Is Malaysia Airlines becoming competitive in the domestic market?

I booked myself a last minute flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu on their Boeing 737-800 for just over MYR$650 one way, which is very expensive considering that it is usually below MYR$200 for such route. My last flight with them on this particular route was back in 2017, and there have been some changes that I've noticed on this trip.

CHECK IN

There are a lot of self check in kiosks spread throughout the check in area, however they are not labelled clearly especially for foreigners so it can get confusing if you are not familiar with the process.

After I got my checked baggage label and boarding pass, I proceeded to the bag drop counter, as I am transiting from a foreign country with no vaccinated travel lane, I have to produce documentation to continue onwards to my final destination. Unfortunately, with the lack lustring work ethics of the staff from the immigration, I was given a wrong type of documentation showing that I have to complete home quarantine but in fact I was supposed to do that in an approved hotel. The check in staff took about 10 minutes to process my documentation and calling her colleagues to double check on my app and documents to ensure I'm eligible to travel on that flight.

FLIGHT

While the boarding was done in group listed on the boarding pass, there were others who sneak pass on a different group which ended up causing a slowdown in boarding as they block the access to the rear of the aircraft. The ground staff should have enforced this to ensure a smooth and quick process for everyone, as the flight was full.

By the time I got to the back, most of the storage bins were closed as they were full, this may have been due to passengers bringing more than they were supposed to. My bag weight about 5kg so it could probably fit about 5-6 of those in one of the lockers, if they bring suitcases it can still fit 3-4 items comfortably, so there shouldn't be a lack of space for passengers to put their luggage on the same row.

Initially when I check in, the row I have been assigned to was empty but somehow it was all filled up, it may have been standby passengers or people who haven't chosen their seats so that could be the case.

The legroom is much tighter than I remember it, I could only fit 1 finger in between my knee and the seat in front of me, so there was no room to manoeuver and it was fairly uncomfortable, but the flight was just short of 3 hours so it was bareable but I wouldn't want to be in there any longer than that.

The IFE system is definitely showing its age, a small low resolution screen with unresponsive touchscreen was more often than not annoying to use. The selection of entertainment on the other hand was actually good, with a wide variety of shows, movies and music to choose from, some are even more "scandalous" than I would think appropriate for public viewing or in front of children, for such conservative country I was actually surprised by it.

I pre-ordered a vegetarian meal and I was given this stir fry noodle with tomato, peas and olives. There's also a side of water and a box of raisins. It tastes fine but not something I would be asking for again if I have a choice.

We touch down in Kota Kinabalu shortly past 9pm, I was surprised by how quiet the aircraft was, even though the Max-8 variant which I've flown only a few hours earlier was louder in many aspects. I was actually getting a bit worried right before we touchdown as I didn't hear the gear coming down at all, it may have been the position I was sitting in as I was nearly right towards the aft of the aircraft, but surely it would be audible given it's only a couple of feet away.

CONCLUSION

Malaysia Airlines have been decimated when the low cost carrier Airasia was introduced, allowing a large portion of the lower-middle class travellers to take advantage of their ridiculously low airfare. These days Airasia isn't as competitive in terms of pricing anymore, but another player has also entered the market, Malindo Air. With the 3 carriers serving the domestic route, they will have to work hard to capture the market share.

The biggest let down for me would be the seat pitch and IFE system, a cabin refresh and increasing legroom would definitely help, or use one of their widebody to serve this route as it shows the demand that exists and also allows them to capture a small portion of travellers who would prefer to fly widebody instead of a single aisle.

Malaysia Airlines used to fly their Boeing 777-200 on this route, via Labuan, but this was canned a fair while ago probably due to the lack of demand and high operating cost. If they can keep their current price while using a widebody, possibly reduce one or two flights on this route, it would definitely work and keep the load factor high.

I was also surprised that they have added a new "guest appreciation" gesture by having 3 crew members standing in the aisle, bowing to the passengers during the PA announcement thanking us for flying. This is a new addition as I have never seen this being done on a flight, I do know that more customer oriented airlines will thank passengers in the premium class by addressing each of them. I think this is a step in the right direction, but they need to keep up on their hard product to stay competitive, as I would have chosen another airline if it wasn't for the price similarity and schedule availability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW-wwgtdnaQ