Review of Malaysia Airlines flight Singapore Kuala Lumpur in Economy

Airline Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH610
Class Economy
Seat --
Aircraft Boeing 737-400
Flight time 01:00
Take-off 30 Mar 10, 21:15
Arrival at 30 Mar 10, 22:15
MH   #25 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 216 reviews
TerryYong
By 3175
Published on 26th September 2013
It has always been on my wish list to visit Japan during the sakura season but however due to the expensive airfares to Tokyo, this wish has been on hold for quite some time. However late last year, Malaysia Airlines had this fantastic offer to Tokyo for a price of only S$534 return all inclusive from Singapore and after predicting the dates of the cherry blossoms, I immediatley booked my flights departing on 30th March to Tokyo. How lucky I was when the cherry blossoms did bloomed exactly on the same week I was in Tokyo!! It was also my first ever visit to the land of the rising sun and also my virgin trip on MH! Lets see how great is their Malaysian Hospitality service onboard.

Fast forward to 30th March and I proceeded to Changi Terminal 2 for my flight to Kuala Lumpur, transiting onwards to Tokyo Narita. My friend would be flying on SQ instead, departing later. Check-in was done online the day before (I was sequence number 1 for KUL-NRT sector) and baggage were deposited at the check-in counters and boarding passes collected for the flights. MH has 8 counters performing check-in for the single B737 flight to KL. Impressive!! As I had booked my trips using my Maybank Horizon Platinum credit card, I was allowed to use the Plaza Premium Lounges in Singapore and KLIA for free, something which I did maximize my usage of.

First stop is the T2 Plaza Premium Lounge for a light snack. The lounge was almost empty and the buffet set-up was decent. Has a healthy salad and some drinks in the lounge. Nothing too impressive about the lounge compared to the other airline lounges but a good place for some peace and tranquility.

Almost empty lounge
photo 4528132654_223ff3200b_o

Buffet set-up
photo 4528132554_a6126b31f1_o

Had a salad and soup
photo 4527500589_29311f08b3_o


Soon, I decided to proceed to the newly renovated Sunflower garden in T2 to catch the arrival of my aircraft from KUL.

Shot from sunflower garden.
photo 4527500983_68f10e3cd3_o

MH607 just arrived from KUL. Slightly late arrival.
photo 4527501089_fbb6b322af_o

Soon after, I proceeded to the gate. The flight was code-shared with Singapore Airlines and Silkair. The flight seemed full with lots of pax in the gate. As usual, boarding had not started even though the screened showed Gate Closing. In fact, arriving passengers have just disembarked from the aircraft!
photo 4527501321_4663b1e400_o

30 March 2010
Malaysia Airlines
MH 610
Singapore (SIN) - Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
B737-400
9M-MMQ
Economy Class


9M-MMQ at the gate being serviced.
photo 4528133246_a9b2ed6166_o

Probably as the plane was just a small B737, turnaround was quite fast and very soon, the boarding announcement was called. Boarding was conducted by row numbers from the rear of the aircraft and was orderly.

Soon, my first step into a MH aircraft.
photo 4528133326_f7db1b48b6_o

Newspapers were available on a cart at the cabin door entrance ala SQ. Was welcomed onboard by 2 friendly crew members. There were 5 crew on this flight, 2 serving Golden Club Class and 3 in Economy Class. Along the way to my seat, crew were greeting assisting passengers with stowage of bags etc. Good first impression here. However, as noted by other trip reporters, the seats are horribly colorful!! Business class seats were upholstered in bloody red while economy was in a variety of smarties color scheme.

Proceeding to my seat. Note the colorful seats!
photo 4527501633_361166c088_o

Seat pitch was quite tight but tolerable for the short 35min flight.
photo 4527502153_395c7f978b_o

In the seat pocket was only a safety card and airsick bag. No inflight magazines in all seats. Hmm. Probably they are being replaced with the new issue?
photo 4527502557_95b6255393_o

Parked beside a SQ A333. We seemed so teeny weeny beside the A330.
photo 4528133554_ce18c8301b_o

During boarding, the boarding music played was interestingly kampong or traditional malay music. Sounds like what you would hear during a malay wedding reception. Boarding was still in progress and the plane was almost full. Seemed like most pax were connecting onto other MH flights in KUL as there were indians, japanese and chinese groups among others onboard.
photo 4528133638_35be735e74_o

Soon, doors were closed on time and the safety demo was shown manually by the crew as there was no IFE on MH's 737s. Lights were dimmed for takeoff but before dimming the lights, crew came down the aisle and switched on the overhead lights for pax who were reading. What great service! We had a quick taxi to Rwy02C and were off for the short hop to KUL.

Departure to KUL. You can hear the traditional malay music in the background.


Climbing to cruise.
photo 4527501989_2a44b79910_o

Initially I was only expecting a drinks service similar as what SQ and MI offers and was pleasantly surprised when a stewardess came down with a basket of peanuts and started distributing them.

Stewardess distributing peanuts.
photo 4528134142_6a65a92e44_o

After peanuts were distributed, 2 crew reappeared with trays of a choice of either orange juice, guava juice or water. All were pre-poured into cups. However no coffee/tea was offered.

Salted peanuts and guava juice.
photo 4528134452_2f69e2314a_o

Crew serving drinks.
photo 4527502903_aa670d7d07_o

Very soon, we started our descend into KL. In fact, I think we did not even cruise. Just ascend and descend immediately. Trash were picked up rapidly and cabin was secured for landing.

Landing into KUL.


We had a long taxi to the main terminal where the plane parked beside more MH birds.
photo 4528134764_3b16fbdeeb_o

Disembarking.
photo 4527503263_e289e7df05_o

Last look at the smarties seats.
photo 4528133030_cf4f863aea_o

Overall, service was good for the short flight. However, it would be the longer haul KUL-NRT sector to see how MH performs. As the plane had arrived at the main terminal, I would have to transfer to the satellite terminal. It has been ages since I last stepped onto KLIA (LCCT not counted).

Departure screen. Note that there are significantly less departing flights than Changi.
photo 4528135414_a8d7dfc249_o

Model airplanes exhibit.
photo 4528135144_4e7153d0fe_o

photo 4528135288_c858a72265_o

The new KLIA jungle boardwalk.
photo 4528134996_a0c1fecb9d_o
See more

Verdict

Malaysia Airlines

6.3/10
Cabin6.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering5.0

Singapore - SIN

9.0/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

7.4/10
Efficiency8.5
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

Information on the route Singapore (SIN) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.