BAD NAME MALAYSIA: Passengers refuse to board Malindo, claim pilots were arguing

KUALA LUMPUR - Malindo Air chief executive officer Chandran Rama Muthy denied allegations that two of its pilots were arguing prior to take off in a recent Flight OD 1169 from Penang to Subang.

He said the co-pilot was working alongside a training captain and getting instructions from the latter.

“Perhaps they appeared to be talking loudly to the point that some passengers mistook them as quarrelling.

“I have ascertained the matter with a report from the pilots,” he said when contacted by The Rakyat Post.

His comment came in the wake of a recent Facebook posting alleging that the pilot was having a serious fight with the co-pilot and they were shouting at each other to an extent that all the passengers could actually hear them.

The Facebook user had posted the complaint on behalf of her friend who was a passenger on board the evening flight.

Chandran said the claims made in the Facebook posting might have been over exaggerated.

Nevertheless, he emphasised that Malindo Air, Malaysia’s hybrid airline, had always valued feedback and suggestion from passengers.

“We are still investigating the claim that passengers heard the pilot quarrelling, as the cockpit door is supposed to be locked during flights,” he said.

On claims that the ground crew did not do anything for the passengers who declined to continue with the flight, he said a refund or reroute would be applied according to the ticket fare rules.

According to the passenger, the quarrelling was carried on for quite a while and a stewardess walked out from the pilot’s room with teary eyes.

A foreigner then stood up and asked for permission to leave the plane, followed by the passenger and more than 20 others.

After 30 minutes of liaising with the ground crew, the pilot came down from the plane and apologised to all passengers and invited them to board the plane again.

With the emotional condition of both the pilot and co-pilot, the passenger felt that the pilots were not fit enough to fly the plane and that they couldn’t assure the safety of all the passengers.

While he decided not to board again together with six other passengers, the rest went on board again.

He also complained that the airline’s customer service hotline could not be bothered with their complaint on the pilot’s emotion, saying it was not their concern and not boarding the plane was the passenger’s own choice.

The Facebook user expressed disappointment that the majority of the passengers did not exercise their right for safety by continuing with the flight.

“This really scares me a lot, our people are giving up, they are not holding on to any hopes or expectations any more because they failed so hard every time they try to do something.

“Now, they just give up, easily, even when it’s just the basic rights and benefits.

“An airline company cannot simply handle the incident in this way, credits to those people who don’t fight for your own right, who don’t want to create any trouble.

“Never give up, people! Giving up does not help, in any way!” she wrote. - http://www.therakyatpost.com/