Airline Review: Malaysia Airlines Hong Kong-Kuala Lumpur
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Overall
Summary: Malaysia Airlines is making progress towards its once great service standards but still has room for improvement,...
3.5good

Malaysia Airlines is making progress towards its once great service standards but still has room for improvement, discovers Maggie Chooi on a recent flight between Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

Boarding

I boarded the 737-800 at Hong Kong International Airport. The 16-seat MAS business class cabin was in the usual 2-2 configuration and was fully booked on the route to Kuala Lumpur. Despite crew chatting amongst themselves while passengers were boarding, they kicked into service mode when everyone was seated, serving glasses of mango and orange juice, and offering second glasses as they took post-take off drink and meal orders. The crew were surprisingly efficient compared to previous MAS flights.

Malaysia Airlines

The Seat

While it’s a little old fashioned, the business class seat aboard Malaysia Airlines’ 737 fleet is perfectly adequate for a regional flight of only a few hours. Each recliner seat has a pitch of 42-inches, which ensures plenty of legroom, as well as a single AC jack and USB port. There are rather clunky over-ear headphones supplied but you’re better off bringing your own, and a simple in-seat remote for controlling the entertainment system, which is accessed through a monitor stored in the chair armrest.

Dining

The crew started brunch service quickly after departing Hong Kong, with glasses of champagne (MAS is one of the many Asian carriers that doesn’t serve alcohol on the ground). There was seasonal fruit and yoghurt, as well as a selection of bread and pastries. For mains we were offered a choice of Malaysia Airlines’ signature Nasi Lemak, with coconut milk and pandan leaf rice served with prawn sambal; an omelet served with potatoes, chicken sausage, mushrooms and baked tomato; and deep fried chicken with mandarin sauce served with rice, stir fried cabbage and dried beancurd. I went with the Nasi Lemak, one of my favourite in-flight dishes, and wasn’t disappointed. Dessert was mango pavlova with raspberry compote.

Entertainment

Malaysia Airlines’ 737 product offers limited entertainment options but it was a short flight so you can always make do or bring your own, as I did.

Service

The young crew were very attentive. Malaysia Airlines has had a real shake up over the past 24 months and the new enthusiastic crew are playing a big part of the airline’s turn around. Crew regularly checked if we needed topping up or additional snacks and cleared away the meal service quickly, although they could have smiled a lot more.

Malaysia Airlines

What we Loved

Dining is always a highlight of any Malaysian trip so it’s fitting that the national carrier places emphasis on good signature dishes on board, even on short haul flights like Hong Kong-Kuala Lumpur.

What we Didn’t

Despite being assured I had a guaranteed seat on my connecting flight to Penang (although they were unable to give me a boarding pass for my second flight), when our flight from Hong Kong touched down 15 minutes late I was told by surly transfer desk staff that I had been bumped onto the next flight, departing at 4.20pm, meaning I had to cancel a series of meetings. The reason given was not that we were late but that the flight was ‘overbooked’. I hope MAS doesn’t start operating like domestic US carriers where a ticket isn’t a guarantee of a seat. The screaming baby in the first row of economy didn’t help either.

Summary

As a Malaysian, I want the national carrier to do well and I see improvements in many aspects of their operations but they still need to work on customer service, both in the air and on the ground.

Business class Hong Kong-Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines from US$711. 

Note: The author travelled on a fully-paid business class ticket without the airline’s knowledge

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About the Author

Maggie Chooi

Maggie Chooi is a jetset communications and public relations specialist based in Hong Kong. She is the founder and managing director of boutique PR agency Spice Marketing, which specialises in the travel and hospitality industries.