Review of Malaysia Airlines flight Kuala Lumpur Taipei in Economy

Airline Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH366
Class Economy
Seat 23D
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 04:55
Take-off 09 May 14, 09:10
Arrival at 09 May 14, 14:05
MH   #25 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 216 reviews
tn92
By 13659
Published on 21st October 2014
photo 000a Banner

My 4th Flight with Malaysia Airlines – One of The Best Meals in Economy!


Hi friends from all over the world! To those who still remember me, thank you very much~ And for those reading my report for the first time, welcome!

First of all, allow me to apologise sincerely for this extended delay in submitting this report after the first one. The past few months were extremely busy but I have managed to pull through. Alright, let’s go on to my second flight now!
(Caution: this is a LONG report with lots of photos, please do enjoy even though it may take up quite a bit of your time)


Taiwan Trip in May, 2014
Flight 1: 09/05/2014, SIN-KUL, MH602, B737-800 (http://flight-report.com/en/report-7043.html)
Flight 2: 09/05/2014, KUL-TPE, MH366, B737-800 (This Report)
Flight 3: 24/05/2014, TPE-KUL, MH367, B737-800 (Coming Soon!)
Flight 4: 24/05/2014, KUL-SIN, MH609, B737-800 (Coming Soon!)


Malaysia Airlines MH366
Aircraft Registration: 9M-MXD
Origin: Malaysia Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL)
Destination: Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)
Date: Friday, 09 May 2014
Boarding Time: 0810h (UTC+08:00)
STD/STA: 0910h (UTC+08:00) to 1405h (UTC+08:00)
ATD/ATA: 0910h (UTC+08:00) to 1350h (UTC+08:00)
Estimated Duration: 04:55
Actual Duration: 04:40
Flight Distance: About 2,019 miles / 3,250 km


Early in the morning of 9 May 2014, I have already flown from Singapore Changi Airport on MH602 and arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) at about 7.40am. However, as you can see in the routing map below, KUL was not my final destination. I was just transiting there for a short period of time before continuing on to Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).

photo 000c Routing

It’s been half a year since I last returned to Taiwan and this time, I was definitely looking forward to the trip back. In addition, we chose flights on Malaysia Airlines (MAS) mainly because of its extremely attractive price for its return air tickets; the trip to TPE and back cost about SGD437.20 only (surcharges and taxes included)!

Enough of introduction for this FR, let’s start on my flight experience, beginning with the transit made in KUL.

photo Timeline 1


As a student in university, 8am on a normal day may still be part of my bedtime. However, on that day, I woke up at 4am and was already in a different country even before 8am. After confirming our flight details on the FIDS, we began making our way to the boarding gate - H10. (Our flight details can be found on the second row of the top right screen)

The transit duration we had that day was rather okay, standing at about 1h 15mins.

photo 001 Checking for The Next Flight 0759h

A location in KUL’s airside where you will see lots of people taking photos. (Incl. me!)

photo 002 Aircraft Models 0746h

Look at all the aircraft models below! Which are the airlines that you’ve flown with before? (Very few for me, sadly…)

photo 003 Models

KUL has two terminals for its international departures and arrivals – Main Terminal and Satellite Terminal.

This is the area where you find duty free shops at the Main Terminal.

photo 004 Duty Free Shops

Both my flights that day – MH602 and MH366, arrived and departed from the Main Terminal. Hence, there was no need for me to travel to the Satellite Terminal.

photo 005 Gates for International Departures 0750h

The Main Terminal is directly linked to the public area of KUL. However, the airside area of the Main Terminal is rather limited, as most of the indoor area for the Main Terminal is dedicated to the public area. Nevertheless, the airport management has managed to squeeze lots of duty free shops in the small airside area.

photo 006 More Duty Free Shops

Akin to Changi Airport in Singapore, departing and arriving passengers are not segregated onto different levels in the airside of KUL.

photo 007 Signs

This photo was taken at 7.52am, and there were already lots of transit passengers. Fortunately we’ve already collected our boarding passes for the next flight in Singapore.

photo 008 Transfer Desk 0752h

For passengers arriving on international flights that are transiting on to Malaysia domestic flights, arrival immigration clearance is required before proceeding to the domestic transfer area.

photo 009 Domestic Transfers

Domestic gates are prefixed with the letters ‘A’ or ‘B’, and these gates are actually one level beneath the international gate lounges prefixed with the letters ‘G’ and ‘H’. In other words, aircraft parking bays for the ‘A’ or ‘B’ gates are actually the same as those for the ‘G’ or ‘H’ gates.

Domestic passengers will be directed downstairs to the domestic gate lounges area; on the other hand, international passengers boarding or disembarking at ‘G’ or ‘H’ gates will be directed upstairs to the internal gate lounges area. (I know it may sound a little confusing, just try and decipher what I mean the next time you visit KUL’s main terminal. Alternatively, you can also look at the fourth photo above this paragraph and you will see that the 'G' gates are directly above the 'A' gates, while the 'H' gates are above the 'B' gates.)

photo 010 Towards A and B Gates

Boarding pass for flight MH366, as you can see, I have keyed in my Qantas membership number for this booking. Unfortunately, I did not check the booking class properly and eventually could not accrue any mileage at all for these four MH flights.

photo 011 Boarding Pass for Next Flight 0753h

Before entering the boarding lounge, I tried out KUL’s free Wi-Fi. The connection speed was acceptable, but definitely not as good as the one in Taipei Taoyuan Airport.

photo 011a Free Wifi at KLIA 0756h

The login screen.

photo 011b Free Wifi at KLIA 0758h

Golden Lounge – Malaysia Airline’s lounge in the Main Terminal of KUL. I remember reading some reports saying that the services and F&B provided in this lounge aren’t very exceptional. Well, I can’t say much myself since I don’t have the chance to enter these lounges as of now.

photo 012 MAS Lounge

H10 is the last gate on the corridor of Zone H.

photo 013 Heading to Gate H10 0805h

While we were on our way to gate H10, I observed that most of the flights at KUL’s main terminal that morning were operated by MAS’ B737-800 aircrafts, including the one I was about to board. (Note that there was a MAS B747 parked at the background of this photograph, this aircraft was supposedly being stored in KUL at that time, but there were rumours about MAS re-activating its B747s due to aircraft shortage resulting from the unfortunate loss of two B777s this year. However, I am unsure about how true this is.)

photo 014 The Most Common Aircraft Seen at KLIA 9M-MXT

Arrived at gate H10 at about 8.15am, but security checks have not commenced yet.

photo 015 Arrived at H10 0815h

For transit passengers, there aren’t any transit security screenings at KUL, since departing and arriving passengers are not directed to different areas of the airport’s airside. All passengers will go through common security screening prior to entering the airport’s boarding lounges.

photo 016 Security Screening

No flights were operating from H8 that morning.

photo 017 H8 and H10

Soon after we arrived at the gate, passengers onboard MH366 began to queue for security screening.

photo 018 Queue Began to Form 0816h

Meanwhile, I found a location to take some shots of aircrafts on the tarmac. I am sure many of our Flight Reporters from France can recognize this aircraft? =P

photo 019 A310-304 of French Air Force

The B737-400 that was originally in FireFly’s fleet. 9M-FZB had its first flight in 1992 and had Lufthansa as its first operator. The aircraft was transferred to FireFly in 2011, and currently it’s being stored at KUL.

photo 020 B737-400 9M-FZB Stored

With 56 out of 98 aircrafts in MAS’ fleet being B737-800, this aircraft type is definitely very easily spotted in KUL. Here, we see 9M-MXO resting on the tarmac for the day.

photo 021 B737-800 9M-MXO

Finally, our aircraft for the day. No surprise, it’s going to be another B737-800, and the one operating MH366 that day is 9M-MXD – a relatively new aircraft that had its first flight on 25 February 2011.

photo 022 Our Aircraft 9M-MXD 0818h

Here’s some interesting information I found about this aircraft:
This is the flight route of 9M-MXD’s delivery flight, which took off on 15 March 2011 from Boeing Field (BFI), and arrived at KUL on 18 March 2011 (total distance: 15,852km).

imagephoto s Delivery Flight


photo Timeline 2


Finally entered the boarding lounge after security screening at 8.25am.
Time for some photo-shoot for our aircraft, especially given the great weather that day at KUL.



A distance away at the Satellite Terminal – an MAS A380 bound for London, most probably, this was flight MH4.

photo 032 An A380 bound for London (Presume MH4)

I was surprised to find no water dispenser in KUL’s boarding lounge; couldn’t fill up my water bottle as a result. However, a good point about this airport’s boarding lounge is that there are a lot of seats within the lounges and the boarding lounges are also rather huge in size, which makes it more comfortable for passengers waiting to board their aircraft.

photo 027 Boarding Lounge 0834h


photo Timeline 3


Final call was announced 20 minutes prior to the scheduled time of departure.

photo 033 Boarding 0851h Last Call

Here’s another observation I made about MAS from the four flights I had with them in May 2014: boarding sequence was typically ignored. Apart from priority boarding for business class and higher tier passengers, economy passengers mostly boarded at the same time and ground staff do not seem too interested to enforce the boarding sequence by rows.

Consequently, all my four MH flights witnessed the same situation – a long wait on the aerobridge, as a result of a “human jam” in the aircraft during boarding. I would think that MAS has to improve on its boarding procedures.

photo 034 Queue on the Bridge

Looking on the bright side, being stuck on the aerobridge meant that I had more time to do additional plane spotting. Well, it’s still a MAS B738.

This is 9M-MXG, heading to Bangalore as MH104. Scheduled to depart soon after my flight.

photo 035 MH104 9M-MXG 0852h Heading to Bagalore from H10

MH366 on the left and MH104 on the right.

photo 036 Buddies

Part of the Malaysian flag and the oneworld logo on the aircraft body.

photo 037 Aircraft Door 0857h

Passing by the purple-themed Business Class. The seats look relatively comfortable, but the seat pitch was probably just average.

photo 038 Business Class 0858h

We reached our seats at 9.01am – 23D and 23E.
Boarding process was still going on at this time, and it still seemed rather slow.

photo 039 Seated at Our Seats 0901h

Seat pitch for MAS’ B738 is a pathetic 30”.
Definitely not what one would prefer for any flights lasting above 3 hours – like ours…

photo 040 Leg Room 30 Inches

Furthermore, this obstruction on the floor made it even less comfortable when placing my leg on the ground sometimes.

photo 085 Obstruction Jutting Out

Pretty winglet of this MAS B738.

photo 041 Out of The Window

This isn’t the most comfortable seat you would expect on a full service airline. Nevertheless, pillows and earpieces were already distributed on the seats prior to boarding.

photo 042 Seats with Pillow and Earpiece 0905h

Newspapers were also provided upon boarding at the aircraft door. I took this Malaysian Mandarin newspaper as I was interested with the article featured below the headline – it was an article describing the last night of operation at KUL’s Low-Cost Terminal on 8 May 2014. The day of my flight on MH366 was the first day of operation for KUL’s new terminal – KLIA2.

photo 086 Newspapers Available (Headlines about KL LCCT)

The lady seated here probably knew that I wanted to take a photo of the seat recline, and thus she tried to make herself comfortable by reclining her seat even before pushback. Well, she had to straighten it eventually, because an FA told her to do so soon after I took this photo.

photo 043 Seatback Reclined 0905h

Here’s the lighting of the aircraft cabin during boarding.

photo 044 Ceiling of Aircraft (Boeing Sky Interior)

It would only be adjusted to the famous Boeing Sky Interior when the flight is cruising. The following photo was taken at 11.17am.

photo 045 Boeing Sky Interior 1117h


photo Timeline 4


Selamat Datang means Welcome in Malay!
We had a very punctual departure that day, pushing back at 9.10am exactly.

photo 046 Welcome (Selamat Datang) (0910h Push Back 0922h Take Off)


photo Timeline 5


KUL is probably considered a huge airport by Asia’s standard. Even with very little traffic that morning, our aircraft took 12 minutes to taxi to the runway.

MH366 took off from KUL at 9.22am that morning. Soon after its KUL departure, 9M-MXD took a right turn and began its flight straight to Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE).

photo 129 MH366 Map II


photo Timeline 6


The aircraft seemed to climb at a rather fast rate. 5 minutes later at 9.27am, the captain switched off the seatbelt signs.

photo 047 Climbing 0930h (0927h Seatbelt Sign Off)

Cabin lighting has also changed to a warmer colour. However, the four “tubes” of white light right in the middle of the cabin’s ceiling look rather ugly, and I personally think they do not fit in to the mood lighting environment at all. Was wondering if those were some kind of emergency lightings?

In the following picture, the FA was confirming special meal orders with passengers. As she headed back to the galley, I requested for a cup of water from her (recall that KUL’s boarding lounge had no water dispenser) and she responded in a really unpleasant manner “wait a while” before walking away.

photo 048 Taking Orders for Special Meal 0930h

Still climbing at 9.30am.

photo 049 Climbing 0930h

Also! I was really lucky to have an empty window seat next to me for that flight!

photo 050 Empty Seat

At 9.31am, the aircraft was passing 17,750ft. On the flight information screen for MAS, the altitude is always displayed in “metres”, I wasn’t very used to seeing it in “metres”.

photo 051 Passing 17750 Feet 0931h

Definitely not a good headphone, but it’s still usable.

photo 052 The Headphones

Also on the flight information screen in MH flights, the direction and distance to Mecca, Islam’s Holiest City, is always displayed, as Malaysia is an Islamic state.

photo 053 Heading East Getting Further from KL 0933h

The 9” PTV screen size in MAS’ B738 aircrafts is considered quite a big one as compared to smaller screens found in other airlines.

photo 054 Considerably Short Flight 0934h

Our aircraft was still below the cloud cover at 9.35am.

photo 055 Clear Sky 0935h

Let’s take a look at the cabin. Even though 9M-MXD (the aircraft operating MH366) and the aircraft I took earlier in the morning (9M-MSF, flight MH602) are both B738s, the cabin interior of 9M-MXD certainly looked a little bit less clean as compared to 9M-MSF. This was probably because 9M-MXD was two years older in terms of the aircraft’s “age”. Some dust could be seen on this aircraft’s ceiling – looked like it was due for some major cleaning soon.

photo 055a Cabin View 0937h

Nevertheless, each seat has USB ports – a great plus point for people like me who would need to charge my devices on the go.

photo 055b Charging My Camera 0937h

That day on MH366, I decided to watch “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”.

photo 056 Watch Movie 0938h

At this point in time, how many of you still remembered that I requested some water from an FA just now? As I was really thirsty, I looked forward so much to getting a cup of water but seeing that all the FAs were extremely busy preparing meals, I hesitated to disturb them at the galley. Thus, I actually decided to quench my thirst only when the meals were served later on.

To my surprise, however, the FA remembered my request and served me a cup of water twenty minutes after I requested for it. It was nice that she remembered my request even though she and her colleagues were really busy. (:

photo 057 Asked for Water 0949h

Nevertheless, many MAS flight steward and stewardess looked very gloomy for that flight (and the other three flights). I sincerely hope that it was not because of the unfortunate incidents earlier this year (my flight took place two months after MH370 went missing), and I definitely think that all MAS staff members deserve the support from the world as their company go through a hard time this year.

Back to the flight. The co-pilot gave a flight information briefing before meal service. The main points he made were: aircraft currently cruising at 32,000ft, with a speed of approx. 800kph, and an ETA at Taipei of 2.05pm.




photo Timeline 7


Meal service began an hour after taking off from KUL. The air steward in the following picture was the only one I saw with a good mood, out of all my four MH flights in May 2014.

photo 059 Meal Service Begins 1022h

Even though we ate a simple breakfast at Changi Airport Terminal 2 that morning at 5am, I was already super hungry at 10am onboard MH366.

Our meals were served at about 10.31am. There were two choices for main course: Nasi Lemak (Malay coconut rice with prawns) and Chicken Spaghetti. I chose the first one…

photo 060 Main Course 1031h

And it was surprisingly, really, really nice! (:

photo 061 Main Course - Nasi Lemak

The taste and texture of the prawns were great! Seemed really fresh.

photo 061a Prawns

Usually, I dislike eating hard-boiled eggs. However, this one onboard MH366 was nice when I ate it with the extremely delicious and savoury sauce.

photo 061b Egg

On the other hand, my mom selected chicken spaghetti. Similarly, it was extremely beyond my expectations. The spaghetti sauce was not too diluted, like what I had experience on other airlines before, and the spaghetti was cooked very nicely too – every single bit of it was cooked appropriately, no part was hardened as a result of over-cooking.

photo 062 Main Course - Noodles with Chicken

Nice, fresh fruits.

photo 063 Starter - Fruits

Yoghurt was okay too.

photo 064 Dessert - Yoghurt

The bread was warm, which definitely is a good thing as well!

photo 065 Bread

Plastic utensils were provided for the meals.

photo 066 Utensils

And a pack of wet tissue came with the meals as well.

photo 067 Wet Tissue

From this photo of my meal tray, you can clearly see that I have enjoyed every bit of it – YES, even the butter. (: Good job to Malaysia Airlines! I really enjoyed your inflight meal in Economy.

photo 068 All Clear

After the awesome meal, the flight continued in clear skies!

photo 069 Clear Skies 1056h

With the Boeing Sky Interior cabin lightings switched on, the crew distributed a second round of hot drinks.

photo 069a Boeing Sky Interior 1103h

And also cleared our meal trays at 11.03am – the efficiency was high!

photo 070 Clearing Trays 1103h

Did not manage to get a good shot of the cabin that day. This was the best photo I can find even though it’s still a little blur.

photo 071 Cabin View 1110h

Now, it’s time for the lavatory visit.

photo 072 Lavatory

Accessories were neatly placed.

photo 073 Lavatory II

And there were even flowers in the Economy Class toilets!

photo 074 Lavatory III

Passengers are advised to wipe dry the basin after using it.

photo 075 Lavatory IV

Back to my seat. Now, for a closer look at the “ugly lightings” that I mentioned earlier.

photo 076 Ugly Lights

At 12.05pm, the aircraft was about 1,183km away from our destination, TPE, more than halfway through our journey! It’s now cruising at an altitude of 36,000ft.

photo 077 Cruising at 36000 Feet 1183km More 1204h

Speed was very close to 900kph.

photo 078 Speed of 896kph Tail Wind 61kph 1204h

And we were very near the capital of Philippines, Manila.

photo 079 Aircraft Location I 1205hphoto 080 Aircraft Location II 1205h

This flight that day was a relatively smooth one, with very little or no turbulence at all.

As mentioned earlier, I tried to watch a movie prior to the commencement of meal service. However, given that I woke up really early at 4am that day, I did not manage to complete the movie as I fell asleep soon after the meal service.

When I woke up again, we were already approaching TPE, and this meant that I definitely could not complete the movie. What I did was to record down where I paused the movie, and made a mental note to complete the movie on my flight back from TPE two weeks later.

This time, I experienced the true advantage of “Audio & Video On-Demand”! Now, I just needed to pray hard that the aircraft bringing me back from TPE to KUL will be a B738 installed with AVOD… (Note: some B738 in MAS’ fleet are not fitted with PTV, and thus no AVOD at all)


photo Timeline 8


At about 1.16pm prior to descend, the co-pilot came back on the aircraft’s PA system for another announcement – aircraft now about to descend from 37,000ft; Taipei’s temperature was 24 degree Celsius; currently it is raining in Taipei; and the ETA was still 2.05pm (even though it was proven to be an inaccurate estimate because we arrived 15 minutes earlier, but since we were early, no worries about that).



An FA immediately translated the co-pilot’s announcement into Chinese.



The approach route was along Taiwan’s western coastline.

photo 084 Initial Approach 1319h

The aircraft’s location at about 1.30pm. We just passed Taichung, another major city in Taiwan.

photo 087 Approaching Taipei TIA 1330h

As we approached TPE, the weather outside significantly became cloudier, even though I can’t really remember, I would assume that there were some slight turbulences while descending.

photo 088 Descending 1334h

This is the approach route into TPE for MH366 seen on FlightAware.

photo 130 MH366 Map III


photo Timeline 9


At about 1.42pm, 9M-MXD touched down at TPE. Even with the rain, the landing process was relatively smooth.

photo 089 Touched Down at TIA (Touch Down 1342h)photo 090 Gloomy Day

Even though the weather wasn’t good, visibility was still sufficient for some plane spotting. This aircraft is Korean Air’s A330-300. Its registration number is HL-7702 and it was operating as KE692 bound for Seoul.

photo 091 KE692 A330-300 Bound for Seoul HL7702

Another A340 from China Airlines, operating CI735 to Bangkok, and the aircraft was B-18803.

photo 092 CI735 A330-300 Bound for Bangkok B-18803


photo Timeline 10


MH366 arrived at the gate 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled arrival time at about 1.50pm – full marks for punctuality!

A China Airlines B747-400 aircraft with special livery was being prepared for flight CI915 to Hong Kong beside us. This aircraft is rather famous in Taiwan because of its livery, and has a registration number of B-18203.

photo 093 CI915 B747-400 Bound for Hong Kong B-18203

Even with the seatbelt signs still switched on, most of the passengers already stood up and waited eagerly to disembark.

photo 094 Disembarking 1350h Arrived at Gate

Ground staff at TPE sprung into action immediately after the aircraft stopped.

photo 095 Unloading Cargo 1356h

Soon after, we disembarked as well and I took one last shot of 9M-MXD, now preparing to return to KUL as MH367.

photo 096 Preparing for MH367 Back to KL

Here’s a slightly clearer picture of B-18203. The pictures on the aircraft body are artworks done by the famous Taiwan artist – Jimmy Liao. Read more about him on Wikipedia, if you are interested. (Click the URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Liao)

photo 097 Jimmy Plane B-18203

We have now entered the terminal building of Taoyuan International Airport, and I am sure that Flight Reporter Marathon will be very familiar with these scenes! =P

The gate we disembarked from was rather far from the arrival immigration.

photo 098 Quite a Long Walk 1400h

And we walked for quite a distance.

photo 099 Heading to Arrival Immigration

More travellators to go…

photo 100 Heading to Arrival Immigration 1403h

One last one!

photo 101 A Steep Slope

And here we are, after a six minutes walk/ride on travellators, at the area for duty-free shops right before the immigration counters.

photo 102 Duty Free Shops 1406h


photo Timeline 11


Immigration procedures were completed swiftly, and we were done by 2.18pm. Counters opened for foreign visitors had rather long queues, but my mom, who holds a Taiwanese passport, managed to persuade the immigration officer to process my Singapore passport at her counter as well.

Baggage collections for MH366 were to be done at carousels 3A and 3B.

photo 103 Cleared Arrival Formalities 1418h


photo Timeline 12


It did not take too long for our luggage to appear on the belts. Another plus point for Taoyuan Airport’s efficiency!

photo 104 Carousel 3photo 105 Carousel 3photo 106 Carousel 3

Upon collecting our bags, I realized that they were tagged with an unfamiliar pink tag, which said on it “HOT TRANSFER”. This probably meant that our transit time at KUL earlier that morning was considered to be a very short one in terms of ground operations at the airport.

photo 107 Got Our Luggage Hot Transfer 1421h

We stepped into the arrival hall at 2.30pm. At the same time, there were flights arriving from Hong Kong, Macau, Okinawa, Manila, Seoul, and Kuala Lumpur. Nevertheless, arrival procedures such as the disembarkation, immigration clearance, and baggage collection were still possible without any delays. I definitely think that TPE has got good systems in place for such high efficiencies.

photo 108 Arrival Information 1430h Flight Completed

Taoyuan Airport was recently renovated and has since become a really nice airport. Even though interior design wasn’t too splendid or exaggerated, the overall atmosphere was very good!

photo 109 Arrival Hall 1430h

For arriving passengers, head to the left for taxis, buses, or coach services. And, head to the right for counters manned by telecom providers – you will be able to get a prepaid mobile phone card there.

photo 110 Signs 1455h

This is the direction to the airport bus terminal – head straight down to the end, make a U-turn to the right, and down the escalators.

photo 111 To Departure Hall or Buses


photo Timeline 13


We did not, however, proceed immediately to the bus terminals, as I wanted to have a quick meal again before heading back to my grandparent’s place.

Lunch was decided to be at Ikari Coffee, situated within Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1’s Arrival Hall.

photo 112 Lunch

Lunch was good as well! (:
(Even though I have not forgotten the awesome in-flight meal I had earlier!)

photo 114 Lunch at Airport 1502h

Had a cup of green tea latte as well.

photo 115 Lunch

And lunch was accompanied with some Internet surfing, given the great Wi-Fi connectivity in Taoyuan Airport!

photo 116 Free Wifi and Charging Points

These screens are not FIDS, even though they look like it. The tiny words on the screens are actually details of bus departure timings from Taoyuan Airport. Looking at the screen, we found that we’ve just missed our bus and had to wait one hour for the next one.

photo 117 Bus Schedules 1526h

There are also souvenir shops within the arrival hall, which doesn’t seem like a place where arriving tourists will visit…

photo 118 Souvenir Shop

Finally, one last look before heading to the bus terminal to sum up my short introduction of Taoyuan Airport’s newly renovated arrival hall!

photo 119 Arrival Hall


photo Timeline 14


Finally, we have reached the last section of this report, which will conclude at the airport’s bus terminal.

imagephoto  Buses Ticket Counter

Information of bus and coach services to Taipei can be found on the bus terminal’s wall.

photo 121 Bus Information

To the left, another real time “BIDS” could be seen. (BIDS = Bus Information Display System… Hahaha!) Times at different parts of the world were also displayed below the local time at many locations within Taoyuan Airport.

photo 122 Real Time Schedule

Every bus/coach service provider has its dedicated ticketing counter.

photo 123 Counters

We got our tickets at 3.33pm, and our coach service was only scheduled to depart at 4.30pm. The duration of the wait was definitely long, but thanks to the great Wi-Fi connectivity at Taoyuan Airport, the Internet kept us company during the one-hour wait.

photo 124 Got Our Tickets 1533h

More than 12 hours after leaving home in the wee hours of the day, our coach final arrived.

photo 125 The Bus 1623h

We took Service 1968 to San-Xia (??), which was operated by Da-You Bus Company (????).

photo 126 The Bus 1623h

The interior of the bus was simple, but the seats were very comfortable. Definitely good for passengers who have arrived on a long distance flight to continue napping on the coach.

photo 127 On The Bus 1625h

Flight Map & Statistics

photo 128 MH366 Map I

Note that there were some differences between the time I’ve recorded and those displayed on FlightAware.

photo 131 MH366 Stats

And finally, thank you for your patience in reading this long flight report. I hope you have enjoyed it and do stay tune for more FRs from me! (:


This report was completed on 21 October 2014, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

— End of Flight Report for Malaysia Airlines MH366 —



Next Flight
Saturday, 24 May 2014
Taipei (TPE) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
Malaysia Airlines MH367, B737-800
Coming Soon!
See more

Verdict

Malaysia Airlines

7.9/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew6.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering10.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

7.5/10
Efficiency9.0
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Taipei - TPE

10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

Generally similar ratings have been given as compared to the previous flight on MH602. MAS crew needed to smile more. The cabin was still not as comfortable as it could've been, if the seat pitch was better than 30 inches. The meal that I had on MH366 was however much, much, much better than what I have actually expected. In fact, it was great! Entertainment choices were adequate and the AVOD system allowed me to pause my movie and continue it on future flights. (: MH366 performed exceptionally well in terms of punctuality, as you would have seen clearly from the timelines that I have introduced from this report onwards.

KUL has good efficiency in terms of security. Variety of shops and F&B outlets do look adequate too. It's okay to transit there and it won't get too boring if your transit time is just about 1 to 2 hours.

TPE is magnificent. As I have said, it may not be very well decorated and the interior designs of the airport may not be too exaggerated. Nonetheless, immigration officers were friendly, the entire airport manages to function efficiently despite heavy arrival traffic, and the restaurant choices provided in the airport have also improved significantly over the years. Generally, TPE is one of my favourite airports. Simple, clean, comfortable, relatively convenient to get there from the city, and most importantly, staffed by extremely friendly Taiwanese people. (:

Information on the route Kuala Lumpur (KUL) Taipei (TPE)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 5 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Kuala Lumpur (KUL) → Taipei (TPE).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est EVA Air avec 8.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 4 heures et 39 minutes.

  More information

9 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 120524 by
    marathon GOLD 10106 Comments
    Nice set of models - I can identify 5 airlines that I flown with at least once.
    I dislike airports (SIN, KUL...) which have a security screening for each boarding room, where there is little or nothing to do or see. Not even water there ! It is conceptually the same as the infamous pre-boarding of some European low cost airlines.
    I wonder which French VIP was in KL that day ?
    I wonder about the purpose of showing the direction of Mecca on the geovision, since passengers cannot place themselves in that direction for praying.
    The route following the western coast of Taiwan is interesting. My guess is that the mountains are too high (close to 4,000 m) to accommodate the descent into TPE.
    Thanks to the friendly wink, and yes, I do recognize the scenes in TPE ! I have been through most of the renovation period - it was nearly completed when I left - and they did a good renovation job.
    Friendly smiles are a signature of the Taiwanese immigration officers, at all points of entry / departure that I have been through. Warm regards to your Taiwanese mother :)
    Thanks for this comprehensive report (the timelines are a real plus); it was well worth waiting for it !
    • Comment 303672 by
      tn92 AUTHOR 173 Comments
      Hello Marathon! (: I was guessing that you would definitely read a report to or fro Taiwan's airports, and I was right! =D
      I agree entirely with you about the security screening being done before boarding. Makes the wait in the boarding lounge really long, so in SIN, I usually don't go into the boarding lounges too early. At least in SIN there are water dispenser... Haha.

      My guess would be that the Muslim passengers can stand up and go somewhere else on the aircraft to pray? Ain't too sure though! Maybe our Muslim friends here can answer this question? (:

      Taiwan is certainly a really, really friendly place and it's always nice to be there!

      Thank you for your commendation, I will write the next one soon (:
  • Comment 120583 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this great report with nice images.

    Given the circumstances of this airline recently, I personally don't blame the crew for their low morale, especially with the financial uncertainties facing this company and the prospect of the end of MH as we know it today.

    Your meal looks appetizing but aren't the plastic utensils a recent introduction? I thought that MH used metal utensils in Y in the past. It would have been nice if this flight was operated with a widebody airplane.

    Taiwan looks like an interesting country and hopefully one of these days I will pay it a visit.
    • Comment 303757 by
      tn92 AUTHOR 173 Comments
      Hey there! (: You are welcome and I will come back with better photos (hopefully), now that I have gotten myself a much better camera!
      I agree with what you said about Malaysia Airline's crew, I certainly hope they will withstand the challenges and return again as a world-class carrier like they were before!

      Hmmmm... I can't remember if I received plastic or metal utensils on my MH flights in 2013 (haven't had the habit of reporting flights), but I would think that as long as the meal is nice, I am okay with utensils! Just don't give me wooden chopsticks (hate it~). And... YES totally, if it was in A330/B777, it'd be so much nicer. But I would think that there isn't enough passengers to justify for that. The two flights I had KUL-TPE-KUL weren't full and there were a lot of empty seats. My Taiwanese friends had the same experience during different times of the year as well.

      And lastly, Taiwan is definitely a place to visit! Find some chances to go, and you won't regret. (: I am sure Marathon agrees.

      Thanks for reading and thanks as well for your comment! (:
  • Comment 120605 by
    SKYTEAMCHC GOLD 10028 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this Flight report.
    It seems globally a good flight and i like the seats ( as for comfort you are the only judge).The cabin looks nice and the flowers in the toilets are a nice touch. It's true that the catering does not look amazing but I trust you that it was good !
    As for the flight attendant mood maybe it's beacuse a lot of them know they will be soon terminated and have to find another job.Hopefully MH will survive to the two accidents that have left them wounded.
    • Comment 303762 by
      tn92 AUTHOR 173 Comments
      You are welcome! Thanks for reading and commenting!

      The seats are not that uncomfortable actually, and for regional flights they are definitely acceptable, even though it can be better (e.g. Korean Air's narrow-body aircrafts seem to have really good seats). Especially so because MH has really good offers for its economy tickets.
      In addition, I am sure you agree that the colour scheme of the seats look rather vibrant~ Yeah?

      Yupp I really do think that the meals in economy were really good. (Same for my flight back) And I am comparing with airlines like, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air, Qantas, Emirates (those that I have flown with quite a lot recently).

      It's definitely a really hard time for the entire company. And we definitely wish them all the best!
  • Comment 120628 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6658 Comments
    Awesome report with lots of good detail and nice pics. The cabin looks nice visually, especially with the boeing sky interior--too bad it wasn't as comfortable as it looks. The meal looks great; I can understand that you rated it a 10/10--for a short flight in Economy it is a really nice meal. We don't get meals that good in First class on comparable length flights here in the US.
    • Comment 303763 by
      tn92 AUTHOR 173 Comments
      Hi Kevin! Thanks for your comments! (: I will post the next one soon~

      Yeah.. They look nice but aren't actually good in many aspects. But as I have mentioned, those seats are definitely still acceptable for regional flights.
      It's so interesting to know that MH's Economy meals are beating First Class meals in US. That's really a sad fact...
  • Comment 147370 by
    Simmy1972 41 Comments
    Excellent trip report!!

    Thanks for the information provided in this report, especially on the bus information. My family and I will be visiting Taiwan this coming November, and we will be taking the bus from airport to my father's friend's house in Xindian. You guess it! We were told to board 1968 as well, although we will be alighting at Qizhang MRT Station. What a coincidence!!

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