Malaysia Airlines Booking & Travel Flexibility

Malaysia Airlines is facing further issues now that the country is mostly closed and local lockdowns in place with no end in sight.

The airline, over the weekend, sent out an email to its loyalty program members informing them about further booking flexibility for existing and new tickets. Still, refunds won’t be forthcoming.

You can access the Malaysia Airlines page for travel flexibility here.

Here’s the email that Malaysia Airlines sent out:

Here’s information that Malaysia Airlines has published:

Malaysia Airlines Booking and Travel Flexibility

Last updated 31 MAY 2021, 1845hrs (GMT+8)

Due to the prolonged impact of COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia Airlines offers customers who have experienced flight disruptions more control over their travel arrangements with one (1) free change and fare difference or change/service fees waived.

Rebook Your Tickets

• Applicable for tickets issued for travels between 1 January 2020 to 30 October 2021 only.
• Rebook by 30 June 2022 for travel to be completed by 31 December 2022.
• No changes to the original destination
• A fare difference may apply for subsequent changes if your new travel date’s fare is higher than the original ticket fare purchased. Fares will be reassessed at the time of your rebooking.

Cancel Your Tickets

• Applicable for tickets issued for travels between 1 January 2020 to 30 October 2021 only.
• A travel voucher/open ticket will be issued for your next travel to be booked by 30 June 2022 for travel to be completed by 31 December 2022.
• The cancellation fee for partially used and unused tickets will be waived.

Request for Refund

• Contact the Malaysia Airlines Global Contact Centre at 1-300-88-3000 (in Malaysia), +603 7843 3000 (outside Malaysia) to find out if you are eligible.
• Alternatively, visit here to find your respective country’s contact information, submit your request to us via our online Assistance Request  form.
• Please contact your travel agent for any refund or change request if you have booked through a travel agency.
• Please note that refund requests will be reviewed and processed based on applicable local and international regulations on passenger rights that apply in these current unprecedented circumstances.

How can you extend your tickets?

To change or convert your ticket to a travel voucher/open ticket, please submit your requests through our online Assistance Request form here or contact your travel agent accordingly.

AND

Malaysia Airlines Offers a One-Time Fare Difference and Service Fee Waiver due to Malaysia’s Movement Control Order 3.0

Last updated 31 MAY 2021 1845hrs (GMT+8)

Applicable wholly for domestic travel within Malaysia from 13 January to 14 June 2021 period only and does not apply to international destination tickets that include a domestic sector. For example, London – Kuala Lumpur – Kuching routes.

Rebook Your Ticket

1. Rebook by 30 June 2022 for travel to be completed by 31 December 2022.
2. All subsequent changes for deferred/new travel dates will reflect the current available fare.

Cancel Your Ticket

1. Convert your ticket into a travel voucher/open ticket (applicable for all types of tickets except redemption tickets).
2. The travel voucher/open ticket can be used for your next travel before or on 30 December 2022.
3. For those with redemption tickets, the options in the form of a full refund or a travel voucher is not applicable. Enrich members will be allowed to have their ticket open dated, with travel rebooked by 30 June 2022 and the journey to be completed by 31 December 2022.

To rebook or cancel, please call our Global Contact Centre at 1-300-88-3000 (in Malaysia) or +603 7843 3000 (outside Malaysia).

Conclusion

Free changes with waived fees are useless UNLESS the airline also waives the potential fare differences. They do it for the first change if I read the text above correctly, but do collect for any subsequent changes (remember to be careful).

You can change tickets issued for travel between January 1 – October 31, 2021, until June 30, 2022, for travel through the end of 2022 without any fees.

It is unclear how Malaysia Airlines will come out of the current pandemic or if the local government finally decides to pull the plug after covering the losses for years.