So, it was Chinese New Years on the 8th of Feb 2016. We were originally planning to fly back to Kota Kinabalu - where Ruby is from - to visit family or 回娘家 :).
Much to our surprise, a quick look on skyscanner found that it would cost us A$845 for the both of us to fly back on Malindo Air. Honestly, prior to skyscanner, I didn't even know such an airline existed. It was a 2 legged trip where we had to stay over in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), but even then, adding in our 8 hour hotel sleep over at Sama Sama Express, our total cost was still under A$1000. Of course, the other thing that was an added bonus was that we got 30kg of check-in baggage, in-flight entertainment and in-flight meals! Really good deal if you ask us.
Anyhow, we decided to leave a review on our blog for those who are skeptical about flying Malindo Air.
Leg Room
I'm 185cm tall and thus far, flying by Jetstar and Tiger have been a challenge for me in the normal seats. Ruby's 160cm and she thinks that's the "ideal" height for taking budget flights. So those of us who are vertically challenged, there's more than enough leg room here.
Space Rating: 5/5
In-Flight Entertainment
When I first read that there was going to be in-flight entertainment, I thought it was going to be on one of those first generation 5-inch LCD screens with crap resolution for a display. However, as you can see from my above shot, I was proven wrong. The screen was easily larger that Ruby's iPad Mini. Resolution was crystal clear. There was a good selection of Hollywood Movies, Mandarin Movies, Bollywood Movies, Tamil Movies just to cater to their wide range of passengers. If anything, my only complaint is that movies are a little slow to update. However, I don't think its bad enough to not fly Malindo Air.
In-Flight Entertainment Rating: 4/5
In-flight Meals
The in-flight meal for us was kind of a let down. On our Perth to Kuala Lumpur leg, we were presented with 3 choices of meals - Spaghetti Carbonara, Chicken Biryani and there was also choice of a vegetarian option. Ruby had the Chicken Biryani and I had the Spaghetti Carbonara. Together with the main meal, we were also given a bottle of water and a packet of cream crackers. Let's put it this way, compared to the food that you have to pay for on a budget flight, this was on par. We gotta remember that this was a low cost carrier after all. Oh, and I forgot, after meal service, the flight crew came round a second time with drink service. There was coffee, tea, and a selection of soft drinks too. Water was available throughout the flight so there's no need to fear dehydration.
The Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu leg however left us rather disappointed. Getting up at 5am to make a 7:35am flight, we didn't have much time or choice at KLIA2 for breakfast. Thinking we'd be fed similar fare on the flight, we didn't get anything to eat. However, once at cruising altitude, the stewardesses came down the aisles and started handing out packs of cake and water, which supposedly was our breakfast. While it didn't taste bad, it did leave us hungry for the remaining 2 hours of our flight.
Food Rating: 3/5
Final Thoughts
Well then, we've pretty much covered all bases here and we thought that based on value for money and comfort, Malindo Air has ticked all the boxes for us. Perhaps one other thing to note was that the plane only had 2 lavatories for the economy passengers and there would sometimes be a queue for the toilets. We did leave some feedback for them regarding the food, but like we said, its not all that bad. Just remember to keep your expectations in check. We'll eventually leave a review for our short stay at Sama Sama Express as well so for those of you looking to fly out of Perth to Asia at low prices, Malindo Air is definitely a carrier you can all consider.
Overall Rating: 4/5
