MUCH has been said about the state of Malaysia Airlines. In spite of the often promising statements it makes, the sad reality is that it lags so much in efficiency behind many other airlines.

Nevertheless, my family has always tried to fly with our national carrier before considering other airlines. Until now, that is.

Recently, we booked a flight to Melbourne departing Kuala Lumpur on Feb 9. The booking was confirmed and we were issued a statement stating we have until Jan 17 to pay up.

However, when we went to the travel agent on Jan 10 to pay, we were told the due date had been brought forward by 10 days to Jan 7 without our knowledge and, therefore, our bookings had been cancelled automatically. No attempt was made to contact us.

The travel agent made a call to MAS to complain about this. The response from MAS was simple: it is the computer “system”.

Instead of being our first choice, MAS is now the airline of last resort for my family. It saddens me that as a Malaysian, I have to give priority to Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Emirates over our national carrier.

When a confirmation of booking slip is not worth the paper it is printed on, and does not ensure that you will get your tickets, you have to finally give up.

LEE LAI LIN, Sungai Petani

Source: NST – January 17, 2008