Hi Kenn,

I usually fly SQ - never (yet) tried MH.

Nothing wrong with the legroom as such actually (I'm not very tall), it was just my overall feel of the cabin.

And the times I have been on UD on SQ, the FAs were almost invisible (which on SQ flights is a disappointment on so many levels... ;) )

/Mike

Hi Mike,

From reports i have been getting on UD, you actually get more service from FA's as the passenger to FA ratio is better... i guess it depends on the day...
Do you get more than 2 FA's on the uD?

Yeah, maybe it was just bad luck the times I tried the UD. I don't know how many FAs are supposed to be in UD. Just know I always feel neglected ;)

Once I was on LD on SQ SYD-SIN and we were only 4 pax in business class. Nothing can beat that FA/Pax ratio :)

Actually, the UD/LD question often comes up when I'm selecting a seat at the check-in counter in the airport and all the check-in assistants I've met prefer LD themselves.

But it's a good idea if you try a little of both and see what you prefer. As you can see from this thread we all have different preferences...

/Mike

Hi Mike,

I have booked my tickets today :)

I varied my seats for the 4 legs like you said. I have only experienced LD so i am trying a couple of UD.

My itenary is as follows:(all window seats except 17H which is aisle).

SYD -> KUL 15:40 -> 20:50 in seat 6K (Upper Deck)

KUL -> LHR 11:15 -> 16:50 in seat 6k (Upper Deck)

LHR -> KUL 22:00 -> 18:30 in seat 17H (Main Deck) Choosing aisle as i will probably get sick of window by the end of this trip :)

KUL-> SYD 09:45 -> 20:45 in seat 1A (Main Deck only)

What do you think?:)

Cheers,
Kenn.

Hi Kenn,

Sounds like a good plan :)
Give us your opinion when the trip is finished.

Have a great trip! :D

/Mike

Hi Mike,

Will do a mini trip report:) But its a while to go yet. I am going just before xmas this year.

Really looking forward to it.

On the 777-200 from KUL->SYD i am in 1C which is bulkhead. Does this mean its good or bad:)

p.s. i am thinking to change my KUL->SYD to a night flight i.e. 21:00 -> 07:55+1, because that will be on a 747-400 3 class config. And by that time i should have enough FF points for MH to upgrade from Business to First! Tempting isnt it?:) Don't know what to do.... Use it on this leg or save it up and use it at another time for a outbound flight.

Cheers,
Kenn.

Though I prefer the upper deck, too, there are some benefits sitting in the lower deck. One of the main benefits is, the overhead compartmens are larger and you can store you hand luggage more easily.

If you have to go to the front of the (upper deck) cabin to get you hand luggage you are loosing time deboarding the plane. On TG I experienced also, that Economy passenger could leave the plane, while business passengers were still heading down from the upper deck.

Beware of the frist two seats of the upperdeck cabin, as the bins between window and seat are smaller than usual. I had difficulites to store my laptop bag there and therefore had to put it in the overhead bin (which was not that bad, as neighbour seat was free). And you have not bin if you are sitting at the exit row in the upperdeck, giving you only the small overhand bin to store you belongings.

If I could get a free seat aside on the lower deck and not on the upper deck, I would go for the lower deck.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully on MH 6k has space for the bins between window and seat :)

What is the upper deck? What is a 747? (Hint: sarcasm - I am often stuck on regional jets, so all of this talk about upper deck as opposed to lower deck amuses me)

:D :D :D

Don't worry. You don't really feel that you're on the 'first floor' on UD. You're just sitting in a small compartment which could just as well be situated below LD, in the back of the plane or on a totally different plane (now, if you could just look down at the pax in LD when you're in UD, it would be something else... :D )

/Mike

Hi Mike,

that would be something:)

I am so tempted to try F with my FF but may hold it for a later holiday. You tried F before?:)

Kenn,

I haven't tried F yet (95% of my travels are paid by my own pocket), but I am accumulating points for an C-to-F upgrade on SQ (hopefully sometime next year...)
SQ out of CPH doesn't even have F (maybe we're too tight with our money here in Denmark? :rolleyes: ), so it has to be via ZRH or similar.

I guess I will be in the same dilemma as you - which leg should I use it on etc. :)

/Mike

Hi Mike,

Would love to go over to copenhagen for a holiday:)

Would love to try SQ again but they don't fly direct to KUL from SYD.

p.s. i have PM'ed you.

Cheers.

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone here can explain in what case would you choose aisle seat and not window seat for business class main deck and also upper deck?

Cheers,
Kenn.

anyone?:)

I guess mainly a matter of personal preference. I always choose aisle seats just because it bothers me to be blocked in by somebody else. In a domestic flight though, it canget annoying when theother pax need to get by you for lavs/etc...

I was reading your previous posts and here is what I can add. I flew MH in Dec 2005 from LAX-KUL-KHI-KUL-LAX. The outbound lax-kul flight I was in a 747 upper deck in the very front seat, I forget the exact numbers. This 747 was a "new" one in the sense that it had the new IFE system and the coolelectronic seats. I was in aisle and sister was in window. The KUL-KHI/KHI-KUL segments were on a very old Airbus? in business class (I think). Nothing special to say about those, they were relatively short flights and I had plenty to keep me occupied. I don't believe that they had personal IFE systems

However, on the inbound KUL-LAX, we were in a "old" 747 with the crappy seats (all manual controlled- no buttons and such) and they were not the bucket seats. Also in upper deck, but this time we were in exit row. The overhead space on this 747 was MINISCULE. Practically none of the pax in the upper deck could keep their bags in the overhead bins, they all had to be handed off to the FA to keep in the storage closet b/c of size. However, the plane did have the new style IFE systems that the LAX-KUL plane had. I liked the first 747 MUCH better than this second one.

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply:)

On your outbound flight with the new business class seats on the upper deck, LAX->KUL you were saying you were on the very front seat. I believe this is row 6 which i have pre booked. How was the window seat? Can someone get passed the aisle passenger without any climbing over? Also i take it,it has the storage compartments on the window seat?

Service was good?

Cheers,
Kenn.

I like the main deck. I prefer the overhead bin for my bag over the little "slot" against the side of the seat on the upper deck.

Then again with the new bag restrictions in place between the US and UK, my primary international route, it doesn't really matter any more........and most of my flights are now A340 and 777 aircraft, althought they were 747s a year or so ago.

Yes Row 6 sounds about right. I was in the aisle but my sister was in the window seat and she liked it. IIRC, there was plenty enough room to pass without disturbing the other passenger. Hopefully you will get nobody sitting next to you :) The storage compartments were VERY generous, and especially useful in that row b/c you have no seat in front of you to store stuff under. The compartment was useful for things I used inflight, like iPod, books and laptop. There was a power outlet in the seats as well IIRC.

Service was very good. I think it was better on the LAX-KUL segment over the KUL-LAX one. THe food was pretty good, it's been too long for me to remember specific dishes, but I do remember that I had almost no complaints. The 2 that come to mind are
1-The breakfast was a little lacking in salt, but that was easily corrected.
2- MH did not use chicken breast meat for the satay. I don't know if that's a big deal to you, but I am VERY picky about my chicken. It was tasty nonetheless

In the refitted MH 747 I was on, the (upper deck) overhead bins were quite large and the side storage was useful for smaller items used inflight, as I stated above, so you don't have to keep standing up and opening the bin. However, on the nonrefitted 747, the overhead bins were tiny and the side storage bins were too small for most pax bags.

Hi,

Thanks for the info:)

Looks like its a good seat. I suppose if the person next to you in row 6 has the flat bed operating, you will can go over the pax easily?:)

Do you know what type of power plug MH uses for laptop?

p.s. is row 6 near the toilets?

Thanks,
Kenn.

I will try to help all I can, but we are getting very specific here :) If the bed is out, you should be able to get out fairly easily, maybe a small hop. I don't remember the power plug. THe row is on the way to the toilets, but there is a good amount of room between the seats and the toilets. The toilets were on the right side of the aircraft and I was on the left, so I had a good enough distance between me and the toilets.

Hi,

Sorry for being a pain... Its getting too specific as you say :)

I am on the right side of the plane so i guess i am near the toilets. So hopefully the toilets dont gather a crowd.

For SYD->KUL i will be flying Upper deck 6K Window
KUL->LHR -> Same UD 6K Window
LHR->KUL -> Main deck 17H aisle.
KUL->SYD -> 1A main deck as no UD on a 777-200.

Thinking to switch KUL->LHR to main deck if i dislike UD on the SYD->KUL........

Cheers,
Kenn.

No no...you are not a pain at all. I am glad to help. Its rare to find a topic that I can offer so much advice on, it seems that other FT'ers know so much about so many things. I continue to be amazed with the knowledge spread daily on this website.

Best of luck on your trip, I certainly enjoyed MH and I hope you do too. BTW...the MH lounge in KUL is absolutely amazing, one of the best I have been to. If you can, try to get there a little early to make the most use of it. I have heard the F lounge is even better, which is hard to imagine as the J lounge was amazing.
QUOTE=k3nnis]Hi,

Sorry for being a pain... Its getting too specific as you say :)

I am on the right side of the plane so i guess i am near the toilets. So hopefully the toilets dont gather a crowd.

For SYD->KUL i will be flying Upper deck 6K Window
KUL->LHR -> Same UD 6K Window
LHR->KUL -> Main deck 17H aisle.
KUL->SYD -> 1A main deck as no UD on a 777-200.

Thinking to switch KUL->LHR to main deck if i dislike UD on the SYD->KUL........

Cheers,
Kenn.[/QUOTE]

Thanks :)

I have been to the KLIA MH lounge on my KUL->SYD trip in feb this year. I only had 15mins to use it. So i think i better get to the airport early to experience:)

I wanna try upgrading to F:)

[/QUOTE]

We flew on the upper deck last week, on our first 747 flight since the new security restrictions were instituted. Since we were forced to check our roll aboards, the upper deck was even more convenient, as the side storage easily fit my tote and purse and the overhead was perfect for Hunki's computer bag.

There is, of course, a bit of a wait to deplane, compared to being in biz on the lower deck, but the delay was insignificant, compared to the spaciousness, privacy and comfort of the exit row on the upper deck.

We had the privilege of enjoying the ML first class lounge in KUL last January. It was a treat. They have a sit down dining area with linen table cloths, and crystal drinking glasses. The food was delicious and plentiful and they had a very complete, self-serve bar. It was by far the classiest airline lounge I have ever seen.

Thanks for the replies guys. MH KUL lounge in F sure sounds brilliant.

Anyone here been to the MH lounge at LHR? I will be there in late december, not sure what to expect:) Havent seen any pics of it.

Hi,

Did you fly on the refurbished aircraft?

Cheers,
Kenn.

I'll add to this.

I frequently fly UA intl, both biz and first class, between the US and asia.

upper deck is all business class. there is also biz class seating downstairs.

UD pros:

- nobody from coach tries to use your bathrooms.
- nice storage bins next to the window seats.
- not many people up there, not many people wandering around. can't hear the noise from babies crying in economy class. more quiet.
- if you're bored, you can daydream about attacking anybody who tries to hijack the plane.

UD cons:

- you can't sneak into the first class bathrooms (as easily)
- overhead compartments aren't big enough to fit a full carry-on size suitcase. you store them at the back of the UD cabin, near the stairwell.
- when the pilots use one of the bathrooms (they use the UD biz class BRs), the flight attendants stand guard over the cockpit and the empty bathrooms. ie, you can't use the UD bathrooms during this time.
- you can't watch all the other passengers as they board (if you're into people watching or checking out the opposite gender).
- you have to haul your carry-on luggage up a flight of stairs.
- it takes longer to get off the plane when you land.

Hi,

Thanks for the info:)

Only thing in the cons section that applies to me is the watching other passengers boarding:)

Does any other airline, besides LH, use the UD for First Class?

Always take upper deck. It's cozy and there's something dramatic about coming down those steps!:cool:

^^^

I have not experienced UA or MH UD, but have some Trans Pacs on NW, all UD so no LD to compare to. I always go for UD, I figure I fly on that LD on every other plane I fly. GO UD, if it is not full the FA/pax ratio is the best you will ever see. The UD FAs stay upstairs only, as they serve the pilots too.

NW usually does not let you store your roller in the closet by the stairs unless you get a FA willing to bend the rules. They consider this closet for "crew bags only". Your airline may let pax use it.

OTOH, NW blocks the Y aisle and lets the UD down the stairs to deplane first with the rest of C.

I just flew UA UD SFO-SYD, I put my bags in the locker at the top of the stairs. It was my first UD experience and it was great. The captain shook everyone's hand seated on the UD. Also, it's so private and the boarding process went by so quickly and comfortably without the masses walking by.

It all depends on how the aircraft is configured and therefore pretty much which airline. If FC is in the nose section, I prefer UD to main deck. If it's BC in the nose, I prefer main deck, especially row 1. No one goes up to row 1 except to get to their seats or to the closet (not an issue for most of the flight). Really nice and quiet up there. On the upper deck on 747-400s, I hate sitting in an aisle seat as I can feel the vibrations of heavy walkers when they walk past my seat.

As for the privacy and exclusiveness. UD on the old 747s - the 100s, 200s and SPs - will feel more exclusive than any 747-400 and -300 ever will.

So, I like UD in WBC on NW 742s (old FC seats vs. BC seats on the main deck). On NW 744s, I prefer main deck especially row 1.

Similarly on certain 744s operated by O8, the nose section is preferred over the UD: nose section may have old NH FC seats while the UD has old NH BC seats with really cramp BC seats. Doesn't matter on the airline's old SQ 744s.

Not when it isn't a spiral staircase.