Today I’m reviewing Malaysia Airlines Economy in their flagship Airbus A350-900. We’re spending 13 hours in the air on an overnight flight from London Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Malaysia Airlines have had a rough time over the last decade with two crashes (MH17 and MH370). Couple that with years and years of losses and it’s fair to say Malaysia Airlines doesn’t appear on many top airline lists. However, my overall experience was pretty good, and the food especially was excellent. Please read my review or watch my Youtube video below to find out how Malaysia Airlines stack up compared to competitors.
London Heathrow Terminal 4
Malaysia Airlines operate out of Heathrow Terminal 4 at London. That’s unfortunate in my opinion as I think it’s by far the worst of London Heathrow’s terminals. With low ceilings and long thing corridors this terminal just feels a bit cramped and dated compared to other Heathrow terminals. It’s especially annoying given Malaysia Airlines are part of the Oneworld Alliance who mainly use Terminal 3. Whilst Terminal 4 is mostly used by the Skyteam Alliance.
Despite my personal dislike of the terminal though it was relatively quiet when we arrived at 7:30pm on a Friday. There was about a 5 minute queue at bag drop followed by a 10 minute line for security before we were into the departure zone.
One cool feature of Terminal 4 that’s worth mentioning is the Observation Deck. It’s nothing special and felt like a sauna when we visited. But depending on which runway and direction aircraft are landing you can get some spectacular views. Unfortunately we weren’t that lucky and planes were landing and taking off at the other end of the airport.
Our flight was due to depart at 9:35pm and we were fully boarded and on the move on time. The flight was largely uneventful with minimal turbulence and we ended up landing 18 minutes early.
The Plane & Seat
Below is the seat map from the Malaysia Airlines website. You can see their Airbus A350-900 has three seperate cabins. The most exclusive type are the 4 Business Suite seats (basically first class) then 35 standard Business Class seats. Both of these have all the usual perks of business class and having walked through the cabin I must say they looked pretty good.
For today’s flight though I was in Economy Class which has 247 seats. The first 3 rows of seat in economy are marketed as “extra leg room” and you’ll have to pay extra to reserve these. I didn’t fancy that so opted for the slightly less pricy seat 27K which cost £34.90 and was completely worth it, I’ll explain why below…
The second window seats on the second row of the last cabin have some of the best seats in my opinion. Specifically seat 27K (and 27A). Here you’ll find a window seat with no seat in front of it. That means you have direct aisle access which is great if you’re someone like me who likes to look out the window but also stay well hydrated.
The seat I had is especially good, but even the standard economy seats are still better than average in my opinion. They aren’t quite up to the standard of Singapore Airlines A350 or A380 economy seat which I reviewed here, but they’re still better than many airlines (e.g. British Airways).
The 32″ seat pitch and 18″ width is pretty standard. But you’re provided with a large, comfy pillow and a blanket. The adjustable headrest and well padded fabric help make this a solid seat overall. The striking purple colour scheme may not be for everyone, but I like it.
Finally, the IFE screen is averagely sized but actually had a good selection of tv/movies. Whilst the earphones provided were ok, but nothing special.
Food (Great)
The Malaysia Airlines Economy food was probably the highlight of this flight for me. I didn’t have very high expectations after terrible food on a couple of Singapore Airlines flights between London and Singapore. But Malaysia Airlines really hit it out of the park. Firstly, there were 3 meal services, which I think should be the standard on a 13 hour flight. I’ve flown 14 hour flights with both Singapore Airlines and British Airways and they only provided 2 meals. On this flight all meals were very flavourful and pleasantly spicy. And as with most Asian airlines, you’ll get a choice of Asian or Western meals (I went for Asian).
Dinner service started with a drink and salted peanuts about 30 min after takeoff. Around 1-1.5 hour after takeoff our meals were served and we had the choice of hot chicken and rice or cold fish and potatoes. I went for chicken and rice and am glad I did. The starter and desert were just average, but the main tasted great.
Half way through the flight, whilst the cabin was still dark, wraps were handed out. I chose a coronation chicken wrap, the other option was cheese. It was good but mine was still partially frozen.
Breakfast was probably the best. I chose Nasi Lemak (my first time eating it) and it definitely ranks among my top airline breakfast. The fruit was also fresh and Yeo Valley make great yoghurts so no complaints from me.
There is also a small menu of snacks you can purchase throughout the flight (see 05:17 in my video review). The prices a reasonable so if you fancy some ramen or a Kitkat then you’re in luck. Though with 3 meals throughout the flight I don’t think anything extra is necessary.
Service & Everything Else
The Malaysia Airlines Economy cabin crew were very friendly and helpful throughout the flight. One example of this is when my partner spilled orange juice on her seat. A flight attendant came and changed the entire seat bed (I never knew they were removable) as soon as we mentioned it.
Besides the generally good service there are a few negatives worth mentioning, though not directly controllable by the airline. First, the immigration queue on arrival at Kuala Lumpur Airport was ridiculous. It took us almost 2 hours to finally get through. And it was by far the slowest moving queue I’ve seen at an airport. I’m not even sure why it was so slow as there seemed to be plenty of staff at the desks. Anyway, the last thing we wanted to do after 14 hours on a plane was to stand in such a long line. Not Malaysia Airlines fault, but definitely a feature as you’ll likely be passing through this airport if you fly with them.
Lastly, I’ll also note that the aircraft felt like a sauna when we were boarding. It was a hot day in London and the air conditioning wasn’t turned on. The pilots and cabin crew even apologised about this and mentioned that it would be switched on once we started moving. Just a weird issue to have as most planes keep the aircon on whilst boarding.
Final Thoughts
Overall I think Malaysia Airlines Economy on their Airbus A350-900 is one of the better products out there. Controversially, I actually prefer it to Singapore Airlines, though the seat is definitely inferior. The highlights for me were the special seat I got for a reasonable £34.90 and the fantastic food. The frozen wrap was a bit annoying, but the dinner and breakfast quality more than made up for this. Overall service was good too, and when my partner spilt orange juice on her seat a member of the cabin crew was quick to replace the entire seat bed.
The price was very good compared to rivals too. You can find a return flight from London to Kuala Lumpur for as low as £550 at the time of writing. That’s much cheaper than flights to nearby Singapore.
More from me…
Please feel free to check out other related posts I’ve written:
- British Airways A319 Economy Review – London Heathrow to Belfast City
- Singapore Airlines Fantastic Regional Business – Saigon to Singapore on a 787-10
- Singapore Airlines Economy from London to Singapore – As Good as People Say?
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