Review of Malaysia Airlines flight Kuala Lumpur Tokyo in Business

Airline Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH 88
Class Business
Seat 2K
Aircraft Boeing 777-200ER
Flight time 06:40
Take-off 20 Nov 13, 23:35
Arrival at 21 Nov 13, 07:15
MH   #23 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 216 reviews
manureva744
By 12245
Published on 26th December 2013
This is our last day of vacation and we have to start our journey back home.

We had a great time at the Shangri-La ! Pictures of the room and of the twin towers !
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We checked out of our Executive Suite at the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur and spent the last couple of hours at the Horizon Lounge. Here is the view we had of the twin towers from our table at the Lounge.
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We had a taxi pre-booked and at the said time we walked down and overtook all the people waiting for a taxi, a few people were stressed out by this but the staff explained that we had booked our ride 24 hours ago.

The drive is long, it takes an hour to reach KLIA but it was a smooth one.

We were dropped off in front of the terminal near the Premium Check-in area.
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We checked in for our flights to NRT on MH88 and on to LAX on JAL.
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Bags were tagged all the way through to Los Angeles where we would pick our bags and spend the day before flying on to Papeete.
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After a quick check-in we were directed to the immigration booth and were advised that the Golden Lounge was closed for refurbishment and that we should use the Regional Lounge.
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Everyone going through KLIA have seen these amazing planes ! always nice to see such a great collection !
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We were then off to the lounge.
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The lounge was PACKED ! as their own Satellite lounge was closed and they were using another lounge, most people preferred to use the Regional Lounge…
We managed to get a table near the food area, so lots of passage near us.
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We were too hungry, I took some soup with croutons and air soda.
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LAX-PPT is on the front page !
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The reading material available in the lounge.
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There is a spa available in the lounge should you want to have some me time. I didn't check the prices.
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A few minutes before the boarding time we left the lounge to go to our gate. KLIA is a huge airport.
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Our gate opened when we arrived and we were let in quickly being Business Class customers.
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This is the only picture of our aircraft 9M-MRA
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We boarded quick and were amongst the first to set foot on the very first Boeing 777-200ER to join the MH fleet. The cabin attendants were nice and very warm, they directed us to our seat on the other side of the cabin.
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Huge legroom !
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The remote controls for the entertainment system and the seat.
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Quick run to the restroom while the aircraft is still being boarded. Aigner cosmetics and orchids.
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We were then offered a welcome drink. Guava juice for me and apple juice for my partner.
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The Business Class cabin is full tonight.
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Shortly after the doors are closed the chief purser starts the safety procedures video.
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Meanwhile we taxi to our departure runway, line up and take off towards Narita.

I pull out my video to check out the flight's stats.
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Now lets move around the entertainment system.
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While I'm looking for a movie to watch, we are served drinks before the warm snack.
Glass of white wine for me, served with nuts !
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The crew then lays down the trays for the snack.
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Malaysia Airlines signature dish ! Satay !!!
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Not a lot of people eating so the crew is offering seconds ! YUM !
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Just after I am finish eating we have just left Vietnam and I'll try to have a nap.
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2 hours before we land in Japan the lights are back on and the crew starts the breakfast service and start by offering a fruit juice or smoothie.
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My breakfast tray. We were offered a choice of cereal or yoghurt.
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We were then served our hot dish. On MH website they offer the possibility to pre-order your main course and that's what we did. It wasn't clear if we were going to have a dinner or breakfast dish and all that was offered on their website for flights out of KUL were main courses for lunch or dinner…

The other main courses on the menu were the following :

Mixed Grill with Creamy Rosemary Garlic Sauce with New Potatoes and Grilled Tomato.
or
Spanish Omelette with Chicken Sausage, Lyonnaise Potatoes, Asparagus, Button Mushrooms and Grilled Tomato with Cheese
or
Nasi Lemak Malaysian Favourites
or
Waffles with Pineapple and Cream Filling with Caramelized Bananas, Mixed Berries Compote and Maple Syrup

This is what I had ordered, delicious but couldn't eat it all as it was breakfast time and yet very early !
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And my partner's dish which he didn't even touch to the huge disappointment of our cabin attendant.
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We are nearly there !
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This is Japan !
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And we've landed !
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While we are taxiing towards our gate I take time to take pictures of the reading material.
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The fleet and the route network.
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Jetstar Japan
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JAL's new colors…
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and the old !
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Here is our gate !
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When we deplane, a JAL ground attendant is waiting for us and takes us to the transit counters where they check our paperwork and onward flight.
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This will cause us to lose a good hour and a half as the queue is huge at immigration now and we are tired !

after a long time queueing we get out, no bags to collect.
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We get landside, buy a couple of water bottles and go to the bus stops to catch our shuttle to the Narita Day house Hotel.
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Our resting area for the next 4 hours !
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No room service but they had vending machine !
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See more

Verdict

Malaysia Airlines

8.4/10
Cabin6.5
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering9.5

Malaysian Airlines Golden Lounge Regional

8.0/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services8.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

7.9/10
Efficiency8.5
Access5.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness9.5

Tokyo - NRT

8.5/10
Efficiency5.5
Access9.5
Services9.5
Cleanliness9.5

Conclusion

First time flying Malaysia Airlines Business Class. The seat is comfortable for a seat, loads of legroom but it was really uncomfortable to sleep in. Food was excellent as well as service. The fact that the only MAS lounge that was open was the Regional one was a real shame as it was overcrowded.
I am looking forward to see MAS change it's seats as they weren't the best to sleep in and I am glad that I booked the next leg on JAL !

Information on the route Kuala Lumpur (KUL) Tokyo (NRT)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 7 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Kuala Lumpur (KUL) → Tokyo (NRT).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Malaysia Airlines avec 7.5/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 6 heures et 48 minutes.

  More information

13 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 95806 by
    pititom GOLD 11490 Comments
    I would have loved to see some pictures of Kuala Lumpur Shangri La ! I believe it's a step ahead the NRT Rest House ;)

    Good overall flight and thank you for making a complete FR : as you may guess, I would have slept like a log through this red-eye flight ! Was the seat okay or just regional ?

    Is your partner picky or was the dish bad ? Because it looks engaging.

    Thanks for sharing.

    • Comment 285754 by
      manureva744 AUTHOR 251 Comments
      I will add the Shangri-La's picture shortly and it was indeed much better than the NRT Rest House ! Then again, when you only need to sleep for a few hours, it is OK !

      The flight was good overall yet it was difficult to sleep well as the seat was at an angle and you could feel the partitions. The strange thing is that there is a lot of legroom and the seat could be flat !

      My partner can be choosy but in this case he had picked that dish on their website, what made him not eat it is the fact that it was 3am for our body clocks and it was way too early for him to eat it. It was for me too but I did try mine.

      Thanks for reading !
    • Comment 286621 by
      pititom GOLD 11490 Comments
      Thanks for the hotel bonus :)
    • Comment 285755 by
      manureva744 AUTHOR 251 Comments
      I completely agree with you ! Why so much legroom and no full flat !

      Thanks for reading !
  • Comment 95831 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6733 Comments
    I had no idea that KLIA was so far from the city center. I wonder why they put it so far or is it because of the traffic? The catering and service are definitely MH's fortés...the seats, not so much. 2-3-2 angled seats in Business is not very 5-star. They should have done like KE and converted their same angled-seats to flat--it's a relatively simple and cheap modification that doesn't entail new equipment. Especially since it appears that they certainly have the space to be able to bring the seats to full-flat.
    • Comment 285786 by
      manureva744 AUTHOR 251 Comments
      I know ! It is a really long drive, it took us a while to get out of Kuala Lumpur downtown but then it was still an hour to drive to the airport.

      Concerning the seats I also agree with you, they should tweak the seats around and make them full horizontal as there is ample legroom to do just that.
  • Comment 95836 by
    Sealink 67 Comments
    Great TR and well done on getting Satay seconds! :)
  • Comment 95843 by
    lagentsecret 12184 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this FR

    The snack with only satay and fruits is quite light

    The breakfast seems to be better and the hot dish yummy

    These seats are really too old

    • Comment 285787 by
      manureva744 AUTHOR 251 Comments
      Thanks for reading.

      Personally I think the amount of food for the hot snack was more than enough, particularly when you see that only half of the people on board ate after take-off. Departure was after 11pm and most people had dinner at home or at the airport and wanted to maximize their rest. I would have been far more upset to see a full dinner service and notice that half of the food was thrown away. Also, the flight time was too short for a full dinner and breakfast. Airlines generate so much waste because people think they want or should get more and they end up throwing away half of everything...

      Breakfast was indeed perfect and plentiful ! and yummy indeed !

      Seats are old generation indeed but with a lot of legroom… Good to travel in on a daylight flight and for lounging, not really good for sleeping.
  • Comment 95848 by
    Leadership TEAM BRONZE 5472 Comments
    Thank you for this new FR, good to know that satellite lounge is under refurbishment because it's clearly needed!

    I agree with you with the cabin, the legroom is so generous that it should be feasible to put the same amount of seat yet full flat!

    Catering is usualy good with MH but it makes no sense for me to offer diner/lunch dishes for breakfast.
    • Comment 285788 by
      manureva744 AUTHOR 251 Comments
      Agree on all accounts !

      For breakfast they had breakfast dishes from the onboard menu but not on the website menu, you could only pick lunch or dinner choices. We didn't try to ask for another dish from the menu as we weren't hungry anyway and a continental breakfast was more than enough !
  • Comment 96205 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thanks for another fantastic report. No amenity kit on this segment? Correct me if I am wrong but I believe that even TG offers one on their BKK-PVG/BJS routes. I'm not a fan of 2-3-2 layout in J on widebodies. They seem too clustered and crowded. Having 2 meals on this red eye segment does not allow enough time to get a proper rest. It would be different if this were a daytime flight.

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