Malaysia Airlines Has A Serious Catering Mess

Malaysia Airlines Has A Serious Catering Mess

38

While airlines sometimes change catering contracts, the transition is usually fairly seamless as far as passengers are concerned. Well, that’s most definitely not the case at Malaysia Airlines at the moment…

Malaysia Airlines drops catering company, scrambles to find new one

As of September 1, 2023, Malaysia Airlines has ended its 26-year agreement with Brahim’s Food Services in Kuala Lumpur, which has historically been used as the carrier’s primary catering provider. The two companies reportedly couldn’t come to an agreement over some clauses in a new contract, leading Malaysia Airlines to dump the catering supplier.

While catering contracts do sometimes change over time, airlines usually find new suppliers before the existing contract ends, so that the impact on customers is minimal. Well, that’s not the case at Malaysia Airlines. For whatever reason, the airline didn’t plan this well, and the transition is proving to be a mess.

Malaysia Airlines has “initiated a robust business continuity plan to provide alternative food and beverage options while actively exploring a new service provider that aligns with our unwavering commitment to delivering premium customer experiences.” That’s right, the company is now working on finding a new supplier, after the previous contract was terminated. Ouch.

Malaysia Airlines needs a new catering provider

What does this mean for Malaysia Airlines passengers?

Why should passengers care about Malaysia Airlines’ catering changes? Malaysia Airlines is asking passengers to update their contact details, as the airline will notify customers in advance on flights impacted by this. Here are some of the major implications:

  • Many passengers will be offered pre-packaged meals rather than fresh meals, depending on the class of service and duration of the flight
  • Malaysia Airlines isn’t able to offer special meals or pre-booked meals during this transition
  • The airline states that it hopes to introduce new inflight meals in the coming months, so this isn’t just a lapse of a few days
  • Passengers are encouraged to bring their own meals during this transition
  • There are reports of the airline serving economy meals in business class on some flights, and of flights being delayed due to poor coordination between the airline and the temporary catering providers

I love how the airline publishes frequently asked questions, but then doesn’t actually answer the questions that it asks itself. For example, the airline asks itself a great question about why the airline didn’t appoint a new catering company sooner, only to then not answer the question:

Why did Malaysia Airlines not proactively appoint a new in-flight caterer sooner?

To ensure minimal inconvenience to your comfort and overall journey, we have initiated a robust business continuity plan effective from 1 September 2023 to provide alternative food and beverage options while actively exploring a new service provider that aligns with our unwavering commitment to delivering premium customer experiences.

Please rest assured that our dedicated team is wholeheartedly focused on enhancing our offerings, and we genuinely appreciate your understanding and patience throughout this process.

Malaysia Airlines didn’t do a great job here

Bottom line

Malaysia Airlines cut ties with its long term catering provider in Kuala Lumpur as of September 1, though failed to have a plan in place for the transition. While the airline states that things will get back to normal in the coming months, in the meantime catering on many flights is proving to be problematic.

Malaysia Airlines is loading pre-packaged meals on some flights, isn’t able to accommodate special meal requests, and just generally has much poorer catering quality than before.

While we’re not fully privy to what happened in the background, an airline should be able to do better than this.

What do you make of this Malaysia Airlines catering transition?

Conversations (38)
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  1. Henry Guest

    Return flight to Doha Economy 7/15 9. :
    1 meal normal, second meal in box : terrible

    1. CW Seow Guest

      I recently flew business class from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines and returned to Singapore from Penang on Singapore Airlines business class. What can I say about the on flight catering of both flights? Lots!

      On board Singapore Airlines, I was served a piece of fish and all the niceties. On board Malaysia Airlines, it was pure junk.

  2. Don Guest

    Total incompetence. Offered a cardboard box of cheese goo (aka mushroom pizza) from KL to Narita last night. They’re trying to bluster their way through.

    CEO, Operations Director, catering director …should all be fired.

  3. Kristopher Guest

    Can confirm catering is rubbish. Flew 2 short haul international flights in Business Class. I got a box containing a tuna sandwich and a piece of pound cake. Even tasted trashy as well as looking at it. In addition, no glassware or china for drinks amd tea/coffee.

    1. Johan Guest

      can confirm this as well. Flying KUL - BKk in business class: just a prepackaged box with not very tasty stuff.

  4. Ali Guest

    As a Malaysian, it’s sad to say that I try to avoid Malaysia airlines.
    I’m not surprised by this fiasco. They are run by incompetent, short sighted people and on top of that, there’s always meddling from people that want to line their pockets.

    1. Pete Guest

      Hope Malaysia Airlines does not underestimate the potential repercussions to their future earnings resulting from this mess, which should have been avoided

  5. WW Guest

    MAS and SIA; were once 'one', as with MSA. Interesting how their respective competence and quality have diverged , since the MSA split!

  6. cheryl kwok Guest

    Obviously someone didn’t get their pockets lined properly. Typical of anything Malaysian. Sorry but true!

    1. Henry Guest

      Or MAS did not pay the bills.

  7. glenn t Diamond

    Memo to Malaysia Airlines:
    Business 101: Have all your ducks-in-a row before sacking a crucial supplier.
    Business 101(a) Sack the person/s who signed off on this disaster.
    (Of course this is unlikely to happen given the alleged nepotism and cronyism rempant in large businesses in this part of the world).

  8. Christopher Liew Guest

    When one door closes, another opens. Bravo Malaysia Airlines! We definitely looking forward to new ideas, concepts and selection of better in-flight dining! With this severation, it also gives others an opportunity to serve the airline perhaps tastier if not, better.
    Looking forward Malaysia Airlines. I have booked yet again to travel with you soon.

    Chris
    Frequent Traveller.
    Enrich member
    Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

    1. Henry Guest

      Comment paid by MAS

  9. LONDONBOUND Guest

    "...our unwavering commitment to delivering premium customer experiences".

    LOL WHAT A JOKE THAT AIRLINE IS

    TOTAL LIE

  10. Icarus Guest

    Meals are not part of the contract anyhow So provided they make customers aware so they can plan in advance and bring their own food. Of course there’s an expectation, especially on a longhaul and in a premium cabin.

  11. Dash Guest

    Ain’t no surprise if they make more blunders after blunders since incompetence breeds incompetence.
    Read inside stories here;

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/832044180996163/permalink/1358575291676380/?mibextid=cr9u03

  12. Ryan Guest

    My flight to HK was delayed by 2 hours as there was not enough high lift catering van to bring the meal to the plane. The food for a 4 hours flight was a cream bun and a cake with a piece of apple. There wasn’t any blankets and headphones for the flight as well. If your flight is below 4 hours, be prepared for some bad food and delay. Flights to London or Australia is not affected as those flights are catered by another company.

  13. Steve Guest

    Affects outports too. Flew SIN-KUL on Sept 2. Snack box in biz. Two packages of peanuts, small bottle of water, two small pastries (one savory one sweet, neither good) wrapped in plastic. Asked for drink on board, not available. Not that I cared much for a 45 min flight, but worth pointing out when I booked a few days earlier they were still accepting pre flight meal reservations and what I ordered looked a lot...

    Affects outports too. Flew SIN-KUL on Sept 2. Snack box in biz. Two packages of peanuts, small bottle of water, two small pastries (one savory one sweet, neither good) wrapped in plastic. Asked for drink on board, not available. Not that I cared much for a 45 min flight, but worth pointing out when I booked a few days earlier they were still accepting pre flight meal reservations and what I ordered looked a lot better than the snack box! Got email advising of issue morning of flight.

  14. Dennis Lee Guest

    I flew a multi-airline itinerary from Newark, NJ to KL in March, stopping over at Washington D.C. and Haneda. The last segment on MAS was the one I genuinely feared.

  15. Pam Guest

    Flew yesterday from KUL-BKI. Tuna roll, Danish and cake were bad! MAS should have planned well much earlier on ending the contract with Brahim. Serving poor quality food is indeed not in line with ‘Malaysian Hospitality’!

    1. Icarus Guest

      Well you got something which is complementary anyhow, and still
      complain

    2. Mike Guest

      Airline tickets have a cost, and food is bundled into the cost.
      You don't pay for every roller coaster at Disneyland but you'd be mad if you paid for admission and all the rides were closed.

    3. Chris Guest

      Complimentary? They're not doing you a favour my man, it's part of the ticket price.

  16. Potato Guest

    On KUL-DPS, bizz got pre-packaged food. The flight was delayed +90 minutes for catering reason and the meal was just sad: A tuna roll, a Danish, a chocolate cookie, peanuts, a bottle of water and an apple.

    For drinks, they only had still water, orange juice and apple juice.

    No other options ins lieu of the tuna roll. Crew was rather apologetic about it.

  17. Yang Jin-Hong Guest

    To think that this was once a "5-star airline". I mean Skytrax is unreliable but still...

  18. HaVa Guest

    They own 30% of the caterer that they terminated the contract with. Talk about shooting your own foot.

  19. Will Guest

    MAS is dying a slow death.....this may help hasten the process. On flip side, they can't possibly get any worse than Brahims who has been serving crap for the meals. One can only pray (fav Malaysian way of solving any issues) that this may help improve their offerings which in recent times, had become so bad.

  20. Aussie Guest

    First world problem. MH passengers should just be grateful they make it to their destination without crashing into the sea or being shot down by a missile.

  21. William Guest

    This is no surprise at all. MAS has for years been managed with a high degree of incompetence. I fly them later this month on a short trip to KL. Would never consider them for a long haul out of KL for the next few months.

  22. Pete Guest

    There’s only one word for this - incompetence.

    Typical MAS. I wouldn’t fly them for quids.

  23. Steven E Guest

    Well… ensure you have strong teeth to chew through their “famous” satay option - it surely isn’t what it used to be - suggesting you bring your own food on a long haul flight is just not what customers expect from a full service carrier.

  24. Mike Guest

    It makes 0 sense. MAS owns 30% of the catering business. There is something else that we are not seeing. The story is surely much more complex

    1. JT Guest

      They have been negotiating to buy the 70% remainder, and it seems that the contract renewal was a bargaining chip. I guess they didn't expect the brinksmanship to go this far?

      But it's definitely not just a case of letting the contract expire without thinking.

  25. Sam Guest

    Does this only impact flights departing KUL?

  26. jjmpdx Guest

    I’ll be flying them at the end of the month on a 2.5 hr flight out of KL. Should be interesting.

  27. Robert Guest

    I’ll let everybody know tomorrow night if other carriers are affected. I’m flying KUL-MRU tomorrow Air Mauritius.

  28. TravelinWilly Diamond

    Presumably this impacts only KL-originating flights, or Malaysia-originating flights?

    Talk about a self-imposed mess.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Mike Guest

Airline tickets have a cost, and food is bundled into the cost. You don't pay for every roller coaster at Disneyland but you'd be mad if you paid for admission and all the rides were closed.

2
Ali Guest

As a Malaysian, it’s sad to say that I try to avoid Malaysia airlines. I’m not surprised by this fiasco. They are run by incompetent, short sighted people and on top of that, there’s always meddling from people that want to line their pockets.

1
Chris Guest

Complimentary? They're not doing you a favour my man, it's part of the ticket price.

1
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