Review of Malaysia Airlines flight Kota Kinabalu → Kuching in Economy

Throwback Flight: MH2807 BKI-KCH Pre-Pandemic

Just shortly before Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, I had the opportunity to travel with Malaysia Airlines from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to Kuching, Sarawak. This route in particular was special for Malaysia Airlines, as it was their only flight connecting the two Bornean states. Sure, MH also flew within Sarawak e.g Kuching-Miri (KCH-MYY) or within Sabah e.g. Kota Kinabalu-Tawau (BKI-TWU), but as far connecting Sabah with Sarawak, the other options are either AirAsia or MASWings with with stopover at Labuan (LBU). 

I kept these photos on my phone for a long while. At that time, I thought that it may not really worth a review given that the flight is a pretty regular affair of MH economy class, but since then the pandemic hit and the air travel landscape has gone through various changes. Moreover, it appears that MH will discontinue this flight as of 15 May 2023 and instead let their budget airline arm Firefly take over their intra-Bornean jet operation, which made this flight soon became a historic one. 

MH has transferred a few of their B737-800 to their budget airline subsidiary Firefly (FY). Now it seems that FY will take over MH's routes within Borneo and MH will focus on flights to/from Kuala Lumpur only.

For locals, I think this is a reasonable move as (hopefully) this will lower down the air fare. Most of domestic flights in Malaysia are below two hours, save for flights between peninsula and Sabah which can be about three hours at most, and Malaysians tend to be more price sensitive and prefer to have affordable air travel over full service. Avgeeks and frequent flyer may lament the loss though, as FY is not an affiliate member of oneworld, meaning that there will be no oneworld frequent flyer perks when the flight is operated on FY metal even though it is marketed by MH or other oneworld members. MH Enrich member is also at disadvantage because redeeming Enrich points with FY costs more than with MH. 

Departure

While had not been declared a pandemic by WHO and mask had not become mandatory, the effect of Covid-19 towards travel industry was getting palpable. Flights from China had been barred at around that time, leaving only a handful South Korean budget airlines flew internationally to BKI. Also, many may have forgotten this, but 2020 was supposed to be a Visit Malaysia year. The government invested a lot in promoting local tourism and even gave residents some income tax relief for their spending on domestic travel. Obviously the agenda was soon scrapped but for a while, it was very enjoyable to see key tourism players became more vibrant in their marketing in anticipation of the program.
 
Anyway, I arrived in BKI airport just about 1 hour before the flight departure. BKI airport is pretty close to the downtown and it took only about 10 minutes of driving, so I'd rather spent some time in town rather than coming super early.   

After checked in, I directly proceeded to immigration. Uniquely in Malaysian Borneo airports, the entry to the airside are divided into Domestic Flights within State (flights within Sabah or within Sarawak only), Interstate Domestic Flights (flights between Sabah and Sarawak or Peninsula), and International Flights. For the latter two, you have to pass immigration control where officers will check your ID card and stamp your passport. So if foreigners fly from BKI to KCH, they'll have their passport stamped upon departure in Sabah and again upon arrival in Sarawak. 

Once you passed through immigration though, there is no more distinction and all passengers be it domestic or international will board from the same area. 

There were some souvenir shops and a few restaurants airside though none of them really caught my attention. Most parts of the terminal were rather empty, which heightened the liminal feeling, and only a few aircraft were parked at the gate . What disappointed me the most was the restrooms, which were downright horrible with unpleasant odor, broken toilets, and some stalls had their locks missing so the door couldn't be closed.

I then proceeded to gate A8 where my MH plane to KCH were parked and ready to go. The ride that day was operated by the then eight years old  B737-800 with registration number 9M-MLP.

Onboard THE FLIGHT

The boarding started at around 10.00AM. Before entering the aircraft, the ground crew handed out this health declaration form. Prior to QR code or digital form became the norm, the state of Sarawak printed this booklet for us to write down our travel history and the state of our well-being.  

Side note: isn't the Sarawak's coat of arms kinda neat? I like that the colour and design are distinctively Bornean.

The load of that day was very light which I imagined would please both the crew and the passengers. I sat near the back of the aircraft and almost nobody else were sitting in a few rows next and around me. It seemed that most travellers chose to fly with AirAsia as the one parked next to my gate was also flying to KCH and their waiting zone was packed. 

For some unknown reason, my flight was delayed despite all passengers were onboard the aircraft and the door were closed. We were waiting for what felt like an eternity while the sun was getting higher into the day and the cabin became uncomfortably hot. The air conditioning wasn't turned on and there were no announcement whatsoever neither from the crew nor the captain, so all of us passengers just sat in the aircraft in a complete silence while doing our best to endure the heat. 

Also, even though the IFE was functioning, no headset were provided by the crew given the rather short flight time.

We finally pushed back and departed at around 11.10AM, 30 minutes behind the scheduled departure. At that point I just felt relieved that the air conditioning was turned on and the cabin started to cool down.

The crew served us lunch and beverage a few minutes after reaching the cruising altitude. There were no choices, only chicken rice with veggies was available, but it was quiet tasty and I think the portion was pretty generous for such a short flight. The meal was complemented by a cup-size drinking water, a cookie, and MH's signature salted peanuts. Beverage choices were juice, soft drink, coffee and tea.

I got really exhausted after the meal and dozed off until the captain made announcement for the crew to prepare for landing. One thing that I just noticed at that time - after concluding the service, the cabin crew would line up in the aisle and thank the passengers by placing their right hand on their chest and then bow down slightly to showcase the Malaysian Hospitality. I think it's a really nice gesture, although on my later flights with MH it could look rather awkward at times depending on the crew and circumstances of the flight.

During approach, we were greeted by this gorgeous scenery which I'm convinced is one of the best landing views in Malaysia. Blue sky with white clouds hanged over it, Mount Santubong stands tall in the background, green jungle and growing urban development in the foreground, separated by meandering river. Sleek wingtip with the red-and-blue wau bulan is just the perfect touch to complete the picture. From then on, I always remember the below image whenever I hear someone mentioned Kuching or Sarawak.

Welcome to Kuching!

Arrival

Although the view were excellent, the landing itself was pretty rough with strong cross winds swayed the aircraft left and right. The taxi was  very short and the aircraft was already parked at the gate before the crew could finish their farewell message. 

Soon we disembarked and were guided by the ground staff to the health inspection counter. Apologise for the lack of photos, because of small numbers of passenger of the flight, we were quickly ushered by the staff and in no time we were in a no-photo zone. We surrendered the health declaration forms, got our temperatures checked, and again being asked to confirm our travel history and well beings. As it was during very early stage of Covid-19 before the pandemic became official, the officers seemed eagerly concern to those who displayed flu-like symptoms and may take them to a quarantine area for further inspection. For those who were in good health like myself, we were let through and could proceed to clear immigration and leave the airport.

The always serene view of Kuching Waterfront