What to expect? MAI - Service Review

[diecastdrool]

Hi there all...it's been a while since I posted a TR.

First of all...Happy New Year

This trip was made late last year after my food poisoning incident. I didnt think I was fit enough to go, but I did eventually.

Anyway, a simple search through the internet for cheap fares to BKK and the least that I would expect was that MAI (Myanmar Airways International) came up on the list at S$260 return (all taxes included). Oh well...the departure time might be not so interesting as they leave SIN at around 4.15pm, only to arrive and get stuck in massive traffic jam in BKK at 5pm+. But for that price...hmmm, I dont think anyone can really complain esp if you're on holiday.

I googled and found practically nothing on the service review of this airline. Even Skytrax did not rate them according to the stars. So, what can we expect? Let's start the journey


Leg1: SIN - BKK
Date: 16 Dec 2010
ETD/ATD: 16.15/16.20
Aircraft: A321
Flight: 8M 336
Reg: F-GYAO

MAI departs from our "rojak" T1 in Changi


As I had to leave office right around noon time, I didnt hv time to hv lunch...so, lunch at T1 for me...not bad...this is from foodcourt on 2nd level after immigration. The view is quite good too




I kinda like the whole renovated T1 feel...somehow feels nicer than T2


OK, at 3.20pm, my ride arrived. Yay, it should be on time then




As I walked down to my gate, I spotted this banner!


Apparently the celebration gate is just next to mine...can see "sleeping lions" on the floor...hehe




Next, boarding commenced!

[ycp81]

Can't wait to see if you had the French cabin crew members onboard.

[diecastdrool]

PART II

A very unfamiliar sight greeted me upon boarding the plane. I looked and looked again...yes, she's indeed an angmoh (aka caucasian) crew! In fact I saw 4 out of 6 crew to be angmoh in that flight. Who would ever think that MAI hires angmoh crews huh?

The very "straight" looking seats of MAI


The seat is actually not that bad...I've been on worse. But legroom is a bit of a disappointment...very tight. NO NO NO...dont even think of doing the cross legging exercise ala Kyo




Service so far has been quite standard...however that's about to change for the (worse?? better?? worse?? better??).........BETTER!! A trolley with at least 4 types of newspaper choice ran down through the alley and this was followed by.....Refreshment Towel Service. Wow


There are French words everywhere...even the angmoh crews all communicated in French among themselves


Inflight reading materials of MAI's. Rather unappetising Duty Free selection...but I was pleasantly surprised that they even offered Duty Free shopping. Sorry, no offence...but I really expected MAI to be somewhat LCC'ish


MEAL TIME!! Again, I just expected some sandwich or boxed meal to be offered in this flight and I was wrong again! MAI seems to surprise me more and more. A sight of one of the angmoh crew


This angmoh struggled big time to ask this mainland Chinese tourist to sit down and wait for her water bottle be filled up with hot water after the meal service...hihi, I was just giggling listening to these two chicken and duck conversation. But no rude or harsh word was at anytime given by the crew. She was very professional and friendly towards the passenger..which is another plus point fo MAI


Who would ever think that a FULL TRAY meal was offered on this SIN-BKK sector? A selection of water, coke, OJ, red/white wine was offered as beverage. And please note that you get to choose Chicken or Fish too! I chose the latter one and it turned out fantastic, especially the fluffy fried rice


We landed safely in BKK 5 minutes ahead of the schedule and I cruised to the city using the Airport Rail. I must say the Airport Rail is quite impressive esp the city liner that cost me only Baht15!!! Yes...Baht15....I almost thought I saw the price wrongly when I bought the ticket thru the vending machine. It's a smooth 25 minutes ride to Phaya Thai Station, and connect with BTS to my hotel in Chit Lom.

Stay tuned for PART III

[SilverChris]

MAI doesn't look bad at all!

I've never taken the BKK airport rail, I find it a bit of a hassle to interchange twice (I think) to Chit Lom, with bags too.

[diecastdrool]

MAI doesn't look bad at all!

I've never taken the BKK airport rail, I find it a bit of a hassle to interchange twice (I think) to Chit Lom, with bags too.

Not a hassle at all in my opinion. Only 1 time train change to chit lom, which is at the last stop of airport rail in Phaya Thai to BTS. It's quite seamlessly connected.

[coffeeblack]

Can't wait to see if you had the French cabin crew members onboard.

Anyone care to enlighten why MAI uses french crew? Seems quite strange indeed!

[SQflyergirl]

Very interesting ! Enjoyed the report

[diecastdrool]

Anyone care to enlighten why MAI uses french crew? Seems quite strange indeed!

I searched thru the net and found out that this particular plane MAI uses is wet leased from Air Meditteranee (which is a charter airline based in France), hence that explains the strong French flavour.

I'll post the return trip from Bkk-Sin tomorrow

[diecastdrool]

PART III

After 4 days of massage and spicy food, it's time to make a return trip to SIN.

Impressed by the relatively efficient Airport Rail and cheap fare, I decided to use the facility again.












Leg2: BKK - SIN
Date: 19 Dec 2010
ETD/ATD: 11.45/12.10
Aircraft: A321
Flight: 8M 335
Reg: F-GYAO

Long check-in + immigration + hand baggage screening left me no time but straight to the boarding gate





Full set of French cabin crew waiting to board the plane too at the gate.


The usual service run down; newspaper and refreshing towel. Then comes Meal Time again...my most favourite part of the flight...


This time, the choices were either chicken with rice, or seafood noodle with coleslaw as appetizer and baked cheese cake as dessert. The taste is not bad...although I thought the coleslaw was a bit cheapo


CONCLUSIONS
I honestly didnt know what to expect before flying with MAI. Limited reviews (or virtually no information available) can be found on the internet about their service. However, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the service offered by MAI. It's definitely not LCC alike, although I cant say for the same if I were to fly on their own planes with local crew onboard instead of wet leased planes. I'd rate them as 8/10. Worth trying and highly recommended before they stop servicing SIN.

[9V-JKL]

Thanks for the TR. An unknown carrier is now better known.

After 4 days of massage

Now that's a TR worth writing... but pictures alone are quite sufficient

[Kyo]

Very interesting, I don't suppose they have anything remotely resembling an FFP? Very nice price...

Any comments on J offerings / prices?

[diecastdrool]

Thanks for the TR. An unknown carrier is now better known.

MAI is definitely a hidden jewel of SE Asia. If I were to choose between MAI or MI, I'd definitely go for MAI

Re: my massage trip...hahaha, nothing hanky panky ok? Just visited my regular massage joint..Healthland! No trip to Bangkok is complete without a visit to Healthland. The Asoke branch is the latest addition and is definitely worth visiting



The lobby


The waiting area

[diecastdrool]

Very interesting, I don't suppose they have anything remotely resembling an FFP? Very nice price...

Any comments on J offerings / prices?

Kyo, u mean this?


Dont think they have J offerings...even if they do, I wouldnt recommend it either, because they dont have any business class seats at all. There is a Business Class section but it's only seperated by curtains from the Y class.

[Kyo]

Thanks very much, will do some Googling and look into this...

[kapitan]

Not a hassle at all in my opinion. Only 1 time train change to chit lom, which is at the last stop of airport rail in Phaya Thai to BTS. It's quite seamlessly connected.

I took the BTS on Friday evening and Monday morning during rush hour, and it was packed in like sardines, yes, no room to move, bodies against bodies.....