How to lose a frequent flyer.........

[takenbyaliens]

Finally after 19 yrs flying with MH ( Enrich in the first batch in 2002, Gold since forever ) I am saying goodbye to them.

I first flew with them in 98 on the inaugural 777 flight out of BNE. We used to have 2 flights a day out of BNE even!! Then one. Then triangulated with AKL and then SYD on 747s. Then back to a flight a day from BNE in the smarties 330s until they finally got semi lay flats. But now...chopped. I used to fly with them every year to South Africa...chopped. I used to fly every year LAX>TPE>KUL....chopped. I used to fly to Paris, Rome, Istanbul with them........ I used to fly 2-3 times a year to PEK...but now have to go via SYD if I want to do this. Issue here is that MH ex PEK runs late about 70% of the time...so late that the plane hasn't even landed before the KUL>SYD one has gone. Try to change that and you have to pay change fees even though they acknowledge the issue!!

I am still carrying my Gold until next year and 116000+miles to spend. The winner here has been QF ( went gold, almost Platinum, in 3 months ) and even CZ ( Elite in one huge trip of 40000Klms ).

It's a gutted airline now and spiralling downhill. God knows who will fill the vast caverns of the KL airport halls!!

 

[moa999]

Sadly cruelled by bad luck, bad management and the ever growing Air Asia and Air Asia X

 

[takenbyaliens]

True, true...and I'll never fly with either!

 

[takenbyaliens]

I just looked...I had 241 flights with them...all in Business so you can do the math as to how much I spent with them over the years.

 

[moffat39]

I felt sad in reading these posts as I have good memories flying MH. My first trip to Asia with a young family was in 1998 when we flew from Brisbane in Y. From memory was on a 777. We flew into the old airport and the trip home was from KLIA on the second day it opened. Staff and service were great.

Next trip was in 2005 again on the 777 and service and staff were just as good. Then in 2007 wife and I had our first J redemption trip when we went to Vietnam on MH. This time the plane was a 747 that originated in Sydney and even though the plane was old still had the wow factor. We were seated on the upper deck and found it hard to sleep with all the excitement of first trip in J.

More J redemption trips in 2009, 2013 and last trip was a J redemption in June 2016 (which was booked in 2015) when we were on the new 330 to Sydney. All great trips but no longer will book J redemptions with MH after the changes. Have now discovered SQ which have far better value J redemptions and they have 4 flights a day from Brisbane. Why would I go back even if MH started flying to Brisbane again?

 

[takenbyaliens]

You must have been on the same flight as me in 98. Small world. Sad memories

 

[takenbyaliens]

Somehow they need to try to get us back. Schedule changes with better flow through s not midnight flights only. Also why they never had things like lifetime gold etc. I have been Gold for 15 yrs, many years flying more than the now 100000 platinum threshold. No recognition of that at all.

 

[moffat39]

You must have been on the same flight as me in 98. Small world. Sad memories

Did your luggage arrive with you from KLIA to BNE? Our luggage took about 4 days to arrive. At the time we were living in Monto and we had 2 nights on the Sunshine Coast and then went to Bundaberg for a few nights when our luggage finally arrived with London tags!

Our kids were 9,7 and 4 at the time and remember going to David Jones and other stores at Toombul to buy what we needed for a few days. From memory a cheque arrived from MH a few weeks later for around $800 in compensation. It was all a big adventure at the time.

I recall that it was chaotic at KLIA on the second day of opening and we had a last minute gate change.

 

[justinbrett]

I had my first flight with them (MH122 SYD-KUL).

Not the worst airline I’ve flown on, but probably in the lower third.

It was a mixed bag, some aspects were good - I found the service almost non existent (they were obliging once you asked them, but you pretty much had to make a trip to the rear galley to get anything).

Old aircraft, seats on par with QF Domestic.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to fly with them again.

 

[michjfro]

I had some terrible experiences with cancelled flights which mean that I dont fly them. But I remember being quite alarmed at the poor crew attitude to safety matters (no briefings at exit aisles, allowing people to walk around during the taxi - not just after leaving the gate but turning onto the runway) etc etc. If they dont follow these procedures, or even worse, havent been taught these procedures, then what are the really flight critical crew doing? Its a safety issue for me now...