Malaysia Airlines' brand sentiments dip due to in-flight catering hullabaloo

Malaysia Airlines' brand sentiments seem to be in a bit of turbulence due to an in-flight catering hullabaloo that unfolded last week. Chatter arose after the airline's completion of its longstanding partnership with anchor caterer, Brahim’s Food Services.

Following the ending of the partnership, Malaysia Airlines created an online FAQ addressing the news and also said that passengers are allowed to bring their own meals amidst the transition. According to the FAQ, while food will still be made available, it won't be a hot meal but rather, refreshments. This led to disgruntled passengers expressing their discontentment on social media. 

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According to media intelligence company, CARMA, conversations on social media about Malaysia Airlines have been overwhelmingly negative at 40.6%, and this surge in negative sentiment signals a troubling trend wherein the airline’s reputation could suffer if not addressed and rectified promptly. CARMA stated that the negative sentiments could also be compounded from various sources which include recent incidents, customer experiences or broader industry issues which have affected Malaysia Airlines’ image.

One such incident include when a Malaysia Airlines flight departing Sydney for Kuala Lumpur was forced to return to Sydney two hours into the flight after a passenger allegedly threatened fellow travellers and crew on the flight.

In contrast, CARMA pointed out, positive sentiment remains low at 3.3%. A word cloud provided by media intelligence firm Meltwater showed that the "old in-flight catering", which is Brahim's food services, is what most of the chatter was about. 

Netizens' posts on social media also showed that they were largely unhappy that Malaysian Airlines terminated its contract with Brahim's. 

Malaysia Airlines also told media that it was encountering various challenges during the transition, which were made worse by factors such as rainy weather conditions and difficulties at aircraft parking bays. The airline apologised to its passengers for the inconvenience experienced.

Like Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has also been in the news this year for its less than favourable in-flight catering. SIA has long been lauded for serving up good quality meals on its flights regardless of the class that a passenger is sitting in. However, earlier this year, the food on SIA has been a hot topic of discussion amongst netizens after a Reddit user took to the social media site to post two photos of some of the meals being served on Economy class.  In the post, the user asked if the quality of food in SIA's Economy class has been downgraded. The post drew many commenters with many chiming in to say that the food looked like it was from a 'budget airline' and with many saying that it now resembled food from the local army camps. 

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