Normally, if I was on my own sending off my wife at KLIA, I would drop her at the entrance to departure lounge and park the car before joining her.
Last night, though she said that it would be too late for grandson, Shane, and that only our younger daughter was to accompany me, she was obviously pleased when son said he wanted to bring along Shane, knowing she is going to miss him for weeks.
Since we were early, we decided to park the car first and and go together to departure lounge.
There were long queues at several counters and when we approached, the MAS stewardess suggested we go to one without the queue. What a pleasant surprise we thought, only to know that the situation was 'overbooked' and my wife was to be put on another flight (upgraded to Business Class) to London (instead of Amsterdam)! The expected delay was about 3 hours. After the initial disappointment, she took it as a blessing in disguise. We were surprised to be given 4 dinner vouchers (including for 3 of us who were not travelling) while waiting for the matter to be sorted out, which included issue of replacement ticket. Out of the 3 outlets from which we could choose from, we chose Secret Recipe because at least we like their cheesecakes. As it turned out, each voucher was worth Rm20 which meant we could order up to Rm80, courtesy of MAS.
Having experienced exorbitant prices in KLIA F&B outlets, I could not believe the prices at Secret Recipe. For example, a cup of coffee at Oldtown Kopitiam was priced at Rm9.90++ while at a cafe (one of the 3 choices offered by MAS), where I once had a cup of tea which was badly brewed (tea bag and milk put in together) at Rm13.00++.
What we got from Secret Recipe for Rm80:
2 cafe latte and a hot chocolate @ Rm7.80 (size of glass like that of milk shake!); 1 tea (teabag with separate cup of hot milk) @ Rm6.50; 1 black pepper lamb pie and 1 chicken Cornish pasty @ Rm8.80; 1 choc cheese berries and 1 hi fibre cheese cake @ Rm7.50 and a Vienna brownies @ Rm6.50. Sub-total was Rm69 plus SC Rm6.90 and Govt tax Rm4.14 which added up to Rm80.05!
I was told there was a notice that the prices are the same as outside KLIA, but I cannot help wondering if the prices were reduced because of MAS vouchers. Based on the prices and the quality of food and beverage, I think Secret Recipe should be recommended, especially in KLIA.
Anyway, after half an hour and as instructed, my wife went back to sort out her ticket... and was told that there was a last-minute cancellation by a passenger and that she could be on her original flight!
Under the circumstances, I think the MAS ground crew handled it very well, making us feel well looked after, though at a cost of 4 dinner vouchers! The only problem was that the delay meant little Shane became restless because it was past his bedtime.
This unexpected 'upgrade to Business class' (though it did not happen) reminded me of the time when we were upgraded by Qantas to First Class in 1976. It was totally unexpected and when asked why we were chosen, the Qantas steward said 'maybe you look presentable'! Maybe I was overdressed then for someone travelling on Economy ticket: 3-piece suit which I wore at our wedding just weeks earlier!
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Last night, though she said that it would be too late for grandson, Shane, and that only our younger daughter was to accompany me, she was obviously pleased when son said he wanted to bring along Shane, knowing she is going to miss him for weeks.
Since we were early, we decided to park the car first and and go together to departure lounge.
There were long queues at several counters and when we approached, the MAS stewardess suggested we go to one without the queue. What a pleasant surprise we thought, only to know that the situation was 'overbooked' and my wife was to be put on another flight (upgraded to Business Class) to London (instead of Amsterdam)! The expected delay was about 3 hours. After the initial disappointment, she took it as a blessing in disguise. We were surprised to be given 4 dinner vouchers (including for 3 of us who were not travelling) while waiting for the matter to be sorted out, which included issue of replacement ticket. Out of the 3 outlets from which we could choose from, we chose Secret Recipe because at least we like their cheesecakes. As it turned out, each voucher was worth Rm20 which meant we could order up to Rm80, courtesy of MAS.
Having experienced exorbitant prices in KLIA F&B outlets, I could not believe the prices at Secret Recipe. For example, a cup of coffee at Oldtown Kopitiam was priced at Rm9.90++ while at a cafe (one of the 3 choices offered by MAS), where I once had a cup of tea which was badly brewed (tea bag and milk put in together) at Rm13.00++.
What we got from Secret Recipe for Rm80:
2 cafe latte and a hot chocolate @ Rm7.80 (size of glass like that of milk shake!); 1 tea (teabag with separate cup of hot milk) @ Rm6.50; 1 black pepper lamb pie and 1 chicken Cornish pasty @ Rm8.80; 1 choc cheese berries and 1 hi fibre cheese cake @ Rm7.50 and a Vienna brownies @ Rm6.50. Sub-total was Rm69 plus SC Rm6.90 and Govt tax Rm4.14 which added up to Rm80.05!
I was told there was a notice that the prices are the same as outside KLIA, but I cannot help wondering if the prices were reduced because of MAS vouchers. Based on the prices and the quality of food and beverage, I think Secret Recipe should be recommended, especially in KLIA.
Anyway, after half an hour and as instructed, my wife went back to sort out her ticket... and was told that there was a last-minute cancellation by a passenger and that she could be on her original flight!
Under the circumstances, I think the MAS ground crew handled it very well, making us feel well looked after, though at a cost of 4 dinner vouchers! The only problem was that the delay meant little Shane became restless because it was past his bedtime.
This unexpected 'upgrade to Business class' (though it did not happen) reminded me of the time when we were upgraded by Qantas to First Class in 1976. It was totally unexpected and when asked why we were chosen, the Qantas steward said 'maybe you look presentable'! Maybe I was overdressed then for someone travelling on Economy ticket: 3-piece suit which I wore at our wedding just weeks earlier!
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