Rumour: MH to Cut Inflight Meals Beginning 1 October 2007

[Nuriman Ahmad 2]

Was on a flight from KUL to MYY few days ago, and was heavily dissapointed that we were only served these lunch boxes, heck, few of my colleagues even thought they were some sort of festivities gift due to CNY, he he..hoping we would actually get the real meal later in the flight..

 

For a 2hr 15min journey, the meal session is what i tend to look forward to..i don't mind the ageing 734 and i do (as always) appreciate the friendliness of the flight crews..but still i guess..it was the first time ever (believe it or not..) that i've ever been dissapointed coming out an MH flight..perhaps its gonna be the 1st of many..

 

Again, may i ask...does anyone know whether the snack box concept is gonna be permanent?..I can only plea and hope (big time) that they don't..

 

 

[Mushrif A 3]

Was on a flight from KUL to MYY few days ago, and was heavily dissapointed that we were only served these lunch boxes, heck, few of my colleagues even thought they were some sort of festivities gift due to CNY, he he..hoping we would actually get the real meal later in the flight..

 

For a 2hr 15min journey, the meal session is what i tend to look forward to..i don't mind the ageing 734 and i do (as always) appreciate the friendliness of the flight crews..but still i guess..it was the first time ever (believe it or not..) that i've ever been dissapointed coming out an MH flight..perhaps its gonna be the 1st of many..

 

Again, may i ask...does anyone know whether the snack box concept is gonna be permanent?..I can only plea and hope (big time) that they don't..

 

I guess you're another disappointed customer, betrayed and misled by MH's so-called 5-star service.

 

Expect it to be permanent as long as those extra few millions saved help the mngt achieve their individual KPIs. (Most likely they won't be around anyway by the time you & your colleagues religiously avoid MH for the poor value-for-money (dis)service)

 

May I suggest for your next flight(s), try AK with express boarding and enjoy a choice of a hot meal for less than RM10 each onboard new-ish A320s for a real Malaysian Hospitality onboard. And 9 out of 10 times, you will probably pay a much lower all-inclusive ticket cost on AK than on MH. And you won't feel cheated as AK does not pretend to be what they are not.

 

So you'll get your hot meals, choice of seats and extra money left for a Cefiro taxi ride to/from LCCT or better accommodation at your destination.

 

And you said the disappointment is "gonna be the 1st of many." Well, try and be proactive to make that the "1st and the last". Try AK for now.

 

Edited February 22, 2008 by Mushrif A

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Again, may i ask...does anyone know whether the snack box concept is gonna be permanent?..I can only plea and hope (big time) that they don't..

Aha Nuriman, if only you performed the trip to MYY way earlier, you may join us in the MH bashing thread and also being part of the fellowship labelled by Naim and Nik H as "Friends of MAS" hahaha... Nothing beats the dissappointment for experiencing the snacbox on your own (rather than hearing it from someone else), am I right?

 

If you refer to my reply in this thread (post #78), you'll see that I have received the snackbox in 5 consecutive sectors I flew with MH. These 5 flights are the most current one. So, based on the trend, I think the snacbox is going to stay.

 

Also, if you have the time to go through the pdf version of the 50 pages BTP2 document (there's a thread discussing about the content of it in MW), in page 19 of the said document, MH is explaining about the concept of a Five Star Value Carrier (FSVC) - Providing 5 Star Service While Maintaining Low Cost by exhibiting several examples. Example 2 in page 20 is explaining why these snackboxes can help MH in becoming the FSVC it wanted to be.

 

 

So, definitely the snackbox is going to stay. I think we'll have to wait until a new 'revolution' happens to MH probably in 10-20 years from now to see changes in regard to this aspect.

 

I agree with Mushrif. I think if you don't like the snackbox, you should bring your business elsewhere. I have been transferring my KUL-CGK sectors to EK. But I still need to fly MH for my numerous KCH-KUL sectors because I am still not ready for AK.

[Mushrif A 3]

Btw, Azizul, isn't EK terminating its KUL-CGK leg from the new northern summer schedules? (I've tried KLM's offering on the same route, and KLM's meal offering is surprising better than MH's 96% approved mealboxes on the same route in Y.) It hasn't got to the stage where I had to resort to AK for CGK runs...there's still SQ and KLM direct. Not sure about GA though. AK, so far, is used for domestic runs.

 

Anyway, Nuriman, Azizul...be good to yourselves, try AK as an alternative, but with added frills. As AK does not attempt to be what it's not, the experience may actually go beyond expectations. You may just find that, with nasi lemak, roti canai etc, it may just be a great way to fly, providing onboard service that other LCCs talk about.

 

Separately and on a more serious note, I do wonder if perhaps in addition to the "free" give-away much dreaded snackboxes which MH's management is adamant to retain, would it be viable for MH to introduce a purchase menu for so-called premium hot meal items like nasi lemak, mee goreng, nasi goreng with satay, teh tarik (now available only in biz or F) & the like.

 

Items would be limited and of course, one has to purchase these hot meal items in Y. I suspect that any future short haul and new regional-route aircraft will have a smaller galley with less oven space, and more seats (MH:"we'll pack them all in like sardines"). Does anyone here think there will be some success in this purchase-to-eat-hot-meals initiative?

 

[V Wong 0]

 

I nearly choked on a piece of snek looking at the linear relationship between cost vs customer satisfaction. Was there a previous survey performed when hot meals were served? You need 2 points to connect a line! If this is not manipulated, engineered statistic, I don't know what it is! Laugh or cry??....

Edited February 22, 2008 by V Wong

[Izanee 0]

hahahaha...everyone is welcome to join the 'Friends of MAS fellowship'! We are all here for the 'greater good'. I suspect that GA will have some good food onboard - they serve nasi goreng in their snek boks. And Azizul is right - it will be another ten years before the next revolution. It will still be behind SIA by a decade...

[Keno Omar 0]

I nearly choked on a piece of snek looking at the linear relationship between cost vs customer satisfaction. Was there a previous survey performed when hot meals were served? You need 2 points to connect a line! If this is not manipulated, engineered statistic

That's why they have those watercolour canvas and hot girls on the document to make the data believable

Edited February 22, 2008 by Keno Omar

[Mushrif A 3]

That's why they have those watercolour canvas and hot girls on the document to make the data believable

 

 

And we all know MH has relatively old planes...and MH seems to be emphasizing on this - did anyone else notice the couple of A300B4s on page 17?

[Izanee 0]

hahah wong...i like that ' choked on a piece of snek'

[BC Tam 2]

I nearly choked on a piece of snek looking at the linear relationship between cost vs customer satisfaction. Was there a previous survey performed when hot meals were served? You need 2 points to connect a line! If this is not manipulated, engineered statistic, I don't know what it is! Laugh or cry??....

Darn it Wong, you nearly made me spill my beer reading that !!

[Rozhan 0]

OT, but I was at MAS' prestigious MAS Travel Fair at KL Convention Centre yesterday, a chance where MAS could connect with its 'guests'. However MAS chose not to showcase 'live' its Light Meal Box a.k.a snekbok. Why? Are they ashamed to show what 91% of its 'guests' find acceptable, 5% complimented and 3% did not like? Afraid prospective guests will run away to other airlines? MAS could have showcased its inflight products to the max, but NO.

 

Temptations had a booth selling very limited items, MASKargo was busy selling its '6-star Animal Hotel' (wah, extra one star than the parent company, but for animals only lah!), Firefly had a relatively big ticket counter with few people milling about, and MASWings was dishing out bookmarks and postcards in two designs. Ticket purchase for MASWings was through the web, so no need to come all the way just for this.

 

Hard copies of the BTP2 were available /given away at the MAS hospitality area. Same as the softcopy one, but convinient for, as Dr Izanee rightly said, 'toilet reading'.

 

The first MAS Travel Fair 2005 at The Mines' was much better, complete with the then 'new' business class seat for people to try out. A true showcase of everthing MAS had to offer. Oh by the way, one old promotional Lat luggage tag yang tak laku tu was given away to each visitor paying the RM2 entry fee.

 

A missed opportunity. I guess MAS has nothing new to show and entice people to fly them, and can only hope for patriotic feelings amongst people to fly MH.

 

Better get deals at MATTA Fair later in March . Save your cash and time for superior products and services on AK, SQ, TG, EK etc. MAS Fair is not so much about connecting with its valued customers, but more for MAS to connect with travel agents!

Edited February 22, 2008 by Rozhan

[V Wong 0]

Any Form 1 student will be able to extrapolate from the graph and tell you that, you need to spend RM0 to achieve full customer satisfaction! And spend a lot of money to get 0 satisfaction.

 

Simply beyond expectation.

[KK Lee 5]

Was there a previous survey performed when hot meals were served?

 

The hot meal ‘survey’ was done on ‘lamb briyani’ on China route.

 

The survey was not ‘wrong’ but fixed. Quite typical for Malaysia statistics; that’s why always believe what they claim with a pinch of salt.

 

 

 

 

[Guest Michael]

There is no need to try and knock the snack box when it is doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

[Imran K. 0]

There is no need to try and knock the snack box when it is doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

 

aaaand the commando has returned.

 

Do you have any facts and figures proving that the snack box is actually LURING guests back to fly? Oh btw...you dont count as 'proof'.

[T Azahan 1]

There is no need to try and knock the snack box when it is doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

 

huh?????

 

[Ewan Shamsudin 0]

There is no need to try and knock the snack box when it is doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

Excuse me?

 

 

 

[Mushrif A 3]

There is no need to try and knock the snack box when it is doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

 

Please back up your assertion - it's currently an empty vessel.

 

I've yet to find somebody here honestly stating that s/he prefers the snackbox to the hot meal and have abandoned AK/SQ/TG/CX/EK/whatever for MH because of MH's snackbox.

 

[BC Tam 2]

..... doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

Lurring (sic) guests back from where ? The implication there is that said guests had abandoned flying prior, with MH perhaps ? For what reason ?

[S V Choong 4]

Please back up your assertion - it's currently an empty vessel.

 

I've yet to find somebody here honestly stating that s/he prefers the snackbox to the hot meal and have abandoned AK/SQ/TG/CX/EK/whatever for MH because of MH's snackbox.

 

Lets just say that Michael is one staunch supporter of MH.

 

Fortunately, I have yet to have the honour to try out the Snackbox. Thanks and no thanks

Edited February 24, 2008 by S V Choong

[KK Lee 5]

There is no need to try and knock the snack box when it is doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

 

Perhaps you like to enlighten us with more details or data.

 

May be snekbox collectors?

 

Edited February 24, 2008 by KK Lee

[Rozhan 0]

There is no need to try and knock the snack box when it is doing quite a good job of lurring guests back to fly.

 

Really?

 

I must fly MAS again as soon as possible, paying full 'Y' class fare. I relish the thought of eating out of 'The Box'....

[Andrew K 0]

I tried a jewish meal on both my MH flights KUL Kuching return. Both meals were boxed in from brussels. Meals weren't as good as regular MH flights but they sure were better looking than the snackboxes. Watch out if you order it for a flight with breakfast. The pancake was rather gross. Finished half of it before going for the rest.

[Nuriman Ahmad 2]

Lets just say that Michael is one staunch supporter of MH.

 

I consider myself as a staunch supporter of MH...that's y i was gutted at being served those snackboxes...if it was MASWings / FFly / AK..i don't mind a bit..but MH? Come on..as i've always considered MH a premium airline..and wouldn't mind paying extra dosh for it..

 

[Izanee 0]

wow...IJ's sidekick is back!! Michael, do you HONESTLY believe your statement is right? Customers running back to MAS to experience the snek boks?

 

And collecting the snek boks is a waste of time. The box looks really cheap. Of course I must not talk bad about food - lots of people don't have access to food or drink. But paying through your nose for that is something MANY Malaysians find hard to swallow.

 

I can see how MAS has engineered the surveys. 'Lamb briyani' on a China route is hardly going to be a popular dish, isn't it? Then again, I have many chinese friends who love a good briyani!

I suspect a lot of 'adjustments' occur on the final survey results. Need a bit more transparency here before I believe our 'Untouchable' Idris Jala.

 

OT probably but anyone here would like to be a sidekick of Datuk Rashid Khan??

 

And guys...tak payah la add the 'Dr.' bit... Izanee will do me fine!

Edited February 24, 2008 by Izanee