Malaysia Airlines fly to and from Brunei from KL four times a week. They go on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. (I wish they would go everyday) The flight is often busy, with lots of workers connecting through from other parts of the Malaysia Airlines network. I rate Malaysia Airlines Regional product quite highly and the Brunei route is no exception. Relatively modern 737-800s with spacious 4 row 2X2 seating in Business Class. The food is pretty good, there is usually a choice of three meals and there is a limited bar available as well. Business Class also gets you off the plane quickly- which can be very useful in Brunei.
Business class tickets can be quite steep on this route- almost £200 each way. Sometimes there are promos that bring it down to about £100. (Economy is about £60 each way). If using avios it is worth the extra 7,500 to get in the front. If you are offered MH upgrade it could be worth putting in a low bid (I have never not been successful) though don't forget you may lose the tier points and avios you may have earned on your economy ticket.
Showing posts with label Executive Club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Executive Club. Show all posts
Friday, 21 August 2015
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
British Airways Club World London to Kuala Lumpur
This route is currently flown by an older 777. As a result it is a bit noisy and dated. However, this is less of a problem in Club World than in World Traveller or World Traveller Plus. The entertainment system is OK, though not great by Business Class Standards. I also find the BA programme/movie range not really to my taste. Perhaps I am a bit picky. These days an alternative is to watch downloaded content on your tablet. Unfortunately there was no USB point, and so I had to use my laptop as a power source.
The service was fine and the food provided of a very good standard. However, if I had a choice I would travel with Malaysia Airlines on their A380. I have not quite got to grips with the Club World layout. If you are travelling with a companion side by side is surely better- this can be done on BA, but you are then trapped by the feet of other passengers if the seats are used.
Travelling alone, I also don't think the layout works. To avoid invading the personal space of another passenger you need two seats to be free (the one next to you, becuase when that divider goes down you are face to face, and the one which needs to climb over you to get out of their seat when you are sleeping) whereas on Malaysia Airlines you only need the seat next to you to be free. (it normally is when flying to Paris, London perhaps less so!)
As I have written before, it is great that there is now the choice of two A380s and one 777 flying between KL and LHR. Long may it continue.
The service was fine and the food provided of a very good standard. However, if I had a choice I would travel with Malaysia Airlines on their A380. I have not quite got to grips with the Club World layout. If you are travelling with a companion side by side is surely better- this can be done on BA, but you are then trapped by the feet of other passengers if the seats are used.
Travelling alone, I also don't think the layout works. To avoid invading the personal space of another passenger you need two seats to be free (the one next to you, becuase when that divider goes down you are face to face, and the one which needs to climb over you to get out of their seat when you are sleeping) whereas on Malaysia Airlines you only need the seat next to you to be free. (it normally is when flying to Paris, London perhaps less so!)
As I have written before, it is great that there is now the choice of two A380s and one 777 flying between KL and LHR. Long may it continue.
Monday, 29 June 2015
Galleries Lounges at Heathrow
The Galleries Lounges at T5 Heathrow are quite good. They are spacious and there is often a good range of hot and cold food as will as a good range of beers and wines. The two lounges in the main building do get very busy. If you are travelling from satellite building B or C it is usually better to head over to B to the lounge there. It is much quieter. However, there isn't a first class lounge there.
If you are flying from the main building and you have lots of time to kill, you can still make use of the lounge in building B. You will not be able to take the transit back to A, but on floor -4 there is a walkway which connects all the buildings and is open to the public. It takes 10-15 minutes to walk back from the lounge in satellite building B to the main Building.
If you are flying from the main building and you have lots of time to kill, you can still make use of the lounge in building B. You will not be able to take the transit back to A, but on floor -4 there is a walkway which connects all the buildings and is open to the public. It takes 10-15 minutes to walk back from the lounge in satellite building B to the main Building.
Monday, 18 May 2015
Malaysia Airlines Tier Point Run
Those members of the various one world frequent flyer schemes who are based on the Island of Borneo have usually found it best to get off the Island before looking at tier point runs. As described here there are often good options from Phuket. However, today I have been looking for Tier Point runs starting on Borneo. Infact, I was just looking for the hop from Miri to Kuching, which is, once a day, flown by Malaysia airlines (rather than MASwings- no tier points!). Whilst this came up, a much more interesting option for tier points also became apparent, that was Miri to Kuching via Kuala Lumpur and return. (MYY-KUL-KCH-KUL-MYY). This comes in at £253 at will earn 160 Tier Points in the BA scheme. (£1.58 per tier point- which is not so bad) and will earn 3706 avios for BA executive club members. One of the legs could be flown direct, reducing the tier points to 120, and the price to £233 which gets a better return of £1.47 per tier point). The direct flights come in at £223, a rather unattractive £2.87 per tier point.
If you are tempted to include Borneo as part of a tier point run, do make sure you are not booked on a MASwings flight- no Tier points will be awarded. If your run includes a stay in Kuching then I highly recommend the Pullman.
If you are tempted to include Borneo as part of a tier point run, do make sure you are not booked on a MASwings flight- no Tier points will be awarded. If your run includes a stay in Kuching then I highly recommend the Pullman.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Topcashback- earn avios or virgin miles (or cash)
Topcashback is a super website that allows you to earn cash back on spend at a large number of online retailers. It is based in the UK and is targeted at UK residents. They also have an american site. When you click through the site to your usual retailer and buy something the retailer pays topcashback, and topcashback then passes the money on to you. It is usually best to find the best price for a product and then use the topcashback website to see if cashback is available from that retailer.
It can take sometime for cash back to materialise. (I have had some cashback not appear, and some arrive after one year!) Once it does it can be withdrawn as cash to a UK bank account. Alternatively vouchers can be purchased and a small bonus is awarded. One of the best uses of cash back is to send it to Tesco. They will credit your clubcard account, which can be used to earn avios at a very attractive rate. Unfortunately only £50 of cashback can be sent to Tesco each year, but that will earn you over 10,000 avios.
It is possible to transfer cashback straight to the BA executive club, at just under 1p per avios. This was marginal at the best of times, but following the devaluation, it is unlikely to be the best option.
Here is a link to join topcashback. If you use this link ASEAN Loyalty will earn a small commission. Your support is appreciated.
It can take sometime for cash back to materialise. (I have had some cashback not appear, and some arrive after one year!) Once it does it can be withdrawn as cash to a UK bank account. Alternatively vouchers can be purchased and a small bonus is awarded. One of the best uses of cash back is to send it to Tesco. They will credit your clubcard account, which can be used to earn avios at a very attractive rate. Unfortunately only £50 of cashback can be sent to Tesco each year, but that will earn you over 10,000 avios.
It is possible to transfer cashback straight to the BA executive club, at just under 1p per avios. This was marginal at the best of times, but following the devaluation, it is unlikely to be the best option.
Here is a link to join topcashback. If you use this link ASEAN Loyalty will earn a small commission. Your support is appreciated.
Thursday, 7 May 2015
Malaysia Airlines for Tier Point Runs
In order to maintain Silver status in the British Airways Executive club you need to collect 600 tier points in each membership year. (You also need to take four British Airways Flights). Silver Status is equivalent to sapphire One World Status and will get you lounge access across the one world network. In order to obtain BA Gold you need to earn 1500 tier points.
Flying on Malaysia Airlines is a good way to pick up cheap tier points. Ideally you are looking for flights just over 2000 miles as these pick up 140 tier points in Business Class. It is possible to find tier points runs that work out as less than £1 a tier point on Malaysia Airlines- though they can be awkward.
For example a return flight from Phuket to New Delhi via KL will earn 360 tier points (40+140+140+40) and can be purchased in June (and quite often) for approximately £351.
Perhaps you need fewer Tier Points to get you over the line to a higher status level. If this is the case then the domestic business class promotions are sometimes good value. You can often find Business Tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bharu or Langkawi for RM380, around £70. This will net you 40 tier points (80 return) for less than £2 a tier point.
People looking for Tier Point runs from Europe or Asia have spent years looking at American Airlines in the US with envy- Malaysia Airlines give us a chance to pick up those last few tier points almost as cheaply we could in the US.
Flying on Malaysia Airlines is a good way to pick up cheap tier points. Ideally you are looking for flights just over 2000 miles as these pick up 140 tier points in Business Class. It is possible to find tier points runs that work out as less than £1 a tier point on Malaysia Airlines- though they can be awkward.
For example a return flight from Phuket to New Delhi via KL will earn 360 tier points (40+140+140+40) and can be purchased in June (and quite often) for approximately £351.
Perhaps you need fewer Tier Points to get you over the line to a higher status level. If this is the case then the domestic business class promotions are sometimes good value. You can often find Business Tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bharu or Langkawi for RM380, around £70. This will net you 40 tier points (80 return) for less than £2 a tier point.
People looking for Tier Point runs from Europe or Asia have spent years looking at American Airlines in the US with envy- Malaysia Airlines give us a chance to pick up those last few tier points almost as cheaply we could in the US.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
One World Alliance - key benefitsof British Airways Executive Club
The one world alliance contains a large number of key airlines for travellers based in the ASEAN region. The founding members included British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, which gave the alliance useful coverage between Europe and Asia and within Asia. Recently Malaysia Airlines, Qatar and Sri Lankan Airlines have joined making the alliance particularly attractive.
Of all of the loyalty programmes within one world, despite the recent changes the British Airways Executive club is my preferred choice. This is despite the fact that the majority of my flights are actually flown with Malaysia Airlines. The key benefits of the British Airways Executive Club are:
1. Clear progression through the tiers- Tier points are straight forward and earned on almost every flight (be careful on Malyasia Airlines though- more to follow on this)
2. Even following the devlauation, generous points earning opportunities from flying- especially on British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia.
3. The household account- this makes earning avios as a family a breeze and means reward flights are earned much quicker than with competing schemes.
4. Tier status benefits are well respected throughout the alliance- sometimes additional luggage allowances can be a little bit of a struggle at check in though.
By having status in the BA programme rather than the MH programme I do miss out on some benefits when flying on Malaysia Airlines. For example, I do not pick up tier bonus enrich points. The additional luggage allowance for enrich passengers with status is generous and quite straight forward (50%/100% extra for Gold/Platinum members). Finally I never get upgraded when travelling on Malaysia Airlines. However, given how empty Business/first cabins seem to be I assume that Malaysia Airlines only upgrade for operational reasons, so I doubt I miss much.
The British Airways Executive club is a good option for ASEAN travellers. However, you do need to have 4 flights on British Airways flights each year to maintain status. This may be a problem for a reader who does not travel once a year or so to Europe (or Australia).
More on the benefits of the Executive Club, and how to earn and maintain status in future posts.
Of all of the loyalty programmes within one world, despite the recent changes the British Airways Executive club is my preferred choice. This is despite the fact that the majority of my flights are actually flown with Malaysia Airlines. The key benefits of the British Airways Executive Club are:
1. Clear progression through the tiers- Tier points are straight forward and earned on almost every flight (be careful on Malyasia Airlines though- more to follow on this)
2. Even following the devlauation, generous points earning opportunities from flying- especially on British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia.
3. The household account- this makes earning avios as a family a breeze and means reward flights are earned much quicker than with competing schemes.
4. Tier status benefits are well respected throughout the alliance- sometimes additional luggage allowances can be a little bit of a struggle at check in though.
By having status in the BA programme rather than the MH programme I do miss out on some benefits when flying on Malaysia Airlines. For example, I do not pick up tier bonus enrich points. The additional luggage allowance for enrich passengers with status is generous and quite straight forward (50%/100% extra for Gold/Platinum members). Finally I never get upgraded when travelling on Malaysia Airlines. However, given how empty Business/first cabins seem to be I assume that Malaysia Airlines only upgrade for operational reasons, so I doubt I miss much.
The British Airways Executive club is a good option for ASEAN travellers. However, you do need to have 4 flights on British Airways flights each year to maintain status. This may be a problem for a reader who does not travel once a year or so to Europe (or Australia).
More on the benefits of the Executive Club, and how to earn and maintain status in future posts.
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