Malaysia Airlines Reassigned My Bassinet Seats after Aircraft Change – Then Asked Me to Pay Extra

turk182 on 03/07/2025 - 10:27
Last edited 04/07/2025 - 08:11 by 1 other user

I’m sharing this in case others have faced similar issues with Malaysia Airlines, especially when travelling with infants.

I booked bassinet seat 28D for myself and 6 month old son, 28E for my wife and 28F for our 2 year old son on flight MH140 from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur (October 2025) These seats were chosen specifically because they had a bassinet essential for long-haul travel with a baby.

Recently, Malaysia Airlines changed the aircraft from an Airbus A330-300 to an Airbus A330-900neo. The flight number and departure time stayed the same, but our confirmed seats were removed, and we were reassigned to different seats (row 29) without a bassinet.

When I contacted them, I was told I would now have to pay extra to keep an equivalent bassinet seat on the new aircraft despite already having booked these in good faith.

Their reason?

They claim the new seats have more legroom, and therefore now cost more. ($100aud each seat)

However, I checked the seat specifications. Seat 28D on both aircraft types offers similar legroom (around 31–32 inches). In fact, there's no significant difference in pitch between the A330-300 and the A330neo in this row. This is not an upgrade, it's simply the equivalent of what we already had.

To summarise:

The aircraft change was made by the airline, not me.

We reserved a bassinet seat based on our infant's needs.

They now want me to pay again for what I had already secured.

The claim of “extra legroom” does not hold up when comparing specs.

I’ve spoken to customer service and was told the issue is being escalated and I need to wait 2 full business days to get a response

Has anyone else experienced this?

Were you able to have your seats reinstated without paying again?

Any advice on how to escalate further or who to contact?

Update: received an email saying they have waived the fee and will now be sitting in my original seats. I feel this could have just been solved during my original phone call with them. Hopefully this helps anyone in a similar situation

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Comments

  • phun on 03/07/2025 - 10:40
    -3

    Moral of story do not fly wit baby

    • turk182 on 03/07/2025 - 14:13
      +12

      As someone who flies often, I can tell you there’s nothing more frustrating than a crying baby when you're trying to rest on a flight. That’s exactly why I made sure to book a night flight and reserve a bassinet seat. It honestly makes a big difference. I also booked well in advance to secure the seat and avoid any issues

      • sw0rdy on 03/07/2025 - 14:19
        -1

        put some noise cancelling headphones on and problem solved.

        • Muppet Detector on 03/07/2025 - 18:13

          On the baby?

          I don't think that they work that way.

  • El cheepo on 03/07/2025 - 10:47
    +7

    Airline doing airline things.

    They all love charging extra if there is an opportunity.

    • rambutann on 03/07/2025 - 11:17
      +2

      Sums it up.

      Infuriating, but you're dealing with a type of business that thinks their sh-t dont stink. Much like courier companies.

  • ryefig on 03/07/2025 - 10:49
    +11

    Malaysia Airlines are a low-cost carrier disguising themselves as full service. This is really poor on their behalf and I really hope they can do it for you.
    The fact that the agent needs to escalate a simple seat assignment issue up further to a supervisor really speaks to how poor their internal systems and processes must be.

    Even if it was an 'extra legroom' seat, the right thing to do is to assign them to you as this change was initiated on their behalf.
    Definitely will keep this in mind when I make future bookings.

  • Dollar General on 03/07/2025 - 11:00
    -3

    They have got you by the short and curlies. Pay up

  • donga100 on 03/07/2025 - 11:26
    -1

    Bassinet seating is never "reserved" or "secured". The airline always reserves the right to move you in favour of another infant they deem more needing (usually younger) of the seat.

    • ryefig on 03/07/2025 - 11:29
      +2

      Thats not what is happening here, there isn't another infant in those spaces. The airline is trying to charge OP to select the seats that they should already be assigned…

      • Muppet Detector on 03/07/2025 - 18:36
        -2

        Maybe they don't think the OP needs THREE bassinet seats to transport ONE baby.

        If OP is occupying two seats that don't require a bassinet, he is stopping two other people from accessing bassinet seats for their babies.

        If OP ends up being required to pay to be reassigned to the different row (he was initially in 28, but now 29?), perhaps he could save some money and just buy one bassinets seat.

        Who knows? At boarding, it could be that flight not full and OP can score a super secret sneaky upgrade for his other two companions for free!

        Sure, nice if they could all fly together, but a) that was never a guarantee anyway and b) apparently they've booked this flight because they're going to sleep. Won't know who you're beside if you're asleep.

  • turk182 on 03/07/2025 - 11:36

    I should add the new fee to get my original seats back is $100aud per seat so $300 and this now applies to all rows that have bassinet seats on this aircraft

  • Muppet Detector on 03/07/2025 - 12:05
    +3

    Did you pay for the first seat selection?

    What do the terms and conditions of your contract say about seat selection?

    If they do change your seats, they can probably change them "because we want to". They just wanted to say that by putting a nice spin on it. Ergo, unlikely that their reasons for changing seats matters.

    What matters is if your T&C guarantee you your preferred seat selection.

    • turk182 on 03/07/2025 - 12:50
      +2

      I choose the package that included the seat selection. Terms only mention im entitled to a refund for the seat selection.
      Im also happy to sit a different bassinet equipped seat but it appears the new aircraft has only increased the rows with bassinet seats.

      My main problem is basically everything is the same and now just have to pay $300

  • singlemalt72 on 03/07/2025 - 12:46
    +5

    Generally they should offer this to you in good faith, if the escalation does not work, ask to speak to a manager and reiterate that they were the ones who made the change and should be prepared to make good on your original seating allocation

  • carlJack on 03/07/2025 - 13:04

    Malaysian airlines has been rubbish since covid. I don't fly Malaysian anymore.

  • V2L on 03/07/2025 - 13:19
    +1

    it's the typical airline playbook. there are always lots of caveats on booking "if available" "at xx's discretion" etc so you aren't likely to have much luck pursuing legal challenges, best thing to do is to make as much noise as you can, make formal complaints, post on their socials and hope they do the right thing

  • BugsBunnyAUS on 03/07/2025 - 14:27
    +5

    I mean, it sucks, but it's also their policy so at least they aren't screwing you by being incompetent.

    https://www.askmh.malaysiaairlines.com/faq/s/article/If-I-m-…

    • turk182 on 03/07/2025 - 15:38

      Thanks for the link. I remember reading that article when I made the booking, but I don’t recall seeing anything about the Airbus A330-900neo at the time. It looks like that part was added in June 2025, well after I booked on April 29th. Honestly, if the seat selection page had shown that extra fee back then, I wouldn’t have booked with them at all

  • redforever on 03/07/2025 - 16:05
    +1

    Maybe consider just paying for 1 bassinet seat. This might be enough to make others avoid selecting the row and they might allow you to move if the row remains empty.

  • randombrick on 03/07/2025 - 16:58

    MH is a shit airline! They screwed us over after their call centre made a mistake. Haven't flown them since actually flew them once because of costs+timing and that just reinforced the shittiness for me.

  • GordonD on 03/07/2025 - 18:22

    You've complained to the airline.

    They've told you it'll take 2 days to give you a response.

    What do you think we can do?

    • turk182 on 03/07/2025 - 18:52
      +3

      Personally lobby the airline on my behalf using any means necessary to ensure i receive a positive outcome

      • Muppet Detector on 03/07/2025 - 19:44
        -1

        I'll give it a shot but it means I have to read all of those terms and conditions so I will be wanting $500.

  • Cherry12 on 04/07/2025 - 02:22

    Well I recently got a similar flight with them to KL as well and from the beginning we got charged $106 to choose a bassinet seat because they are on the bulkhead row.

    As others have said, if you don't specifically pay for the seat, they can easily change you.

    Once we paid for the seat, they booked us on a Flexi option that increased our kilos at check in. Even after we paid, we can't change the seat to another bulkhead row seat or any seat without calling them.

    For the amount of people we booked that's around $1000 extra only on seat selection, 4 flights including return but I wanted us all to sit together so they can also help with the baby. Every time that the sign goes on, you have to take the baby out of the bassinet which on my last flight was a lot so having the family around to help was worth the money. I see it as I'm already saving by booking MA vs TA or Cathay, etc.

  • turk182 on 04/07/2025 - 08:08
    +7

    Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused due to the recent aircraft change.

    We are pleased to inform you that your seats have been reassigned as follows: 28D, 28E, and 28F. This reassignment has been made at no additional charge.

    As the seat selection fee for the SYD–KUL sector has been waived, we kindly ask that you and your family complete check-in at the airport counter on the day of departure to avoid any difficulties during boarding. 

    • SydneySwan on 04/07/2025 - 08:21
      +4

      Great result.

    • Lastchancetosee on 04/07/2025 - 13:14
      +2

      Thanks for the update. Good that it's been resolved satisfactorily. Safe travels.

  • OGGazelle on 04/07/2025 - 08:48
    +1

    I flew emirates at start of June, had Bassinet seat booked 6 months in advance (and was ticketed as such during online check-in).

    Rocked up to the airport, and during baggage drop the attendant looked uncomfortable but didn't say anything… got to the plane and realised our seats had changed, and they gave us regular seats! Horribly poor form by staff re-allocating our seats on the day, and by the check-in attendant we had to not even mention it to us despite clearly knowing shit was going south.

  • fishka2 on 04/07/2025 - 16:17

    Does anyone know where to complain about airlines in general? Would NCAT accept cases like this or any industry ombudsman?🤷‍♂️

    • Muppet Detector on 04/07/2025 - 19:39
      +3

      Airline Customer Advocate (ACA)
      1800 813 129

      • fishka2 on 05/07/2025 - 11:57

        Thanks MD. Never heard about them so might be useful. Although looks like another toothless tiger mediation service, and only work with Australian airlines

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