Malaysia Airlines launches affordable Flexible Economy tickets

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One of the key ways in which airlines are going to get people booking again is to make their tickets refundable.

This does, of course, kill the holy grail of airline pricing. The aim is to sell cheap non-refundable tickets to the leisure market and hugely expensive refundable tickets to the business market.

At the moment, there isn’t much of the latter. Malaysia Airlines has therefore decided to offer refundable Economy tickets for only a modest premium.

It has launched ‘Economy Flex’ tickets on all routes out of London, except for Japan.

Malaysia Airlines flexible economy tickets

These offer:

a full refund at any point
free rebooking, subject to any fare difference
free flight changes on the day of travel, if space is available
additional baggage allowance
free seat selection
priority check-in, boarding and luggage delivery

You also receive:

50% off the cost of ‘neighbour free seat’, if you want to guarantee you sit alone
a 10% discount code for your next Malaysia Airlines flight

The key here is the cost. Economy Flex will cost no more than £48 more than a standard Economy ticket. Once you’ve factored in free seat selection, the premium is even smaller and you have a 100% guarantee that you can refund your money at any point.

London to Kuala Lumpur flights are restarting on 5th July.

Remember that, as a member of the oneworld alliance, you will also earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points when you fly with Malaysia Airlines.

You can learn more about Economy Flex on this page of the Malaysia Airlines website.

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This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

tony says:

24 Jun24 June 06:40

People might want to be wary about the MH deal on the basis they don’t stick to their own conditions of carriage. It’s clear that the airline has zero morals when it comes to customers so once they have your money, they can simply declare mitigating circumstances and refuse to make a refund – as many passengers booked for this summer on subsequently cancelled flights have found out.
- Tom says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 07:45
  
  Yep. Their UK team obviously does a good job of showing HFP some love but I wouldn’t touch Malaysia Airlines with a very long barge pole right now.
  
  For those that are not aware, their current policy if your flight is cancelled by is no refunds, travel voucher only which is normally valid for 6 months, can only be used over the phone and can only be used against more expensive fare buckets as a lot of the cheaper ones are online only. Basically theft.
  - Tom says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 07:50
    
    Oh, and they won’t even rebook you on another date either if your flight is cancelled without paying the fare difference and, surprise, surprise, all the cheapest fares have magically disappeared.
    - jkay86 says:
      
      24 Jun24 June 10:09
      
      Its probably not going to amount to much, but consider lodging a formal complaint with the Malaysian Aviation Commission – https://flysmart.my/en/covid-related-faq/
      - Hugo says:
        
        24 Jun24 June 17:07
        
        Did that – they were even more useless than Malaysian Airlines themselves. Thankfully Curve agreed to refund me.
  - Rob says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 09:07
    
    That’s the policy for flights which don’t touch the UK, and is correct under local law. It’s obviously useless but Malaysian law isn’t up to much.
    
    Any UK departures which are cancelled are refunded as you would expect.
  - tony says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 16:30
    
    @Tom you absolutely nail it with the word “theft”.
  - Lady London says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 22:32
    
    Easyjet has been doing something similar to what you call ‘theft’. If you are forced to phone Easyjet to change your flight, the agent is forced to use a different pricelist and you’ll be charged the difference as a ‘fare difference’ to switch to your new flight.
    
    You are not able to see this separate non-internet fare buckey/price list. It,’s dynamic but seems to mostly result in a fare that’s at least £20 higher than buying the same seat on the internet would cost and Easyjet takes the inflated difference from you. Any change fee is paid in addition and used to be £30-£44 often. Is this theft ?
    - Charlieface says:
      
      24 Jun24 June 22:46
      
      I’ve successfully got the online price when redeeming a voucher, I also got them to waive the phone booking fee and I did this on the standard-rate number. This was a few years ago
- guesswho2000 says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 09:22
  
  That’s the point at which you can play the S75 card for breach of contract.
Ron says:

24 Jun24 June 07:08

I really cant find the 60% bonus for Etihad Guest Miles. Is it me or it just says 30% on the website to purchase points at the maximum?? Anyone else?
Gerry says:

24 Jun24 June 07:17

“due to payment processing problems.” These must be the same problems that are forbidding me from buying a future travel bank credit +free 50% from Etihad.
No one answers the phones. I have spent almost 12 hours over several sessions trying to get through to a supposed 24/7 Customer Service centre number in the UK.
What is the point of these offers if they don’t answer? This was a good opportunity for the airline to grab some up-front cash. This offer ends today so I guess this isn’t going to happen.
- Tim says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 07:42
  
  Same for me, hours on hold! I’m calling from within UAE.
  Expat travelling back and forward to UK and looking to bung my business their way away from Emirates.
  Seems they must have decided that the offer was “too good” and now don’t want to offer it.
  - Tim says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 08:02
    
    Trying a different tack. Rather than option 1 to purchase voucher, I thought I’d try via the EtihadGuest option – “All our agents are busy. Your current wait time is over 2 hours”.
- Andrew says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 08:46
  
  Etihad use Wirecard for processing don’t they?
Amit says:

24 Jun24 June 07:23

The Etihad buy points link is only showing me a 30% bonus
- Oliver says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 07:35
  
  Same for me. Have they pulled out already?
  - Tim says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 07:47
    
    It was there a few days ago but seems to have ended as planned on 18th and NOT extended as the article suggests.
    It wasn’t there yesterday either as I was trying (in vain) to purchase one of their 50% cash bonus vouchers with a points top-up for some of my upcoming return travel from UAE back to UK
  - Rob says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 09:08
    
    Weird. Was definitely fine last night.
Metty says:

24 Jun24 June 08:21

One good use of Etihad miles is an American redemption. Domestic US in Business 25000 miles and when I last flew this, it booked into F on a 3 class Transcon JFK-LAX. Whether this was a mistake or a loophole that’s now closed I don’t know.
- guesswho2000 says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 09:25
  
  They’re also good for Virgin Australia J redemptions (not that that means much right now).
  - Rob says:
    
    24 Jun24 June 09:31
    
    I need to book an Oman Air seat on Etihad Guest miles this week. Assuming it works as planned it will be a great deal – 3000 miles plus nominal taxes for a £125 seat, x 4 people. Assuming I can get through to them ….
Shane says:

24 Jun24 June 08:29

I used to fly Malaysian a lot within South and South East Asia. Not any more! The way they behaved over refunds/vouchers for flights they cancelled due to Covid-19 has been atrocious. I wouldn’t touch this offer with a barge pole, as they simply cannot be trusted.

If you’re still trying to get adequate recompense from Malaysian for flights they cancelled earlier in the year, the only reliable way appears to be to dispute the charges with your credit card company, and if that fails, launch a S75 claim
- tony says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 13:33
  
  That’s where I am up to now, but the credit card company won’t start proceedings until the service was due to be delivered. I’ve queried this with the regulator but they’re too busy to respond, too. Thought I was so smart using my virgin no-FX fee credit card to save 3% rather than AMEX.
  
  I’ve learnt many travel lessons from the current state of affairs. Can’t see me ever embarking on a complex multi-country itinerary with the family again, though. It just reveals a whole load of risks I’d never even considered. BA Holidays fly/drive or Trailfinders next year, I think…
J says:

24 Jun24 June 09:07

Has anyone stayed at the Waldolf Astoria in Rome? Thoughts? Related, I’ve stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Rome Claridge which I thought was excellent for a busy few days sightseeing (and depending on dates can be good value).
- James says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 09:36
  
  I got married there last year. Amazing from start to finish.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 09:59
  
  Lots of reviews on Flyertalk thread.
  
  I think its pretty far out from the ‘centre’ but its a highly rated hotel, if you get the right room.
  
  Versaille is more hit and miss. the reviews all say if you get stuck in ‘modern outbuilding’ its below par but the main residence is lovely.
- Michael C says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 10:41
  
  Just to chip in, we stayed at the Excelsior, were treated fabulously, & it’s a great location.
- Pierre says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 14:09
  
  WA Rome is excellent, awesome views, though a little bit far away from the sights.
  
  I stayed and proposed at the Gran Melia Rome 7 years ago, can’t beat that.
Pierre says:

24 Jun24 June 14:10

Could the 3rd night free be combined with FHR benefits? I know that the WA Versailles is on the list.
- Rob says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 14:34
  
  Only if the Amex Travel website shows it as an option if you try a dummy booking.
- Kai says:
  
  24 Jun24 June 21:34
  
  Had a quick look the other day and it didn’t work for WA Edinburgh at least. I guess FHR negotiates their own deal rather than use Impresario directly.