Review of Malaysia Airlines flight Jakarta Kuala Lumpur in Business

Airline Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH720
Class Business
Seat 2A
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 01:59
Take-off 20 Sep 18, 15:49
Arrival at 20 Sep 18, 18:48
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
atco
By 1240
Published on 22nd January 2019

How I booked


Routing


photo asia_2018

After my first experience of flying Business last November, I had got the taste for this whole Premium Cabin thing.

Strangely enough it was a chance comment from a friend that was the opening to the rabbit hole. He mentioned about how he was taking his dad from London to LAX in BA First using Avios.
Now honestly I'd never really had a clue about miles, points etc and how the whole thing worked. Boy did I ever waste a lot of years! I'd always wondered how so many people could afford to pay the insane prices airlines charged for F and J. Little did I realise that many of those people were there for pennies on the dollar.
After diving into the whole scene full blooded I'd unlocked the key to do this on a big scale. So less than a year after starting I was able to put together a trip around Asia all in Business.

The YYZ-ICN-BKK flights cost 75,000 Aeroplan miles. The TPE-YYZ flight also cost 75,000 Aeroplan miles and for reasons I'm not entirely sure I understand I wasn't able to make my multi-city itinerary accept my return flight KUL-TPE-YYZ so I had to book KUL-TPE as a separate leg. This was highly annoying however the blow was softened by a 30% transfer bonus on my SPG points, so that effectively made the flight free in the end.
I used 15,000 BA Avios for the BKK-SIN leg on Cathay which is a crazy good value.
However my terrible luck bit me again on this flight which frankly I booked because it was on the A350-900 and I was yet to fly on one and with the rave reviews it was getting was to be a highlight of the trip for me.
Of course about 2 months before we left ExpertFlyer delivered the brutal news that there had been an aircraft change to an A330-300.
I was gutted especially when I checked EF and found that of the 30 days in September the A330 was operating on only 2 of them. The day after I traveled it was an A350-1000 which would have been even better. I thought long and hard about changing plans to fly a day later but it was just too much hassle. While my wife is nice and understanding even she has limits on how much she will accommodate my avgeekness!

The rest of the flights were cash bookings.
The most expensive flights was the SIN-KUL return on SQ. I originally booked in Y as the cost difference between Y and J was too much. However not flying in J was eating away at me and I started to wonder about how often I would get the chance to fly SQ J again and I buckled and upgraded the flights. It was crazy for a 50 minute flight, but our travel decisions are not always made with the head are they?
It ended up about $775 return.

KLM was about $390 for SIN-DPS, Garuda was about $260, Malaysian CGK-KUL-BKI was $330 and BKI-KUL was $190
*All prices per person in CAD


CGK Terminal 3 and Saphire Plaza Premium Lounge


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After a fabulous flight on Garuda one of those flights that you wish was about 6 hours longer it was time to de-board and say goodbye to the wonderful crew and head off into Jakarta airport. Its fair to say CGK hasn't enjoyed the best reputation over the years, so I was a little apprehensive although my mind was more at rest when MAS announced they were moving all their operations to the new T3. That meant we would arrive and depart the same terminal and as we were on separate tickets that would make our lives so much easier given we would have to collect and re-check our bags.

After the great Garuda experience on arrival we made our way up to the departures level and hunted for the MH check in.
There was no wait and we were checked in quickly and our bags checked all the way through to Kota Kinabalu and we were handed boarding passes for both legs. I was far more stressed then normal as we only had a 65 minute connection in KUL, which for veteran frequent fliers is nothing but for me is way beyond my comfort zone. I wasn't sure about booking this connection but as the next flight to BKI wasn't for 2 hours after our flight I figured that worst case scenario MH would rebook us on that flight if we mis-connected. Given CGK's reputation for delays to be honest I was more than prepared for exactly that scenario to play out.

Now before I get too far into this its time for a little history…………..
I first flew MH back in 2000 and 2002 and at that point they were by far my favourite airline. I flew 12 legs with them on the 747-400 and 737-400 all in Economy and they were are an airline that was impossible not to love. Right up there with SQ in my mind. The crews were amazing - just one example here - So on one flight, it was either an LHR-KUL or KUL-LHR leg I had a real problem with the meal choice. I think there was a beef or fish option and being a picky eater the fish was something that I really disliked. When it came my turn I asked for the beef and of course they were out. I said I didn't want the other option and I was OK, I would just go without. I didn't make a fuss. I was frustrated but didn't let them know that. One thing about Brits we don't like making a scene!
So I had resigned myself to 14 hours without a meal but whatever, I really didn't want the other choice so that was that.
Then a while later the purser appeared with a meal tray. He told me that he couldn't see me going all flight without having something so he found a beef business class meal that hadn't been taken and he brought it for me.
I honestly couldn't believe it. I didn't ask for it, it was done completely of their own initiative but it spoke volumes to the kindness and thoughtfulness of MH's service and crew.
So my nostalgic memories of MH were tinged with rose coloured glasses. My favourite airline that had been through the most awful luck imaginable and it was time to fly them again.

Spoiler Alert: Like ex-girl/boyfriends its best to leave happy memories in the past and not try to rekindle an old relationship. By the end of this flight I wished I'd never set foot on the aircraft and was actively dreading our next 2 flights so much that I actually looked into cancelling them and re-booking with Malindo Air.

I don't find it enjoyable writing such negative things, its always much easier to talk about a positive experience but I have to be completely honest about my experience. Now of course opinions are like a**eh**es, everybody has one and like every review this is totally subjective and my opinion only. Some things I found awful someone else may not find a big deal. But this is my perspective as I saw it and experienced it.
Perhaps too my thoughts were influenced by coming off such a fabulous flight with Garuda, but it highlighted the enormous gulf in class between the 2 rivals quite nicely.

CGK airport T3 was actually really nice to use. I think they've done a fabulous job with it. It was light and airy and while busy never felt crowded. It was architecturally impressive and a real feather in the cap for Indonesian aviation. Combined with my feelings about Garuda it really looks as if things have turned the corner from a difficult past.

I had an adventure at immigration. When I arrived in Bali the immigration officer stamped my passport as usual with my tourist visa on arrival, which as a UK citizen was for 30 days from the date stamped in my passport.
The problem was the officer had set his stamp wrong. He had set it a week into the future so the problem was now I was trying to leave Indonesia after 5 days, or in other words 2 days before my passport said I had arrived. I did joke to the the officer at CGK that I wasn't a time traveler but things stalled for a while as I don't think he knew quite what to do. There were some phone calls and then he took a picture of my passport and the stamp on his cell phone. Finally I was stamped back out and allowed to leave. The officer was actually really nice, he seemed to find the whole thing as strange as I did and I'm not convinced anybody knew how to handle this. I'm guessing they got a lot of practice eventually because anyone else that officer in Bali stamped that day would have the same problem!

After that drama it was off to the Saphire Plaza Premium Lounge located right by the MH gates near Gate 5.
This was a really nice lounge and again apologies for the lack of photos.
We were welcomed in and given information about the lounge which I immediately forgot all about as I found seats at the front windows which looked out over the apron and runway so that was me set for 2 hours.
The buffet was actually quite good, although having had such a superb lunch on Garuda I wasn't in need of food. I had a can of coke and spent the time taking photos and cursing heat haze.
There were shower rooms and good sized washrooms. The facilities here seemed excellent and considering this was a Priority Pass 3rd party lounge its quality was for better than I was expecting. I would even say this was actually quite a nice place to spend a few hours.

Sadly my day was about to get a whole lot worse
Before we go any further, I just want to make clear……..Yes these are First World Problems. I'm not saying this is more important than child abuse, poverty, homelessness and the myriad of other problems in the World, but this is a flight review website and if you book business class that comes with a certain expectation that you will get a better experience than you would if you bought a ticket on Spirit…….


photo mh720_faphoto mh720_fr24

the worst business class i've seen


photo 20180920_163932

<sarcasm>What an interesting cabin</sarcasm>


photo 20180920_164000

My first clue that things were not going to be great was when our 737 arrived at the gate still in the old MAS livery. I suspected that meant no Boeing Sky interior and a high probability we were getting one of MH's oldest 737s with no seatback TV's.

My fears were confirmed when we boarded into what can only be described as something that looked like it could have been a viable alternative for Noah had his Ark not had enough room.
What greeted us was an old, tatty cabin that was filthy and looked as if the last cleaning could be measured in months not hours.

I sat down in my seat hoping it would not give out under my weight and of course found no seatback TV. OK I thought its only a 2 hour flight, at least the flight map should be on the drop down screens……….You've probably figured out how that went already.

OK so lets see what features this chair has then shall we?


photo 20180920_163951

Ummm, where's the rest of it?
OK well getting comfy was not going to happen, I'll just find a power port and watch something on my phone.

Surprise, surprise there were no power ports, no USB chargers.

Hmmm, what's this? Surely not inflight entertainment? Aha maybe something will show on the drop down screens after all


photo 20180920_163947

Except of course, the drop down screens played the safety video and then disappeared for the rest of the flight.

Yup, no headphones provided because there were no screens. They didn't even drop the screens to show the map.

There was literally nothing to do at all. At this point I thought maybe there is wifi and before I finished the thought I realised to myself how stupid that sounded. I did ask the cabin crew just to be sure (never assume!) and she shook her head. I asked is there anything to do on this aircraft, because there is no TV, the shared screens are not being used, no wifi, no power ports, not even music through headphones and she said that there was the inflight magazine? I felt bad because she looked so embarrassed and that wasn't what I was trying to do. Its not her fault that the airline operates flights with aircraft that belong in the last century.

I honestly can't believe this was a 737-800. MH have managed to make a next gen aircraft look worse than the 737 Classic. I swear the old MH 737-400s were better than this. I mean 9M-MLH is only 8 years old! Yet inside it looks like it served in both World Wars……….the level of things that were old, tired and broken was ridiculous. If someone had been trying to absolutely beat a 737-800 to within an inch of its life I don't think they could have done this well.

Legroom…………..The only thing this seat has going for it
Excuse the hideous sight of my legs and feet, it was hot!


photo 20180920_175208

So if you get stuck on one of these old aircraft you can look out of the window and any other entertainment you have to provide yourself.

Like playing spot the cabin crew after the meal service, or how much could I have saved if I'd just booked AirAsia and paid for an exit row seat or I wonder how long it is until we can get off this heap of s**t. Fun little games like that

Boarding was a zoo, after the Business passengers boarded  it was the usual scrum down the aisle as the economy passengers boarded and of course every 60 seconds or so the line would stop while someone put their bags up in the overhead bins but the push through the door wouldn't stop. Someone stood on my wife's foot and then she got clubbed in the head by someone's bag. What fun.

During this melee the cabin crew attempted some kind of service offering newspapers and drinks.

Of course MH has a policy of no alcohol on flights under 3 hours, so not even a glass of wine with dinner. So cheap.
The PDB I took was water and thereafter we were given a cold towel through the throng of people still crowding the aisle.

That was about it for service highlights. The crew served the meal later in the flight then disappeared behind the curtain.

My impression was that the crew were going through the motions a bit. I guess there is only so much you can take of trying to provide service with management tying one hand behind your back. I've heard that a lot of the senior MH cabin crew have left the airline to cut costs and because of the service reductions. I actually felt bad for the crew it must be so frustrating when your bosses just undercut what you are trying to do.


mh720 CGK-KUL


Flight Details:
Airline: Malaysia Airlines
Flight Number: MH720
Departure: Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta CGK
Departure Time: 1549
Arrival: Kuala Lumpur KUL
Arrival Time: 1848
Flight Time: 01:59
Travel Date: Thursday September 20th
Class: Business Class (Allegedly)
Seat: 2A
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: 9M-MLH


This was the highlight of the flight, a sighting of the Lion Air 747-400. Yet again I swore at myself for not having my camera with me. Stupid, stupid idiot!


photo 20180920_155903

Mercifully there was not a long delay at the holding point and we were soon on our way off 25L. I love flying. I can't really remember having negative thoughts about any flight, but I was already eager for this flight to end as soon as possible.

Gallery of taxi shots taken on my GoPro:
1: Pushing back from Gate 5. AirAsia and Saudia already on their way
2: A pair of Garuda 738's on their way into the massive T3
3: One of the T3 Regional ramp areas
4: Yup in the right place!
5: The much older T2 with Garuda, Sriwijaya Air and Etihad visible



Lining up on the "piano keys"


photo takeoff1

View of the construction of CGK's 3rd runway


photo takeoff2

You can see here how utterly enormous T3 is. Its a magnificent terminal though


photo takeoff3

Even though it was a crappy flight, I'm still never happier than when on a plane traveling somewhere. I mean with views like this what's not to love. The magic of flight I don't think will ever leave me. Never, ever take it for granted


photo takeoff4

service


The only service was a drinks service that came with dinner all done at once. Most J Class service has a PDB, then a drinks run then food service then a second drinks run does it not?


photo 20180920_162151photo 20180920_162205

No prizes for guessing that Mr.Boring here had the grilled beef.

This single page was it for drinks. This is all you get on any MH flight under 3 hours. Underwhelming would be a compliment


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Here's where I discovered the next little "quirk" of my seat. Hands up if you guessed broken table

Anyway this was dinner. All served at once on one tray, which isn't unreasonable for a 2 hour flight I suppose. It was tasty thankfully but I would hope on some of the 5+ hour legs they serve something a bit more than that. Otherwise you best grab something to eat in the airport


photo 20180920_162550

Its a little difficult to show the broken table. I had to keep one end of the table resting on the opposite arm rest otherwise my tray would have slid off it. In this image there is about a 1 inch gap under the tray in the middle where the table sags with no support. So I had to be very careful pressing too hard on the meal dish


photo 20180920_163820

And here is the table in its full broken glory. you can see the table on the right side is significantly lower than the height of the armrest. I had to take this quickly before the tray started its descent towards the floor.


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ife


Here's my best shots of the IFE on this flight



I spent the rest of the flight wondering where we were, how much longer we had left to endure and if it was looking good for making our connection (It was yay!)

After the food trays were cleared away that was it. The crew left and were not seen again. No more service, no cold towels not a thing until it was time to check the cabin for our arrival.


are we there yet?


Mercifully after just shy of 2 hours we started our approach into KUL. The Sun was starting to set which meant some amazing golden hour views


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Not going to lie, could not wait to land and get off this aircraft. Can you spot the AirAsia A320 making a parallel approach on Runway 33?



The best thing about this flight was we made our connection and as far as positives go that was about it.

The crew were dis-interested although its hard to blame them when their bosses seem hell bent on driving this once proud airline into the gutter as fast as they possibly can. The cost cutting, the lack of stability at the CEO and the terrible mis-management of the airline have all come home to roost and I can comfortably say this is one of Asia's worst offerings. There is absolutely no reason to choose MH over AirAsia, Jetstar, Malindo etc. Infact Malindo looks to have a significantly better J product and next time I go back to wonderful Malaysia that's who I will choose to fly with. BA tier points are not worth the equipment lottery that might see you consigned to spend your flight in an aircraft that literally has nothing on it bar seats and lavatories.

For my fare difference from Y to J I got a seat in a 2-2 chair rather than 3-3 and had a decent amount of legroom. I also got a small and average meal. And that was it wasn't it? I can't think of anything else on aircraft that was any different can you?
Its laughable the difference between Garuda and Malaysian, the 2 could not be more different than night and day.

This was an awful experience and I felt that my money had been wasted.
Once we had gotten off the aircraft things didn't get any better. We were on quite a short connection to a domestic flight and of course there were no MH staff anywhere to be seen to guide or offer any information. After wondering aimlessly for a few minutes trying to find the right place we asked at the airport information desk where we had to go. Now maybe he didn't understand me but we were guided to completely the wrong place and the wrong immigration area. Fortunately the agent there gave us the right information and we eventually found the transit area to the domestic side. We lost a good 10-15 minutes though with all of this and if our flight had been late I think we would have been screwed. Of course we didn't see any MH staff anywhere to help with transits or connections, you're left to fend for yourself.

This is an airline that has gone downhill fast, I would advise to think long and hard before choosing MH. If like me you remember their glory days beware, the current incarnation of MH bears no resemblance at all to that airline

See more

Verdict

Malaysia Airlines

2.2/10
Cabin1.0
Cabin crew4.0
Entertainment/wifi0.0
Meal/catering4.0

Premier Lounge

7.4/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering7.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Services7.0

Jakarta - CGK

8.2/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness10.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

7.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

An utterly horrible experience from the moment we boarded until the moment we left the ancient relic of an aircraft we were unfortunately stuck on.
The only positive things I can say about this flight was it was on time, the crew were not actively rude and we were still alive after we landed.

For Malaysian to offer this abysmal product and sell it as International Business Class that I paid good money for is a disgrace.
I've flown in Premium Economy that is light years better than this, and frankly Malaysian's Economy product from 16+ years ago was better than this.

In 2018 to sell this as Business Class is shameful. What horrified me even more was that while thankfully our flight was over in under 2 hours this same aircraft showed up later in the month at Taipei while I was spotting there, which is a 5 hour flight from Kuala Lumpur. I'm sorry but spending 5 hours on this aircraft would have sent me over the edge. I can't think why anyone would want to inflict such misery on fellow human beings.

There is absolutely nothing competitive about Malaysia Airlines Business Class. They don't serve alcohol on flights under 3 hours, their catering is at best average and there is a chance you will end up on a tatty old dump of an aircraft with nothing to do but look out of the window and the crew seem to have checked out. Forget about 2018 J Class standards MH isn't even in 2008 standards!

With all of the rival airlines in MH's area I cannot think of any reason why anyone would fly with them unless it was to chase cheap BA Tier Points because MH certainly is cheap and for good reason. The product is absolutely horrible and more comparable to AirAsia than Singapore Airlines.

This ticket cost CAD338 each for CGK-KUL-BKI in Business and it was an absolute waste of money. I would have had just as satisfying flight in Economy because other than no middle seat and better legroom that's basically what this flight was.

I won't be looking at MH again for Business Class flying around Asia.

Information on the route Jakarta (CGK) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 20 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Jakarta (CGK) → Kuala Lumpur (KUL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Garuda Indonesia avec 8.0/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 52 minutes.

  More information

8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 484953 by
    MRTY 61 Comments
    Really sorry to hear your bad experience on this flight. It was indeed an abysmal flight by them, my flight with GA in 2015 on the same route is far better than this.
    • Comment 485057 by
      atco AUTHOR 134 Comments
      Hello MRTY,

      Appreciate your comment thank you.
      Indeed after coming off such a superb flight with Garuda this was a huge letdown and likely made my unhappiness even greater. Before we had even taken off I was deeply regretting not booking Garuda!

      Thanks for stopping by
  • Comment 485024 by
    hometoyyz 539 Comments
    Hello Atco! The epic continues!

    “I wasn't sure about booking this connection but as the next flight to BKI wasn't for 2 hours after our flight I figured that worst case scenario MH would rebook us on that flight if we mis-connected.”
    - With just a two hour difference, I probably would have taken the extra time to explore KUL a little bit, but your presumptions about rebooking are likely correct, so you should be okay even if things go slightly pear-shaped.

    That’s a great story about the service on Malaysian back in the day.

    “The problem was the officer had set his stamp wrong. He had set it a week into the future so the problem was now I was trying to leave Indonesia after 5 days, or in other words 2 days before my passport said I had arrived.”
    - In hindsight, that review of the KLM flight has to be considered very generous, considering they got you to Indonesia five days late. ;-)

    What do you use to mount the GoPro for pictures out the window, and how do you like it? I think I have an old GoPro kicking around somewhere, it might be worth using for something like this.

    Tough review, but definitely a letdown product, and not just versus regional competitors — against similar domestic products, even here in North America. I agree with your assessment that it would probably be better to pay for an extra-legroom LCC seat, rather than paying a premium for this, unless this is the short-range “throw-in” flight to connect to a long-distance reward trip.

    There seem to be a lot of negative reviews for MH. It’s an airline that’s struggling, and perhaps either disappointment or disinterest has settled into the service. Or maybe any number of those factors combined with cuts by the bean-counters. But it’s evident that unless this is a one-off bad experience, and unfortunately I don’t think it is, MH needs a culture shift if it wants to find a way back to success in the heavily service-oriented Asian scene.

    Thanks for sharing this, even if it was a huge letdown. I hope things get better on the next two legs with MH. Happy flying!
    • Comment 485060 by
      atco AUTHOR 134 Comments
      Hello Hometoyyz,

      Thanks for dropping in to comment and finding the time as you dodge the brutal cold and snow on your trip to Africa.
      I'm not at all envious in the slightest, no..........not at all.........sigh

      "With just a two hour difference, I probably would have taken the extra time to explore KUL a little bit, but your presumptions about rebooking are likely correct, so you should be okay even if things go slightly pear-shaped."
      - It would have been a safer connection and far less stressful to have taken the later flight, but the flight we were on landed at 2240 which was already late enough as we had started our day with a 1200 departure out of DPS, so I really wasn't too keen on the 0030 arrival of the last flight of the day unless it was a last resort from a misconnect. I can't say I enjoyed the tight connection and wouldn't be in a hurry to do it again though. I much prefer to give myself at least 3 hours on a connection. Its not like I dislike being at airports anyway!

      "What do you use to mount the GoPro for pictures out the window, and how do you like it? I think I have an old GoPro kicking around somewhere, it might be worth using for something like this."
      - I just use the GoPro Suction Mount. Picked it up in BestBuy for $60 and it does the job perfectly. I love it and it makes taking video out of the window a breeze. Traveling in J means you usually have a few windows so I just pick one I don't need to look out of and leave it up the whole flight. Works great and I'm so happy to have a video record of our trip. I think going forward I'm going to film more about the seat, cabin and story of the flight as well.

      "Tough review, but definitely a letdown product, and not just versus regional competitors — against similar domestic products, even here in North America"
      - Not as tough as Rewardflying though! Never really thought it would be possible for an Asian carrier in Business to make North American "First" look good, but here we are. Even in the hideous "Euro Biz" with its shameful economy seating they at least serve you some booze to drown your sorrows with!

      "There seem to be a lot of negative reviews for MH. It’s an airline that’s struggling, and perhaps either disappointment or disinterest has settled into the service"
      - Astute observation and it absolutely has. Many of MH's older and best cabin crew have moved on as the airline made cuts and laid people off. The new MH is unrecognisable from what the airline used to be and it comes from the top. I can't really blame the crews too much they have to work with what they are given but I also don't think there are many left at MH who truly care about service or being great.

      "I hope things get better on the next two legs with MH"
      - Thankfully it did, not that it could have been a lot worse!

      Many thanks for the comments, hope your trip is going well, Cheers!
  • Comment 485801 by
    Eric V P 123 Comments
    Thank you for sharing!

    The facilities here seemed excellent ... this was a Priority Pass 3rd party lounge ....
    - I believe many Plaza Premium lounges are pretty good? I've never tried that particular lounge, but from what I saw from the outside it seemed to be a bit on the smaller side so I was surprised that some reviews said it's quite decent. Also, you can consider asking the team members to add Saphire Plaza Premium Lounge into the lounge list in CGK as well - the rating you provided was for Premier Lounge in terminal 2D instead.

    I honestly can't believe this was a 737-800. .... I mean 9M-MLH is only 8 years old!
    - A couple of months ago I got 9M-MLF on my flight from KUL to CGK in business class, which was almost the same as what you had. At least I didn't pay too much for the flight, but apart from that I'm pretty sure their "vintage" plane more than deserved some criticisms. The reviews should come in the next few weeks, though.

    ... how much could I have saved if I'd just booked AirAsia and paid for an exit row seat ....
    - A lot, I suppose - plus, AirAsia's meals are pretty good, if a little basic (though like MH is also dry for short-haul flights), so that's worth a try.

    Of course MH has a policy of no alcohol on flights under 3 hours, so not even a glass of wine with dinner. So cheap.
    - At least they have champagne and wine at their international lounges in KUL (or if you want some other spirits CX's lounge in KUL is also an option), so when I fly with MH that's where I usually get my pre-flight drinks. In fact, I found MH's satellite lounge in KUL as one of the most decent things about MH, which speaks about their in-flight product.

    On overall, though, I also agree tat like Hometoyyz mentioned this flight seemed like a huge letdown apart from the lounge, and also with planes like this seemed going places now as you observed (I believe this kind of plane should only serve peninsular Malaysia routes at most) would only add more negative reviews to come.

    Thank you!
    • Comment 487163 by
      atco AUTHOR 134 Comments
      Hello Eric,

      I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and leave a comment.

      "I believe many Plaza Premium lounges are pretty good?"
      - Honestly I've never had an issue with any of them, I find them to be perfectly decent places on the whole. The Jakarta lounge was a really nice place to hang out for a couple of hours and had some very nice facilities.

      "Also, you can consider asking the team members to add Saphire Plaza Premium Lounge into the lounge list in CGK as well - the rating you provided was for Premier Lounge in terminal 2D instead."
      - Oops! Yes I shall do that!

      "At least I didn't pay too much for the flight, but apart from that I'm pretty sure their "vintage" plane more than deserved some criticisms. The reviews should come in the next few weeks, though"
      - Yes, its a dreadful product and one that MH should be ashamed of

      "when I fly with MH that's where I usually get my pre-flight drinks. In fact, I found MH's satellite lounge in KUL as one of the most decent things about MH, which speaks about their in-flight product."
      - That's good to know, although its going to take something special for me to give MH any more of my money. Next time I'm going to look at Malindo Air first. It wasn't just the single flight that put me off, on 3 flights the crew were just so disinterested. Until there is a cultural change at MH and a direction from management I'm going to give them a miss.

      "with planes like this seemed going places now as you observed (I believe this kind of plane should only serve peninsular Malaysia routes at most) would only add more negative reviews to come."
      - Absolutely. As I mentioned I saw this exact aircraft a few days later while we were in Taipei. I simply couldn't imagine having to sit on this aircraft for 5 hours. I felt absolutely awful for anyone on that flight who paid for Business Class and got that. Inexcusable.

      Thank you for your kind words. I hope you have safe and enjoyable future travels
  • Comment 488176 by
    socalnow 976 Comments
    Greetings Atco, and thanks for the report on MH Business Class. Is it a case of us being the hardest on the ones we care about most? You speak so fondly of past experiences with MH I have to wonder if those color your perceptions of the current state of MH.

    The lack of IFE and no PDB are letdowns for sure. Is Doug Parker on the MH board now ? ;)

    "The Sun was starting to set which meant some amazing golden hour views"
    -Great shots on approach. Such a beautiful bit of coastline there too.

    "Its laughable the difference between Garuda and Malaysian, the 2 could not be more different than night and day."
    -Is it reasonable to compare the best possible offering of one airline vs. the worst possible of another? AA flies 797-9 on LAX-DFW and Delta only an E75. What does that tell me? Is AA the vastly superior carrier?

    Thanks for sharing this flight with us and happy(er) flying.
    • Comment 493137 by
      atco AUTHOR 134 Comments
      Good evening Socalnow,

      Always a pleasure to receive a comment from you, thanks for taking the time

      "Is it a case of us being the hardest on the ones we care about most? You speak so fondly of past experiences with MH I have to wonder if those color your perceptions of the current state of MH"
      - Quite possibly. Its impossible to not compare that state of early 2000s MH in Y and late 2010s MH in J and certainly in regards this flight, my flights in Y were so much better. I think that MH losing so many of its senior and best cabin crew has been impossible to replace and the service quality has reflected that. I also find it hard to fault the crew, who can't possibly be invested in a sub-par product and an airline being so abysmally run. I'm sure they are not being treated wonderfully either.

      "Is it reasonable to compare the best possible offering of one airline vs. the worst possible of another? AA flies 797-9 on LAX-DFW and Delta only an E75. What does that tell me? Is AA the vastly superior carrier?"
      - I think it is if you are comparing service and take the aircraft out of it. Based purely on service alone Garuda is miles better. Caring, engaged cabin crew delivering heartfelt, proactive and personalised service versus a series of crews who just could not be bothered doing anything other than the bare minimum. I'd say that's fair. Of course its not fair to compare a flat bed A330 to a recliner 737, that wasn't really the intent of comparing GA to MH just the service and experience aspects.

      Many thanks for reading and putting up with my moaning! It's never fun to have a crappy experience and as someone who really loves flying, its certainly no fun at all to report with such negativity. But I'll always try to be honest and fair. I'll praise where I think its worthy and criticise where I think its warranted!

      All the best, happy flying yourself and look forward of course to all your upcoming trip reports!

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