moosecamel88 From Singapore, joined May 2011, 46 posts, RR: 1 Posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 18 hours ago) and read 10387 times:
Hej alle! (Hello everyone!)
I would like to apologise for the long delay in posting this trip report. I'm currently in Denmark and as an exchange student, I'm constantly busy juggling schoolwork and travelling.
This is my 6th trip report and my 1st on Malaysia Airlines.
My Malaysia Airlines Experience
Background
As many of us know, there is a long list of airlines that one can fly from SIN to Europe. As much as I would love flying with my favourite airlines, EK and SQ, MH was my first choice. The reason for this is simple- B744! And what further sweatened the deal was that MH was having a promotion (S$505) for one-way flights from SIN-LHR via KUL! The only minor problem was that MH isn't generous with baggage allowance. As a student going to Europe for 5 months, 20kg of checed luggage isn't enough! I called up MH local office and informed them of my situation but the best they could do was to offer me additional 3kg. And according to the lady on the line, each additional kg of excess baggage costs S$100!
Introduction
As soon as I arrived at the airport, the check in counters opened.It wasn't a surprise that check in was quick and efficent. Afterall, I'm in SIN.
Please don't ever take those boards away!
MH check in counters.
Waiting patiently for my boarding passes.
My boarding passes
Some of you may be wondering why I was in the premium class lane. A few weeks before the flight, I bought an upgrade from optiontown (which was cheaper than paying for 1kg of excess baggage). It was a risk I decided to take as it wasn't clear whether I will be able to check in 30kg of baggage (business class baggage category) but apparently I could! I was happy for my bags as they got to travel 'business class' all the way to LHR!
I bade goodbye to my parents and uncle, breezed through immigration checks and headed towards the Golden Lounge.
I was there early so the staff were still preparing to set breakfast on the counter.
I had a light breakfast as I wasn't hungry.
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I have a bad habit of touching flowers to know whether they're real.
I was greeted by a good-looking stewardess at the entrance of the airplane and was shown to my seat. I was offered some reading material to which I declined. After waiting for most of the passengers to board the plane, the stewardess then went around asking us if we wanted any pre-departure drinks. I opted for guava juice. As she got back to the galley to prepare the drinks, a steward came and distributed steaming hot face towels. Now, that's a good way to start a morning flight!
Extremely wide seats! But I find the seat colour a little too 'loud' for the morning.
Pre-departure guava juice.
Just moments before takeoff.
And we're airborne!
A light snack consisting of sandwiches.
And it wasn't long before we descended into KUL.
Transit in KUL
KLIA.
Every passenger will probably have a picture or two of these model planes!
It's hard to describe how I felt when the boarding call was made. I was extremely excited knowing that I will fly 13 hours on a B744! This excitement was short-lived when I found out that my window seat was in fact a windowless one. A windowless window seat! haha! I quickly asked the stewardess who was nearby if I could change my seat after all the passengers had boarded the plane. She was fine with it so I sat at my windowless window seat and waited patiently. As soon as the announcement was made to inform that boarding was completed, it was utter chaos! I thought I was playing musical chairs as passengers were scurrying all over the cabin trying to grab hold of the remaining seats of their choice. Many people were claiming the whole middle row to themselves! It was utter madness but funny to a certain extent! Alas, I didn't manage to get myself a window seat. I went up to the stewardess once more and told her that I desperately needed a window seat because I wanted to take pictures, lots and lots of pictures. She went down the row asking passengers if the mind swapping seats with me. I was lucky that an old British woman was kind enough to swap seats with me. Many brownie points for Malaysian Hospitality and for the kind woman!
Isn't she a beauty!
An exotic airline which I want to fly one day!
Juice and peanuts.
Deliciuos breakfast! yumyum!
Flying over Afghanistan.
Who needs the PTV when u can stare out the window for hours!
Over Central Asia and into Europe
My very own flat bed! I give it a 5* rating!
Snack box.
All in all, it was an enjoyable flight and I was satisfied with my MH experience. The crew were friendly and the food was tasty. Cabin crew went round the cabin many times with drinks to ensure passengers were well hydrated. Passengers got all the attention they wanted so that's many plus points for MH. However, MH may want to look into refurbishing their cabin as the seats look worn out! Besides that the entertainment system is no where near that of SQ or EK. Nonetheless, it was definitely a pleasure to fly with MH.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6219 posts, RR: 79 Reply 1, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 17 hours ago) and read 10203 times:
Hi Mustafa,
good to see a new report from you! MH's catering looks fine. I guess you had to eat very quickly on the SIN-KUL flight. I flew that sector on SQ recently and it was a very short hop, just got a hot drink between climb and descent.
Akiestar From Philippines, joined May 2009, 637 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 17 hours ago) and read 10158 times:
Hi,
This is a very nice report, and the more I feel curious now about trying MH when I get the chance. Also, I hope you have a nice time in Denmark, especially if you're there on an Erasmus Mundus program!
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): It's hard to describe how I felt when the boarding call was made. I was extremely excited knowing that I will fly 13 hours on a B744! This excitement was short-lived when I found out that my window seat was in fact a windowless one. A windowless window seat! haha! I quickly asked the stewardess who was nearby if I could change my seat after all the passengers had boarded the plane. She was fine with it so I sat at my windowless window seat and waited patiently. As soon as the announcement was made to inform that boarding was completed, it was utter chaos! I thought I was playing musical chairs as passengers were scurrying all over the cabin trying to grab hold of the remaining seats of their choice. Many people were claiming the whole middle row to themselves! It was utter madness but funny to a certain extent! Alas, I didn't manage to get myself a window seat. I went up to the stewardess once more and told her that I desperately needed a window seat because I wanted to take pictures, lots and lots of pictures. She went down the row asking passengers if the mind swapping seats with me. I was lucky that an old British woman was kind enough to swap seats with me. Many brownie points for Malaysian Hospitality and for the kind woman!
It's a very good thing you were accommodated after being persistent! I've tried it on other airlines to no avail, but it's a good thing that you got your preferred seat.
I got to see an MH 744 in MNL last year and it was indeed a pleasant surprise. Also, I'm surprised by how MH opted not to use the Smarties-type coloring scheme for their seats.
volvair From Germany, joined Oct 2011, 167 posts, RR: 9 Reply 3, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 17 hours ago) and read 10097 times:
Hi Mustafa,
thank you for sharing your report and your excellent pictures with us. Although MH's hardware seems to be a little outdated in comparison, I would not have minded taking your flights, especially wih the low load.
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): Some of you may be wondering why I was in the premium class lane. A few weeks before the flight, I bought an upgrade from optiontown (which was cheaper than paying for 1kg of excess baggage). It was a risk I decided to take as it wasn't clear whether I will be able to check in 30kg of baggage (business class baggage category) but apparently I could! I was happy for my bags as they got to travel 'business class' all the way to LHR!
Great idea! I've done the same thing twice. Once flying PEK-KWL with 35kg luggage - it was cheaper to upgrade to First Class than to pay for the excess baggage. The other time was flying KUL-SIN on SQ, connecting to UA SIN-HKG. The UA flight was in Y, so I booked SQ in J to get the connecting luggage allowance.
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): I was lucky that an old British woman was kind enough to swap seats with me. Many brownie points for Malaysian Hospitality and for the kind woman!
Shame that you got a dud windw seat, but great that you managed to get a row to yourself in the end.
LondonCity From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2008, 1214 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 9 hours ago) and read 9180 times:
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): MH may want to look into refurbishing their cabin as the seats look worn out!
Thank you for an interesting report. As for the tired Y cabin seating, note that matters will improve next summer when MH is expected to roster its new A380 for the KUL-LHR route:
777MAS From Malaysia, joined Sep 2003, 197 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 8 hours ago) and read 9130 times:
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): And what further sweatened the deal was that MH was having a promotion (S$505) for one-way flights from SIN-LHR via KUL!
Uh oh, it looks like people have started to talk about wanting to fly the 744 before the opportunity is gone forever, much in the same vein as the DC10, L1011, etc.
Noticed that flight didn't seem full, if you got a "flat bed" and other pax were able to play musical chairs! I fear for their A380's loads. The decision to buy the A380 was made some years ago, before MH had descended into its current state (nobody foresaw the latter, right?)
jetblue777 From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 1429 posts, RR: 1 Reply 8, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 8 hours ago) and read 9051 times:
Hi Mustafa,
It's nice to hear from you again! Yet another excellent TR from you. I love the quality of the pictures and as usual, I love the layout.
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): Some of you may be wondering why I was in the premium class lane. A few weeks before the flight, I bought an upgrade from optiontown (which was cheaper than paying for 1kg of excess baggage). It was a risk I decided to take as it wasn't clear whether I will be able to check in 30kg of baggage (business class baggage category) but apparently I could! I was happy for my bags as they got to travel 'business class' all the way to LHR!
Interesting. I read a TR a day ago and a fellow a.nutter also mentioned optiontown. Care to explain? Does it also work here in the United States (Domestically) ?
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): I have a bad habit of touching flowers to know whether they're real.
LOL!
I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): Extremely wide seats! But I find the seat colour a little too 'loud' for the morning.
I agree.
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): Many brownie points for Malaysian Hospitality and for the kind woman!
How nice of her. Oh the horror of not getting a window seat! Reminds me of my recent UA trip from DEN this summer, due to a last-minute A/C equipment, I lost my window seat but in the bright side, I got upgraded to E+ on an aisle seat. Thank goodness for technology, via UA's mobile app, I managed to grab a window seat 15 minutes prior to boarding and with my SLR, I snapped away to Chicago
Great! A first class seat for a Y-Class Price! I also understand the chaos by the passengers after boarding, I would definitely want to have an entire row by myself for thirteen hours!
I agree with you, MH REALLY needs to refurbish their cabins. They look outdated and those PTVs, I mean the quality and size doesn't even compare to EK's and SQ's. However, their service seems to be the typical of most top Asian carriers, not surprised.
Once again, excellent trip report. Looking forward for more!
767747 From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1761 posts, RR: 25 Reply 9, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 6 hours ago) and read 8809 times:
Good report, mossecamel88!
Great photos - looks like you had a nice trip with MH. I'm impressed with your little flight in J. Amazing how fast they can serve a snack to you on such a short flight !
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): Some of you may be wondering why I was in the premium class lane. A few weeks before the flight, I bought an upgrade from optiontown (which was cheaper than paying for 1kg of excess baggage). It was a risk I decided to take as it wasn't clear whether I will be able to check in 30kg of baggage (business class baggage category) but apparently I could! I was happy for my bags as they got to travel 'business class' all the way to LHR!
Great that optiontown worked out for you. I'm a big fan of that site!
infinit From Singapore, joined Jul 2008, 318 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 5 hours ago) and read 8765 times:
Lovely TR, thanks for sharing. That MH deal was amazing but that steal of a deal plus the loads makes it look like MH isn't doing well at all. But its good to hear the cabin crew are still as good as they used to be.
Love the picture of your two boarding passes and the Singapore passport in the background- that red and gold book has been with me on some of the most exciting days of my life.
AA767LOVER From Hong Kong, joined Aug 2007, 554 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week 4 hours ago) and read 8617 times:
I just came off their Business Class from KUL-HKG on the 330, and while I must say that I don't like their loud seats - any time of the day, but prefer the new configuration, the Satay sticks were awesome! Just awesome! The peanut sauce was soo yummy, I could have ordered 2 dozen of them, and that would be my dinner. But I am more disciplined than that. I had a sensible dinner with fish and vegetables. But I was starting to get sick, so I couldn't eat all (cold and headache).
J.I. Tsui, American Advantage Member, United Mileage Plus (Premier)
TreeHillRavens From Malaysia, joined Jun 2007, 351 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (1 year 7 months 1 week ago) and read 8413 times:
Quoting 777MAS (Reply 6): Noticed that flight didn't seem full, if you got a "flat bed" and other pax were able to play musical chairs! I fear for their A380's loads. The decision to buy the A380 was made some years ago, before MH had descended into its current state (nobody foresaw the latter, right?)
Yeah. Looks like the 772 is a better fit for this route.
Great trip report, Mustafa. Agree with you that the cabin looks outdated and they need to refurbish the aircraft asap. I just hope when they do this, the 34" seat pitch will stay
sultanils From Belgium, joined Mar 2010, 1215 posts, RR: 29 Reply 14, posted (1 year 7 months 6 days ago) and read 7250 times:
Hi Mustafa,
How nice to see another report of yours. So you are on student’s exchange mission, that’s nice.
I’m glad you got to taste the C class of MH although for a short flight it was maybe not very much worth the extra?
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): I would like to apologise for the long delay in posting this trip report.
You are forgiven
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): I have a bad habit of touching flowers to know whether they're real.
moosecamel88 From Singapore, joined May 2011, 46 posts, RR: 1 Reply 15, posted (1 year 7 months 5 days 17 hours ago) and read 6915 times:
Hi guys!
Oops, my bad that I missed out the picture of the second meal! Thank you Saint 1862 for noticing it!
Delicious Beef Briyani rice. yum yum!
The bags.
Cheers!
--------
Hej PH!
Thank you for reading my TR! Hope you enjoyed it.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 1): I guess you had to eat very quickly on the SIN-KUL flight.
YES! I had no choice but to do so! haha!
-mus-
Hej Akiestar,
Quoting Akiestar (Reply 2): the more I feel curious now about trying MH when I get the chance
hehe! I'm sure you are.. You should! And I'm sure that you'll enjoy the Malaysian Hospitality provided by the cabin crew!
Quoting Akiestar (Reply 2): I hope you have a nice time in Denmark, especially if you're there on an Erasmus Mundus program!
I love Denmark and am enjoying every single moment here. Ok, minus the studying.
Quoting Akiestar (Reply 2): I got to see an MH 744 in MNL last year and it was indeed a pleasant surprise.
Awesome!
Thank you for reading my TR!
-mus-
Hej volvair,
Quoting volvair (Reply 3):
I hope you enjoy your time in Europe! Studying abroad is always filled with interesting experiences.
I am! I've less than 2 months left here in Copenhagen. As much as i miss home, I don't want to leave Denmark! :p
Quoting volvair (Reply 3): When I am heading abroad for a longer time I always try to pack light, you want to save some space for the stuff you will bring home after all.
My winterwear took most of the space in my bag I'm flying SQ and I managed to get some extra kilos so it should be fine.
Quoting volvair (Reply 3): Well, MH are not exactly known for their pale seat colors
True that!
Quoting volvair (Reply 3):
It was a most enjoyable read! All the best for your time abroad.
I'd glad you enjoyed reading it!
-mus-
Hej gabriel!
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 4): Shame that you got a dud windw seat, but great that you managed to get a row to yourself in the end.
I guess I was unlucky/lucky that day.
Quoting LondonCity (Reply 5): As for the tired Y cabin seating, note that matters will improve next summer when MH is expected to roster its new A380 for the KUL-LHR route
Yeah, I heard about it!
Cheers,
-mus-
Hej 777MAS,
Quoting 777MAS (Reply 6): Ouch! Tony F is feeling the pain......
LOL!
Quoting 777MAS (Reply 6): Noticed that flight didn't seem full, if you got a "flat bed" and other pax were able to play musical chairs! I fear for their A380's loads. The decision to buy the A380 was made some years ago, before MH had descended into its current state (nobody foresaw the latter, right?)
self-made flat bed=gooooood! :p
Thank you for reading my TR!
-mus-
Hej The777Man!
Quoting The777Man (Reply 7): Nice with a sandwich on such a short flight like SIN-KUL!
Most importantly, it was delicious!
Quoting The777Man (Reply 7): Too bad with the windowless window seat; i had that on PR this past summer so I',m familiar with that experience.....
Sometimes, luck isn't on our side!
Quoting The777Man (Reply 7):
It's always great to get three seats for yourself so you can get some good sleep.
Definitely! Especially on a long-haul flight.
Thank you for reading!
-mus-
Hej jetblue777!
Quoting jetblue777 (Reply 8): It's nice to hear from you again! Yet another excellent TR from you. I love the quality of the pictures and as usual, I love the layout.
It's great to know that you enjoy reading my TRs! It gives me more motivation to write more!
You pay a small signup fee of USD6, pay for the upgrade (it depends on the airline, the route that you're flying and whether you're upgrading to business class or first class), and then wait a few days before your flight to receive a confirmation email. If the upgrade is unsuccessful (due to full flight etc.) the upgrade money will be refunded. You can check their website for the airlines (SK, MH, AM etc) that offer this type of payment upgrade.
Quoting jetblue777 (Reply 8): I lost my window seat but in the bright side, I got upgraded to E+ on an aisle seat. Thank goodness for technology, via UA's mobile app, I managed to grab a window seat 15 minutes prior to boarding and with my SLR, I snapped away to Chicago
Lucky you!
Thank you for reading!
-mus-
Hej Matthew!
Quoting 767747 (Reply 9): I'm impressed with your little flight in J. Amazing how fast they can serve a snack to you on such a short flight !
And I was amazed at how fast I could eat those sandwiches! haha!
Quoting 767747 (Reply 9): Great that optiontown worked out for you. I'm a big fan of that site!
That's great! I'm glad that it worked out for me well!
Cheers!
-mus-
Hej infinit,
Quoting infinit (Reply 10): Love the picture of your two boarding passes and the Singapore passport in the background- that red and gold book has been with me on some of the most exciting days of my life.
I love our passport, cause we don't need a visa when we travel to many countries!
-mus-
Hej AA767LOVER,
Quoting AA767LOVER (Reply 11): Satay sticks were awesome! Just awesome! The peanut sauce was soo yummy, I could have ordered 2 dozen of them, and that would be my dinner. But I am more disciplined than that. I had a sensible dinner with fish and vegetables. But I was starting to get sick, so I couldn't eat all (cold and headache).
You really love satay don't you? haha! I love them too! I can eat >20 at one go! yumyum!
-mus-
Hej TreeHillRavens!
Quoting TreeHillRavens (Reply 12): Great trip report, Mustafa. Agree with you that the cabin looks outdated and they need to refurbish the aircraft asap. I just hope when they do this, the 34" seat pitch will stay
Thank you for reading it! Yes, I love the seat pitch on 744! Definitely the best in Y!
-mus-
Hej saint1862,
Quoting saint1862 (Reply 13): Was that snack bag and the breakfast the only food they served on the flight?
Thank you for pointing it out! I have inserted a picture of lunch above all these replies!
-mus-
Hej sultanils!
Yes, I'm in Copenhagen now doing my exchange and am enjoying every moment of it!
Quoting sultanils (Reply 14):
Happened to me as well not so long ago and really hated it. All window seats were taken so I switched and an aisle seat was the best I could do…
ba319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8278 posts, RR: 56 Reply 16, posted (1 year 7 months 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 6692 times:
Great report, thanks for posting.
I'll be flying MH for the first time next year, so good to see what the Y service is like, the J fares are looking too steep. Catering looks pretty decent, don't think anyone will go hungry.
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): A few weeks before the flight, I bought an upgrade from optiontown (which was cheaper than paying for 1kg of excess baggage). It was a risk I decided to take as it wasn't clear whether I will be able to check in 30kg of baggage (business class baggage category) but apparently I could! I was happy for my bags as they got to travel 'business class' all the way to LHR!
777MAS From Malaysia, joined Sep 2003, 197 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (1 year 7 months 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 6553 times:
Quoting moosecamel88 (Reply 15): You really love satay don't you? haha! I love them too! I can eat >20 at one go! yumyum!
Now that you mention it: I've now remembered this - MH seems to only serve satay up in the air - I was in their Golden Lounge 4 times (1x KUL, 1x KCH, 2x BKI) between 2000 and 2003 (before the age of aggressive cost cutting, in Y at least, came along), and did not see any satay at all.
I guess given their popularity, it'll make them bleed if they had it in the lounge! But then again, they should try to leverage on this advantage....
RvXKaz From Singapore, joined Apr 2011, 187 posts, RR: 3 Reply 18, posted (1 year 7 months 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 6366 times:
Hi mus!
Very glad to see your TR on MH online. A great insight into MH, especially on their B744 operations as well as a really cool preview of their biz class offerings on such a short sector!!
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): And according to the lady on the line, each additional kg of excess baggage costs S$100!
wow. that's daylight robbery!
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): A few weeks before the flight, I bought an upgrade from optiontown (which was cheaper than paying for 1kg of excess baggage). It was a risk I decided to take as it wasn't clear whether I will be able to check in 30kg of baggage (business class baggage category) but apparently I could! I was happy for my bags as they got to travel 'business class' all the way to LHR!
What a novel way you've improvised to get around the cutthroat extra baggage charges! Not to mention, you've got to get some pampering in sitting upfront on your way up to KUL!
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): I have a bad habit of touching flowers to know whether they're real.
What an amazingly beautiful scene! It looks almost heavenly!
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): it was utter chaos! I thought I was playing musical chairs as passengers were scurrying all over the cabin trying to grab hold of the remaining seats of their choice. Many people were claiming the whole middle row to themselves! It was utter madness but funny to a certain extent!
It sounds so funny when when put into words but I can imagine the feeling must have been quite despairing when all the seats are taken up like so quickly!
Quoting moosecamel88 (Thread starter): Many brownie points for Malaysian Hospitality and for the kind woman!
Kudos on your initiative to highlight your plight to the stewardess yourself! Kindness rewards those who asks and deserves!
What a great start to your exchange to Europe! Glad that things turned out very well eventually even though they didn't go as planned in the start! Again, most excellent photos and wonderfully written! Looking forward to more of your adventures in Europe!
Cheers,
RvXKaz
They say that I'm a dreamer. But I'd only Dreamt Skyward.
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4919 posts, RR: 55 Reply 19, posted (1 year 7 months 3 days ago) and read 5627 times:
Great report. MH remains one of my favourite airlines in the world. I was glad you post the picture of the 2nd meal - the first thing I was absolutely shocked on was if all you got was a snack box as meal 2 on such a long flight!
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2256 posts, RR: 14 Reply 20, posted (1 year 7 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 5518 times:
Hi Mustafa
nice trip report, thanks for sharing it with us!
I'm always impressed by the light, not to bright colors that MH uses.
Catering seems to be decent as well
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