Sector: BOM-KUL
Airline: Malaysia Airlines
Flight: MH195
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200ER
Registration: 9M-MRO
Scheduled Departure: 2215 Actual Departure: 2220
Scheduled Arrival: 0540 Actual Arrival: 0535

Braving some heavy rain and even heavier evening Mumbai traffic, we (my wife and I) reached Terminal 2C of the Mumbai Airport at 2030, well in time for our departure time of 2215. After getting our bags scanned, we joined the long queue in front of the MH check-in counter. The crowd mainly consisted of Indians with tons of luggage flying to Malaysia/Singapore on a vacation. The monotony of the wait was broken by the appearance of the MH crew in their smart green uniforms. The ladies especially looked really charming in their traditional Malay dresses   An online check earlier in the evening had revealed that it was a 777-200 that night, which meant a 2-5-2 seating in Economy. I requested for a window & aisle seat for us as I did not want to be stuck on a middle seat for a five hour flight. We were assigned seats 37J/37K, which meant that we were on the fourth row from the rear. We completed the Immigration formalities and proceeded towards the security check, which was a breeze inspite of the new security regulations. We sat down in the departure hold and called up our folks. The call for boarding came in 15 minutes and soon we were on-board a shiny Triple Seven. We settled down in our seats and I whipped out my camera to click a pic of the cabin. The aircraft had the new improved interiors and looked really neat. The legroom, at 34 inches was pretty generous too. A Thai Airways A330-300 slid in next to us as we awaited the last few passengers to board.



The pushback was done at 2220 and one after the other, our massive Rolls Royce Trent 892s came alive. Even in that rain soaked night, it was an experience to hear them roar. I noticed that the Thai Airways A330, HS-TEL was in the Star Alliance livery. We made our way to Runway 27 and awaited the clearance for take-off, which came in thirty seconds. We started our take-off roll with a mighty roar and were airborne in 36 seconds. With a neat left bank, we set course for KUL. It was great to see the lights of the Mumbai harbour shimmering in the darkness below. Our route would take us across the Indian peninsula, the Bay of Bengal, Nicobar islands and finally into the Malaysian peninsula.



We encountered turbulence right away and it was almost ten minutes before the seat-belt signs were switched off. The cabin crew came out with their welcome drink service which consisted of orange juice and distributed the headsets. I switched on my PTV to experience the famed Malaysian IFE system. The movies on offer included Big Daddy, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, MI-3 amongs others. I chose MI-3 and although the AVOD system is a little difficult to navigate, it works neatly once you get the hang of it.

Nearly forty minutes into the flight, the crew started their drink service and I ordered a vodka with Coke. As I was enjoying Tom Cruise smashing the baddies, the crew started the meal service. Surprisingly, no menus were distributed and the choice was limited to a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian meal. I chose the non-vegetarian meal consisting of rotis, spicy chicken gravy, rice, spinach gravy, salad & basundi (milk based Indian sweet) whereas my wife opted for the vegetarian meal featuring rotis, palak paneer(spinach & cottage cheese), corn bhel (boiled corn with potatoes, onion & coriander). The meal, accompanied by a nice, full bodied Argentinian red wine was quite nice.



There was some turbulence on and off as we flew across the Indian peninsula towards the Bay of Bengal. After 30 minutes or so crew efficiently cleared the trays and re-appeared with the Inflight Shopping cart. This was the moment I was waiting for and I bought the MH 747-400 die-cast model. The model built by Gemini Jets is in the 1:400 scale and comes with a nice chrome stand. Sadly, they did not have the 777 Heliconia model in stock! I was now getting quite bored watching the over-hyped sequel but somehow managed to get through it. I then decided to stretch my legs and walked to the rear galley and made small talk with the crew. The crew had dimmed the cabin lights and most of the passengers were asleep.

The flight over the Bay of Bengal was smooth inspite of the presence of a low pressure area. Soon, we approached the Malaysian peninsula and the captain announced that we would be making our descent soon. We packed our stuff and started filling the Malaysian immigration cards handed out by the crew earlier. The captain then made an announcement that people sitting on the left hand side windows could see the Kuala Lumpur city skyline and this made quite a few heads turn with some excited folks trying to click pictures. There was not muuch to be seen from our side though. Finally, we made a perfect touchdown at 0530 on Runway 32R and slowly made our way to the swanky terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). There were rows of Malaysian A330s and 777s parked at the remote bays next to the satellite terminal . We docked at Gate no. CXX at the satellite terminal. As we were exiting the aircraft, I managed to click a pic of the improved Business Class seats.

MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi

The terminal looked absolutely spectacular in the dark with its shiny glass walls, space age lighting and aesthetics.



Overall, it was a great flight and the Malaysian Triple Seven simply rocked. Here is how I would rate the flight:

Punctuality: 5/5

Aircraft condition: 4/5

Cabin crew: 4/5

Food: 4/5

Ground handling: 5/5

Value for money: 5/5

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Sector: KUL-PEN
Airline: Air Asia
Flight: AK 6314
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Registration: 9M-AFC “Manchester United” livery
Scheduled Departure: 1340 Actual Departure: 1340
Scheduled Arrival: 1430 Actual Arrival: 1425

After a lightning fast drive out of Kuala Lumpur, we arrived at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The terminal is quite some distance away from the Main terminal and is actually nearer to the cargo area. It is quite spartan with no escalators, lounges, fancy restaurants, etc. There is only a single large shop selling, chocolates, cigarettes, perfumes, etc. There was hardly any queue at the check-in counter and we managed to check-in in no time at all.



The next ten minutes were spent on stocking up on chocolates for the rest of the trip and for folks back home. After security check, we proceeded towards the departure hold and I saw the highlight of our trip so far. Standing nearly 150 metres away from the terminal was the “Red Devil” – Air Asia’s A320 in the Manchester United Football Club livery. It looked absolutely spectacular in the afternoon sun; little did I know that I would be onboard in the next ten minutes!!



I almost jumped up with joy as I learnt that we were indeed going to fly the Red Devil! Air Asia has free seating on a first come first serve basis and we chose the exit row seats. There were four crew members in total and looked really nice in their bright red skirts and jackets. The aircraft was hardly 40% full and we set out immediately. After a longish taxi run, we took off from runway 32R. Kuala Lumpur and its surroundings were covered with a thick haze and we could hardly see anything on the ground. As soon as the seat belt signs were switched off, the crew made an announcement that they would shortly come around with the food trolley and we could buy anything we liked. We chose a cup of Maggi noodles – Curry flavour, which tasted pretty much like the ones we get back home. After finishing the meal service, the crew re-appeared with the shopping trolley. The fare on offer consisted of Air Asia T-shirts and caps. However, I was disappointed that the Man. Utd A320 model was out of stock! Maybe next time….


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


We were soon over Penang and the captain made the landing announcement. The island was lined with some lovely sloping roof houses and neat traffic roundabouts. The landing was smooth and surprisingly, the pilots didn’t deploy the reverse thrusters! We slowed down gradually and after a short taxi, docked at the domestic terminal of the Bayan Lepas International Airport. I clicked a parting shot of the lovely aircraft as we walked to the terminal building.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


Punctuality: 5/5

Aircraft condition: 4/5

Cabin crew: 3/5

Food: 3/5

Ground handling: 4/5

Value for money: 5/5

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Sector: PEN-KUL
Airline: Air Asia
Flight: AK 6319
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300
Registration: 9M-AAH
Scheduled Departure: 1225 Actual Departure: 1220
Scheduled Arrival: 1315 Actual Arrival: 1310

We reached the airport with almost two and a half hours to spare for the departure of our flight. There was a sizeable crowd checking-in for the morning SQ flight to Singapore. We finished the check-in formalities and proceeded towards the airport café to catch up on a late breakfast. The airport looked pretty busy with a series of domestic and international departures. Finishing breakfast, we passed through security and proceeded towards the departure area. It was a nice, sunny day and just the weather for some aircraft spotting. You have a good view of aircraft landing, taking off and taxiing from the departure hold at the airport.



The usual DHL and FedEx freighters were parked next to the Cargo Complex



A Thai Air Asia 737-300, HS-TEL departed to Bangkok. This would be one of its last few flights to the Don Muang airport as a week or so later, the Suvarnabhumi airport would take over the reins as Bangkok’s International airport.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


Following the Thai Air Asia, was a Malaysian Airlines 737-400 heading towards Kuala Lumpur


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi

Meanwhile, a Malaysian Police Cessna was doing its usual patrolling rounds around the airport area


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


Finally our aircraft, a 737-300 with the registration 9M-AAH arrived at the terminal


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


This was followed by a lovely LionAir MD-82 coming in from Indonesia


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


We then boarded the aircraft and this time chose the fith row from the rear. The interiors of this 737-300 were classic with square back seats. The occupancy, again was quite low at around 50%


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


We left the gate on time and taxied towards the solitary runway where we had to wait nearly five minutes before getting the take-off clearance. As soon as we sped across the runway, one of the overhead luggage bins opened up, with its contents hanging precariously at the edge! However, there was nothing anyone could do about it as we climbed and executed a few banks before setting course towards KUL. The crew finally closed the bin after the seat belt sign was switched off. The flight was pretty uneventful and again, they did not have the Man Utd A320 model in stock 

Within 40 minutes, we were approaching Penang and were racing with swanky Toyotas and Protons on the expressway below. We landed on time on Runway 32 and taxied towards the LCC Terminal. Parked at one of the remote bays was 9M-MPD, the Hibiscus liveried Malaysian 747-400. I was hoping to catch a nice pic of the aircraft from the Satellite Terminal later in the day. We exited the aircraft and walked almost 300 metres to the Arrivals area of the terminal. We collected our bags and made our way out of the LCCT towards the Inter Terminal bus station to take us to the KLIA.

Punctuality: 5/5

Aircraft condition: 3/5

Cabin crew: 4/5

Food: N/A

Ground handling: 4/5

Value for money: 5/5

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Sector: KUL-BOM
Airline: Malaysia Airlines
Flight: MH194
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200ER
Registration: 9M-MRK
Scheduled Departure: 1755 Actual Departure: 1800
Scheduled Arrival: 2010 Actual Arrival: 2030

A 15 minute bus ride later, we arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Lugging our bags, we caught up some delicious lunch at the Food Court before proceeding to the check-in counters. There was still an hour so before the commencement of check-in and we decided to while away the time at the Observation Deck. Nothing special there except the usual Malaysian 737-400s and A330s.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


An MH 777, 9M-MRE was parked at a remote bay.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


With nothing much to see, we decided to check-in early and go down to the satellite terminal to catch up on the action there. The check-in for our flight had just begun and I asked for window & aisle seats again. This time, we were assigned seats 40J/40K, second row from the rear. We then proceeded through immigration and walked towards the aerotrain station to take us to the satellite terminal. We had an hour before boarding began and I decided to make full use of the time to indulge in some spotting while my wife checked out the Duty Free stores. I finally managed to click a nice pic of the Hibiscus 747-400 parked at the remote bay.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


Here is a pic of an Air Asia A320 taxiing towards runway 32R


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


And an MH 747-400, “Melaka” being readied for departure.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


It was really tiring to walk from one end of the huge terminal to the other. I wish I had a couple more hours for spotting here. However, it was now time for boarding and we made our way through the security check to the departure hold



Our aircraft, 9M-MRK was being readied for departure.



Soon, the call for boarding came and we proceeded towards the aircraft. A Royal Nepal 757 Combi was also being readied for departure to Kathmandu from Gate C31.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


We found our seats and settled down. This flight again was quite packed with an occupancy of almost 90-95% The Royal Nepal jet departed at 1745 and after fifteen minutes, we were pushed back. We were behind an MH A330 as we taxied towards Runway 32R. An SQ 772 and a Cathay 773 were the notable arrivals that I noticed. The take-off was smooth and I timed the run at 36seconds once again. Soon, we were above the haze that was above the KL area and headed in the north-westerly direction towards BOM.

The cabin crew came out with the customary welcome drink consisting of orange juice and then distributed the headsets. Unfortunately, the IFE system showed some strange Linux kernel errors and I knew that there was something wrong. Darkness was gradually catching up with us as we headed west. Soon, the drinks trolley was out but I decided to pass this time. I asked for a non-vegetarian meal again and it consisted of bread, an Indian style chicken gravy, a mixed vegetable gravy and rice, along with salad and gulab jamun (an Indian sweet) The food was pretty decent considering it had been prepared at the Malaysian base.



The crew finally made the dreaded announcement that the IFE system had malfunctioned which meant that the passengers has nothing to do but view the flight progress on their PTV screens.


MyAviation.net photo:

Photo © Vivek Manvi


I finished my dinner and took a walk down the aisle to stretch my legs. I had the opportunity to take a good look at the rear galley of the Triple Seven



I asked the crew about the availability of the 777 Heliconia model, and bingo – it was in stock! I asked the flight attendant to reserve one for me and triumphantly returned to my seat. As the crew came around with the shopping cart, I finally laid my hands on the beautiful, limited edition die-cast model   The ride over the Bay of Bengal and over peninsular India was more or less smooth with occasional bouts of turbulence. As we were passing the city of Pune, the captain made the announcement that we would be landing soon. However, the evening peak hour traffic jam at BOM meant that we were put in a zig zag hold pattern before getting the clearance to land. We landed amidst a light drizzle on runway 27 and started our long taxi back to the International terminal. I bid a final farewell to our mighty bird as we walked towards the arrivals area of the BOM airport.

Thus ended our week long Malaysian odyssey and it was a good one, getting to fly three different types of aircraft on two good airlines.

Punctuality: 4/5

Aircraft condition: 3/5

Cabin crew: 4/5

Food: N/A

Ground handling: 4/5

Value for money: 5/5