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Malindo Air has been the talk of the town since last year. Malindo Air is a joint venture by Jakarta, Indonesia-based Lion Air and Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries. Many questions have been posed on whether Malindo Air will be credible enough to fly with. In fact, as in new services, consumers are very much shadowed with uncertainty. Is it true you do not have to pay for 15 kilos baggage allowance for economy class? Is it true meal will be provided? How cheap the flight fares would be? Those are among the never-ending questions posed.

Last Friday, I was invited to fly with the inaugural Malindo Air flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Kota Kinabalu (BKI). Tickets were pre-arranged by Malindo Air so I have no first-hand experience booking the ticket online.

Apart from the glitch during check-in, everything else went smooth.

This is the CEO of Malindo Air : Mr Chandra Rama Muthy

Boarding the new Malindo Air 737-900ER

After a launch at departure gate, we boarded the new Next-Generation 737-900ER plane at 12.45p.m. All passengers on Malindo Air inaugural flight flying to Kota Kinabalu were given Malaysia travel guides as door gifts.

The flight smelled brand new which excites me even more. The flight is a single-aisle flight with three-to-three seats. It is equipped with Boeing Sky Interior technology that features the LED lighting that adds on the ambiance and the sense of spaciousness.

One worth-mentioning feature is the larger pivoting overhead stowage bins. I am not sure if it’s only me, I felt the stowage bin is slightly lower than the Airasia & MH planes. For a 5-feet-tall person like me, this feature made it easy for me to put my hand-carry luggage overhead. Since the stowage bins are bigger, I no longer have to sweep my camera bag under my seat as I can easily put it in the stowage bin.

The  leg room:-

Next is the in-flight entertainment. Imagine paying for a low fare flight but receiving in-flight entertainment. This can only happen if you are flying with Malindo Air. The in-flight entertainment services require you to bring your own earphones or otherwise you may ask the flight attendant for earphones rental at the price of MYR5.00.

There’s is also a USB plug-in attached. You can either use it to charge your smart phones or as a system to connect to your personal devices.

Malindo Air’s Snacks

The snacks on board are actually sandwiches and a small bottle of mineral water. At the moment, Malindo Air is not selling food on board.

Malindo Air’s In-flight Wifi

Following my live tweet during the launch, Malindo Air will have in-flight wifi commencing from June 2013. Not much info has been offered. It is certainly an extra service which consumers need to pay for.

The Celebrated Airlines – Malindo Air

This part is rather unique. The welcoming ceremony of Malindo Air at Kota Kinabalu Airport (BKI). I was not seated by the window so I missed the water cannon salute moments. But what awaited us surprised me. It was a happening celebration. I don’t feel like narrating so do enjoy the series of pictures below.

All in all, based from my experiences flying with Malaysia Airlines and Airasia, this spanking new airline will definitely be my first choice for the services it has to offer and cost-effective fares.

Malindo Air promises more jobs to Malaysians and seeks to make Kota Kinabalu as its second hub in Malaysia. Sabah has a lot of tourism potentials to unleash. How true!

I wish all the best to Malindo Air! In deed, it is not just a low cost.