Rant On Malaysia Airlines
MH = Malaysian Hospitality.
That’s Malaysia Airline’s famous tagline, unfortunately, several recent events have caused me to think twice about choosing Malaysia Airlines for my travel needs. Why? Read my review of Malaysia Airlines below and why you should be careful of booking tickets during their Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair.
Flight Cancellation by Malaysia Airlines
During their recent online sale and Malaysia Airlines Fair, I booked some tickets for a family trip for a pretty good price. We made the necessary accommodation and transfer arrangements and were all almost set to go until I got an sms 3 weeks before my trip:
Dear Valued Customer, rescheduling of Malaysia Airlines Flight XXX. Please contact our toll free number to check your flight status.
I called them up and horror of horrors, my original flight had been cancelled! We were not rescheduled to another flight on the same day but only arriving at 11pm instead of 1pm, as per my original booking! That meant that our transfers will now cost more as it is late night and we have wasted one whole day of our holiday! 
I felt that it was really unfair. Was it because the flight was mainly discounted seats and they felt it was more value for money to combine these seats with a later flight that was probably half full?
Malaysia Airlines Customer Service Support
The Customer Service person who attended to me was rather rude and did not give me any details when I asked the reasons for the cancellation. She simply said it is not our fault!
They did not even give me the revised flight number until I specifically requested for it. What if I did not check and couldn’t find my flight number on my departure date? It would have been an absolute nightmare trying to check if I even have a flight to my destination especially after my accommodation has been paid for!
I requested for her to email me the revised itinerary and till today, 2 days after the call, the details are still pending. How “efficient”!
Malaysian Hospitality In The Air?
MH = Malaysian Hospitality but I believe that applies only to certain passengers.
I previously flew on MAS long-haul flights and was sleeping when the dinner service started and missed my dinner. I requested for some food when I awoke and was rudely told that there was nothing unless I wanted my reheated dinner. I was told that there wasn’t even any sandwiches, just biscuits! What a far cry from the super service I was given on Singapore Airlines and their delicious Nissin Cup Noodles!
The mealboxes Malaysia Airlines recently implemented on shorter flights are also tiny portions and quite horrid compared to the hot meals they previously provided. When my traveling companion requested for a second mealbox, he was told that he would have to pay for it! Although the stewardess later said she was joking, it certainly did not go down too well for me.
Does Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair Offer The Best Deals?
The annual travel fair often boasts of discounts up to 80% on their tickets. However, a recent comparison done between Singapore Airlines “2 to go” promotions and Malaysia Airline’s low fare promotions revealed that Singapore Airlines was actually cheaper! Plus with SQ, you are assured of fantastic service, great food and the best inflight entertainment! Sure, the transit in Changi might be a bit of an inconvenience but who’s complaining in one of the world’s best airports and duty-free shopping?! 
I could be a little biased in my review. However, these recent incidences have really made me think twice about flying Malaysia Airlines and buying their discounted fare promotions. There can be nothing worse than a cancellation or of a flight just as you are about to go for a holiday you have fully paid for!
March 27th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Lucky they told 3 weeks early and not only on the day of departure!
March 30th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Hi Jeweled Chic – I’m still waiting for my revised itinerary! Sigh…Malaysian Hospitality indeed…
April 7th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
oh my, i definitely wouldn’t want to be in your place. if i were you, i would be very anxious and very angry, but see this is the typical Malaysian customer service. We as customer would always be left feeling very helpless.
have u sent an email to them? since you have blogged about this, have they contacted you? this really is giving them bad rapport.
and i agree with you on Singapore Airlines. they are definitely way better.
April 19th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Dear Pink,
So far my trip with Malaysian Airlines was wonderful but there are some acceptable hiccup but is fine with me.As far as im concern thru my experiences for long haul flight they hv snacks in between meals like chocolate, crackers, cheese n muffins in one snack box.
My trip to LA they hv cup noodles in between meals. If u compare with non asian airlines their services are really bad…If u take middle east airlines services are good. Mas way better than others in terms of services.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Hi Cahaya – I have flown Singapore Airlines quite a number of times already and have to admit that next to SIA, MAS does still have some areas for improvement.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Hi Nea – They have not contacted me since I blogged about it. I did not send them an email either as I probably will not receive any response. As it is, it already took ages just for a customer service officer to speak to me on the phone!
May 28th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Hi Pink,
I trully agreed with you. I just bought MAS ticket,when its on sale.Well i thought it would be great ,bcoz the fare is quite cheap.But I pick the wrong date, then i called them to change my date.But you know, they said to me.U can’t changed your date,bcoz you buy the cheap ticket.Geez.. what an answer ;(
Then,i buy another ticket from air asia for my departure,so i can used MAS ticket when i go back home.When i call MAS for confirmation,they said.. I have to pay for my cancelation depart ticket. What!! Bcoz they already prepared my on flight meal.Geez… i paid the ticket too right. So i can’t used my return ticket. What a waste. I trully not recomended MAS flight. Don’t buy it bcoz it’s cheap. AFter some calculation,i think it’s wayyy more expensive.
Need vacation
June 1st, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Hi Need Vacation,
I totally agree! I’m on the lookout for alternatives INSTEAD of MAS now! They should seriously look into the quality of their services!
June 24th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Hi Need Vacation/Pinkelle,
First of all, if you want to buy the cheap fare make sure u adhere to tnc of the ticket la unless something comes up which really urgent i.e. death or compassionate case one.but if you want to hv more flexi tkt, then buy tix tht can mke a chnge. I’ve tried SQ,DL,QF and even AK.. every airlines hv their own rules. the rules make by the human but pse dont tend to break it..if u wnt to break if wht is the rule for right..?
im not biased on tis but u dun hv to blame of MH alone. I agreed that there need some improvement in certain areas.. maybe u pay amount of tix rm2000++ you expect more svc.but if you paid which less with other airlines, do you expect more svc??
whtever it is…dont ask too much which sometimes can turn u down..
June 27th, 2009 at 3:31 am
I purchased a cheap ticket (with MAS) from a travel agent on 10th June ‘09 (SYD-KUL, KUL-AMS, AMS-KUL, KUL-SYD. On 26th June ‘09 I was advised that the 3rd leg (AMS-KUL) was cancelled. I was offered a night in KL or the same flight 24 hrs later. Being flexible, I opted for the latter.
I’m now wondering if this might happen to me again prior to travel or worse, when I’m on holiday.
My last trip was in 2006 and I had no complaints about MAS service.
June 28th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
It was more like traveling in a bus than in a aeroplane…every thing was creeky and shaking
http://www.tejaswy.com/2009/02/26/malaysian-airlines/
read more here
September 9th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Hi Elle,
I stumbled across your blog while during a search for MAS reviews. I actually work on behalf of Malaysia Airlines, as part of their digital communications team. For this, I’m truly sorry that we had not picked up your blog post sooner. The digital sphere is huge, and it’s not uncommon that we don’t pick up all comments on Malaysia Airlines.
The re-timing of your flight was definitely a bad experience, and I myself would be upset if I were in similar circumstances. Had we seen this write-up earlier or if we’d gotten an inquiry, we could have investigated the delay and offered greater clarification on the matter.
In future, we would appreciate feedback to us as it helps us to improve our product and service standards. We view this as our utmost priority in our transformation process. We are quite active on the digital sphere on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mastravel) as well as Twitter @MAS and it is fairly easy to get in touch with my team.
Lastly, I do certainly hope that you would one day give us a chance to regain your trust and confidence in our airline.
Regards,
Jonathan
Malaysia Airlines Digital Team
November 5th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Hi Pink,
Sorry to hear bout your horrible experience. I usually do not reply to blogs but I feel the need to do so this time because I absolutely love travelling with MAS. I do travel a lot (it’s my hobby) and I’ve used various airlines and MAS is my fav by far. And the selling point is the hospitality. I find the crew wonderful. Some of them even take time to chat with us. The food is alright and the in-flight entertainment fantastic. But it has it hiccup I’m sure and there are always room for improvement. Hope you’ll have better experience in your future travels, regardless of what airline u choose. Tc
November 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Hi Suzaila – Well, lucky you that you had a good experience with them! I’ve taken MAS several times and did not have very good experiences with them. On another flight I took, there was a rattling sound above the seats throughout the flight and what seemed like smoke! It sounded like something had frozen over and was slowly melting! Not a very pleasant experience! As for the crew, I found that they don’t really pay much attention to you especially if you are sitting in Economy and some can be downright rude. Perhaps I’ve just been unlucky to have bad experiences!
March 29th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
i am sorry for what had happened to you.. that was awful and bad.. if i were in your shoes i would have post it in the newspapers.. but worst comes to worst.. i will still support the malaysia airlines.. how bad they are i will still use their services.. about the food.. it is normal.. what do you expect? you are not in 5 star restaurant.. you are in a flight.. why did you expect them to entertain you like v.i.p? if you want that kind of treatment you should have booked the business class not the economy..