Malaysia Airlines MH 002 - Kuala Lumpur - London Heathrow
After a long gap of almost four years, I flew long haul on MH (Malaysia Airlines) again for a short vacation to London, England. Initially, I was contemplating between EK and QR with their lower fares and of course both of them had their benefits; EK with their new A380 to KUL and QR with their excellent inflight service. Unfortunately, by the time I got down to making a booking, it was not possible and the fares had increased tremendously. So I scouted around again and it was a tug of war between MH and QR this time. So after much consideration, I decided to pick MH, and try out their Boeing B747-400 again for the last time before it goes out of service; upon the introduction of the new Airbus A380 of course. It was something I was really looking forward to as I loved the aircraft and what more, it has been ages since I last flew on a B747. So I managed to get a seat quite at the rear of the aircraft which I really loved. The reason being, I enjoy being seated there while landing and take off, such a nice feeling of the flying experience. So although I did not take many pictures of this flight, it was a nice flight and I must say that MH has maintained their aircraft really well despite the complaints, well at least for the B747 that I flew on.
Check In & Boarding
I checked in online but could not print out my boarding pass, so I went to KL Sentral, boarded the KLIA Express and headed to KLIA (KUL). I arrived KUL at 2110 hours and went straight to the Self Check In Kiosk. It was quite simple but the machine seemed faulty and was taking forever to load details or move on to the next page. Upon printing out my boarding pass, I dropped by baggage at Island C and happy with the weight, walked to the money changers to change my currencies. Oh what a shame! The rates there were extremely high for Pound Sterling, like really high compared to the US Dollar which was about the same in the city. Anyway, that alone took sometime and after a while, I went through security and immigration. As I had a renewed passport, I was a little weary about the machines scanning it. At the aerotrain station, I took a while admiring the aircraft models and it was indeed pleasing, although I wondered why would they not have it all off the same size. (guess the effects of OCD, Lol!)
There were a lot of nice aircraft's in KUL that night, but my camera is not very good at taking night shots, especially ones that are outdoors and through a glass. As you can see, there were a few flights out to Europe and East Asia that night. So after a series of walkabout around the Main Terminal Building (MTB), I boarded the aerotrain for the Satellite Terminal. The MTB was maybe half crowded but it is hard to say with the high ceilings, which makes a place look big. I was surprised to see that they have more duty free outlets in KLIA now and a concerted effort is being made after all, to some extent at least. Although I was there early, the que had just started for boarding at Gate C3 for the flight to LHR. It was a quick scan and many passengers were on transit and there were also many Malaysians (many obnoxious and arrogant ones, sadly) The passengers on transit consisted of many senior citizens and it was nice to have chats with them and many were looking forward to a good nights' sleep on board the B747. Of course before entering the boarding gate, immediately after the boarding passes are scanned, two officers are at the door to have a little chat with everyone, especially the Malaysians in an effort to reduce Malaysians going to the UK to work illegally, which happened a lot in recent years. I have encountered many of those illegals (Malaysians, and hardly can speak a word of English) while I was living in the UK myself and sadly, they give us Malaysians a bad name and almost made the UK government to impose a visa for all Malaysians. Anyway, that was negotiated and thankfully we are not imposed with that requirement.
The flight was packed to the brim and boarding began shortly before 2320 hours with those with smaller children and those who required assistance. As I was seated at the back, I had the privilege of boarding earlier than the rest. It was a nice feeling walking through the B747 once again. The crew welcomed us with a nice smile and warm greetings. I had the window seat, at row 58 and next to me were two young people, who were English but were residing Down Under. I was really pleased to see the seat pitch again, which was rare these days, 34 inches at its best!
Well after twenty minutes of boarding, which was rather fast for a fully loaded B744, we were off-chock at 2343 hours and made our way to the runway for a departure to LHR at 2350, quite on time I would say. Once we reach 30,000 feet, the seat belt signs were switched off and refreshments began with the usual orange/ mango juice and the salted peanuts. The crew were nice, nothing out of the extraordinary like it used to be but they did their job well, just not going beyond expectations. The first main meal was then served, a choice of black pepper chicken and vegetables or a beef curry and rice. I chose the chicken option and was quickly served by the middle galley crew from the back. The meal itself was good, not as bad as it was reported to be, off late. Juice, coffee or tea were then served separately and we had ample time for our supper.
After an hour or so, the crew came by to collect our meal trays. They cleared up and after a short while, they began distributing the midnight snack box. I think that is a very brilliant idea knowing it is a night flight and not everyone would like to be woken up for a snack in the middle of their sleep, I would pressume. This actually allows us passengers to have a bite whenever we feel the need to, according to our hunger calls. For a snack box, I think they had a good selection of snacks although, it may not necessarily seem classy, especially on a MH flight. Nevertheless, it was good indeed and the snakc box was much needed for me after a nine hour sleep.
Soon after I had my snack, I watched some movies, old ones which I always end up laughing and keeps me wondering if people could hear me, especially with their head phones on. The selection of programmes are not bad, but I think they should have more variety, which I was really looking forward to but wasn't completely satisfied with.
About another hour later, the aroma of coconut rice and something really spicy was in the air. I sensed breakfast was on its way. But just before that, trays of orange and apple juice were served once the lights were switched on. For a fully loaded B747, it did not feel as if the flight was packed or full. People were beginning to line up to use the toilets just before the meal carts strutted the isle. It was quick and in a blink, everyone was seated and all geared up for a nice warm meal. There was a choice of the usual omelet and sausage or the signature nasi lemak. At that point, I was feeling like lunch and something heavy, so nasi lemak it was. I must say, though the portion seemed small, it was very tasty and of good quality. So much for all those who lowered my expectations.
A choice of coffee, tea, water or orange juice was then on offer and I decided to have the tea, just to feel all ready for England once again. The croissant was not bad too,warm and tasty. By the time I was done with breakfast (UK time) and lunch (Malaysian time), the cabin crew were once again up and about clearing our meal trays and collecting more rubbish. As it was almost the end of spring, the sun was rising and a rather early start was coming our way. I caught a glimpse of a beautiful skyline, which I dubbed "skyrise". It was breathtaking and a new day had just begun for us all on board this MH B747.
Just as I was dreaming of the nice "skyrise", the captain came on air and informed us that we were to begin our descend and that our arrival into LHR would be rainy and cloudy, such a turn off to what I had experienced earlier. But I am not complaining, I wanted some nice cold weather and I guess that awaited me indeed. Our approach for arrival was rather quick and very smooth despite the heavy rain and the strong winds. Compliments to the captain and his tech crew for a smooth landing which felt as if it was a breeze. We then taxied right to Terminal 4 of London Heathrow and went straight to a gate at an almost empty terminal. Unfortunately, our aerobridge operator was no where to be seen, so we had to wait. When they appeared after all, the aerobridge would not connect to the aircraft and by then the rain was crazy and I could hear the wind, almost like an "eery" moment. Of course by then, most of the passengers had got up from their seats and were eager to leave the aircraft when the captain came on air again and made further updates to this situation we were in. Apparently, the airport authority would not assign another gate to us and on top of that firmly suggested that we all take the stairs down, in the heavy rain. Now, this is where I must salute AirAsia for having umbrellas always on standby, which is better than nothing. But the captain declined and said it was not safe for us to get down the stairs from a huge aircraft that we were on. I was on the other hand, rather excited about that idea, but was not sure how cold it was outside.
Almost 40 minutes later, the captain updated us that the aerobridge operator had given up and that we were to take the stairs after all. I was excited but the thought of waiting for everyone get off and being at row 58 was a rather long wait, especially for safety reasons using the stairs. Finally, an hour after we landed, we actually walked down the stairs and into the terminal building, back on another set of stairs. I can't blame MH for this but I must say that for an airport like LHR, they were slow and really unprepared for these sort of circumstances. I will, however commend the tech crew of MH for constantly updating us on the latest development. By then, many aircrafts came in to Terminal 4 (Royal Brunei, Kenya, KLM, Etihad, Gulf, Delta, Delta and etc)
Travelling through Terminal 4 seemed like a really good idea compared to Terminal 3. It was a breeze and baggage was also there when we got to the conveyor belt. All in, my flight to LHR this time was really good and I would recommend MH again. Let's give them a nine out of ten. Good Job MH!
Look out for the return trip report soon!
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