Le Monde Entier [#586]
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Le Monde Entier [#586]

I mentioned a while ago when I booked this South East Asia trip that I would be flying Malaysian Airlines* – that, of course, before the awful unexplained disappearance of MH370. But today I boarded my MH flight for the first time, and it was terrific! It’s difficult to tell if it is any different to travelling with them before, but I can only review my own experience.
Check-in was easy, and we got the very first row of economy. Our check-in girl said the flight was ‘light’, so seating wouldn’t be a huge issue. Little did we know that on a 330+ seater plane, there was probably a maximum of 45 people! Had it been another airline, I’m certain they would have cancelled the flight, but unfortunately I suppose Malaysian Airlines don’t have such luxuries at the moment.
Malaysian Airlines (for the sake of faster writing, I’ll refer to them as MH from now on) is a five-star airline, and one of the few. Even though I am five foot, the leg space in economy is great! We had our choice of fire exit, bulkhead and numerous rows of four seats for a good sleep. The seats have a cradle recline feature, so even if you are not blessed with the space we had, you’d be comfortable!
On some part due to the emptiness of the flight (I’m sure) was the incredible hospitality. The air stewards were interested, friendly and continued to top up my wine until I had to say no (even in holiday mode. The flight was at 7.40 a.m. – don’t judge). I could literally count the people in my area of the plane on both hands, so we were waited on fantastically! The seat-back TVs weren’t working for new releases on movies, but everything else was functioning perfectly. We had a main meal, drinks and snacks throughout the flight, including a chicken and potato dish just like my grandma’s!
KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) has a few different areas and we had to get the aerotrain across to another terminal building. There is loads of duty free, but apart from that there didn’t appear to be anything special (like the butterfly enclosure in Singapore Airport). There also wasn’t a food court anywhere that I saw, so that was a bit inconvenient.
The airline has clearly taken a huge hit since the disappearance of MH370, and with no explanation in sight, I imagine that this will be a continuing trend for the time being. I have first-hand seen the reaction as a travel agent to the response of ‘Do you have a particular airline you want to fly?’ as “Any but Malaysian!” Obviously you can’t blame people for this reaction, and even the lure of discounted airfares I fear won’t help for the time being. Underneath it all though, MH display the typical Asian hospitality, are super comfortable to fly and offer some great fares worldwide.
All in all, the flight was great, transit was smooth and easy, and I can’t rate MH high enough!
* Malaysian Airlines did not endorse this story.
Written by Madelin Baldwin