MH 21
CDG - KUL July 16
B772 9M-MHB
Sched dep. 1200
Sched arr. 0635

General impressions: The flight was very pleasant. At CDG, though as usual there were long lines and waits at security and boarding, the latter went pretty smoothly as did the check in.
The aircraft was in good condition, though showing a bit its age. The seat that I got, the last row on the window/aisle pairs (MH has a 2-5-2 configuration on their B772) was a bit tattered, for instance, the tray table was not in good condition. These sets of salmon colored seats among blues and purples just look a bit old and dirty. MH now operates daily from CDG to KUL using 772 rather than 744 they used before (5x per week). SQ too used to have 744 on the route that is now replaced by the new(er) 773ER.
Food though quite good (I actually like airline food though!) was lacking a bit in presentation (compared to SQ) or amount (compared to EK). The dessert just does not cut it (way below EK) and too boring. Main meal and entree were very good though.

Ok here are the details:
Arrived at CDG three hours prior to the noon departure of MH21; it was indeed very nice to be able to connect directly from the train station RER to the terminal via the new automated train (CDG Val) rather than the old system with the bus.
Check in for MH was in hall 5 of CDG 1 which is on the lower level and thus not as crowded as halls 1 to 4 upstairs. Though after queuing for a bit I got to check in pretty early (9H20), no emergency exit seat was available. I kept thus my original seat which is the last row on the right hand side (40J). The middle row goes until row 41, but not the window/aisle seat pairs on either side (until 40). I spent the next hour drinking coffee, smoking and people watching, before deciding to go to the satellite for boarding (satellite 4) about an hour and 10 minutes before departure time. I decided to go early because last time I flew out of CDG I had to spend a long time going through passport control. This time, however, there are ushers who told people to go to what line%u2026the line was short and very quick at least for French passport holders.
By the time I got to the boarding hall after passing the extremely slow security checks, boarding had well begun and thus I went directly to the jetway and was seated on the airplane a quarter of an hour before STD.



Welcomed at the door by two crews and throughout towards the back there are crew members stationed to help pax.





Cold towels were distributed to pax. Three minutes before STD, crosschecks were made by the crew after an announcement from the cockpit that we were ready. We pushed back from the gate at 12:06 before beginning a very long taxi. Flight was announced to last 12 hours, and it is a codeshared flight with Garuda Indonesia. Whilst taxiing, spotted a Saudi Arabian 777 taking off, a World Airways DC 10 either taking off or landing, UA 767 following behind us and an AF 744 ahead of us. We were number 7 for take off as announced by the captain. Eleven cabin crew busily prepared the cabin for take off. Finally took off at 12H35, after an Air Transat A330 landed. Take off roll was 45 seconds and off to the blue yonder. We flew right into the clouds and turbulences could be felt at several points in flight (above Paris, in the Bay of Bengal and after entering Malaysian air space). Early on, the tail wind was at 107km as we turned and headed east past Luxembourg, south of Frankfurt and towards Prague. At 12H46 our altitude was 23000 feet and flying at a speed of 512 mph.
Soon after take off, cabin crew distributed peanuts that was followed by a choice of drinks of orange juice or water (This was served on a tray, no trolley nor choice of drinks other than juice and water%u2026this was indeed different to MH I flew a few years back when we had trolley service with lots of choices of drinks).
My original seat was an aisle seat (40J). However, the lady seated on the window seat wanted to switch and, being a gentle-ben, I obliged. Soon after the IFE system (Select, AVOD) was fired up, it turned out that the IFE on my original seat did not work! The flight crew tried to fix the problem to no avail. Finally the lady moved to another seat (probably the only other seat available as the flight was supposedly full). So, for once, IFE problem was a blessing as I now had two seats to myself. I quickly marked my territory by placing my backpack on the seat%u2026in case some other pax stuck in a middle seat had the brilliant idea of getting an aisle seat LOL. Having two seats to myself has not happened to me in ages on flights from Europe to Asia and vv. The seats themselves are generously pitched and the recline was generous (in Seatguru, these last row seats were said to be of limited recline, which I did not find at all). MH seats really rock! (This despite the oldish appearance and the salmon colored cover that I found a bit offending). IFE was great though a bit too sensitive and reminds me a lot of Krisworld. All AVOD of course. The neatest feature was the choice of Flight info of which you can obtain all views (satellite zoom, global, pilot view) and all infos about the flight. The annoying thing was that I could not switch easily from films to flight information (I think you actually have to quit film and cannot just switch for a second or so).
There was no menu distributed for the meals. Instead the menu was flashed on the IFE. You have got to be quick though, because this was not presented too long at all on the screen. The choices included beef with fried rice, chicken with mustard Dijon sauce, or a vegetarian option (Indian). By the time they got to my row, only the last two choices were available. I took the chicken which was very tasty. By the way, unlike SQ (or they did last year), there was no amenity kit whatsoever given to pax in Y.



Now, for presentation, indeed MH is below either SQ or EK. SQ has nice dishes even in Y, MH was just too basic and cheap looking. EK gives generous portions, MH was limits not quite enough. And the dessert, gosh, I was a lot disappointed...made me think fondly of EK that always serve great desserts. Drink offered with dinner was water or wine. This was strange I thought as on the trolley I only saw these two choices. I asked for a Coke and the FA said Pepsi OK? she actually had to go back to the galley to fetch a glass of Pepsi for me. Do they not offer the variety of drinks they used to?
For entrée, the potato and egg salad was good as was the chicken main. Dessert was a forgettable experience. The FAs on MH as usual were very friendly and professional, especially the senior women and the male FAs. One female FA had a bit of trouble smiling and was pretty close to looking tense at times. Towards the end though she relaxed a lot more and even cracked a tiny smile. Her first long haul? Who knows. In any case, the senior female FA was the best ever! I wished I had gotten her name to write to MH. The male FAs would have looked much more attractive out of their uniform I am sure. Studying them carefully, these uniforms remind me of bus or train controllers somewhere. Too bad as the guys themselves were quite attractive.
Dinner/lunch was finished as we were flying over Ukraine/Moldova flying at a speed of 935km/h. Having spent the night before with friends and thus had very little sleep, I fell asleep until just the time we were above the Caspian Sea. I had no idea if they had other services during this time. The seat still felt pretty roomy after all these hours of flying (for Y seat, the best in the industry I think, at least compared to other asian and european companies I have flown on europe to asia route), the pillow was firm and not the softy foamy kind you usually get, and the blanket had a nice grey and purple stripes design to compensate for the salmon colored seat. I slept like a very content pax (though dreaming of EK desserts). FAs passed regularly with trays of orange juice and water....At one point, they passed around with a tiny forgettable cheese sandwich. Played a few games (general knowledge, aviation), and had the flight infos on most of the time.
At 3 hours from KL we were flying at a speed of 843km/h at an altitude of 12000 m.
2 hours and 20 minutes prior to landing, breakfast was served with a choice of nasi lemak (rice and eggs, meat etc.) or omelette. This time they started serving from the back, so we had a choice and I chose the omelette. Very nice again (despite what they looked like in the picture. And sorry for the blurry pictures). Again dessert was a big disappointment!



We landed 2 minutes earlier than STA at 6H28 after a bit of turbulence as we entered Malaysian airspace. A long taxi past Maskargo before we docked in satellite C. Was pretty close to be the last pax off the plane. Made a beeline to Starbucks to get a café latté and went to the smoking area near gate C1.
I rated this flight one of the most pleasant flights I have had in the recent past from CDG to Asia. KLIA I get to like more and more.somehow, it seemed to become more and more lively and busy but with enough space to not feel claustrophobic. And the people who work in the shops and cafes were extremely friendly (subjective judgment though, since I come from Paris where service is not exactly a word known to many). MH Y seems to still be a product that overall surpasses other airlines I have flown on this route.

PS
Will post the return and the intra Asia flights soonish...highlights : great service again on the return flight, magnum icecream for dessert, comfy seats as always. Delay of 1 hr from KL due to heat sensor malfunction in the cargo hold. IntraAsia flights: due to the new check in system, slow checkins ! Took almost 2 hours from touch down until my suitcase finally appeared on the belt at CDG 1 aaaargh !