I would like to share with your readers about my recent unpleasant experience traveling with Malaysia Airlines from London to Kota Kinabalu via Kuala Lumpur on Dec 24, 2009. I have been living in the UK for many years and have not travelled with MAS for a long time.

I had heard about the numerous awards that MAS has received and was curious to find out about the ‘MH’ (Malaysian Hospitality) slogan that MAS emphasises in all of their marketing promotions.

When I arrived at Terminal 4 at Heathrow airport, I was informed that MAS had over-booked this flight. I inquired the status of those passengers who had been over-booked and was told by the check-in personnel that they will be upgraded to Business Class.

I would like MAS to clarify how passengers are selected for such an upgrade in this particular situation? Is it based on timing whereby passengers who checked-in later will be given priority? If so, had I checked-in two hours before the scheduled flight, instead of the standard three hours, would I have stood a chance to be selected for an upgrade?

My unpleasant journey began when I discovered that my seat (61A) was faulty and could not recline. I complained about this to the flight attendant but they could not move me to another seat as the flight was full. It is a horrible and torturing experience when a seat cannot be reclined during a long-haul flight.

To make matters worse, the flight entertainment system was not working for the whole aircraft through out the 11 ½ hours journey. The flight attendant tried to reboot the system for the first three hours but abandoned the task as they could not rectify the problem.

Passengers were upset especially the ones with children. There was no official apology from neither the chief flight attendant nor the captain that there will be no ‘On-Demand Entertainment System’ for the whole duration of the journey. I felt gutted and horrified as this problem should have been checked at Heathrow before we departed.

In my opinion, MAS' service standards are not on par with other regional airlines at all. For instance, MAS did not provide basic amenities such as toothbrushes, socks or even an eyepatch to the passengers. No warm towels were distributed, unlike other airlines, when we were seated or before meals were served. And no compliments on the food being served either.

I could have chosen other airlines for my flight to Kota Kinabalu namely Royal Brunei, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines. With the amount of money that I have paid for this trip, especially during the festive season, I should have chosen one of these airlines for a much pleasantar trip without falling for the ‘MH’ promise.

MAS always boasts about its numerous award achievements but, sadly, the physical aspects of its aircraft is a shamble and its service is a huge disappointment.

I can assure you that this will be my last time traveling with MAS after my return to London in mid- January.

Malaysia Airlines replies