Poor quality food and substandard service are among the most frequent complaints made by Malaysia Airlines passengers on the SkyTrax Airline Rating and Review website.
Of the 66 reviews made from December last year to Feb 20, 41 percent said that they would not recommend the airline or fly with it again, for those reasons.
This is compared to only 25 percent who swore off Singapore Airlines and 16 percent who said they will no longer fly Thai Airways after a bad experience during the same period.
However, Malaysia Airlines fared slightly better than Emirates where about half of passengers who reviewed the airline between December and February said they would not recommend the airline.
Interestingly, even those who flew first class on Malaysia Airlines found the food “inedible”, with one passenger saying he will opt for AirAsia flatbeds from now on.
“First class lounge in Kuala Lumpur was terrible. Service was okay but a la carte breakfast was horrible. Food on board was worse – inedible spicy chicken, limp salad and cream cheese instead of proper cheese.
“The meal before landing was even worse. Undercooked pastry with unidentifiable mushroom filling. That was it. Three bites and it was gone.
“MAS used to be an unbelievable product. It's AirAsia flatbeds or Singapore Airlines or Emirates from now on,” S Lim of Australia posted on the website.
Atrocious service
Ashok Thakkar, from the United States, flew from Manila to Kuala Lumpur last month said and found “in-flight services atrocious”.
Ashok wrote: “Food was terrible. Attitude of staff was indifferent – they just did not care. We were glad when the flight was over.”
Over in business class, one passenger found that the main course options had “ran out”.
“There were only 12 adults in Business Class yet this happened. This is poor form for a business class service proposition,” H Eliatamby of Australia wrote of his trip from Colombo to Kuala Lumpur.
Eliatamby said MAS tripped up again on his connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney, when it ran out of the amenities pack and brunch options.
“When I requested a pack, the hostess informed me that for some reason they had only loaded 50 percent of the required packs,” he said. However, Eliatamby commended the staff for being pleasant.
Sue Newcomb, who flew by Economy Class from London to Australia via Kuala Lumpur did not fare much better, saying she faced “surly and rushed” crew and “bland” food.
“(I) have had much better service with other airlines. Thumbs down,” Newcomb said.
Those unhappy with MAS also noted the “tired” and “filthy” cabins on their flights, which some observed needed a little sprucing up to leave the 1990s look behind.
Hits and misses
However , positive reviews from 51 percent of MAS passengers who flew in the last three months indicate that flying with MAS could be a hit-and-miss affair.
New Zealander H Shaw who flew from Paris to Kuala Lumpur in December waxed lyrical about the “great” food and “brilliant staff”.
“(It) was the best experience I have had on a plane,” Shaw said.
But his experience paled on the connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland due, to the “shabby” cabins and service.
“Regardless of the second experience, I still rate Malaysia Airlines as a brilliant economy service airline,” Shaw wrote.
Similarly, unlike others who had a poor experience on the Melbourne route, M Nick of Australia found MAS' new aicraft to have “brilliant” personal space.
“The 777 Kuala Lumpur-France route was very tired and dated. The fleet definitley needs retrofitting and in-flight entertainment viewing quality of these aircraft is poor.
“Nonetheless, the service was great and I would happily fly with MAS again,” Nick said.
MAS has come under fire for its poor service after a public complaint by celebrity cook Chef Wan, whose economy class nasi lemak was served “naked”, without cucumber, anchovies or nuts.
MAS, which posted a loss of RM1.2 billion in its 2013 financial year, said it was a one-off mistake as the peanuts and anchovies pack were found to be be rancid and had small stones.
As part of its turnaround effort, MAS is also seeking approval from the government to purchase a new fleet of aircraft.
MAS is one of seven airlines rated with five stars by Skytrax, alongside Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.
“A key factor behind 5-Star Airline Rating is the airline's ability to deliver a truly consistent and high quality of product and service.
“A great product is not by itself the key to a 5-Star airline rating, and Skytrax Star Rating also places great emphasis on the quality of front-line service an airline provides.
“A 5-Star Airline rating recognises airlines whose frontline staff (across airport and onboard experience) deliver a true and consistent 5-Star standard of service delivery,” it said.
MAS did not respond to Malaysiakini's requests for comments.
Of the 66 reviews made from December last year to Feb 20, 41 percent said that they would not recommend the airline or fly with it again, for those reasons.
This is compared to only 25 percent who swore off Singapore Airlines and 16 percent who said they will no longer fly Thai Airways after a bad experience during the same period.
However, Malaysia Airlines fared slightly better than Emirates where about half of passengers who reviewed the airline between December and February said they would not recommend the airline.Interestingly, even those who flew first class on Malaysia Airlines found the food “inedible”, with one passenger saying he will opt for AirAsia flatbeds from now on.
“First class lounge in Kuala Lumpur was terrible. Service was okay but a la carte breakfast was horrible. Food on board was worse – inedible spicy chicken, limp salad and cream cheese instead of proper cheese.
“The meal before landing was even worse. Undercooked pastry with unidentifiable mushroom filling. That was it. Three bites and it was gone.
“MAS used to be an unbelievable product. It's AirAsia flatbeds or Singapore Airlines or Emirates from now on,” S Lim of Australia posted on the website.
Atrocious service
Ashok Thakkar, from the United States, flew from Manila to Kuala Lumpur last month said and found “in-flight services atrocious”.
Ashok wrote: “Food was terrible. Attitude of staff was indifferent – they just did not care. We were glad when the flight was over.”
Over in business class, one passenger found that the main course options had “ran out”.
“There were only 12 adults in Business Class yet this happened. This is poor form for a business class service proposition,” H Eliatamby of Australia wrote of his trip from Colombo to Kuala Lumpur.Eliatamby said MAS tripped up again on his connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney, when it ran out of the amenities pack and brunch options.
“When I requested a pack, the hostess informed me that for some reason they had only loaded 50 percent of the required packs,” he said. However, Eliatamby commended the staff for being pleasant.
Sue Newcomb, who flew by Economy Class from London to Australia via Kuala Lumpur did not fare much better, saying she faced “surly and rushed” crew and “bland” food.
“(I) have had much better service with other airlines. Thumbs down,” Newcomb said.
Those unhappy with MAS also noted the “tired” and “filthy” cabins on their flights, which some observed needed a little sprucing up to leave the 1990s look behind.
Hits and misses
However , positive reviews from 51 percent of MAS passengers who flew in the last three months indicate that flying with MAS could be a hit-and-miss affair.
New Zealander H Shaw who flew from Paris to Kuala Lumpur in December waxed lyrical about the “great” food and “brilliant staff”.
“(It) was the best experience I have had on a plane,” Shaw said.
But his experience paled on the connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland due, to the “shabby” cabins and service.
“Regardless of the second experience, I still rate Malaysia Airlines as a brilliant economy service airline,” Shaw wrote.
Similarly, unlike others who had a poor experience on the Melbourne route, M Nick of Australia found MAS' new aicraft to have “brilliant” personal space.
“The 777 Kuala Lumpur-France route was very tired and dated. The fleet definitley needs retrofitting and in-flight entertainment viewing quality of these aircraft is poor.
“Nonetheless, the service was great and I would happily fly with MAS again,” Nick said.
MAS has come under fire for its poor service after a public complaint by celebrity cook Chef Wan, whose economy class nasi lemak was served “naked”, without cucumber, anchovies or nuts.MAS, which posted a loss of RM1.2 billion in its 2013 financial year, said it was a one-off mistake as the peanuts and anchovies pack were found to be be rancid and had small stones.
As part of its turnaround effort, MAS is also seeking approval from the government to purchase a new fleet of aircraft.
MAS is one of seven airlines rated with five stars by Skytrax, alongside Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.
“A key factor behind 5-Star Airline Rating is the airline's ability to deliver a truly consistent and high quality of product and service.
“A great product is not by itself the key to a 5-Star airline rating, and Skytrax Star Rating also places great emphasis on the quality of front-line service an airline provides.
“A 5-Star Airline rating recognises airlines whose frontline staff (across airport and onboard experience) deliver a true and consistent 5-Star standard of service delivery,” it said.
MAS did not respond to Malaysiakini's requests for comments.
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