Stephanie Holmes has a mixed experience flying on Malaysia Airlines MH131 Kuala Lumpur to Auckland.
The plane: Airbus A330-300
Class: Economy.
My seat: I was originally seated in 24K, a window seat in the 2-4-2 configuration. I swapped with my friend for 24H (aisle), and then a lovely cabin crewmember moved me to a spare row of two seats once the aircraft doors were closed. I managed to contort myself into an almost lie-flat position to get some well-needed sleep all the way home.
Check in experience: This was a connecting flight from Kota Kinabalu, where I had already checked in my luggage. At Kuala Lumpur I just needed to transfer terminals, and browse the excellent shopping options.
On time: We were about half an hour late to leave because of air traffic control delays. Flight time: 10h 10mins
How full: There was a decent smattering of spare seats so people could spread out a bit. Fellow passengers: Kiwis and Malaysians, plus international tourists.
Entertainment: There were some decent old classics but not much new. The Malaysia Airlines entertainment system is quite outdated compared to the offering on many other airlines these days. You can't save favourites or search for titles, so you have to scroll through the entire list, every time you want to find something to watch. This got quite tedious.
Service: It was a night flight so we were mostly left alone after dinner service to get some sleep. At least, I think we were — I was asleep so I wouldn't know.
Food and drink:
I opted for the chicken and roast potatoes. The chicken was moist and tasty and potatoes were fine; the accompanying green beans and carrots were too salty to eat. The after dinner cheese and crackers were great, but the French syrah was a bit rough.
Dinner on MH131. Photo / Stephanie Holmes
Toilets:
This was the real lowlight of the flight. One of the toilets was completely out of action; another was spacious but dirty, and when I went to lock the door, the knob fell off in my hand. I managed to screw it back in but I was nervous about getting stuck in there!
Other worrying points to note: the flush was held to the wall by tape, and in the toilet at the back of the cabin, the air vent was thick with dust. All available bathrooms looked like they were covered in ingrained dirt that had accumulated for a while.
Airport experience: KLIA is a large, spacious, clean airport, running efficiently. Arriving in the early hours of the morning at Auckland, I got through immigration, baggage claim and biosecurity in good time.
Would I fly again? If there was a choice, probably not. Other airlines offer a similar price point but with a much better inflight experience.
