Back of the Bus on Malaysia Airlines A333

[MrMNJ]

Hi Folks,

I am travelling in Y MEL-KUL on Friday on an MH A333.

As Dad, Mum and 1 toddler, I have chosen seat 41DFG (row of three in the centre, two rows from the back), as we can sit together, and not have a fourth seat with a stranger next to us.

Do any of you have any comments about the back of the bus? Is it really busy, or the the lavatories way too close? Of main concern to me is if the seat armrests go all the way back into the seat to allow the little one to lie down.

Or are there any other combinations you would suggest for the three of us on this aircraft?

Thanks for your comments!

Cheers, Mr MNJ

 

[richie9x]

From what I recall MAS only have one toilet at the far back of their A330s, it is mainly galley back there. Or at least it is like that in the A330s with the new seating layout that typically fly to/from Australia. Most of the economy toilets are in the middle of economy. Although you might have a few passengers coming for a wander, it should still be pretty good.

If I were you I would go for row 11 in economy, although you wouldn't have three seats just to yourselves. It has the bassinets and has an absolute excessive legroom. The centre section seats D,E,F and G have the most leg room, but the outer seats are still pretty good. It is right behind the galley so you do get a bit of traffic. On the right side there is a only business toilet so you don't get much passenger traffic on the right side. Which to me makes 11 F,G,H and K the best seats on the plane.

 

[MrMNJ]

Thanks richie9x!

If I had to be closer to one or the other, I guess galley is better than lav!

Am hoping the flight will be reasonably light load and then we can grab a four in-a-row at internet check-in time.

Looking forward to the new A333, but TBH not really holding my breath. Not news to anyone here, but MAS service in Y has been deteriorating slowly but steadily over the years, and I have noticed they have increased their fares since introducing the A330 on the Mel-Kul route.

I recently also noticed they advertised a "sale" fare BNE-KUL for around $1400!!! Crazy considering basics like inflight meals have deteriorated substantially -e.g. they have an "chicken pie" in a cardboard box for "breakfast". And they still have not figured out in the last 10 years that milk and "creamer" in a sachet is not the same thing!

It is through much ongoing personal experience with MH Y that I have learned to disregard Skytrax ratings - it is no five-star experience by any means. Cabin crew are competent enough, but still no competition with their often Malaysian-born and bred SQ counterparts (i.e. it is not a cultural issue, it is a training issue). I have not tried Air Asia X. Other airlines, such as Air NZ long-haul Y to the states was also significantly better.

Sorry, just had to have a ramble... am regretting not going SQ for this trip. Will go into this one with low expectations and on the lookout for good/redeeming features and hopefully come out pleasantly surprised...

Cheers, MrMNJ

 

[AVC]

I would choose galley vs lavs any day of the week. Especially if there's congregation room near your seats. Damn annoying.

The other theory about back of the plane is it's the bumpiest ride, as that's where the control surfaces are.

But theoretically safer. Ever seen a headline that reads "plane backs into mountain"?

 

[MrMNJ]

Hi All,

To anyone who may be interested, here are some answers to my own questions, having just done a sector MEL-KUL on a MAS A333 (new).
Family seated in 41 DFG.

1. As the second row of seats in the 2-3-2 config at the rear of the plane, the seats do not line up exactly, so the seat-back screen in front is at the tiniest bit to the left of the midline of your seat.

2. Seat 41G has a steel railing obstructing legroom in front, but if you're willing to sit angled to the right, you can stretch out a bit as the set in front is a bit off-line to the left.

3. Armrests go all the way up into the back of the seat.

4. Galley behind, with one lav on the starboard side. Reasonably quiet, had minimal congregation.

5. Service and hardware:

The good - cheerful, competent staff. Frequent drinks runs. Push-back early, take-off on-time. Arrived 15 minutes early. I note the scheduled flight time is now 8hrs 30 minutes, which is more generous (longer) than schedules from last year. It must surely affect on-time performance data.

The Bad - Unintelligible announcements in English. Poor cabin staff are being trained to place the emphasis on the wrong syllables. My wife could not understand any of the overhead announcements. Cabin lights dimmed only after 2 hrs in-flight. Breakfast served 2 hours before arrival - leaving roughly four hours of sleep. Seats not as comfortable as on the 772.

The Ugly - The food was AWFUL! The inedible chicken "Pie" AGAIN!! Presented in a cardboard box with tearaway perforations. A sub-budget airline performance. As someone who has flown MAS long-haul regularly in whY 2-3 times a year, this is clear indication that all is not well with the airline. If they have not cut their in-flight meal service budget in real dollar terms, one must ask why the quality has deteriorated so much.

As always, MAS has great workers, who seem to be let down by management. The airline is struggling to turn a profit. The A333 hard-product is newer and has more gadgetry, but not always better in terms of comfort, and this is definitely the case in J, where the regional style lie-flat seats leave a lot to be desired.

Thanks for reading.
Cheers, Mr MNJ

 

[Jane-Doe]

I recently flew Malaysia Airlines J MEL -LHR return. Even with the older plane between KUL and LHR, I found it a great flight. Great food and very polite staff.

I am reading your post about the food in Y with interest, as I am considering Y to KUL then J to LHR.

 

[mannej]

The good - cheerful, competent staff. Frequent drinks runs. Push-back early, take-off on-time. Arrived 15 minutes early. I note the scheduled flight time is now 8hrs 30 minutes, which is more generous (longer) than schedules from last year. It must surely affect on-time performance data.

If you look at the QF routes flown by a 767 and a 330, you will notice a similar discrepancy. There is a different cruise speed or something like that. I would imagine the same would go for a 777 and a 330

As always, MAS has great workers, who seem to be let down by management. The airline is struggling to turn a profit. The A333 hard-product is newer and has more gadgetry, but not always better in terms of comfort, and this is definitely the case in J, where the regional style lie-flat seats leave a lot to be desired.

It does sound familiar does it not

 

[richie9x]

Good to see the your report back MrMNJ. I tend to agree with your observations.

I have done a lot of flying with MAS mainly in business on 777s and it is a pretty good combination. I do think the A330s are a slight step down, but have only been on them a few times.

I got the impression that the cabin crew on the A330s are on average younger than on the Boeings. The genuinely seem to enjoy doing their job and have fun at the same time. While still being professional about it. They seem to enjoy interacting with people. With Qantas you only really see consistently on the Jetconnect transtasman flights.

The tube pie thing is weird, so tasteless, why bother with it. Especially on the flights that leave late at night. They keep the cabin lights on just to serve that. I would be quite happy with nothing or even just a quick biscuit and drink. It is already past midnight not normal to eat at that time. But I find the breakfast they serve in economy is pretty good.

I agree some of the English announcements are hard to understand at times. I have gotten to the point where I can understand most of the Malay annoucements, the phrase "tuan-tuan dan puan-puan" has been permanently burned into my brain.

 

[MrMNJ]

Thanks richie9x. You know, I have experienced that with Jetconnect as well! Staff seemed genuinely warm, and QF25 recently was on of the better Y flights I've had. This was preceded by the nicest, most helpful check-in agent I've ever come across, who helped fix a seating mishap with my mrs and toddler.

Re: MAS, I just got off a flight KUL-HKT on a 737-400, and the regional experience on this narrow body was much better than the long-haul last week. This flight typified good ol' fashioned MAS for me.

1. Very easy check in at KL Sentral 2 hrs pre-flight.
2. Great ground staff (when you actually manage to get the message across, and they know what you are asking for)
3. Old plane, but very clean. Multi-coloured seats, old but comfy.
4. Roughly 90 minute flight, but full meal service (had the same Nasi Lemak as breakfast on MEL-KUL), and a couple of drink runs. A full plane but service very warm, competent and not hurried.
(beat that, QF mainline!)


So that's that. Good regional experience has tempered my sentiment about the long haul one.
I have not flown MH in J in recent years. The few J trips to Asia I have done in the last 2 years have been with SQ on the whale-jet.

Thanks again for listening.
MrMNJ