Trip Report: Royal Brunei Airways, Kuala Lumpur to Brunei (September 2019)

Trip Report: Royal Brunei, Kuala Lumpur to Brunei
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I was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Brunei and on this route there are three options - Malaysia, AirAsia, and Royal Brunei Air.  Royal Brunei is an airline I wanted to try, the flight times fit my schedule, and I have flown on Malaysia before (check out the review here), and the AirAsia schedule did not work for me on the outbound (I did use them on the return and you can check out that review here).  It was very easy to book the flight with Royal Brunei through their website, and I wanted to book a tour as well and the customer service - through the website, the phone, and email - were all very helpful and provided great assistance.  Royal Brunei is a full service airline so the ticket includes complimentary checked baggage, at 30kg, and complimentary meal and seat selection.  Most of their planes included PTVs on the seatback, but they also provide an app to download which provides entertainment if the operating aircraft does not have PTVs.  

The flight departs from Kuala Lumpur at 12:10pm and is scheduled to get into Bandar Seri Bagawan at 2:30pm.  Through the app and the website, I could check into my flight, confirm my seat selection, and make any changes to my flight.  I had arrived into Kuala Lumpur earlier that day on Malindo (check out that review here) so I was ready for the check-in desks to open at 9am.  Checkin went smoothly and I proceeded to the gate for my flight.  The incoming flight arrives into Kuala Lumpur at 11:10a and this plane is turn around for the outbound departing at 12:10pm.  The incoming plane landed on time, it was deplaned and we were boarded by groups - the group boarding was strictly enforced.  The operating aircraft was an Airbus A320 with a 2-2 seat layout in business and in a 3-3 seat layout in economy.  The FA's were very helpful and smiling in getting passengers to their seats and assisting them with their hand carry.  Once passengers were seated, the boarding doors were closed, a safety video was shown, and we pushed back and made our to Bandar Seri Bagawan.

The economy section was in a 3-3 seat layout.  The seat itself had a PTV on the back, with a USB and headphone jack, followed by a tray table, and then a seatback pocket with the airline magazine, duty free magazine, and the airline safety card.  The seatpitch was alright, not great but not bad, but there was a metal bar for the tray table that cut the seatpitch and hit at your knees (and it made the seating a bit uncomfortable).  The seat width was decent, comfortable enough, but the seat comfort was lower than I expected.  The PTV had a decent selection of TV shows, movies, and audio but the content is censored - the selection was definitely enough for this flight time but not sure it would be enough for longer flights that Royal Brunei operates, say to London.  The flight time to Bandar Seri Bagawan is 2hr 20min but as soon as we reached cruising altitude the inflight service started.  Complimentary meals plus complimentary drinks are provide along with complimentary tea and coffee, no alcohol and no pork are onboard.  Special meals were first delivered followed by regular meals - the meal portion was decent, similar to a standard airline meal, but the quality was lower than I expected.  I had high expectations from Royal Brunei and while the meal was a standard airline meal, I expected a bit higher quality for quality and flavor (in fact, AirAsia had better quality of food than Royal Brunei!?!).  Once the food was served, tea and coffee were also provided.  After the meal trays had been cleared, there was only about 30-45 minutes for the passengers to spend the time however they wanted before the captain indicated we had started out decent into Brunei.  The cabin was prepared for landing, we landed on time, taxied to the gate, and deplaned into Brunei.

Before my flight, I was very excited to fly with Royal Brunei.  I expected exceptional service and a

high quality product - they did deliver on the exceptional service as the customer service agents really worked with me to help me book what I wanted.  What they fell short on, in my opinion, was the high quality product because the onboard experience was decent and nice but it was not high quality; especially the seat comfort and the meal quality.  Also, the metal bar that was below the tray table that hit right at the knee - especially when someone would recline their seat - was a great inconvenience.  If I was to compare my inbound flight on Royal Brunei (a full service airline) and my outbound flight on AirAsia (a low-cost airline), the seat comfort was the same on both, the meal quality was higher on AirAsia, the service was definitely better on Royal Brunei and the entertainment selection was better on Royal Brunei.   

Trip Report: AirAsia, Brunei to Kuala Lumpur (July 2019)

Trip Report: AirAsia, Brunei to Kuala Lumpur
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I was in Brunei and needed to travel back to Kuala Lumpur.  I had arrived on Royal Brunei (check out that review here) but their flight times for the return did not work with my schedule, and I wanted to try a different airline.  Based on flight times, I decided to go with AirAsia and I wanted to try their product.  I had flown AirAsia back in 2011 on a short flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, but I wanted to experience their service on a longer flight and see if there had been any changes in almost 10 years.  AirAsia is the pioneer of low-cost flying in SouthEast Asia and as a LCC they charge for everything.  They have a variety of options and packages available depending on your preference and price points.  While I had initially wnated to book the flight through an online travel portal, I decided to book directly with AirAsia as I could clearly see what different options were available.  Navigating the AirAsia website was very easy, but 1) you have to sign up for their frequent flyer program in order to complete the booking; there is no other option and 2) it was somewhat difficult to process the payment for the ticket if you are based in the US and the AirAsia assistance was not very helpful (this should have been a clue to how my flight was going to turn out).  

As I said, AirAsia is a LCC which means they charge for everything.  I was traveling with a checked baggage so I searched through the various options that included a checked baggage.  The option I choose was the 'Value Pack' which included 20kg checked baggage, a meal, standard seat selection, and 1hour baggage guarantee.  I appreciated the bundle package, and while it had more items that I really needed, the bundling was a smart idea.  Every ticket comes with 7kg complimentary hand carry, and this is strictly enforced (more on that later).  My flight was scheduled to depart Brunei at 4:30pm and arrive into Kuala Lumpur at 6:50pm with a scheduled flight time of 2hr 20min.  48hours prior to my departure I received a notice that it was time to check into my flight; I was used to 24-hour notices and receiving a notice this early caused me to panic a bit and check to ensure I had booked the correct flight.  While I appreciate checking in so early, I wish AirAsia would advise customers of this as it would save some panic attacks.  Checking in through the app or the website was very easy, and while checking in I could move my seat selection to any standard seat selection in the cabin (they have standard seat selection and 'Big' seat selection with extra legroom).  Even though I had already checked-in and had my boarding pass, I still arrived at the airport 2hours prior to my flight as I had to check my bag and get my documents checked.

The check-in counter was pretty empty when I arrived (I discovered later that it was a pretty empty flight) so checking in was really quick.  Both my checked luggage and my hand carry were weighed, and because of a laptop my hand carry was a bit over the limit by 2kg and this was written on my boarding pass.  I proceeded through security and immigration to my gate, where they were setting up for another checking.  The entrance to the boarding area was sectioned off to check the boarding pass but also to weigh the hand carry.  I understand they are a LCC and they need to be strict about their hand carry weight, but this can be done either in a customer friendly or non-customer friendly, and this day it was handled in a non-customer friendly way.  The airline ground staff were extremely harsh and a bit rude when enforcing the 7kg hand carry limit.  When it came to my turn, I started to tell them that my hand carry had already been weighed when I was interrupted by the agent who said 'everything needs to be reweighed so put it on the scale'.  I put my hand carry on the scale and that is when the other agent noticed the writing on my boarding pass which had stated that I already had my hand carry weighed and after a conversation I was let go.  Again, I understand the strictness but the way it was handled was poor customer service.

As soon as the plane landed from Kuala Lumpur, and the passengers had disembarked, boarding started.  Boarding initially started in groups but then given the light load and the lack of lines that quickly turned into everyone boarding at the same time.  On board the Airbus A320, it was a 3-3 seat layout.  The standard seats were in black while the 'Big' seats had a red cover on them.  The seat itself was alright but a bit uncomfortable and the legroom was not tight but definitely not roomy either.  In my opinion, the seat would be comfortable for a 1-2 hour flight but anything over that would be very uncomfortable.  As a LCC, the seat is very basic with a tray table in the middle and a seatback pocket which contained the airline magazine, the menu, and the Duty Free magazine.  Once boarding was completed, given the light load passengers were free to move to another seat as long as it was another standard seat (ie you could not move from a standard seat to a 'Big' seat, and this was being enforced throughout the flight).  Manual safety demonstrations were conducted, we pushed back and headed off for Kuala Lumpur on time.  The aircraft itself looked middle aged, it definitely was not a new plane but was not an old plane either; and same for the cleanliness as it was not too clean but was not too dirty either.  

Even after we had reached cruising altitude, it took the crew a while to start the inflight service; maybe it was due to the light load but usually LCC's are quick to start the service as it is a revenue generator.  The first pass was those who had preordered meals or who had meals booked with their ticket and the second pass was for those to purchase any items; then a third pass was made with a duty free cart.   I have been on a couple of LCC's and some of them sell the product hard but the crew on this flight did not seem bothered; again, the lack of customer friendliness that was evident from the ground staff was also evident in the air.  The 'Value Pack' that I had booked with my ticket came with a meal and I could choose from a variety of options that were able to be prebooked.  I had booked the vegetarian option, and this came with a bottle of water.  The food was delivered with just the food, utensils, and a bottle of water - there was no presentation or effort put in at all.  The food itself was actually very good and very flavorful, and I was very surprised as I had very low expectations of the quality of the food.  The remaining time passengers could pass the flight how they choose; to sleep, read, or do as they choose.  AirAsia does offer wifi on board and does offer some complimentary entertainment when connected to the wifi, but the entertainment selection consisted of Malaysian television movies and tv shows (so not great for international audiences).  It was a very uneventful flight and the only entertainment provided was by the captain who made various announcements throughout the flight and he seemed to take pride in his job (the only one who seemed to do so).

We started our descent into Kuala Lumpur and landed on time, proceeded to the gate, and disembarked through a jetbridge (another surprise as most LCC make you board and disembark via stairs).  Once immigration was cleared, it was only a 10-15 minute wait before the luggage arrived.  Overall, it was a disappointing flight with AirAsia.  As one of the biggest LCCs in the world, I was a expecting a good LCC experience but what I received was a poor LCC experience with ground staff and crew that seem disenchanted, an extremely strict enforcement of hand carry rules, and overall just an average flight.  I saw nothing and experienced nothing that would set AirAsia apart from another carrier or something that would make this flight special or make me want to choose AirAsia.  To me, AirAsia seems to have decided that just providing low fares is enough and nothing else is need to entice passengers; for me, that is not enough.

A Trip Report: South African Airways, International + Domestic (August, September 2016)

A Trip Report: South African - international + domestic

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South African Airways (SAA) is the flagship airline of South Africa, but it is known well beyond Africa.  Since 2006, the airline is part of the Star Alliance network and operates direct flights in the U.S. from New York or Washington, D.C. to Johannesburg.  Reading up on SAA’s history, I was intrigued to try them out.  During apartheid, the airline was put on restriction from certain countries but has worked on rebranding its image.  Since that time, SAA has become well-known in the U.S. as one of the only African airlines to fly directly, allowing for easy connections and transportation to and from the countries.  Lately, South African has been in the news for the financial woes but this made me more intrigued to fly the airline.  I was able to fly SAA a part of a Star Alliance connection flight from America to South Africa.  I flew United from New Orleans to Houston, Lufthansa from Houston to Frankfurt, and then was able to pick up SAA to fly from Frankfurt to Johannesburg (the same route happened on the reverse as well).

I had booked the trip through a travel website (since I was connecting on various airlines)

so when I received my SAA confirmation, I went to the website manage my booking.  The website itself is easy to manage, but how you manage your booking depends on your flight booking.  My booking on SAA was done as a Lufthansa code-share, so I was not able to fully manage my booking.  I was able to update my contact information and frequent flyer number; however, I was not able to add a special meal or other such services.  I knew someone who had also booked a flight on SAA to fly from DC to New York to Johannesburg and then direct back to DC, and had booked it through a travel website but their flights were booked as SAA codeshares so she had more options to manage her booking.

While I was unable to preselect a seat on the outbound, my friend had the option to preselect a seat for a fee ($17 each way) or select a seat for free at check-in 24-hours prior to flight time.  For my seat selection, I could choose my seats 24-hours prior to my flight time or a seat would be provided to me at the airport.  No matter which way you booked, or how the flight was coded, it just seemed better to call the reservation line to confirm all the booking details.  I had downloaded the SAA app as well as through that app I was access all the features such as manage booking and flight status.

My flight was scheduled to take off from Frankfurt at 8:45pm and, after at 10h40m flight, was scheduled to land in Johannesburg at 7:25am.  I had received my boarding pass when I check in New Orleans, but I had a long layover in Frankfurt so I had left the airport.  When I returned, I went to the SAA check-in counter to reconfirm my boarding pass, reconfirm my seat, and ensure my luggage had been transferred.  The check-in desks open 3 hours prior to the flight, so after waiting in line for a bit I spoke to someone who confirmed all my details and I went to the boarding area.  For long-haul flights, SAA utilizes the Airbus A340-600.  Our plane had arrived that morning from Johannesburg (review of that flight later on) and was towed to the gate about an hour prior to departure.   Boarding commenced around 8pm, and since the load was light we were on-board fairly quickly.  There was no method to the boarding process, they just opened up the gates and people went through at their leisure. 

The plane itself looked fairly old, from the old PTV screens to the old seat layout.  The seats were in a 2-4-2 layout, and were already pre-reclined.  The seat pitch was also very nice and comfortable, so this plus the pre-recline provided a log of legroom for the seat.  The entire plane was divided into 4 sections, with the first section dedicated to the Business Class and the last three sections dedicated to economy class.  Given the light load, most passengers in the front section had at least 2 seats to themselves.  Each seat

came with its own PTV, which was very small, out of date, and was not very responsive.  The seats did not have any USB ports or other charging mechanisms.  While the seats and legroom were comfortable, the plane was definitely showing its age with the PTV, the AC control, and other airplane features.  While boarding was being completed, the attendant came around and handed out serviettes as well as amenity kits.  The amenity kits contained standard items – socks, eyeshades, and toothbrush – but it was a nice gesture.  Each seat contained a blanket and a pillow, and in the seat pockets were headphones, the airline magazine, plus the duty free magazine. 

About an hour after take-off, the service cart came down the aisle and drinks plus crackers were served.  After drinks, dinner was served.  I had ordered a special meal so those were delivered first, but the options for the main meal were chicken, beef, or vegetarian option.  It was nice that SAA provided so many options to cater to various dietary types.  The vegetarian meal that I had on-board was actually one of the best airline meals ever – it was extremely tasty.  Additional drinks were served along with dinner.  Tea and coffee were served after dinner, and water was given out when the trays were being cleared.  Afterwards, the lights were dimmed so that passengers could get some rest.

For those passengers who were awake, the PTV offered some movie and TV selections.   The choices were limited, the movies were about 1 year old, the screens were sometimes not responsive, and the screen was small; however, at least the option was available.  Water was available in the galleys, but no additional snacks were provided in the flight.  About an hour prior to landing, the lights came on and breakfast was served.  Again, with breakfast drinks were served as well as tea and coffee.  The food for both the dinner and breakfast were decent and substantial enough to fill you up.  We landed generally on time and taxied to the gate. 

My return flight, from Johannesburg to Frankfurt, as well as my friend’s flight from New York to Johannesburg followed the same general pattern.  The aircraft type, the older feel of the plane, the limited movie and TV selection, and the food options were all similar to my flight.  My friend’s return flight from Johannesburg to Washington, D.C., was operated by a newer A340-600.  The newer plane had the same PTVs with a similar limited selection, a tighter seat pitch, USB ports available, and the seats weren’t as comfortable as the older planes.  Overall, flying an older plane with SAA had its benefits and drawbacks.  The benefits were the bigger seat pitch which allowed more legroom, and that is important on a long-haul flight.  The negatives were the older PTVs, the older seats, the lack of USB ports, and the limited entertainment section.

I also had an opportunity to experience SAA domestically, from Johannesburg to Durban. I was originally scheduled to fly Mango Airlines, but I changed to an earlier flight operated by SAA to experience them domestically.  The flight was a short 40-minute flight and was operated by an Airbus A320 with a 3-3 seat layout. This newer plane had pre-reclined seats and had a nice seat pitch.  There were no PTVs or USB ports, but there were overhead screens which showed variety programs and newspapers were available at the check-in counter.  Even though it was a short-flight, drinks and a sandwich/snack were served; I have only seen this type of full service on a short flight on Middle East carriers before.  It was a pleasant short flight.

Based on my two international and one domestic flights, I would fly SAA again for short and medium-haul flights.  The seat comfort, pitch, and on-board service seemed perfect for a short to medium haul flight; however, based on this criteria I am not sure I would choose them for a long-haul flight.  While I enjoy the generous seat pitch, I would prefer USB ports and a better entertainment selection. 

A Trip Report: Shaheen Air International, Karachi to Lahore (April 2016)

A Trip Report: Shaheen Air International, domestic 

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We were travelling domestically in Pakistan, and decided to try Shaheen Air International (SAI).   Shaheen Air has had an interesting history – it started in the early 90’s but then had to restructure in early 2000’s when the government said it owed a lot of money.  Airlines in Pakistan have not been known for their service or on-time record.  There are three major carriers in the Pakistan market: 1) PIA – Pakistan International Airlines – is the national carrier and has been the dominant carrier in the market.  They also have the most planes and staff; 2) airblue which is a private airline that started in the early 2000s.  They had initially gone through a tremendous growth spurt, but were unable to maintain the growth and thus have scaled back; and finally 3) Shaheen Air which has had a troubled past but after the restructuring seems to be investing a lot in its fleet and expanding their services.  Given their new direction, we decided to try Shaheen Air.

We had booked our ticket through Shaheen’s website.  Both the website and app are very user-friendly, easy to navigate, and it was easy to book a ticket.  We were travelling from Karachi to Lahore and as Shaheen is still a growing airline, they do not have as many flight options as PIA (although more than airblue).  They operate this service twice a day, once in the afternoon and then once in the evening.  We decided to choose the evening flight – both options were the same price so the evening flight gave us more time in Karachi.  Even though we were able to book and receive a confirmation on the website, the payment could not be made online so we had 3 days to go to a Shaheen Air office or a travel agent to pay for the ticket and confirm the booking.  This was a bit of a pain.  Shaheen Air is a full service airline, which meant that the ticket includes free luggage allowance, free hand-carry, and a free meal.  You are not able to pre-book your seat, either through the website, travel agency, nor through the call center; seat assignment are only received at check-in. 

Given that we were going to receive our seat assignment upon check-in, we decided to get to the airport early.  The flight was scheduled to depart Karachi at 7:00pm and arrive Lahore at 8:45pm, for a flight time of 1hr 30mins.  We arrived at the airport around 4:30pm, and check-in opened at 5pm.  Check-in was quick and efficient, and we received our boarding passes with seat assignments.  We then proceeded through an empty security check and had plenty time to enjoy Butler’s Café in the Karachi Airport.  We went to the gate area around 6pm and between 6pm and 6:45pm, three Shaheen Air planes landed and deplaned passengers.  Our plane was the last to arrive, and once passengers deplaned it took a while before the next crew boarded the plane to get it ready for the next flight.  The flight crew seemed to be asking the ground crew when they could board, but the ground staff did not seem to be in a hurry so it took a while.  Boarding finally started around 6:45, and Shaheen has two boarding groups.  The first group to board are passengers seated in the back of the plane, while the second group are passengers seated in the front of the plane.  As we were near the front of the plane, we boarded in the second group.

The A320 plane from the outside looked nice with a nice paint job.  On-board, the look of the plane was very nice in a 3-3 layout in seat covers that kept the interior plane looking modern and fresh.  The seat itself was decent – more comfortable than PIA or Etihad, but not as comfortable as other airlines.  The seat pitch was also decent, not too much legroom but my knees were not hitting the seat in front of me.  It was a fine for our short duration.  The plane itself did not look new, and closer inspection of the wear and tear on the seats proved this theory.  The panels above the seat also looked a bit older; however, this plane looked better maintained versus the PIA plane which had brought us to Karachi.  Entering and sitting on the plane reminded me of flying with Southwest – the planes are kept up decent enough given the high utilization and the wear and tear that comes with this.   As we boarded the plane late, we took of late as well.  The doors did not close until 7:15/7:20p and we did not take off until 7:30/7:40pm.  On-time departures are not something that Pakistani airlines are known for.

Despite the late start, the service on board was fantastic.   Glasses of water were passed out during boarding and the attendants greeted each passenger with a warm smile.  Again, given the short duration I did not expect much from the flight but as soon as cruising altitude was reached the service began.  As this was an evening flight, complimentary dinner plus complimentary water, soft drinks, and juice were provided.  The complimentary meal included chicken biryani with yogurt and dessert, and the portion was extremely generous (the portion was generous in itself, but also extremely generous given the short duration of the flight).   Once dinner was served, the attendants came through with complimentary tea and coffee.  The service was a lot, especially given the short duration, and more than I have experienced with other airlines (such as Etihad). 

As the coffee and tea were being served, we had already started our descent into Lahore.  I am not sure if it was the amount of service provided for the short duration, or the fact that we experienced some turbulence and this may have affected the service, but towards the end the attendants were a bit frantic in trying to clear the trays and the clear up the plane prior to landing.  At one point, I seriously thought we were going to land with the trays in our laps but the attendants cleared the plane and get in ready just in time to land.  As we left late, we also landed late as well – about 30 minutes behind schedule (no time was made up in flight).

In terms of in-flight entertainment, there was none.  There are not PTVs in the back of the seats and none drop from the overhead ceiling.  There are also no magazines to read; however, the airline did pass our newspaper as passengers were boarding.  The newspapers, available in English and Urdu, were the only form of in-flight entertainment.  Given the short duration of the flight it was fine, but I understand that Shaheen has no entertainment on any of their flights – and they fly to destinations across the Middle East, China, and now the U.K.; that’s a lot of time without any entertainment.

When we booked our flight with Shaheen, we were a bit hesitant.  Both Pakistani aviation, plus Shaheen’s own troubled history, did not provide us with a lot of confidence in the flight.  Despite our reservations, we had a really pleasant experience on board Shaheen.  This flight changed our mind about flying with Shaheen and we would not hesitate them to fly them short-haul or medium-haul.  Given the lack of PTV’s, I am going to wait to fly them long-haul.   Shaheen’s motto is ‘Change is in the Air’ and you can definitely feel the change at Shaheen.