Airline Review: Malaysia Airlines

My relationship with Malaysia Airlines began over 16 years ago. I say relationship because since that virgin flight I’ve been on more than 20 legs with the carrier. That’s a lot of flying with one international airline. And there are more than one or two reasons why I choose Malaysian over other airlines.
Service
Airlines from Asia are regularly celebrated for their excellent hospitality and my experience with the Malaysian cabin crew definitely testifies to that. I find the crew polite and gracious. Asking for extra drinks is never a problem (yes, this is an important metric when flying long haul – that extra glass of red can make or break my body’s decision to succumb to sleep) and if you need a hand with baggage, headphones etc, I have always found them really attentive. This level of service is across both across Economy and Business. Oh, and I’m going to give them extra points for their outfits – colourful, cute and feminine.The hardware (AKA the planes)
The Malaysia Airlines planes operating out of Australia to Kuala Lumpur are the A330-300. At the time of writing the planes departing Sydney are brand spanking new (launched in April 2013). Gotta love a new fleet.

In economy the seating configuration is 2-4-2 or 2-3-2 (avoiding the dreaded 5-person-row gets a tick of approval from me). The seats each come with their own 9” TV and are tres comfy – the seat pitch is 32” which is pretty standard for airlines these days.

In Business, a special shout-out must go to the massage functionality inbuilt into the chair. That’s certainly one way to arrive to your destination refreshed! Seats are arranged in couples 2-2-2. The seat pitch is 60 inches with an angled lie-flat seat with a bed length of 75.2 inches.

Note – If you are flying with Malaysia Airlines onto London, Paris or Hong Kong you’ll experience their A380 aircrafts which are, in a word, impressive. I find them spacious, modern and strikingly quiet. For those flying economy (um, like nearly everyone) I recommend the economy section of the upper deck for a more intimate experience.
The food
As a rule of thumb I don’t dig airline food. But Malaysia Airlines have some winning formulas that get some bonus points from me.
Economy
1. Malaysian curry – As someone with a penchant for a proper curry (no watered down stuff for me please) I really recommend opting for one of these which, from my experience, are generally offered on every Malaysia Airlines long haul flight (generally chicken or fish). They have got these curries down to a fine art. Do it.
2. Ice-cream – Okay a few airlines have got on the mid-flight ice-cream bandwagon. But a banana passionfruit Weiss ice-cream post curry and mid Ryan Gosling movie totally hits the spot – icy, not too sweet and refreshing.
3. Hot snack – As you’re on the homeward straight towards KL from Oz, Malaysia Airlines regularly serve chicken or vegetarian hot rolls. These are a take on your traditional sausage roll with just different fillers. And despite the dubious name, these puppies are yum – the pastry is buttery and flakey and the inside is hot and salty. Delish.
Business
Two words: Chicken Satay. These little sticks of deliciousness have been celebrated globally and heralded the Best In-flight Meal in a recent airline award series. Once you’ve tried them you’ll understand why anyone who’s flown Business with Malaysia Airlines rave about them. A-MAZ-ING. (PS I actually ate all of this because it was so good).

And of course the curries in Business totally rock. Fragrant and the side of veg still have that fresh crunch. Don’t even think about choosing another main.

Entertainment
Malaysia Airlines has an extensive range of movies, games and TV shows including recently released flicks, classics, cheesy rom-coms and my personal guilty pleasure when flying – mindless trashy tele. Let the Lindsay Lohan court case marathon commence.

The ‘Audio Video on Demand’ service is available across economy and business and is really easy to use. Plus all seats have a power source and a USB port which is handy for your own entertainment on laptops and iPads etc.
The price
One of the most important factors when choosing an airline is undoubtedly price. And for me, this is where Malaysia Airlines really sets itself apart from the competition – you get all the pleasantries of a five-star airline (safety standards, food service and entertainment options) but for a price that’s not going to break the bank.
On lastminute.com.au you can score some great special fares on Malaysia Airlines – check out their Earlybird deals to Europe released yearly in October and then they have a few key sales throughout the year to Asia and beyond for example Summer Spectacular. One lastminute lovely recently flew from Brisbane to Bangkok for a mere $550 return – now that is a complete bargain for a full service airline. So keep your eyes pealed for those red hot fares. Frequent flyer point junkies will also be pleased to hear that Malaysia Airlines recently joined the oneworld program so points can be racked up on all flights. Hurrah.
 

So there you have it – I am a big, big fan. But what about you? Have you flown Malaysia Airlines? And would you recommend them?