Malaysia Airlines MH1: Trip Report
Malaysia Airlines A350-900 parked with a China Southern 787-9, China Eastern 777-300ER and an Azerbaijan 787-8
Key Information
- Aircraft: Malaysia Airlines A350-941 (9M-MAB)
- Seat: 24K
- Date of flight (departure) in DD/MM/YYYY: 23/7/2024
- Camera Device: iPhone 14
- Duration: 12h 56m
- Actual flight time: 12h 18m
- Scheduled time of departure: 21:35 BST
- Scheduled time of arrival: 17:50 GMT+8
- LHR Gate: 23 (T4)
- KUL Gate: C35
- Price I paid: £3899 for 4 (with return) (£975 per person)
Important
If you are arriving into Malaysia and are a foreign citizen, PLEASE fill in this form here provided from the Malaysian Government within 3 days from arrival as it is REQUIRED to enter Malaysia. People exempt from this requirement can be found here. If you are transiting in Malaysia and are not going through immigration to do so, you do not need to fill in the MDAC.
Heathrow Terminal 4
Heathrow T4 is a base for SkyTeam alliance members, with a few Oneworld alliance members (Malaysia Airlines is one of them), and a couple of non-aligned airlines operating out of here too. T4 is quite small compared to T2, T3 and T5, and it is quite obvious. I like to call this the ‘low-cost’ terminal of LHR because of its size and scale of operations. There isn’t much to do here compared to the other terminals, with a couple of shops, bars and a limited amount of restaurants to choose from. There is a decent amount of seating though, and a good place to spot from is next to or in Costa Coffee past security, where you can spot planes taking off and landing on 27L/09R, depending on runway direction and operations.
Security was quick and I only had to wait five minutes. Check-in agent also allowed my slightly overweight hand luggage, and I was very thankful for that 🙂
I also saw Sam Chui here 🤯🤯
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Gate + Aircraft
9M-MAB ✈️
We are at gate 23, at an area which is an extension of T4, and takes a couple of minutes to walk here from the main building. There are moving walkways to help make this faster. It is quite unusual for MH to operate from this area as usually their flights depart from the main building.
Today’s flight is on 9M-MAB (MSN 159), a Malaysian registered A350-941 belonging to Malaysia Airlines, which will be taking us all the way to KL. This aircraft is 6.9 years old at the time of writing this sentence (14/9/2024), and is actually the first A350 delivered to Malaysia Airlines! 🥳
Scheduled flight time is 13 hours. We will fly to Malaysia via the North-Eastern Afghanistan Flight Corridor. In the past, MH1 would fly over Iran but due to recent tensions, MH has decided to reroute, adding an extra hour to the flight-time compared to before.
Cabin / seat
Seat 24K
The seat is quite comfortable and the legroom is good with a good amount to stretch my legs (for reference I am 5ft 7in). This seat also has very good window alignment, allowing you to see the wing clearly. The screen is a decent size for viewing. The IFE has a good amount of shows and movies to choose from, however it can be a bit difficult to find something you like as it isn’t much compared to airlines such as SQ. Pillows, blankets and headphones are provided, with the pillow using a single-use cover. I didn’t use the headphones and instead brought my one wired one (I recommend you do so to as the earphones don’t look too comfortable for a 12-13hr flight). You also get an adjustable headrest on your seat.
Above you are reading lights, air vents and the seatbelt screen.
Toilets were also clean throughout the flight.
I would say this seat is on par, maybe very slightly better, with the seat on their A380s they use to operate on this route (now retired), and quite better than the 747-400s and 777-200ERs (now retired also) they used to operate into Europe, in the past. No warm towel served on this flight compared to before COVID.
They also provide free Wi-Fi for everyone!! 🤩 (only after takeoff)
Rating: 4.3/5
Pre-takeoff + takeoff
We missed our time-slot for departure due to complications and were subsequently delayed by around 1.5 hours 😵💫. Other aircraft departing around the same scheduled departure time as us were also delayed. They also changed the departure runway from 27L to 09R, which would make our taxi a bit longer. Crew gave out drinks during this delay, which was nice 🙂
The safety video that played is definitely a unique one, and I think it is worth a view. You can find it online on YouTube, or buy a flight ticket and watch it that way! 😉
We took off at 23:11 BST. Takeoff was smooth and I honestly didn’t really feel a thing.
Food service
Before each main meal service, a packet of kacang masin (salted peanuts) was offered. Plastic cutlery and choice of drink was provided too. They also offered bottles of water and juices regularly throughout the flight to stay hydrated.
First Main service (dinner)
Soon after takeoff, the crew began preparing the first meal service. It was from a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian. I chose the meat option with some Coca-cola, and was given what appears to be Nasi tomato & ayam masak merah (Malaysian tomato rice with chicken in chilli sambal, picture above). The rice and chicken were decently good considering airline food, but the vegetables were a bit soggy. I also got a cold piece of bread with a pack of butter, cheese and crackers, a chicken salad and chocolate cake. The salad and cake were actually good, but I would prefer the cheese to be a bit harder as it was quite soft. I would say that overall this meal was ‘不错’ (not bad) and pretty tasty but can be slightly improved.
I have also noticed that the meal sizes have shrunk a bit compared to pre-COVID on their A350s and A380s.
Rating: 4/5
Snack
Somewhere halfway through the flight, they offered a cheese, tomato and salsa wrap. Weird combination in my opinion but the wrap was ok.
Rating: π/5
Second Main service (late lunch)
2 hours before landing, the second main meal was served. It was a choice of Malaysian, European or vegetarian from my knowledge. I chose the Malaysian option (I would recommend this over the others!!) and Apple Juice (better than orange any day) . I was given Nasi Rendang, and it was tasty. Ate it all very quickly.
Rating: 4.75/5
Overall, the meals served on this flight were better than other airlines that I’ve flown to KL, and I wouldn’t mind having it again. Good job, MH 🙂
Approach and landing
Somewhere over Ipoh, we started our descent and a spray was sprayed all over the cabin in order to disinfect the cabin. Approach was quick and uneventful and soon, we were on final for 14L at WMKK.
A359 Smoooooooth butter landing occurred 🧈🧈
Landed at 18:29
I love it when they say “To all visitors, welcome to Malaysia and to all Malaysians, welcome home” upon landing, really wraps up the Malaysian Hospitality experience.
After landing, we taxiied to gate C35 at the satellite terminal.
KLIA
Not the same aircraft and also not the best photo but this is the best photo I have of KLIA. MH1335 B38M 9M-MVD
KLIA stands for Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and is the biggest and busiest airport serving Malaysia.
After disembarkation, we are in the Satellite terminal of KLIA, where international flights depart from.
In order to enter Malaysia, you will need to take a bus to get to the main terminal for immigration, customs and luggage collection. There used to be a shuttle train connecting these two buildings, but it broke last year. It is getting renovated and should be done soon. Signs to the buses are well indicated, but the buses can become crowded during times of high demand.
Immigration was quicker and had less of a queue than last year.
Bags from the flight soon came to the carousel. Luggage trolleys are nearby for your convenience.
Conclusion
MH has done well on their signature route connecting London and Kuala Lumpur. The cabin crew were nice and attentive too. It’s nice to see them bounce back after COVID, MH370 and MH17, and I can’t wait to see what they have for the future, including their A339s on order.
I got this flight for 4 people with return for £3899, a bargain, as usually this flight would go for £5500 to £6000, maybe even higher, at the time I booked as the flight was during the UK summer holiday. It went from one of the most expensive options to one of the cheapest.
British Airways is also coming back to KL later this year and with Malaysia Airlines being the only direct option between these places for years now, it will be interesting to see how BA’s experience will fare up with MH’s.
Overall rating: 8.8/10
