with drinks freely flowing. I recall that the plane had a fault leaving SGN. We parked on a remote stand, engineers came on board and curtain was drawn between C&Y. We got several rounds of a full bar service, whilst I think Y got a cup of OJ...

Lounge in SGN when I used it was the VN one - it's a lounge but that's about all I'll say on the matter and I think it was the only such facility at that time.

I believe you can use the Golden lounge on arrival at KLIA. See note at foot of this page - http://hq.malaysiaairlines.com/mh/en...en_lounges.asp. I'm no expert on this but I think you have to use the one at the satellite as they closed the international one in the main pier and your plane may well park at the main terminal. You just have to hop on the tram, but it adds to the time and you'll need to get back to the main part of the airport, clear customs & immigration etc then get to your departing gate all in good time.

Note there's no alcohol in the domestic Golden lounge at KLIA incase they try sending you over there and you want a drink!

* - having never flown MH in coach, I could however be horribly wrong on this count...

My parents wish to do SIN-KUL-EWR/LAX-KUL-SIN on MH business class, since they've very attractive D fares ex-SIN.

Some questions:
1) I'm aware that all 772ERs (KUL-EWR) have been retrofitted with the new lie flat seats. Can the same be said for the 744s (LAX-KUL)?
2) Does SIN-KUL-SIN book into Y or F?
3) Is it possible to tag on domestic USA sectors on to the itinerary, and if so - what are the permitted carriers?

The fare rules don;t seem to say much about 2 and 3.

Couple of months ago, someone on FT reported flying on the old configuration aircraft for the LAX route which surprises me. The last time I flew this route on MH was close to a year ago and I had the new seats outgoing and the old seats coming back. Priorities are given to flights to LHR and SYD; and as long as there is a single aircraft in service that is not refurbished there will always be a chance they will use it for the LAX flight.

If you dont mind me asking, how "attractive" are these fares on MH ?
Would it be cheaper to purchase a RTW ticket based on the route your parents are flying since tagging on US domestic F/C flights is not going to be cheap.

SGD5880 before taxes.

I'm thinking the transcon can be part of the fare, which is basically a SIN-NYC-SIN, outbound transatlantic and inbound transpacific.

I've not had much experience with MH fares but a similar routing on SQ (SIN-LAX-NYC-SIN) costs the same as a simple NYC return. Except on SQ it'd cost as much as a small tropical island.

no a A330-300, it was scheduled for a 772 up until a week before the flight. Don't know why they changed it. It was bearable but was slightly disappointed because it was an overnight flight and I wanted the bed. Other than that, I was really impressed with Malaysia Airlines.

Yes, you could visit the MH international lounge on arrival in KUL, but make sure you leave enough time to get through immigration (for transit pax, separate from the facility for pax terminating in KUL) to transfer to your domestic flight in Y.

MH's one and only international lounge is located at the satellite building. It never had an international lounge at the main terminal building (MTB) - just a domestic lounge, which you will not have access to as you will be flying in Y (unless you have status with MH's FFP).

Your aircraft from SGN may park at the MTB and upon leaving the aircraft, pax will be directed to the international level of the MTB. From there, take the train (every few minutes) to the satellite building to get to your lounge. You do not have to tell the attendants that you have a flight to catch in Y, as this may lead to some "resistance" given that you are on transit - just keep an eye on the clock for your next departure. You will need to show your boarding pass stub to indicate that you have just arrived from SGN in C.

To get to your domestic flight which will depart from the MTB, just take the train back to the MTB, look for the domestic transfer sign and go down one level to go through immigration (the elevators/ stairs to go down one level are actually BEHIND the train platforms) and off to your gate. Here, try not to follow the crowd who would tend to head forward and down the esculators towards arrivals immigration.

I assume you will have been issued your domestic flight's boarding pass at SGN.

If your SGN flight parks at the satellite building, then just go straight to the lounge in the same building, before heading to the MTB to catch your domestic flight
.

They will usually ask you if you have a connecting flight. And they always give me a funny look when I said no, but nevertheless wave me in.

In fact as recently as earlier this month that son of a gun airplane greeted me at LAX. Judging from the grumbling among the C-class crowd, I am not the only one that will be using CX or SQ for KL flights the next few months.

It is quite tragic that MH, after doing a wonderful job on the re-fits, is unwilling to convert those last two (IIRC) planes and instead would rather upset high rev customers on the LAX route (not sure if this is scheduled or if it only happens with eq. issues, given that several people I know have had this experience in the past year).

Errr...got an unrefurbed ship when I flew upstairs from SYD to KUL on Dec 26...so its not just LAX....but at least the check-in staff apologetically advised us that this would be the case. Expectation management is a good thing ! ...anyway the rest of the service (and the other 3 flights SYD <> LHR) was pretty darn good...maybe not the equal to SG or CX but then I didnt pay their (higher) prices either....

Funny, my son (16 at the time) flew Malaysian and reported back that his only drink options were alcoholic and the FAs just kept pushing wine on him. I can only assume it was true, since it wasn't like I was meeting him and he had to explain anything. :)

Astute move - they've probably secured his loyalty for life without any of this messing about with Frequent Flyer cards.

Mind you, as a muslim carrier, I can't believe they didn't have any non-alcoholic drinks onboard ;)

First time I hear of MH being described as a "muslim" carrier.

MH is a private company, and I am not aware of any regulation prohibiting non-muslims from owning or heading the company; though I am sure some politicians will ensure that a non-muslim will never head the airline again. Also note that the stewardess do not cover their head with the muslim attire though food served are definitely halal.

I am sure you are also aware that half the population of Malaysia are non-muslims.

I almost always fly MH.
For me it is a very good airline. (standards are same as SQ)

Flight attendents are very friendly and food & service is ok!

Golden club class is magnificient but not affordable for most of us :S
Business class is not worth the price difference with economy for me.

Good luck deciding...
just do it and expierence... ;)

ciao
Martine

Whilst I appreciate that may have been lax terminoloy on my behalf, it is equally laudable to suggest that they had no soft drinks available...

Fair enough, but wasn't it government intervention that brought about the demise of alcohol in the business/first class cabin on domestic and SIN flights? Seems like undue influence on a supposedly private concern if you ask me - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=malaysian

Also a number of staff do have their heads covered which underlines this "theme" - is it check-in and assorted ground staff at KLIA that i'm thinking of?

OT: Doesn't Malaysia have religious police? Doesn't Malaysia have laws forbidding marriage of a Muslim and a non-Muslim?

Well, a non-Muslim is heading the airline today... Idris Jala, the current CEO, is a Christian. Are you saying that after Idris (who is doing a fine job from what I can tell), no more non-Muslims? Why?

The term I should have used should be "Bumiputra" instead of Muslim. Majority of Bumiputras are Muslims (though some from Borneo are Christians) and for simplicity on FT I continued to use the term Muslims since someone mentioned MH as being a Muslim airline.

I wasnt aware the current CEO is a Christian. If he is indeed a Christian (he has a muslim name though), I apologise for the misinformation.

I remember that thread. Quite honestly I believe it was done as a cost saving exercise and I wasnt convinced it was government intervention for the following reasons :

1) Certain politicians would have claimed victory and would push for no alcohol flights to be extended to international flights, but nothing was reported in the press as far as I know.

2) They could have excluded SIN-BKI (since its international ) from the list of no alcohol flights but they chose to include it.

3) At that point in time, price difference between Y and C domestic fares were quite minimal (something like USD20 for an hour flight). Its doesnt make commercial sense to serve alcohol with that kind of fares.

4) I believe alcohol is not exempt from the exhorbitant taxes on domestic flights. How many bottles of wine can one buy with MYR80 at full price ?

I do,however, agree with you that the government does have a strong influence over policy matters, rightfully or not. They are afterall still the controlling shareholders.

I thought he is very much a Muslim from Sarawak. When did he convert?

ANyway, though MH is a public-listed company, it is very much (>75% of shares) owned by the Government and Government-related agencies. Additionally, the Gov has the so-called golden share that ensures that it gets MH to do what it wants it to do.

I do think the lack of alcoholic drinks on the domestic runs is more an economics issue rather than a religious issue. Also, I think the KUL-SINvv runs do serve some form of alcoholic beverages, at least in F.

Re. muslim attire, interestingly, the cabin crew of MH Charters wear entirely different attire to standard MH and some do cover their heads (the head scarf/ covering is designed to go with the attire).

LAX to JUL in F
 

I'll be flying to KUL from LAX end of March. My choices boil down to China Airlines via Taipei...(I tried it to BKK las August and thought it was quite good in F) and Malaysia Airlines...A direct flight (with a technical stop?)

Any info regarding the chances of getting new vs old seats? Also is there a good arrival lounge in KUL as I may be waiting a few hours for a companion.

Thanx,
Tol

Based on the above posts, the chances of getting the old seat is at least 50%. The old F seat is not too bad actually though its not a flat bad (but almost flat when fully reclined and quite comfortable) ; the old C seat does not have a decent footrest, your feet will overhang the footrest unless you are under 5ft tall.

Lounge in KUL is quite good. Plenty of good food and drinks (they have also recently added a noodle bar). I have never showered there but the attendant seems to be handing out quite plush towels. I believe they also have a paid massage service.

I actually found the "technical stop" at TPE to be quite a pain. No lounge to use and you have to go through security again for LAX bound flights. I would rather be in transit for a few hours with a lounge to use. The 1 hr + stop appears to last forever with no proper place to rest, and if your flight arrives early at TPE the stopover can be as long as 2 hrs.

I don't believe it's that high. MH only have 2 out of 17 B744 that has yet to be refurbished. Plus, since late last year, I have not personally seen a non-NSD aircraft at LAX.

Perhaps you have been lucky ;)

When I last travelled that sector, it was supposed to be still 100% non-NSD and the lounge matron was very surprised when she checked and saw the NSD aircraft for my outbound flight.

The question is whether the 2 non-NSD 747 are almost exclusively used for the LAX sector since this sector is not high on their priority. If they are and lets say a total of 4 nos 747 are being used for this sector, then you have a probablity of 50%. OK, the laws of probability doesnt usually work on MH ;)

In May/June, I flew Malaysian Airlines from LAX-KUL (via Taipei, I think) in first class and then KUL-SYD and flew Qantas SYD-LAX also in first class. Two of the MH flights had flat seats and one had older seats but my colleague and I both slept better, surprisingly, on the older seats.

Service was generally exceptional on the MH flights. We had young female FA's as primary and males sometimes helping. I like to drink sparkling water and whenever my glass was close to empty, it was refilled. When we changed planes in Taipei, the new FA asked if I wanted the usual sparkling water. The first FA was cute and cheery but a little too talkative. The next ones were great. The food was very good as well. No complaints at all.

I recently flew roundtrip BOS-LAX-SYD on Qantas, also in first class. Like the previous QF flight, service was excellent. Food was very good. FA's were less cheery, typically older, but more professional, I would say. I hope the high quality and reliability don't decline when the airline is purchased by private equity funds.

I would tend to believe that MH is using the non-NSD 744's exclusively on this route too. Does anyone know when these aircraft are scheduled for refurbishment? I was planning a trip later in the year with MH, but I don't like my chances for the NSD aircraft. :(

MH In Y
 

Hello!

Does anyone (there maybe already a thread on this) know what sort of changes have been made during the retrofit in Coach Class?

Regards,

Emil

Was on a recent MH flight from SIN to KUL. The a/c was A330. The seats were bad even when upright. It seemed that i was sitting in a hole. The service was nothing to talk about. The FA were in a hurry and were not even waiting to listen to your requests. The appearance of the FA's also was shocking. In contrast, my return on SQ was totally a pleasant experience.

Is MH going to be shut down? The attitude of nearly everyone related to MH is terrible. And i couldnt believe that MH doesnt have e-tickets on most sectors where they operate. I had to take the trouble to go to their office to get the ticket issued.

I have flown business longhaul MH twice recently.Service on all sectors was great.
As our home airline QAN has a pretty good reputation and daughter recently travelled BNE/NYC without complaint in economy If you are travelling business then price would be a major consideration.
Personally I would fly direct to the US if travelling economy and not even consider MH. You may pay a little more on QAN but the time saving far outweighs the dollars spent.

If you are travelling economy it is really not worth the effort to travel
MH and waste so much time to save a few dollars .
The QAN service in economy is good to very good whereas MH is top notch in business class.
QAN pricing on the US route is OUTRAGEOUS and if you had to fly business I would definately go via Malaysia.