A bumpy, yet nice flight: PVG-KUL-SIN with MH's Hospitality

[Maxie773]

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my fourth trip report. Thank you to everyone for your continuous support, and I hope you’d like this series of my flights with MH.
P.S. Please bear with me, as this is gonna be one long TR.

“More than just an airline code, MH is Malaysian Hospitality.”

BACKGROUND
One may always have to fly for the wrong reasons, like to visit a loved one who had just been admitted into hospital. When our family tried to book flights to Singapore, we booked one way with Malaysia Airlines as a one-way ticket costs half of that of a return ticket, and since we didn’t know our outbound date, we decided on a one-way ticket. Malaysia Airlines was also the cheapest, with 2500 RMB/person, around 500 SGD. CX, MU, and SQ was 1100 SGD, which was .....

Shanghai Pudong International Airport
When we arrived at the airport, I checked the FIDS for our check-in desk. There were two check-in agents at each desk, and we checked-in very quickly and efficiently. The check-in agents were very friendly and had very wide smiles on their faces. I asked for the registration of the aircraft and it turned out to be 9M-MRD, a 13 year old plane.











After check-in, we headed through immigration, which was very quick too.



Airside


Continental B777-200:


We went to Burger King after we went through the security checks. I saw a Continental and United B777. I wonder how long will it take for all the Continental planes to be painted in United livery.

QR B777-300ER:




KA A330:

[Maxie773]

Our plane getting ready for her next flight:


Walking towards 9M-MRD:




Boarding
Boarded at 15:37

Airline: Malaysia Airlines (MH)
Aircraft: B777-200
Flight No. : MH389
Registration: 9M-MRD
Plane age: 13 years old
Route: PVG-KUL
Remarks: Delayed by 20 minutes

The plane smelled really good. I think they sprayed some perfume or something.

Golden Club Class:


JCL gets mood lighting, while YCL does not:




PTVs:


Wingview:


My PTV for the flight:


My IFE controller for the flight:


Legroom was very good:


New viewing map:

[Maxie773]

Safety Card:


Safety video:


Pushback and taxi
Pushback occurred at 16:25:


The “waving people”


Emirates B777-300ER


Airlines from the west:


A look back at Pudong:


Take-off and climb
The plane took off from Runway 16 at 4:55p.m. Takeoff was powerful and bumpy.
It was so bumpy that during takeoff, this happened:


The bags eventually fell onto the passenger seating underneath that overhead compartment.
When the overhead compartment opened, lots of passengers also took out their cameras and mobile phones to capture this “funny” moment.



A beautiful sunset:




Door 4R

[Maxie773]

Cabin Crew stations:


Y class (in a 2-5-2 configuration):


Globe view:


Cruising & First impressions of the seat:
The seat was very wide and very comfortable. The seats left me a very good impression of MH immediately. The 6.5 inch PTV was acceptable, but the screen was a bit blurry, unlike the latest Panasonic eX2, but at least it had AVOD. The headrest was very comfortable and would be very useful for one who wants to sleep. The tray table was also very wide and stable. Overall, the seat was very comfortable and would make a good long-haul seat.

The flight was very bumpy throughout. The seatbelt sign had to be switched on about 5 times.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is your in-flight supervisor speaking. Due to adverse weather, kindly return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you.”

The very comfortable blanket (with no static):


The headset:


Select home page:


Useful tool on how to use the IFE controller:


A lot of movies and TV programs:


A lot of games too:


Ixplor: a very modern and informative interactive moving map:

[Maxie773]

The IFE controller:


The phone:


Salted Peanuts (They were very good!):


Meals will be served shortly:


I watched Despicable Me:


Dinner
About an hour after takeoff, the cabin crew served dinner.
“Hi, would you like the roast chicken with rice or the fish with noodles?”
“Roast chicken please.”
Here came the surprising part:
“What drinks would you like?
As always, I ordered apple juice.
“Apple juice please.”
“Sorry, we do not have apple juice; we only have guava, mango, or orange juice.”

I wondered… how could such a big airline not have apple juice?
I decided to try the mango juice.
After I took a sip of the mango juice, I realized why MH did not have apple juice.
The mango juice was incredible! Much better than apple juice! It was very sweet and you can’t describe it well enough with words.

The meal, with my mango juice:




The meal portion, however, was quite small. In fact, it was very small. Try using your two thumbs and two index fingers to make a rectangle: that would be the size of the main course.

The row across:


Still no mood lighting…


Headset:


Played Bejeweled 2:

[j.lin]

ah! I remembered you. Looking forward =)
________
MAGIC FLIGHT

[Pinkfloyd]

Looking forward to it Maxie773!!

[Maxie773]

The flight passed uneventfully until descent. During the flight, I couldn’t control my cravings for mango juice, so I asked for it quite a few times.

Descent
The cabin preparing for arrival into KUL:


I like this part of MH’s ads and safety videos:


It says “More than just an airline code…” on the sand, and then the sand is pushed away to uncover the Malaysia Airlines logo. It was cool…


First sights of land:


During the descent, we encountered an air pocket. Let me tell ya, the plane went down so quickly and suddenly. I think we dropped at least 10 meters. Passengers were screaming so loudly and grabbing onto their armrests. Passengers who were standing fell onto the floor, and the drop lasted for about 3 seconds straight. 3 seconds may not sound long, but if you count 3 seconds of your plane dropping, THAT’S A LOT. Coincidentally, the “drop” happened while the IFS was announcing something, and when it happened, the IFS also got a shock and didn’t continue. He just put the phone back down.

After the “drop”, passengers who were in the lavatory came out to check if things were alright. They then headed back in to do their “business”. Passengers were talking to each other and comforting each other. Their faces started to look pale and some were praying. The IFS came back on the PA and said something quite interesting:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, due to adverse weather, kindly return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts until the seatbelt signs have been switched off. Thank you.”
“I apologize for the interruption of the announcement earlier on due to the effects of mother nature.”

That made me laugh quite a bit.

Landing
During final approach, the cabin was very quiet. I think that the passengers were worried that they would encounter another air pocket again…

We landed at KUL at 21:51. I was surprised that no one clapped when the plane touched down. The plane landed quite firmly and braked very hard.

Thank you for flying Malaysia Airlines:


Parked:


Look back at 9M-MRD:


Transit
When I stepped into KUL’s terminal, I was flabbergasted. It was so modern and stylish and bright. The lights on the ceiling looked like stars and everything was just shining!






Due to the upgrading of the aerotrain, it was unusable and we had to take a bus down to another part of the terminal. Because of the late arrival at KUL, we were the last ones to board the flight to SIN.


9M-MQO on the right:

[Maxie773]

Boarded at 22:37, eight minutes before estimated departure time:


Airline: Malaysia Airlines
Aircraft: B737-400
Flight No. :MH609
Registration: 9M-MQO
Plane age: 13 years old
Remarks: N.A.

Boarding & first impressions of the seat
The seats were obviously not better than the one on the B772, but it was acceptable on such a short flight. The seat was quite comfortable, but the legroom was quite tight. The tray tables were all unstable, but I was still excited as I hadn’t been on a B734 since I was a baby.

Colorful seats:






Wingview:


“Squarish” Windows:


Sistership B737-800:


Classic overhead:


Legroom:


Classic Overhead panels:


Taxi & Takeoff
MH B744


We took off at 23:01 from Runway 32R.


The climb to 28,000 feet was also very bumpy. The aircraft was shaking from left to right and vice versa every few seconds. We also dropped a few times, but not as serious as the previous flight. When we reached 28,000 ft, the weather was calm and stayed like that during the rest of the flight.

[Maxie773]

Lavatory: (Note the ribbon. This shows that MH looks into very small details like this)


Awww… They didn’t have mango juice on this flight… Orange juice then…


It was a very empty flight, with half of Y being taken up only.
The row across us was empty:


Descent & Landing
As soon as I finished my orange juice, the flight officer came on the PA and said that we had started descending. What a short flight, I thought.

Land sightings:




We touched down hardly and taxied quickly to T2.

Parked next to an LH A343:


Wingview:


Cabin during disembarkation:


When I reached door 1L, I asked the stewardess this:
“Excuse me, is it possible to visit the cockpit?”
“Er… Why not you wait outside first? I’ll call the captain and ask him.”

When all the passengers disembarked, the stewardess called the captain. After a short while, she called me and asked me to come over. YES!!!

I entered the small cockpit of the B734. The pilots were all very young and very friendly. We shook hands and welcomed us. They asked us where we were from and what we were doing in Singapore. They were a friendly bunch!

[Maxie773]

I thanked the pilots and we headed towards T2:


Empty T2:


Immigration:


Final Impressions
MH was truly a pleasure to fly with. The stewardesses were all in smiles during the whole flight, and the IFE on their B772 was quite good. Their mango juice was the best drink I’ve ever tasted on a flight, and their seats were very comfortable. One thing I feel that MH can improve on is their meal portion. I feel that it is way too small. If it was a bit bigger, this flight would have been 100% excellent!

MH has surpassed my expectations tremendously. This shows that MH is truly more than just an airline code; it is Malaysian Hospitality.

Thanks for reading!
Max

[Maxie773]

More pics to come during my stay in Singapore, including chicken rice, mee pok, bak kwa, curry puffs, prawn mee, and many more!

Stay tuned to my return flight back to Shanghai next week too!

[FN-GM]

Thank you.

I shall have a few TR's soon. I have never done one before.

Thanks for the good read.

[jjpb3]

As always, I ordered apple juice.
“Apple juice please.”
“Sorry, we do not have apple juice; we only have guava, mango, or orange juice.”

I wondered… how could such a big airline not have apple juice?
I decided to try the mango juice.
After I took a sip of the mango juice, I realized why MH did not have apple juice.
The mango juice was incredible! Much better than apple juice! It was very sweet and you can’t describe it well enough with words.

With those choices, there'd have been no way I'd miss apple juice.

Guava juice = my reminder that I'm enjoying the breakfast buffet of a SE Asian hotel. (Mango = Philippines! [for me at least])

More pics to come during my stay in Singapore, including chicken rice, mee pok, bak kwa, curry puffs, prawn mee, and many more!

You sure know how to grab your audience, i.e., SQTalkers with their tummies.

Well done, Maxie773.

[Maxie773]

Thank you.

I shall have a few TR's soon. I have never done one before.

Thanks for the good read.

Thanks! Looking forward to your TRs.

You sure know how to grab your audience, i.e., SQTalkers with their tummies.

Well done, Maxie773.

Haha... Thanks. I'll post more pics of s'pore food for you!