Dogged by the stigma of two very unfortunate incidents, Malaysia
Airlines has been struggling to rebuild its brand and churn a profit. As a
result, tough new cost cutting measures were put into place, with unprofitable
long haul routes and unnecessary ancillary services being cut.
As a result, Malaysia Airlines currently has just one
remaining flight route that has a proper first class, London to Kuala Lumpur on
the A380.
With the AA devaluation imminent, I decided it was now or
never to experience this rather exotic flight, and ended up splurging 70,000 miles
+ $85 for a one way first class ticket from Geneva to Manila.
I arrived in London off a connecting flight from Geneva, and
headed to the Golden lounge at Heathrow Airport.
Surprisingly, despite only operating one route out of London,
Malaysia Airlines has a separate lounge for first class passengers. The lounge
consists of a two sections, a dining area with a variety of hot and cold
dishes, and a cozy living room like space.
The first class lounge also has a dedicated bar area, and I
decided to grab a glass of champagne. There was an a la carte menu to order
from, but I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry.
Overall, the lounge was extremely well designed: modern,
brightly lit, and extremely private. During my stay I only saw one additional
passenger using the lounge.
Prior to boarding, I asked if it would be possible to board
early to take a few pictures of the empty A380 cabin. Around 45 minutes before
departure, I was personally escorted out of the first class lounge, and was the
first to board.
I was then given a quick tour of the new king of the skies.
In the back of the bus, economy seats are bunched in a 3-4-3 configuration.
Business class is lie flat, although not all seats have
direct aisle access, as Malaysian sticks with the traditional 2-2-2 seat
configuration.
Weirdly enough, the first class bathroom is smaller than one
of the business class lavatories, due to first class being put in the nose of
the air craft.
Business vs First
I was also able to view the crew rest area consisting of a
triple bunk set up, which looked surprisingly comfortable.
I’ll take this over
economy any day
To cap off the tour, I was able a grab a glimpse of the A380
cockpit.
Bucket List Item!
I then headed back to my seat. Due to taxes, champagne is
not served on the ground and I instead ordered a glass of sparkling water,
which was served with a few chocolates and printed “note” from the now ex CEO.
Cost Cutting?
I was then given a first class goodie bag containing
pajamas, an amenity kit, and slippers.
The seat itself is quite wide, with well-designed hidden
compartments within the armrest, and small closet that you can hang your
clothes on.
We soon took off, with an amazing view of the London lights
below.
Once in the air, I was served a glass of bubbly in a rather
unique shaped champagne flute.
Malaysia Airlines use
to serve Dom Perignon but that was sadly axed as part of its cost cutting.
Still I couldn’t complain much about the $70 a bottle 2005 Taittinger which was
quite drinkable.
I was served a small jar of chilled caviar, which was
strangely enough covered by a Malaysia Airlines logo, along with smoked salmon
and condiments.
Malaysia Airlines
“Branded” Caviar
Unfortunately, the smoked salmon was not that appetizing and
tasted a little spoiled. Upon informing the flight attendant, she apologized
and brought another serving, which tasted slightly better.
The caviar was excellent, and I really liked how they kept
it surrounded by blocks of ice to keep it chilled.
A palate cleansing sorbet was then served.
For my main dish, I decided to try something local and
ordered the Chicken Rendang. The dish was dry and slightly over cooked. I had a
couple bites and asked to order another dish.
After a few minutes, I was served my replacement meal, a
piece of roasted duck breast. Like my first entree, the entire meal was
extremely overcooked, with the only saving grace being the baby carrots.
At this point the head flight attendant came over and
profusely apologized, saying that they recently switched to a different
catering provider and he would definitely take note that the food was not up to
par.
He offered to prepare a third dish, the Indian styled
Halibut, which was again a bit dry, but at least didn’t taste like I was biting
through a rubbery piece of meat.
For dessert I ordered a cherry tart, which looked
appetizing, but was quite tasteless.
This was finished with fruit and ice cream.
Overall, this was a subpar first class meal. Whether it was
a crew preparation issue, or the fault of the new caterer, clearly the new food
offerings were rushed into service without ironing out the kinks.
After my meal, I was feeling a bit tired and asked for my
bed to be prepared. Since there were only two passengers, the crew converted
the adjacent seat into a lie flat bad with a comforter on top.
The lights were turned off and the seat was lit up with red
lighting that reminded me straight out of a sci-fi movie.
The converted bed was extremely comfortable, with a thick
padding and two huge standard sized pillows you’d find at home. I quickly fell
asleep and woke up with only two hours left in the flight for breakfast.
The alcohol beverage selection was quite average, with the
noticeable exception of a Glenlivet 18 years. I decided to skip my customary
post wake up alcoholic drink and have some tea instead along with a plate of
surprisingly delicious satay.
Unfortunately, my second main dish consisting of various cuts
of meat was once again dry and not that great.
The lights were soon turned on as we neared Malaysia. I
noticed the A380 camera was not functioning and apparently this is corporate
policy due to an executive complaining. However, with a little bit of sweet
talking, the chief flight attendant managed to do a “special favor” and turn on
the A380 plane camera for the entire plane as we began our descent.
We landed at Kuala Lumpur airport sandwiched in between what
seemed like an endless sea of palm trees.
In the end, all the small cuts in the soft product add up,
and my experience aboard Malaysia Airlines felt like “business plus” rather
than a true first class experience offered by its Asian competitors such as
Singapore Airlines & Cathay Pacific.
The sole other passenger, a corporate executive on a paid
fare, also commented on problems with the catering and also agreed how it
didn’t it feel like a “proper” first class product.
However, the service itself was phenomenal and I felt bad
for the chief attendant, who kept repeatedly apologizing about the poor
catering, which hopefully by now has been fixed. The hard “bones” is quite
nice, with the bed being extremely plush and comfortable.
Bottom Line: If you need to fly between Kuala Lumpur and London, this is the best hard product currently available and blows away what British Airways offers on its flights to Malaysia. However, soft product cuts are noticeable and puts a major dent on the wow factor.
Award space is typically wide open for at least one first class seat, making this flight a great backup option for a solo traveler flying between Europe and Asia using miles.
Up Next: Malaysia Airlines First Class Lounge – Kuala Lumpur
