Malaysia Airlines flights from Surabaya to Penang (SUB - PEN)

Flight was on time. Food was ok. Seats didn’t have much arm room but was manageable for a short flight.

Very cramped

The flight was an hour late due to late arrival on incoming flight. It seems to be the standard for this flight. Checked historical records and you will see that it is usually late. The economy class seating is really tight. The aircraft was really old. The toilets etc. were in pretty bad state. The crew was very average. Have been on flights with better service. None of the "Malaysian Hospitality" that the airline messaging keeps reiterating. Food was a shocker. Asian vegetarian meal -- I would have thought given Malaysian airlines is a an Asian carrier and that the flight was starting from Auckland, where the kitchens I bet would be staffed by asian chefs, what was served was something that a 5 year old would make. It was truly bad. Unfortunately had to bear two of those meals. Only ate a little. Since the flight was late, and there must have been headwinds (or the aircraft was too old to be pushed to make up time), we reached late at Malaysia. Thankfully they held the connecting flight for 50 minutes and I could get to my destination. After I complete my return leg back to Auckland, I think I will prefer not to choose Malaysian Airlines. The only reason to select Malaysian was the great connection between Auckland to Mumbai, with just one hour layover. On balance, the rest of the experience was just a bit too negative to overcome this positive.

I connected to the flight from another one, which was late. They held the plane for 50 minutes. So that was good. Boarding... the speaker at the gate was broken. Could hardly hear anything of the announcements that were being made. I was seated in a front zone, so one of the last to board. There was hardly any space in the overhead compartments. It was full despite the flight not being that full. So clearly they allowed extra cabin baggage for a lot of people (I was not not one of them!) Cabin crew was pleasant and helpful. The seats were the tightest I have ever sat in. I'm of normal height. The seat in front was touching my knees. Exit row seats were empty (more leg room). Upon asking if I can shift there as they are unoccupied, the crew nicely told me that I can relocate to any other seat except the exit seats -- bewildering as everyone had boarded and no one else was going to board. Entertainment system is ok. I didn't use it. The interface was pretty average. The choice of audio/video content was decent. Asian vegetarian meal -- it was a joke. Didn't tast of anything. Better not to eat food, and carry one's own. I saw that some experienced travellers had done that... The baggage came fairly quickly on arrival, so that is a thumbs up.

I connected to the flight from another one, which was late. They held the plane for 50 minutes. So that was good. Boarding... the speaker at the gate was broken. Could hardly hear anything of the announcements that were being made. I was seated in a front zone, so one of the last to board. There was hardly any space in the overhead compartments. It was full despite the flight not being that full. So clearly they allowed extra cabin baggage for a lot of people (I was not not one of them!) Cabin crew was pleasant and helpful. The seats were the tightest I have ever sat in. I'm of normal height. The seat in front was touching my knees. Exit row seats were empty (more leg room). Upon asking if I can shift there as they are unoccupied, the crew nicely told me that I can relocate to any other seat except the exit seats -- bewildering as everyone had boarded and no one else was going to board. Entertainment system is ok. I didn't use it. The interface was pretty average. The choice of audio/video content was decent. Asian vegetarian meal -- it was a joke. Didn't tast of anything. Better not to eat food, and carry one's own. I saw that some experienced travellers had done that... The baggage came fairly quickly on arrival, so that is a thumbs up.

Nice with new livery

Love the friendly staff who went out of their way to assist.