Is Malindo Air losing it after the pandemic?
- Damien Chung
- May 9, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 27, 2022
I've flown Malindo once back in November 2019, on this exact same route from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur. The impression I had on that flight was fine and comfortable as I had the whole row to myself, even though I had to switch seats as the family took my seat and wanted the whole row to themselves, which was fine to me but I ended up getting the non window row. The cabin was not maintained well with dirt and what seems like rough patch jobs on the walls. Malindo is a Lion Air subsidiary, a well known low cost carrier in Indonesia, but Malindo is a hybrid full service carrier.
Booking this flight cost MYR$170, with their base fare which includes 20kg checked luggage but no meals or seat selection. This is one of the cheapest fares in comparison to the other 2 carriers operating this route, Malaysia Airlines and Airasia.
While that flight was on their B737-900ER, I will be taking their B737-800 this time.
CHECK IN
Arriving around 45 minutes prior to check in closes, there was a long line of people queuing and only 2 staff checking in. After 15 minutes, only 3 people had gone through to the desk, and since there were 20 more people in front of me, I knew I wouldn't be able to get through by that time.
Sure enough, by the time I got to the desk the check in should have closed but the line is still as long as when I'd arrived. There was an additional agent who came to check in around 10 minutes before check in closes but the line was moving rather slowly still.
After clearing immigration, I went to the gate stated on the boarding pass but there was not a soul there, so I checked the board and it stated to be in a different gate. After looking at FlightAware of the inbound flight which is landing at the departure time, I went to the nearby cafe to have a drink and keep an eye on the boarding area. I had an occasional look and felt like something wasn't adding up, so I walked closer where I can have a good view of the entire sitting area and it was empty. I was confused as to whether they boarded using a remote gate, and I looked at the flight board and they changed it back to the gate stated on the boarding pass. Not wanting to miss my flight, I quickly finish up my overpriced drink and got to the original boarding gate lounge.
FLIGHT
After 30 minutes of waiting, at our original departure time, the inbound flight touches down. A little over 30 minutes after the originally scheduled departure time, we were finally allowed to board. There was no announcement of any kind, people just started queuing up and we just follow the crowd. The crew seems unenthusiastic, I was greeted by 2 crew members in front but the rest of the crew at the back didn’t say a single word. Boarding was completed around 40 minutes after the scheduled time, but the Captain announced that we were still waiting for a few more people and luggage are still being loaded. We finally started our pushback a little over an hour after the scheduled departure time.
As the majority of the people sit in the front of the cabin, I had the entire row to myself which worked out, thanks to expert flyer. The state of the cabin is a little worst than I remembered, my seat cushion pad literally fell off, the lighting panel have gaps and the panel on the bottom of the cabin was loose. The walls and tray tables are overdue for a clean, and the usual culprits like nuts and stuff are found in the storage pocket.
After takeoff, the crew started the service but they only have water displayed on top of the cart, I asked what they have in there but they spoke Malay back to me which I have no idea what they said, for a multilingual country you would expect that they can at least converse in English. There was no menu or anything to show what they may have on offer, for a flight this long there’s usually meal service as well, but it doesn’t seem like they stock anything on this flight apart from a few drinks. In comparison to my flight on Jetstar from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh which is half hour lesser than this flight, we got a full meal service and the crew was present.
While booking for the airfare, we were offered the option to pre-purchase meals. While I'm not sure how many people actually did pre-purchase their meals knowing they do not stock meals on board or that they might be able to purchase it on board, the more concerning thing is the note above stating that you may not get served or that they might not be providing that specific meal to you. I do not know how many incidents of missed meals or alternate meals were provided, and I am also aware that sometimes it is out of the control of the airlines as they are hiring a third party company to provide the catering, but would they actually be able to provide a consistent meal given that they don't stock meals on board in the first place?
The entertainment unit didn’t work at all, I do not remember if they have it on my last flight with them but it was completely switched off so there’s no power which means no charging either. There’s no individual power point under the seat so my power bank saved me from a dead phone.
The recline of the seat is fairly decent for economy, adding the ability to stretch across 3 seats is definitely an excellent way to fly. Legroom is fairly good as well, with more than a palm length of space is very generous in comparison to other airlines like Malaysia Airlines and Airasia. Both the time I flew with Malindo, their cabin hasn’t been filled up completely with many seats to spare, both times I have the entire row to myself, maybe I’m lucky but in comparison to the flight I took with Malaysia Airlines, it was packed like sardines and the legroom was awful, their price is also higher in comparison to Malindo.
CONCLUSION
If Malindo is able to train their crew well, provide proper maintenance and care within the cabin, and given better passenger experience with such comfort of their existing hard product, I don’t see why they cannot be successful in this route and also overtake as the leading carrier in this sector.
I would still fly Malindo, but only for their cheaper fare and included check luggage on their base fare, that's about as much of my expectation goes. I will be sure to bring my own food and drinks on board my next flight as well.
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