I TOOK the Malaysia Airlines flight MH2 to London from Kuala Lumpur just before midnight on March 11. It was a pleasant flight and I must admit, after all these years of flying MAS, this was one of my best inflight experiences.

From the hardware standpoint, there’s not much that can positively set apart one airline from another. After all, a 747 is a 747 but even here it is so easy to be outdone by others in terms of cabin cleanliness and toilet upkeep.

So, the bottom line is, it is down to the “software” and in particular, the attitude and attentiveness of the cabin staff. Without singling out any particular one, I’ll just say that the set of cabin crew that served us “upfront” on this flight were truly superb.

But what struck me most on this flight was the man in the cockpit. Just as we were about to depart, he came on air to inform us clearly and confidently that due to airtraffic congestion over the Bay of Bengal, “push-back” would be slightly delayed.

He came across as delightfully light-hearted but effective.

At the end, he assured the passengers that in spite of the delay, he would do his best to make up for lost time.

Sure enough, just about an hour before arrival, he came on air again to inform us that barring air traffic restrictions, we should be touching down slightly ahead of schedule. We actually touched down 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

It was the way the captain spoke to the passengers that set this flight apart from my previous experiences with MAS. He was warm, clear, confident and sprinkled what is usually a mundane announcement with a great deal of humour. He ended nicely with, “We sincerely hope you have truly enjoyed our Malaysian hospitality. After all, that’s what MH stands for”.

I think he is the kind of example, or even resource, you should use for training of crew both from the flight deck and in the cabin when it comes to making the announcements.

Many a time, I have been silently embarrassed (as a Malaysian flying MAS) by the poor pronunciation, utter lack of confidence and what is worse, the inability of the announcer, sometimes, to be able to read the standard script properly.

AHMAD TAJUDDIN ALI, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – March 21, 2008