Time and time again, I've been asked about my thoughts on Malaysia Airlines, given that the airline seems to be recovering well from post-pandemic financial difficulties. I have always answered the same: I don't know. I rarely fly Malaysia Airlines, and mostly by choice, as most of the time, the cost simply doesn't justify the hard and soft product offered by the airline. Not to mention, to most of my friends that do fly Malaysia Airlines, there was never a positive experience from all of them. It's safe to say that MAS is clearly one of the worst airlines in the region, but that's not why we're here today.
Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Malaysia Airlines has terminated it's catering partnership with Brahim's as of 31/8/2023. The move to terminate the partnership was seen by many as positive, given that Brahim's catering is considered some of the worst in the industry.
However, the whole episode saw a drastic turn of events when Malaysia Airlines was unable to properly handle its own catering system on 1/9/2023, the first day without Brahim's. This led to multiple flight delays as the airline was struggling to meet catering demands. Soon after publicly apologizing for the delays, the airline then revised its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to state that passengers can now bring their own food aboard the plane as long as the meals are halal and are non-heating.
It remains to be seen whether this change will remain in effect, but the good news is that Malaysia Airlines' signature routes such as to London Heathrow (LHR) and Tokyo-Narita are all served by Pos Aviation Catering, which has substantially better offerings than Brahim's.
Final Thoughts
It's hard to give Malaysia Airlines any wiggle room for these kinds of services. Since the new CEO came aboard, I have to say that I personally think the airline is getting worse and worse. For example, the new seat configuration and design is extremely poor in comfort. Malaysia Airlines previous stated that the new seat designs allows for a lower carbon footprint, but funny enough, they were able to fit more seats in the plane, which eventually leads to higher profits considering that passengers aren't given lower prices. What a joke, honestly.
A one-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore costs around RM250-300, while a one-way ticket by Airasia, Scoot or Jetstar can cost around RM60-100. All I want to ask the MAS team is what the hell justifies the 100% additional price paid if I'm being served a packet of peanuts and a tiny cartridge of orange juice? Why can't Malaysia Airlines prepare a secondary caterer in advance before terminating it's partnership with Brahim's? Is the airline planning to have JAKIM or some Halal police at the boarding gate to check if the brought in food by passengers is halal? Seriously, what a disgrace as Malaysia's national airline!
