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Keep us posted...

As expected it was a complete shambles. We will post more tonight.

Edited by Robert

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As expected it was a complete shambles. We will post more tonight.

Guess they put u in Y on the front row on the same flight and offerred j class refreshments? No option to swap to another flight?

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Apologies for the delayed update.

To recap flying J to SIN and the OLCI informed me that there was a problem with my ticket so I couldn’t check in. After checking around I found that the 738 MAX was in use so there was no J class.
Arrived at the airport counter and observed a look of confusion from the check in agent followed by lots of phone calls and more concerned looks.
Im then informed that the new MAX aircraft is in use today but not to worry here is the usual voucher for the lounge or RM30 at selected F&B outlets, Im fasting at the moment so declined the voucher which seemed to confuse the agent even more. I checked the boarding pass and it clearly said “Economy Class” so I challenged and was again given the F&B voucher back. After a lot of discussion and going round in circles, along the lines of I have a business class ticket, accept that the aircraft has changed now how are you going to refund me the difference or provide compensation I was told but sir we have out new new aircraft for you!
By now the check in queue was getting busy, people behind me were getting restless and the check in agent was getting more and more lost and confused, she eventually referred me to her supervisor.
I was also told that the booking claimed that they had tried to contact me and it said unavailable. Thats strange because I had no missed calls or missed calls alerts and the manager suspected that because it was a Singapore number they “couldn’t get through” My view is that they probably didn’t try!
After a few minutes of more frustrating discussion when Im told to "contact Customer Care and they will give you a free flight" I demanded some official confirmation that I have been downgraded and agreement that I would get a free flight. My booking details were updated and I was given a booking print out with the following remarks “ PAX PAID FOR BC TIX” “CAN CLAIM BC TIX FIR NEXT TRAVEL WITH MALINDO’
All in all and frustrating experience that was very unprofessionally dealt with however based on previous experience this isn’t unexpected.
As for the new aircraft I found the Y new seats very uncomfortable and wouldn’t want to do more than a few hours on them.
Lets see how the next part is handled…..

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Apologies for the delayed update.

To recap flying J to SIN and the OLCI informed me that there was a problem with my ticket so I couldn’t check in. After checking around I found that the 738 MAX was in use so there was no J class.
Arrived at the airport counter and observed a look of confusion from the check in agent followed by lots of phone calls and more concerned looks.
Im then informed that the new MAX aircraft is in use today but not to worry here is the usual voucher for the lounge or RM30 at selected F&B outlets, Im fasting at the moment so declined the voucher which seemed to confuse the agent even more. I checked the boarding pass and it clearly said “Economy Class” so I challenged and was again given the F&B voucher back. After a lot of discussion and going round in circles, along the lines of I have a business class ticket, accept that the aircraft has changed now how are you going to refund me the difference or provide compensation I was told but sir we have out new new aircraft for you!
By now the check in queue was getting busy, people behind me were getting restless and the check in agent was getting more and more lost and confused, she eventually referred me to her supervisor.
I was also told that the booking claimed that they had tried to contact me and it said unavailable. Thats strange because I had no missed calls or missed calls alerts and the manager suspected that because it was a Singapore number they “couldn’t get through” My view is that they probably didn’t try!
After a few minutes of more frustrating discussion when Im told to "contact Customer Care and they will give you a free flight" I demanded some official confirmation that I have been downgraded and agreement that I would get a free flight. My booking details were updated and I was given a booking print out with the following remarks “ PAX PAID FOR BC TIX” “CAN CLAIM BC TIX FIR NEXT TRAVEL WITH MALINDO’
All in all and frustrating experience that was very unprofessionally dealt with however based on previous experience this isn’t unexpected.
As for the new aircraft I found the Y new seats very uncomfortable and wouldn’t want to do more than a few hours on them.
Lets see how the next part is handled…..

 

Perhaps forwarding to MAVCOM would help. Just did a dummy booking for KUL-DAC it showed business promo and flexi as bookable when MAX are deployed to that sector randomly. Pretty sure many Business class passengers would be pissed if the MAX is deployed.

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Malindo is awful at dealing with things that don't go as planned.

 

When they canned SIN-PEN before even starting the route, the call centre kept insisting that I had to be rebooked onto SIN-KUL-PEN...with an overnight connection, at my expense. Took hours to get a manager who was willing to refund the ticket, which only made it back to the credit card 60 days later.

 

As the ticket was paid for in MYR using a Singaporean credit card, I lost quite a bit because the MYR had depreciated dramatically during those 60 days.

 

On another occasion, none of the passengers' bags from a SIN-KUL flight made it to the carrousel. After 30 minutes we went to hunt down an OD staff member. None were in sight, so we were directed by the MH staff to the baggage office (which was an unmarked room). The lady behind the desk said the person in charge of baggage was out for lunch, and there was nothing she could do. We eventually found out the bags had been dumped onto the wrong carrousel. All this after a 1.5 hour delay out of SIN...

 

Not a fan of Malindo, to say the least.

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I'm awaiting to board -LRC in Singapore as OD802 up to KL then onwards to PEN and surprise surprise it's been delayed...OD are flipping useless.

 

Also there's whisper getting around the circles that OD155 departing KL on the 10th June may have taken an incorrect route for the variant of B738 operating that route. Whisper is -LNU took an ETOPS/ETDO southerly ocean routing instead of tracking towards DPS then tracking overland southbound towards Perth. I haven't seen the flight data yet, so I'm a tad skeptical.

 

Are southern India/Columbo and Perth flights all subject to EDTO requirements?

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I'm awaiting to board -LRC in Singapore as OD802 up to KL then onwards to PEN and surprise surprise it's been delayed...OD are flipping useless.

 

Also there's whisper getting around the circles that OD155 departing KL on the 10th June may have taken an incorrect route for the variant of B738 operating that route. Whisper is -LNU took an ETOPS/ETDO southerly ocean routing instead of tracking towards DPS then tracking overland southbound towards Perth. I haven't seen the flight data yet, so I'm a tad skeptical.

 

Are southern India/Columbo and Perth flights all subject to EDTO requirements?

It was 37 mins late into Changi and nearly an hour late leaving. The aircraft has been on KL for hours so perhaps its one or more of the following: Tech issue, Crew, KUL ATC, SIN ATC?

 

As for OD155 the FR24 data shows it heading northwards and then turning left and taking a route directly over Jakarta.

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Malindo is awful at dealing with things that don't go as planned.

 

When they canned SIN-PEN before even starting the route, the call centre kept insisting that I had to be rebooked onto SIN-KUL-PEN...with an overnight connection, at my expense. Took hours to get a manager who was willing to refund the ticket, which only made it back to the credit card 60 days later.

 

As the ticket was paid for in MYR using a Singaporean credit card, I lost quite a bit because the MYR had depreciated dramatically during those 60 days.

 

On another occasion, none of the passengers' bags from a SIN-KUL flight made it to the carrousel. After 30 minutes we went to hunt down an OD staff member. None were in sight, so we were directed by the MH staff to the baggage office (which was an unmarked room). The lady behind the desk said the person in charge of baggage was out for lunch, and there was nothing she could do. We eventually found out the bags had been dumped onto the wrong carrousel. All this after a 1.5 hour delay out of SIN...

 

Not a fan of Malindo, to say the least.

 

Comparatively AK services experience is still way better than both MH and OD in most department albeit its LCC status.

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It was 37 mins late into Changi and nearly an hour late leaving. The aircraft has been on KL for hours so perhaps its one or more of the following: Tech issue, Crew, KUL ATC, SIN ATC?

 

As for OD155 the FR24 data shows it heading northwards and then turning left and taking a route directly over Jakarta.

For the benefit of everyone:

June 10, 9M-LNU

33oti0h.png

 

June 11, 9M-LNY

j6788w.png

Edited by JuliusWong

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Interesting stuff there, also bare in-mind Christmas and Cocos Islands are up that way too although I'm not sure if these would be approved diversion points although both see regular B737F and A320 services. -LNW is back in action now after a period of maintenance so presumably Perth flights with now exclusively revert back to -LNV, W and Y.

 

I seem to recall talk about OD starting up a KL-XCH service on here. but I don't believe it ever eventuated.

 

Getting back on-topic OD seems to be over-stocked with surplus planes at the moment...-LRD is still parked at up at KLIA awaiting service entry. Seems OD 'inherited' these 737MAX's unexpectedly and is therefore struggling to find destinations for them, whilst I think it's awesome that OD is the world's first MAX operator I think that these aircraft could of better been deployed within the Lion Group for better efficiency and suitability. OD still markets themselves as a full-service/hybrid carrier and having these LCC configured planes goes against that. Interestingly last week whilst flying OD802/801 the pilot mentioned in his spiel that these were to be used for 'charter'.

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OD's frequency and timing at several routes are quite bad. For instance there's no night 737 flights out of KBR to KUL vv. While Airasia are nailing it with 3 flights after 6pm. The same can be said of KUL-BKI route. Only 4-5 flights per day and gives their passengers less flexibility for onward connections.

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OD's frequency and timing at several routes are quite bad. For instance there's no night 737 flights out of KBR to KUL vv. While Airasia are nailing it with 3 flights after 6pm. The same can be said of KUL-BKI route. Only 4-5 flights per day and gives their passengers less flexibility for onward connections.

Don't get me start on KCH...

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OD's frequency and timing at several routes are quite bad. For instance there's no night 737 flights out of KBR to KUL vv. While Airasia are nailing it with 3 flights after 6pm. The same can be said of KUL-BKI route. Only 4-5 flights per day and gives their passengers less flexibility for onward connections.

OD is not planning to expand the 737 Domestic Market demand has gone saturated because of AirAsia. I have a friend in OD that says the turboprop SZB operation have been mostly on near loss making as they dropped the price severely to attract passengers though they fared better than Firefly(FY is bleeding very deeply now) as their cost are kept tight and sufficient funding from Lion Group is there. So the 737 operations have to work hard on sectors that do not corrode their revenue management due to stiff competition.

Edited by jahur

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Interesting that you mention the ATR ops. Their operation from KBR to SZB is around 10 flights per day. Not mentioning FY. I was onboard OD KBR-SZB few weeks ago and it was near full. And their ticket price is only rm5-10 cheaper than FY. And you get only mineral water. On FY you got currypuff/cake plus cordial drinks.

 

My God I hope mods wont kick me out. Just realised this is a 73Max thread.. but as a OD fan needing flights KBR to BKI regularly, I feel unappreciated nonetheless due to their bad connections/frequency and their unwillingness to improve them.

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Interesting that you mention the ATR ops. Their operation from KBR to SZB is around 10 flights per day. Not mentioning FY. I was onboard OD KBR-SZB few weeks ago and it was near full. And their ticket price is only rm5-10 cheaper than FY. And you get only mineral water. On FY you got currypuff/cake plus cordial drinks.

 

My God I hope mods wont kick me out. Just realised this is a 73Max thread.. but as a OD fan needing flights KBR to BKI regularly, I feel unappreciated nonetheless due to their bad connections/frequency and their unwillingness to improve them.

FY been adding more perks such as light pastry meals onboard but it has failed to attract enough passengers as most have preferred to go on OD and OD themselves have trouble keeping profitable flights even with that much load onboard.

 

Anyhow just flew on the MAX to Singapore. Saw a few business class passengers getting upset on the class change. Seats were actually comfortable than MAS 738 but color and materials were too LCCish, still no where near Malindo B738/739 seat pitch and comfort. Hopefully the next aircrafts will have proper cabins fitted they can omit out the IFE to save cost and maybe install a wifi based IFE where we can stream content on our portable devices.

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FY been adding more perks such as light pastry meals onboard but it has failed to attract enough passengers as most have preferred to go on OD and OD themselves have trouble keeping profitable flights even with that much load onboard.

 

Anyhow just flew on the MAX to Singapore. Saw a few business class passengers getting upset on the class change. Seats were actually comfortable than MAS 738 but color and materials were too LCCish, still no where near Malindo B738/739 seat pitch and comfort. Hopefully the next aircrafts will have proper cabins fitted they can omit out the IFE to save cost and maybe install a wifi based IFE where we can stream content on our portable devices.

The crew to SG yesterday were telling that the MAX is causing a lot of discontent on the SG route due to the lack of J cabin and the more LCC feel in Y. They said that several Datuk's had got very upset that they were downgraded without prior notice which is something I can relate to.

 

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Boeing anticipates Q3 return of 737 Max

Boeing believes it will resume 737 Max deliveries in the third quarter of 2020, with chief executive David Calhoun saying the company is progressing well through certification work despite challenges posed by coronavirus.

“We currently expect the necessary regulatory approval to allow Max deliveries in the third quarter,” Calhoun says on 29 April. “We are very confident that the process will conclude with the… certification.”

More: https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/boeing-anticipates-q3-return-of-737-max/138147.article

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Boeing set for critical 737 Max flight tests

Boeing's bid to see its 737 Max return to the skies faces a pivotal week with flight safety tests expected to begin.

Pilots and technical experts from regulators and the company are understood to be planning three days of tests, possibly starting on Monday.

Boeing's best-selling aircraft was grounded last year after two crashes killed all 346 people on the flights.

The tests are a milestone for Boeing, but even if they go well, months of further safety checks will be needed.

Aviation regulators grounded the 737 Max about 15 months ago following two crashes - a Lion Air flight and an Ethiopian Airlines flight - within five months of each other.

See: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53212274#

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