My experience of flying with Malaysian Airlines

Hi Readers,

 

I am back from Malaysia with beautiful experiences to share with you all. My first international exposure that happened due to blogging was full of great fun, excitement and learning. Remember the Malaysian Familiarization trip that I had won in the first quarter of the year? Yes, so it happened in last week of August as I had opted for this month. I was invited over to be a part of the Merdeka (Independence Day) celebrations and now when I am back, I want to shout out loud and tell everyone that the trip was absolutely amazing.  Malaysia Tourism deserves many thanks because they made it rock beyond words. I thoroughly enjoyed my company with two travel bloggers Ragini and Vaishakhi. The 6 days trip turned out to be an experience that will be savored for a lifetime for sure.

I am gonna share every bit of it right from where it began…

 

Are you flying with Malaysia Airlines?

In the last week of August when I was due to travel to Kuala Lumpur to be a part of the the Merdeka celebrations, every other friend, colleague and acquaintance did not miss the chance to ask – ‘Are you flying with Malaysia Airlines?’ 

I would smile in an affirmation. Each one tried to show concern. Honestly, I felt bothered. To all their queries and suggestions, I had only one thing to say and that was that the carrier had been plain unlucky this year otherwise it had always been the best in Malaysia. I did a reality check too when I questioned myself and others that how often do we check safety records of our own flights and trains when we book them? The answer is we all love to travel cheap and best. Convenient and cost effective is the mantra!!!

And now with my experience on-board MAS, I would say they are doing the best in their hard time.  They aren’t using the tragedies as an excuse to get away with just anything. The cost cuttings if any weren’t visible to me. On the day one, when I was flying from New Delhi, the plane was completely packed and thus this proved that the Indians trusted MA no less.

There were no hassles with the boarding pass, luggage drop in, etc. The announcements were right on time. The aircraft was neat and clean. The inflight entertainment was good. Since my seat was very last one, I missed some legroom space but otherwise things were good.  The food and drinks were served punctually. I would rate it as standard quality of catering. I absolutely enjoyed my non-veg meal. The cabin crew wore their friendly smiles throughout and they acted professional and obliging all along the journey.

 

  The journey to Kaula Lumpur was not at all tiring and I say so even when I took no nap on the way rather I read the in-flight magazine ‘Going Places’, chatted with my friend and fellow blogger and watched some animated movies (my favorite past time on board flights).

2014 was themed as Visit Malaysia, Truly Asia by the country. The year is aimed to be all about tourism and hospitality. To take the idea forward and enhance travel experiences, Malaysian Airlines has incorporated two new offerings- ‘MH Gourmet’ and ‘On Air Celebration’.  First one enables flyers to enhance their normal economy meals to premium meals and with second passengers can pre-order a special celebratory cake to be served on board to commemorate birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoon or wedding. I also came to know  about Enrich, the frequent flyer programme of Malaysia Airlines.

By the end of the flight, I had developed a liking for their Kelantan kite symbol in red and blue all around. 🙂

The In flight magazine ‘Going Places’

At the Kuala Lumpur Airport

The return flight was hassle free too. However, before I boarded the flight, there was a chance to explore the Platinum and Golden Lounge which was not meant to be missed especially when Malaysia Airlines’ Golden Lounge had won the Asia’s Leading Airline Lounge, 2011 by the World Travel Awards. It was easy to locate the lounge.

The food, drinks, seats, space were all comforting and luxurious.  There were magazines to keep oneself busy, the wifi was working very well and also the computer spaces were available for those who needed to access the internet. I hopped around checking facilities and making the best of my time. More than the words, my pictures will do the talking.

I loved the Potato Puffs and returned to take more. They resembled Indian Gujiyas but were salty.

 

Reading sections are always my favorite

On the return flight, the multimedia interface was excellent this time with wide variety of shows and movies. Food was good and filling once again. More, I would say I was impressed with the flight attendants who turned out to be very helpful and cheerful. They did all they could to make the trip pleasant. There was a kid seated in front of me and he acted too troublesome for everyone around. I almost ran out of patience due to his naughtiness but gladly the flight attendant handled him exceptionally well. Kudos team MAS.

Above all, both the flights departed and arrived on time. Punctual flights is something that I always look forward to. The lounge experience was equally comforting. Thank you Malaysia Airlines. With no second thoughts, I wouldn’t shy flying again with MA.

As far as the twin tragedies are concerned, lets pray its doesn’t happen again with any of the carriers.

Happy Traveling!!!