Malaysia Airlines 🛫 Inflight Experience

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Malaysia Airlines Inflight Experience 🛫

Malaysia Airlines 🛫 Inflight Experience

Curious about the quality of Malaysia Airlines’ inflight experience? This article delves into the latest updates and enhancements made by the airline, focusing on cabin comfort, in-flight dining, entertainment options, and customer service. Discover our firsthand account and review that highlights both the strengths and areas for improvement in Malaysia Airlines’ offerings.

Whether you’re a frequent flyer or planning your first trip with them, this guide provides valuable insights to help you make an informed decision about your next journey with Malaysia Airlines.

Highlights

 

Why Malaysia Airlines?

You will generally pay more to travel with Malaysia Airlines than with the budget airlines such as AirAsia and Batik Airways, but there are several advantages that can make it worthwhile:

  • Schedule Changes: These are very common with AirAsia (…and even occasionally with Malaysia Airlines).
  • Baggage Allowance: 20 kg free checked luggage is standard with Malaysia Airlines. With the budget airlines you pay extra for checked luggage.
  • Check-in Service (… or lack of): With budget airlines you’re on your own – you even have to print your own luggage tags at the airport using some really annoying machines.
  • Inflight Refreshments: Complementary with Malaysia Airlines. You pay extra with budget airlines
  • Legroom: There’s considerably more legroom with Malaysia Airlines.
  • Stress at the Airport: The budget airlines in Malaysia are often chaotic, and not all the staff are helpful, making for an unpleasant experience.
Departure Lounge - Waiting to Board

Departure Lounge – Waiting to Board

On our latest trips from and through Malaysia, we’ve booked a variety of medium and short-haul economy-class flights with Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines recently unveiled its newly refreshed Boeing 737-800 NG cabin as a part of its sustainability initiative. The revamped cabin features lightweight seats, omitting in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens to reduce the aircraft’s overall weight.

This strategic change is projected to improve fuel efficiency by 8% per passenger, significantly lowering the aircraft’s carbon footprint.

Their Booking Website

Booking a ticket online with Malaysia Airlines is straightforward enough. We tend to book our flights several weeks in advance.

In one case, 9 days after making our booking we received an email stating that our flight had been affected by “a minor schedule change”. The flight would now be leaving 3½ hours earlier. This was unworkable for us since our connecting flight would not yet have arrived!

The flight that Malaysia Airlines had changed was also their last flight of the day to our destination. We therefore booked a hotel close to the airport on the day of arrival  (the Sama Sama Hotel KLIA) and chose another ongoing flight the following morning.

We made a call to their cancellation Helpline and got through to a live agent fairly quickly. He arranged our change of schedule over the phone, and emailed the new electronic ticket to us.

This was the only time we have had to reschedule a flight with Malaysia Airlines. With the budget airlines this is far more common.

Check In & Boarding

As mentioned above, you have a 20 kg checked luggage allowance in addition to a 7 kg cabin baggage allowance.

Check in is fast and orderly, and the planes are rarely full (possibly due to the cheaper budget alternatives).

Spacious Seating

Seats & Inflight Service

Regarding seating space and legroom, the images say it all. You are offered drinks and snacks during short flights.

A key feature of the upgraded cabins is the absence of built-in video screens in the seat backs. Instead, you’ll find a personal device holder located just above the tray table, along with USB-A and USB-C ports on each seatback for device charging.

Replacing the traditional in-flight entertainment systems is Malaysia Airlines’ MHStudio, a web-based entertainment platform accessible without the need to download a separate app. Passengers can enjoy a wide array of movies, music, podcasts, books, magazines, and games by connecting their own smartphones and tablets to the onboard WiFi.

MHStudio also offers duty-free shopping through Temptations, with items delivered directly to your seat. Additionally, in-flight snacks can be ordered via MHStudio.

However, it’s important to note that there’s no internet connectivity over the WiFi, which would have been beneficial for passengers wanting to stay connected through instant messaging.

Check out the leg room - Not bad for economy

Check out the leg room – Not bad for economy

Genuinely Helpful Staff

A recent experience with Malaysia Airlines put them high in the rankings from our point of view.

We had a flight with Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur that was delayed by 4 hours. This left us with just 75 minutes in Kuala Lumpur to clear immigration, collect our baggage and check in with Malaysia Airlines to catch a domestic flight within Malaysia.

Clearly, an impossible task!

We had purchased our Malaysian Airlines flight as a separate booking, assuming that 5 to 6 hours would be sufficient to make our connection. Malaysian Airlines therefore had no liability if we missed their flight due to a delay by another airline.

However, as we disembarked from our delayed Turkish Airlines flight, we noticed a young Malaysian Airways staff member holding a placard with the name of our next destination on it. After speaking briefly to her about our situation she swiftly fast-tracked us through immigration, baggage collection and check in for our next flight. Even she couldn’t get us on the flight we’d booked, but she got us on the next one 2 hours later.

This young lady – named Amani – spent 45 minutes with us arranging all of this without any additional costs to ourselves, or any obligation to do so.

Hats off to Malaysia Airlines!

Final Thoughts

Malaysia Airlines continues to offer a commendable inflight experience.

They have made significant improvements to cabin comfort, providing quality supplementary amenities. The retrofitted cabin space ensures a more comfortable and practical personal space.

Malaysia Airlines Inflight Experience

The airline has also refreshed its in-flight dining experience, offering unique local delicacies that showcase Malaysia’s rich culinary heritage.

Taking into account the progressively worse service and experience offered by their main competitor – AirAsia – we will continue to fly with Malaysia Airlines …for the time being.


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