Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Indian Ocean 2012
Flight Log 9: MH1450
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Langkawi (LGK)
I settled into 1F and was immediately impressed by the generous legroom, although 1A/C fared even better in this respect. The Business Class cabin consisted of four rows of seats in 2+2 configuration, the chunky seats reminiscent of Domestic First in the USA. I accepted a glass of mango juice from a selection that also included guava and more conventional orange. As a refreshing change from standard practice, a cold towel was offered. Orders were taken prior to departure for the in-flight snack, the choice being chicken and mushroom pie or vegetarian quiche. I decided to try the pie and asked for another glass of the delicious mango juice with it.
The captain announced the expected flight time as a mere 45 minutes. We pushed back precisely on schedule and were in the air ten minutes later. The seat belt signs were switched off as quickly as possible and tablecloths were laid. The pie proved to be nice, but it could have done with being a little warmer. It was served along with a small dessert of a dark sponge cake with coffee-flavoured custard, and a Ritter chocolate with hazelnuts.
The short flight reached a maximum altitude of just 28,000ft. I had a good view of Penang through some scattered cloud, recognising the island from my visit in 2009. We touched down in Langkawi at 1853 and took just three minutes to reach our stand.
The contrast with my Sri Lankan flight earlier in the day could hardly have been greater. The first flight of the day had offered a bright and modern cabin, but had otherwise been a sorry catalogue of failings from start to finish. On the other hand, this cabin was understated to the point of being boring, but the short flight was near-flawlessly executed and it instantly restored my badly shaken faith in flying.
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| Date: Sat 02 Jun 2012 |
| Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 |
| Scheduled dep: 1800 |
| Actual departure: 1800 |
| Scheduled arrival: 1855 |
| Actual arrival: 1856 |
| Cabin: Business Class |
| Seat: 1F |
