Can someone recommend Malaysia airlines or Srilankan airlines for an upcoming travel on business class.
Final destination is India, so both routes are favorable. I'm looking for advice from someone who's flown both airlines and as to which airline offers better service and value for money in business
Depends on the aircraft and routing? Generally I prefer Srilankan, especially if you can get the A330. Although the lounge in CMB is pretty bad, whereas i actually quite like the lounge in KUL.
Business class seats on Sri Lankan is my preferred choice because of their Cathay Pacific like herringbone seat compared to the alternating 2-2-1 configs of Malaysian on their a330s.
Another qs others may be able to assist with: does Qantas give full points when flying business in Sri Lankan? I know with Malaysia points are capped at fully flexible even when flying business. That could help you decide :)
Ive flown both and was suprised by how good Malaysian was both with food and service However i have a softspot for Sri Lankan
I really enjoy their friendly service and have flown with them many times . CMB is alot smaller than KLIA .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE3JBMEJXq4 [ Melbourne to Colombo on UL Bus Class ]
The Golden Lounge at KLIA is very good , i spent 13 hours there in transit , they had a Nap room and the food was very good
It can be hard to find as i discovered because the signage isnt the best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgOc_bqg0IU
The two lounges at CMB are Sri Lankan and Emirates by a mile .You can get a free massage in the UL Lounge and the curries are tasty especially the Fish
My experience with UL and MH business is with regional flights out of BKK and KUL not from Australia. I agree with @akronflyer about the service with UL, definitely a highlight of the experience. Great meal, wine and tea selection in business class. The jackfruit curry is my favorite. The Serendib lounge in CMB is small but massage is fabulous and excellent local curries and condiments and decent selection of wine makes it tolerable for at least short-medium transits.
MH meal is good but no alcohol on flights shorter than 3hrs duration. The Golden Lounge is fabulous, great selection of foods, decent wifi, comfortable place to park yourself for a lengthy transit. As noted by others the nap room is a place to kip for a few hours if you need to.
As for mileage accrual, regional MH business flights out of Australia to KUL only earn at the flexible economy rate (e.g. MEL-KUL gets you 30 SC) but to Delhi or Mumbai out of KUL you accrue 80 SC with QF. If you can purchase the MH Z-class discount business it is very good value for money. UL business MEL-KUL gets you 60 SC and KUL-CMB earns another 80 SC on QF. Flying regional MH or UL business within Asia are good ways to achieve QF Gold or Platinum status or retain those.
While I've never flown UL and therefore can't comment on their product, I'm of the view that you can do a lot worse than MH: that is, as long as you're not on one of their ghastly India to KUL red-eye flights on 73H equipment, which are for some of their routes their only service; the seat is adequate for a day flight, and I've had some very nice flights in it, but it's no bed.
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Malaysia Airlines or Srilankan Airlines
adevalla
adevalla
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 05 May 2014
Total posts 1
Hi Guys,
Can someone recommend Malaysia airlines or Srilankan airlines for an upcoming travel on business class.
Final destination is India, so both routes are favorable. I'm looking for advice from someone who's flown both airlines and as to which airline offers better service and value for money in business
jrfsp
jrfsp
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 04 Mar 2014
Total posts 105
Depends on the aircraft and routing? Generally I prefer Srilankan, especially if you can get the A330. Although the lounge in CMB is pretty bad, whereas i actually quite like the lounge in KUL.
djtech
djtech
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Sep 2018
Total posts 375
Business class seats on Sri Lankan is my preferred choice because of their Cathay Pacific like herringbone seat compared to the alternating 2-2-1 configs of Malaysian on their a330s.
andrewjason81
andrewjason81
Member since 02 Jan 2019
Total posts 37
Another qs others may be able to assist with: does Qantas give full points when flying business in Sri Lankan? I know with Malaysia points are capped at fully flexible even when flying business. That could help you decide :)
akronflyer
akronflyer
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 29 Jul 2014
Total posts 145
Ive flown both and was suprised by how good Malaysian was both with food and service However i have a softspot for Sri Lankan
I really enjoy their friendly service and have flown with them many times . CMB is alot smaller than KLIA .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE3JBMEJXq4 [ Melbourne to Colombo on UL Bus Class ]
The Golden Lounge at KLIA is very good , i spent 13 hours there in transit , they had a Nap room and the food was very good
It can be hard to find as i discovered because the signage isnt the best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgOc_bqg0IU
The two lounges at CMB are Sri Lankan and Emirates by a mile .You can get a free massage in the UL Lounge and the curries are tasty especially the Fish
https://onemileatatime.com/review-srilankan-serendib-lounge-colombo-airport/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvkCuQBt-x0
On another note i always price my airfares out of CMB , eg CMB-KLIA-TPE return in bus class on UL and MH cost me $1309 total for the 4 flights
Antony J
Antony J
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 09 Mar 2019
Total posts 14
My experience with UL and MH business is with regional flights out of BKK and KUL not from Australia. I agree with @akronflyer about the service with UL, definitely a highlight of the experience. Great meal, wine and tea selection in business class. The jackfruit curry is my favorite. The Serendib lounge in CMB is small but massage is fabulous and excellent local curries and condiments and decent selection of wine makes it tolerable for at least short-medium transits.
MH meal is good but no alcohol on flights shorter than 3hrs duration. The Golden Lounge is fabulous, great selection of foods, decent wifi, comfortable place to park yourself for a lengthy transit. As noted by others the nap room is a place to kip for a few hours if you need to.
As for mileage accrual, regional MH business flights out of Australia to KUL only earn at the flexible economy rate (e.g. MEL-KUL gets you 30 SC) but to Delhi or Mumbai out of KUL you accrue 80 SC with QF. If you can purchase the MH Z-class discount business it is very good value for money. UL business MEL-KUL gets you 60 SC and KUL-CMB earns another 80 SC on QF. Flying regional MH or UL business within Asia are good ways to achieve QF Gold or Platinum status or retain those.
watson374
watson374
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 17 Aug 2012
Total posts 1,285
While I've never flown UL and therefore can't comment on their product, I'm of the view that you can do a lot worse than MH: that is, as long as you're not on one of their ghastly India to KUL red-eye flights on 73H equipment, which are for some of their routes their only service; the seat is adequate for a day flight, and I've had some very nice flights in it, but it's no bed.