Review of Malindo Air flight Colombo Kuala Lumpur in Economy

Airline Malindo Air
Flight OD186
Class Economy
Seat 4A
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 03:50
Take-off 01 Jul 16, 00:25
Arrival at 01 Jul 16, 06:45
OD 36 reviews
aaqib67
By 2866
Published on 25th September 2016
Definetey being on of the best airlines I've flown with!!
Here's my 12th Trip Report (My 1st on Flight-Report.com and my first Hybrid LCC Experience)

CMB-KUL (1st July 2016/Malindo Air/OD186/Boeing 737-800)




Planing Process

26th of June 2016, managed to finalize a long awaited trip to Kuala Lampur, However my options for a reasonable return airfare to be aligned with my schedule was pretty hard to find, with options available on AirAsia and Sri Lankan being either too expensive or flights being unavailable.
Having heard many positive reviews of Malindo Air, I decided to try out this Hybrid LCC which came at a price much lower than the other airlines on this sector along with 30KG of Complimentary Baggage Allowance and an in-flight meal.

Got myself on Malindo OD186 while my friends traveling with me decided to leave a day earlier on SriLankan.

Check-in/Immigration

Checked-in online 24 hours before my flight which made life so much easier at CMB. Dropped off my bag at a special counter dedicated for Online Check in and for Members of "Malindo Miles" a frequent flyer program for OD's Customers.
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Aircraft
As expected, OD was operating their 737-800 on this route, today being 9M-LNV, one of the newer 737-800's in their fleet.
Airline: Malindo Air (OD/MXD)
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: 9M-LNV
Flight: OD186
Seat Number: 4A
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Trip Report 12

Malindo Air 9M-LNV: My ride to Kuala Lampur along with Sri Lankan Airlines and Air China's Airbus A330's in the background
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The crew was exceptional good , very polite and welcoming and I noticed a lot of customer interaction, much more than other red eye flights which was pretty impressive.
since this was a red-eye flight.

On Board the Hybrid LCC
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Seat
The seats on this 737-800 where unbelievably comfortable with a seat pitch of 32" which much more than expected . Managed to pre-book my seat to 4A right behind Business Class, more or less similar to a Premium Economy seat with additional legroom of course
A Complimentary blanket and pillow were provided for the flight which was yet another welcoming gesture by Malindo

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Meal Service began around 20 to 30 minutes after take-off with Vegetarian or Chicken Briyani being the two available options.
My Choice was obvious as I went in for the Chicken option which was delicious, accompanied with biscuits and unlimited water, all being complimentary. This too was my early morning meal prior to observing fast the next day due to this being the Month of Ramadan.
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The crew also conducted a duty free just after the meal service and cleaning up ended.
Got some sleep soon afterward and woke up halfway through the flight.

I decided to briefly review the IFE System mainly for the purpose of this trip report.
The IFE was very responsive,with the touchscreen panels working wonderfully with a wide variety of Music,Movies Sports and much more on offer. Definitely more than enough to be kept occupied on a Medium-Haul flight like this one
Managed to watch a movie titled “The Edge of Tomorrow” which kept me awake for the decent into KLIA as I didn’t want to oversleep and miss the much awaited night landing for this trip report.


The landing was smooth and I managed get my bags out and make it through immigration within an hour and a quarter.
However, Malindo Air doesn’t provide headsets/earphones so make sure you take your own.

KLIA looked pretty much the same since my last visit in 2011 with the addition of more shops and restaurants which was something nice to see.Even though I couldn’t remember much of KLIA, navigating through was extremely easy with the sign boards placed being accurate and very helpful.
Headed downstairs to the Basement level to catch an Airport Coach that would take me to KLCC for a mere 10RM followed by an Uber to drop me off at Sri Hartamas.
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Verdict

Malindo Air

8.5/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering8.5

Colombo - CMB

7.1/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness6.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

8.4/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

Over all, Malindo Air was quite a memorable experience and would recommend flying with them and I too would fly on them again since the whole experience was absolute value for money and unlike a LCC, Malindo Air being a Hybrid, does indeed take you from point “A” to Point “B” but it does provide add-ons at no extra cost, similar to (or should I say better than) a full service airline.

No Wonder they are they are one of the best airlines in Malaysia and rightly so.
Highly Recommended!
Advance bookings (preferably 1-2 months) when flying out of CMB are highly recommended to avail the best fares on offer.

Information on the route Colombo (CMB) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 6 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Colombo (CMB) → Kuala Lumpur (KUL).


Useful

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

La durée moyenne des vols est de 3 heures et 45 minutes.

  More information

6 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 368075 by
    Thurya 79 Comments
    Thanks for the nice report!

    Malindo seems to be the best out of the lot in this sector with low fares inclusive of 30 kg baggage and decent catering. They are giving a tough competition to AirAsia.

    Keep posting... Cheers!!!
  • Comment 368084 by
    Simmy1972 41 Comments
    I traveled with Malindo from Kuala Lumpur to Miri recently. I was impressed with their services as well. Be sure to read my trip report. Best regards.
  • Comment 369021 by
    jish.b 283 Comments
    Nice report Aaqib! Thanks for sharing.

    Good to see CMB airport, as always! :D

    Lovely pics...

    Malindo's strategy of a hybrid carrier is working out pretty well it seems, I hope they become a force to be reckoned with sooner than later!

    Regards
    Jish
    • Comment 369112 by
      aaqib67 AUTHOR 51 Comments
      Thanks for the feedback Jish!

      They are most definitely on of the finest Airlines serving CMB at this moment.
      You should try them out sometime and trust me they've never failed to disappoint.

      Regards,
      -Aaqib

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