THE KOTA KINABALU-HANEDA DIRECT FLIGHT

Currently, Malaysia Airlines operates 4 x weekly Kota Kinabalu-Haneda direct and back using their brand and new B737-800. It was our first time flying on this sector last Saturday.

Boarding the aircraft at the Kota Kinabalu International.

Safety demo was done manually instead of using the LCD screen.

 A MASwing ATR was seen taxiing in as our aircraft was lining up for take-off.  

A smooth "take-off" - overflying the city of Kota Kinabalu.  

The economy class seat pitch of 30 inches is narrow.  

Seeing that the seats at the emergency exit were not occupied, we moved over there for more  leg room.    

As the aircraft was leaving the Borneo air space, we could see Mt.Kinabalu fading away in the distance. 

This cabin features the new Boeing Sky Interior with  a higher ceiling, mood lighting and the in-flight entertainment which come with a 9-inch LCD wide screen video on every seat. The only minus point is that  the seats were thinner and not comfortable for long flight as compared to those on the older B737-400.

Meals served on this sector was worst than expected. The selection of main courses were bad - same old meals served on their domestic services. 

 The difference was that they came with a small portion of soba and salad.

The sunset view was beautiful as the aircraft was making it's descend into Tokyo International. We landed at 22:25, 35 minutes ahead of schedule.

Before boarding the flight at Kota Kinabalu, I was told that the new management of Malaysia Airlines in their bit to turn around their losses would be cutting of services to destinations, like Tokyo, Kansai and Seoul from Kota Kinabalu. The airlines would no longer rely on Kota Kinabalu as a hub in East Malaysia. A sad news indeed and if it materializes, the losers will be the people of Sabah.