Flight Review-Thai Lion Air KUL-DMK

I was so delighted to know that the Thai subsidiary of Lior Air Group, Thai Lion Air has launched its daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok-DMK  (Don Mueang airport) in December 2013, as part of its preliminary international destination in addition to Jakarta, Indonesia. Domestically, they have introduced daily flight to Chieng Mai  from their base in DMK as well.

One pet peeve that i have when it comes to LCC is that, it must be cheap (or relatively cheaper) than a full service carrier which i honestly feel AirAsia failed miserably on this element as their fares are ridiculously high all the time-as far as my experience can tell. That's the reason why i always avoid them at all cost. However, im glad to state that Thai Lion Air delivers it promise "to offer the lowest fares around" as ive got myself a one-way ticket from KUL to DMK at a steal for roughly RM 117 and this fare include free baggage allowance of 15 kg. So if we were to make some comparison with AirAsia, these are the plus points of flying Thai Lion Air:

i) Cheaper fare

ii) Free baggage allowance of 15 kg

iii) fying out of KLIA instead of the current factory like LCCT

iv) arriving at city-centre airport of Don Mueng in Bangkok

Currently they are only offering once daily flight with the outbound from KUL at 7.55 am and outbound from DMK at 11.55pm. The outbound from KUL is convenient for me however the outbound from DMK may cause hassle as you'll arrive pass midnite at KLIA with the possibility of having no transportation to your home.

The factory fresh Boeing 737-900ER at its gate

boarding commences

airborne

many mainland chinese tourist on this plane and i was surrounded by them in my original seat, thus i moved behind

safety instruction

they offer buy on bought menu

on finals to DMK

landed

empty terminal, this airport is only partly used currently, but there are plans for its full utilization to complement Suvarnabhumi

our plane after disembarkation

overall it was a pleasant flight with Thai Lion Air and i wont hesitate to fly them again, the fares are cheap, cabin crews are friendly and landing at DMK, eventhough not as flashy as Suvarnabhumi proves to be convenient as it has simple layout whereby you can easily be out to the landside within 10 minutes from disembarking, due to low traffic here.

Cheers and happy new year 2014.

Flight Review- "Selamta"-Ethiopian Airlines

"Selamta" means "Welcome" in Amharic language, the language of Ethiopian people. It is also the name given to the inflight magazine of Ethiopian Airlines, another new comer to Malaysian flight scene, giving us more varieties and choices of flights. This review covers the 5th freedom's right sector of this airline from KUL-BKK-KUL

KUL-BKK

The departure time of 11.25pm might not be the best compared to other airline flying on this route. You will arrive in Bangkok well passed midnight, thus reducing your choice of transport to the city.

The plane designated was a Boeing 767-300ER registered ET-AME and surprisingly it was in plain white livery-without any insignia of related to any airline-let alone Ethiopian. Pax from KUL was very minimal-it couldnt even reached 100...maybe more will be joining later from BKK.

 

 I was warmly greeted at the entrance by the purser-wearing traditional Ethiopian dress. The plane interior was really dated and gloomy and in dire need of refurbishment. Each seat had been provided with pillow, blanket, headset and amenity kit.

 Took off was on time-something which is very commendable. Cabin crew started to deliver inflight service about 30 minutes after airborne and the choices for that night were fish or chicken-i opted for the former.

 Coffee and tea were offered later. In all it was a satisfying meal-can be said as elaborate as well for supper. Having a very chatty seat neighbour means i didnt have to bother about not having modern IFE in this plane. The 1 hour 45 minutes flight ended quickly when you were drowned into interesting conversations.

I bade farewell to my German seat neighbour who was continuing to ADD and followed passenger terminating in BKK out of the plane, with smiles and bye-byes by the cabin crews along the way.

BKK-KUL

Departure time for this flight was 2.35pm and making it a very suitable departure time with estimated arrival around 6 pm in KUL. Having arrived at the gate-my heart sank as i saw the glimpse of an all white airplane taxying into the gates area. However I was delighted as it finally stopped at the other gate-making the "albino" plane Hong Kong bound. Few minutes interval, came the plane that will take me home to KUL which was ET-AQC-in full Ethiopian livery.

 Once again was warmly greeted with "Selamta" by the purser and guided to my seat. The seats look better in dark blue covers however it was obvious that no cleaning services were done while this plane is in transit as you could see many things like pillows, blankets, safty card scatterred on the floor. The KUL bound passengers were not allowed to leave the plane. The load was moderate at roughly 70% full in economy.

 no cleaning service done

 To describe the cabin crews-they were not overly friendly but very professional. They ensure each and everyone fastened their seatbelts and put their seats and arm rest in proper positions, and they went through the aisle few times in doing this.You could also hear many words of "please(s)"/"excuse(s)"/"sir(s)/"madam(s) being uttered by the cabin crews to the passengers-reflecting their standard of professionalism. Even when serving the meal, they will properly place the tray on your table-not just simply pass it over your neighbour's head.

One minor incident with this flight was the pilot encountered an electrical problem just after push back and the plane had to be taken to a remote stand for further checking. However this only lasted for around 10 minutes and we made up time on air to even arrived in KUL 10 minutes earlier than ETA.

 The Boeing 767-300ER was a magnificent climber as it blasted from BKK, my first time on this type and i was impressed with sense of power of this aircraft. I specially requested a seafood meal for this flight and was surprised that it was prepared separately notwithstanding the normal choice consisted of fish. I was thankful that i did request for special meal as it was one of the best Thai prawn curry ive ever had.

worn out cushion

Conclusion, this airline is a level player in terms of service. However the aircrafts used in this sector were in need of refurbishment and maybe in the process of being phased out as the airline starts to receive more of the Dreamliners. This airline as well was the cheapest option during my travel period-even cheaper than the so called "world's best low cost airline" and it provides you all inclusive frills for that. I do hope that Ethiopian will fly this route more often in the future and will stay as one of the airline servicing this route and KLIA, benefitting the travelers and to provide healthy competition to other airlines to up their game accordingly.

Likes: reasonable fare, on time performance, catering and amenities, in flight services

X-like: aging aircraft, late departure to BKK

Kay-2013

Garuda Rising-Experiencing The New Garuda Indonesia

"Nature's Wings"........the new brand image introduced to represent the national carrier of Indonesia and to bring it to a new level of airline status with the promise of "Garuda Experience" in every flight.........

Under the new leadership of Mr. Emirsyah Satar, this once regarded an underdog of the airline industry, has started to be taken seriously by the consumers at large as well as other field players with their revitalized image and their determination to achieve a 5 star status. As ive been silently but attentively observing their progress, the time finally came to experience the Garuda Indonesia Experience...........

i) GA 819-KUL-CGK

GA's narrowbody fleet had undergone extensive upgrading whereby the stronghold of its fleet, with 46 aircraft of them being the Boeing 737-800, or as they proudly lauded throughout their commercials across Jakarta and on the local TV stations as " New Generations Boeings". These fleet of aircraft not only worn the new corporate livery with proud display of "Nature's Wings" on its tails and winglets, they are also equipped with state of the art AVOD and new cabin interior and seating. Together with the new branding of the airline, the cabin crew had been provided with new uniforms with the stewardess being properly clad in kebaya, reflecting Indonesian culture in exchange to the previous western uniform.

Being the second day of Aidilfitri, the load for this flight was obviously very low. I was expecting the "salam Garuda-similar to Siamese Wai" upon entering the aircraft but none of that was displayed by the cabin crew, but i did received casual welcomes of "Selamat Siang" and smiles along the way to my seat. The crews looked lovely in their kebayas, but surely the same is not at par with MH's or SQ's kebayas, aesthetic wise.

 

I was warmly welcomed at my seat with offering of pre-departure drink and a nice fluffy turqoise coloured pillow. The legroom is similar to that of Malaysia Airlines but surely the ambiance looked more modern and smart.

The 737 rocketed out of KLIA smoothly and soon the IFE system was fired up.

my selections of entertainment for the 1.3 hours flight.........

continue with breakfast. Two choices were offered, omelet or Roti Jala, i chose the former.

the omelet was soggy and tasted quite bland. The coffee and the yogurt were the best part of the breakfast. Trays were collected promptly by the cabin crews and coffee and teas were offered for second helpings.

inseat offerings, safety card, inflight magazine, entertainment guide.

we finally landed at Soekarno Hatta Airport after an hour and 30 minutes flight. The plane was parked at a remote parking.

Business Class

From this first flight it can be said that i was quite impressed with GA moreover with its hardware and the frills offered which some are not even offered in MH's flight of the same duration or destination. However, concern on safety must be emphasized as the total rebranding campaign will never succeed if GA is still being haunted by its image as an unsafe airline. One incident which raised an alarm was the way safety briefing on the use of emergency exits to the passengers seated therein was conducted. In this flight, the stewardess carried out her briefing solely in Bahasa Indonesia when obviously one of the passenger was a caucasian man. At least some verification of this man understanding of the safety procedure and the use of the emergency exits should have been done by the stewardess but none was carried out and i can safely say so as i was seated one row infront of the emergency exit and could hear her briefing and interaction with those passengers (if any) very well.

Rating:
i) Aircraft: 8/10
ii) Cabin Crew: 6/10
iii)Catering: 6/10

ii) GA 818 CGK-KUL

The tail of GA's 747 being obscured through the glass of Starbucks Terminal 2, Soekarno Hatta airport...........

Our departure time of 17:00 never materialized. Instead we were informed that the flight would be delayed about 1 hour with new departure time of 18:45. Luckily in this situation, GA pacified the passengers (angry ones!) with complimentary snack box. I recalled of being left stranded in KLIA departure lounge without even a cup of water offered when my MH's flight to CGK was delayed for more than one hour previously, thus GA get a plus point here.

No "Salam Garuda" this time as well and even the cabin crew looked unprepared to welcome the passengers as they were busy stowing things and preparing the cabin with the purser holding a paper (departure checklist maybe) at the entrance while manning the same. No attention to details here and they just simply looked chaotic. As i went further to my seat at the 2nd last row of the plane the crews quickly rushed to their position and welcoming passengers with "Selamat Malam" and casual smiles-yet reserved.Pre-departure drinks were promptly offered and i chose apple.

The delayed passengers rushing to their seats......

After a long que at the tarmac, the throttle was pushed for a powerful take-off out of CGK, and right behind us was a KLM 777-200 heading for the same destination.Tonight's dinner menu consisted of black pepper chicken with potato or black pepper beef with rice. I opted for the former.

Taste wise the meal was okay, but the portion would have been larger. One thing i noticed about the cabin crews are their reserved attitude and unpolished service rendition as you could not detect any standard greetings such as "enjoy your meal" after they passed you the meal tray or even thank yous seemed to fell on deaf ears with no reply of "you're welcome" instead just a faint smile. Not that im saying that they were rude, but the right word to portray GA's crews on the flights ive taken are friendly but reserved.

Another note to state is that i noticed the crews sometimes occupied the empty passenger seats at the back even in-flight. Not sure of their purpose but i had never seen the same action being done in any of MH's flights as the crews would always retreated to the galleys after finishing their service. Then again, their pre-departure walk around looks more like walking from end to end without real concerned of whether each and every passenger had buckle-up nor seat is in upright position as the lady's seat infront of me was obviously not in an upright position.

Their lacking in their laid-back attitude was compensated with their humble demure though as i noticed the crews had no hesitation and looked accommodating to help their fellow nationals filled up the immigration forms.

I really applaud GA's ambition and determination to bring their game to a new level but believe there are more to be done, especially service wise and cabin crew training to place them at par with other rivals especially MH, SQ and TG. They are on the right track with the corporate rebranding and modernization of aircraft but some push on the human development and better training will make this airline a force to be reckoned with.

On a side note, i finally got the Salam Garuda as i leave the aircraft, but it was more of a "good-bye" rather than "welcome"............ 

 

Rating:
i) Aircraft: 8/10
ii) Cabin Crew: 6/10
iii)Catering: 7/10