Wander and unwind

Malaysia Airlines: Sydney to Kuala Lumpur 2026

I flew with Malaysia Airlines from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur to see what the long-haul experience was like. I had heard mixed reviews beforehand, so I was curious to see what it was like for myself.

Booking Experience

This leg of the journey was actually assigned to Malaysia Airlines by my travel agent due to the current war in the Middle East. Our seats were selected for us and we were unable to change them. Whether this was due to how close it was to departure or issues with the website, it wasn’t exactly clear.

Check Iin and Boarding

Check in at Sydney was, unfortunately, a bit chaotic. There were two queues, one for bag drop and one for check in, these were not clearly signposted. This led to passengers constantly changing lines which slowed things down even more.

We ended up queuing for around an hour before it was our turn to drop off our luggage. The setup itself did not help, with short conveyer belts and staff having to stack suitcases behind them before loading them on one by one when space allowed. It was interesting to see that our hand luggage was weighed at the same time.

This didn’t exactly inspire confidence going into this flight.

The lady that checked in our luggage was genuinely lovely. She printed out our onward boarding passes and explained everything clearly to us which did make a difference. Boarding itself was fairly smooth and we had overhead space for our luggage.

Seat and Comfort

This is where things went downhill.

Unfortunately, our seats were in the middle of the plane and upon sitting down, it became apparent that this was not going to be a comfortable journey. The seats had minimal padding and legroom was extremely limited. At 5 foot 10, my knees were pressed against the seat in front, even without anything in the pocket.

The tray tables were stained and marked, and parts of it including the drink holder were broken. Getting them to stay upright afterwards also required slamming it back into place, which wasn’t ideal for the people sitting in front.

Overall, the cabin cleanliness felt quite poor. There was visible food and rubbish on the floor which made the plane feel quite unsanitary. I spent the rest of the flight constantly washing my hands after touching anything.

When the passenger in front of me reclined her seat, it made an already cramped situation even worse, the seat was actively pressing into my legs. Thankfully the lady in the aisle seat saw how uncomfortable I was and swapped with me. This relief was short lived however, as the same situation happened shortly after.

With narrow aisles and constant movement from both passengers and crew, it was not feasible to extend your legs or adjust your position. This made for an incredibly uncomfortable eight hours flying and sleep quality was minimal.

Food and Drinks

The food onboard was not terrible.

We were served with salted peanuts at the start of the flight which were nice, if an odd choice for an airline (worth noting if you have a nut allergy. Later, little vegetable pies were served which were quite tasty, albeit a bit squashed.

Breakfast onboard consisted of a granola bar, a croissant, a yoghurt, some fruit and a warm element. I chose the scrambled egg, sausage, beans and hash brown which was pretty edible although the continental items were definitely the better part.

The drinks service felt quite limited, with only small cups provided during each. This didn’t feel particularly hydrating for a long-haul flight, although I imagine if you can get out of your seat, you can likely request more from the galley.

Entertainment

The entertainment system was a highlight. The screens on board were good quality, and there was a decent selection of English language films. There were charging ports available and working in the seats which was a positive. The inflight Wi-Fi however did not work when I tried to connect.

Service

The service was one of the most disappointing parts of this experience.

The cabin crew did not provide the warm and engaging service that I am used to on flights. IT felt like they were going through the motions with little effort to go beyond the basics.

If you did not hear what they were saying the first time, there was not much of an effort to clarify. Despite there being no menus provided, it felt like you were expected to already know your meal choices which made the interaction a bit awkward.

Upon landing, a flight attendant walked down the aisles spraying air freshener over passengers. On a plane, where circulation is not known for being great, this felt unnecessary and uncomfortable.  It certainly didn’t add anything positive to our experience. The atmosphere on board felt unwelcoming and uncomfortable.

Final Verdict

Overall, this was not a great experience.

Between the uncomfortable seating, lack of cleanliness, and the service, this is not an airline that I would actively choose again if I had other options.

That said, they did succeed where it mattered, getting us from A to B.

Rating: 3.5/10

Not the most comfortable of flights… but I am sure it could be worse.