Airline Review: Malaysia Airlines (long haul Economy)
Flying Malaysia Airlines (MH) is something many people would deny at the moment. The casualties of the flights MH370 and MH17 are something that did also make me feel a little strange when we were offered flying Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul (our Air France flight was cancelled). Anyway, I wasn’t too concerned about safety as the airline is known to be one of the best in Asia.
Check out our Airline Rating for Malaysia Airlines (long haul Economy)!
We were not really lucky when we were checked-in for our MH flight. As our rebooking was on very late notice, we were given two different “E”-seats. The Boeing 777 airplane had a 2 (A – B) – 5 (C – D – E – F – G) – 2 (H – J) configuration, what I meant that we had the “pleasure” to enjoy two middle seats.
- Airplane: Boeing 777-200
- Cabin Class: Economy
- Daytime: Night
- Food: Dinner (Chicken) / Breakfast (Potatoes, Mushrooms and Sausages)
- Seat Pitch: 34 Inch (86 Centimeter)
- Seat Width: 17 Inch (43 Centimeter)
Luckily, we found a nice person that made it possible for us to at least sit together (on E and F). So what to say about a middle seat in Economy Class? The seat pitch at Malaysia Airlines was pretty solid. I was able to stretch to a nice degree and the seat comfort was solid as well.
Layout of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777
What I liked was the fact that Malaysia Airlines has seats in different colors. That really betters the atmosphere inside the airplane and makes flying Economy Class a little more enjoyable.
In-Seat-Entertainment and a damaged screen
An important point in an airline review of a long haul flight is the Entertainment System offered in Economy Class. If I’m aboard an airplane for a long time, I want to have the possibility to watch a good movie or enjoy some good music. Flying Malaysia Airlines, this was not a problem as there were many films of many genres offered.
The seat pitch was okay when flying MAS
Also, the music and series’ offered were various. What I did not really like was the screen itself. Mine was a little damaged (some deep scratches that made watching a little difficult), but also the non-damaged one of Sabrina was not really good. The screens were too old and a little small. Watching was tough as the screens reflected way too much.
Economy Class passengers are offered complimentary pillows and blankets
For the sound were complimentary headphones which were collected again after the flight. Sadly, the quality was horrible, so make sure to bring your own headphones!
Good and rich food offered by Malaysia Airlines
Even though the service was nothing special (I kind of expected a little more), the food was really nice. As we departed from KL after midnight, we were offered dinner and breakfast. The dinner I choose was chicken served with rice and vegetables.
Selection for dinner when flying Malaysia Airlines
For an airline meal I was surprised really positively as the taste was really good. What I didn’t like that much was the salad (beans), but that may be a matter of taste. The dessert (a little cake) was really good though.
Chicken with rice and vegetables
A nice little surprise was the so-called snack box (nuts and crackers) that was handed over to all Economy Class guests aboard the Malaysia Airlines plane after dinner. I didn’t experience something like that on other airlines in Economy Class.
The sky snack was an amazing surprise
The breakfast served some hours later just before we landed in Istanbul was an interesting mix of tastes.
Selection for breakfast when flying Malaysia Airlines
They offered a croissant with butter and marmalade and attached a warm meal consisting of potatoes, champignons and meat sausage.
The hot breakfast was a little disappointing
I liked the former, but disliked the latter, but I’m no huge fan of warm breakfast anyway, so I kind of expected this.
Very good overall experience
All in all, flying Malaysia Airlines was a really nice experience. The airline offers a good service and nice flight attendants. The plane we flew with was clean and in a good condition even though it was one of the older ones in the fleet of Malaysia Airlines. The In-Flight-Entertainment was various and in a solid quality.
Quality amenities in the washrooms in Economy Class were a nice surprise
The food was the most positive surprise as I didn’t expect that much and that good food when flying Economy Class. Flying Malaysia Airlines is worth the money, especially considering the airplane has some incredibly cheap tickets at the moment. All the time I was aboard, I was not any worried about security as the pilot and the flight attendants did a really good job. Give Malaysia Airlines a try, they deserve it even though there is still no certainty what happened on March 8 and July 17.
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Interesting post, I’m always worried now to fly malaysia airlines. Silly I know as they’re one of the biggest companies in Asia. But I’m glad, you’ve put my mind at ease 🙂
You should definitely try flying with them. The safety procedure is the same as everywhere, the planes are modern, the product is really good. Nothing to worry about in my opinion 🙂
Like you, if flying MH, I would think about the horrible issues they’ve had this year, but it wouldn’t stop me from flying them. Honestly, I’ve thought more about flying them considering their woes — they have some great fares lately. I assume it is because their planes are running pretty empty – how full was your flight?
The current situation makes them sell under value. It’s kind of sad as the quality of the product is really good, but only few people want to fly with MAS at the moment. Interestingly, in our case the plane was fully booked (maybe very few empty seats), but it was a Codeshare flight with TK (sold as TK 8001), so this may also l be the reason for the full plane.
DONT fly MA! So terrible! Delayed flights. Cheap food and wrecked luggage! Our first time in 9 years to choose this airline cause we heard that they are trying to revamp customer service after their bad lucks but OMG we wasted money. . Fyi : if you have a connecting flight throughKuala Lumpur and your flight is delayed, you won’t get your luggage on time. You will have to wait and come back to the airport again! They promised to call us to fix our bags, one with broken wheels and the other with a broken lock. No call Up to now. It has been a week. Choose Singapore airlines! A few more bucks but just think you pay for your valuable time without stress and headache!
Thanks for your feedback! While we had a rather good experience with MAS, it’s always nice to read reviews of other travelers. SQ is indeed a great airline which I can just recommend taking 🙂
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Hi there, thanks for writing a good and fair review. It’s our national airline and I am proud when someone has something good to say about MAS. As you know, the year 2014 has been pretty dark for us here especially with the airline industry. It’s a big topic to discuss here but I hope people will consider flying with MAS in future.
Thanks for the positive words. MAS is a very good airline, so there is no need to not fly with them. Even though 2014 has been horrible, I hope that MAS will come back to its strength again 🙂