By Anthony Dylan Anak Frankie Jurem
Flying as much as I could had always been my dream to do. By saying so, I do not mean piloting a plane. I’d rather be the passenger.
I have always been fascinated about taking an aircraft to a new destination for as long as I can remember. But flying is a luxury. We were not privileged like some.
My late father was in the civil service within the Royal Customs and Excise department. He had to fly rather often for meetings in Kuala Lumpur when we were in Sarawak. Within Sarawak, at times he would also take flights with the Fokker turboprops.
When we had to follow the government transfers, we would then experience flying in an aircraft. Normally in the Fokker turboprops and with Boeing jet planes to Johor Bahru.
Going on holidays would be something rare. To be honest, our first family holiday requiring a flight was to Kuala Lumpur with a return stop via Singapore. That was the only one I could remember us having together.
That route took us to Genting Highlands when the mist was a normal occurrence and to Singapore when Orchard Road, Sentosa Island, Mandai Zoo, Jurong bird park and Haw Par Villa were famous.
In my early years of college and eventually work in Subang Jaya after university; flights were always via the red eye or last flights home to Kuching. The Subang airport was like a twice-yearly event. This went on until everything shifted to Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang. This airport was much further but devoid of heavy traffic in 1998.
My first international flight above 3 hours was to Perth, Australia for Curtin University back in the 1995 for the final year of the twinning program. It was a B737. The flight was for 5 hours approximately.
Malaysia Airlines had always been my favourite then. But when AirAsia came in with a ground breaking proposal for low fares, it made flying cheaper.
To be fair, AirAsia allowed me to start flying more often. Other than flights back to Kuching; I had the opportunity to travel to ASEAN countries. I made it to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Angkor Wat; Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Vientiane, Laos; Bandung, Indonesia; Taipei and Kaoshiung Taiwan; Gold Coast, Australia and Bangkok and Chiangmai, Thailand. I also had the opportunity to fly Cebu Pacific to Manila, Philippines.
These flights were based at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal Sepang. That terminal was legendary for being like a huge Pudu bus station. The whole hangar like atmosphere and the long walks to the aircraft were unforgettable especially when it rained. Umbrellas were passed around.
One of the flights I took shook me after an event. I went to Beijing in 2007 for a seminar on Malaysia Airlines’ MH370 in the late night. That flight disappeared on 8th March 2014.
I also had the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minnesota and Miami in the USA for work and seminars. The same with Sydney and Melbourne. Later on, tours became something I could go to after saving up.
That brought us to Capetown and Johannesburg, South Africa; Dubai, UAE and to Spain with a stop in Portugal. Recently, I had the opportunity to head to China again with Qingdao, Shanghai, Chongqing becoming the destination targets.
I have been on South African airlines which was added to the list of carriers other than Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia X and AirAsia. Batik Air, JAL, ANA, Scoot, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Firefly, Qatar, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Dragon Air, Northwest and Continental. A few of them have ceased operations.
Airline food is not too bad actually but you cannot compare them with what you get on the ground. All hot food is reheated in an oven. Nowadays, the cutlery does not come in metal but in recyclable wood.
AirAsia since the start would never provide free food. Batik Air has just followed the same for their air service. In my opinion at one time AirAsia’s purchased Nasi Lemak Pak Nasser and Uncle Chin’s Chicken Rice could not be faulted. Batik Air is still a notch below with their offerings. Malaysia Airlines used to be the worst in food service for domestic flights of over 1 hour and 30mins.
However, recently, after I have found out that Malaysia Airlines can be quite attractive with free baggage allowance of up to 35kg for domestic and free food service and seat selection if you choose the Flex option instead of the basic. I compared the same against AirAsia and Batik and the prices can really be close. I opt to use Malaysia Airlines if the gap is close. At least delays are lesser.
The food service has improved a lot. You do not have 2 options anymore but 3 instead! Nearly always the protein would be chicken, beef or seafood. You can also request for vegetarian options or dietary options when you purchase your ticket. The food would come with a bottle of water too and not that flimsy peel-able top.
Recently, I opted for something I never would have tried as satay was reserved for the first or business class. I was in economy and satay with rice was an option. The verdict is that the food had really improved since they changed the catering service. I have flown with Malaysia Airlines to Kuching 3 times in a short space of 4 months. The last two were with the new service.
My only grouse now is that KLIA one has far too few way-finding signs to the e-hailing which is on L1 together with the tourist coaches and shuttle to KLIA2 / Mitsui Outlet Park. You can’t see any until you are nearer the glass elevators.
Lastly, my statement on the new alternate home for AirAsia, Batik, Transnusa, SKS and Scoot since they opened for passenger jets from 1 August 2014 would be as follows.
Good luck to those who think the traffic to and from that Airport is easy. Even without the new flights, the traffic is a nightmare. So near yet so far is never further from the truth. For those with e-hailing, do make sure your customers booked the right airport!
Let us give a clapping hand to the Minister for making this happen. Yes, I was being sarcastic.
#malaysiaairlines #visitsarawak #visitkuching
