Thinking about trying out Malaysia Airlines business class and wondering what it’s like? Want to know if it’s worth your cash?
Or maybe you have already booked a flight in Malaysia Airlines business class and you want to know exactly what to expect.
In either case, this full Malaysia Airlines business class review will help you work out exactly what Malaysia Airlines business class offers in the A330-200.
Exactly whether it is worth it will depend on how much you pay and what you value. Malaysia Airlines business class is a solid product but it does have pros and cons compared to other business class offerings.
It definitely beats economy class though, and I did enjoy this flight.
Below, I walk you through all aspects of Malaysia Airlines business class in the A330 from checking in at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to entering the lounge to boarding the flight, the seat and collecting my luggage after the flight.
I also share my full video review of this experience so you can see exactly what it’s like for yourself.
I want to preface this by saying that I flew in this business class around the same time I flew in Qantas and Singapore Airlines business class which made me fussier than someone might be who is less familiar with business class. You may love this product more than me if you have had different previous experiences and especially if you are just comparing it with economy.
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Contents
Malaysia Airlines Business Class Review
Details Of My Flight: Malaysia Airlines A330 Business Class Review
I took this Malaysia Airlines business class flight in the A330-200 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore in the afternoon at 3pm. It’s only a short flight scheduled to be one and a quarter hours.
This means it didn’t cost all that much – about RM1200.
Note that most Malaysia Airlines flights from KL to Singapore are in narrow body aircrafts so if you want the experience detailed here in this Malaysia Airline business class review, make sure you book a flight that is on this aircraft specifically.
If you are on a narrow body plane, much of the experiences in this email will be similar or the same. The main difference is the seat.
I was in seat 4K which I recommend.
Full Video Of This Malaysia Airline Business Class Review
Want to watch a full video of this Malaysia Air business class review? Go right ahead and watch the video below. It is filmed on this same flight and will give you a great overview of flying Malaysia Air business class in the A330-200.
Check In At Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)
Check-in was very easy once I found the right place to check-in for business class. While the Malaysia AIrlines economy flights at KLIA were assigned to different areas depending on the destination, all business class check-in was at the D area. I didn’t see a sign for this and had to ask.
The area was small but I walked straight up and had great service. I soon had my boarding pass and was walking through immigration in the line for business class.
At KLIA, the main security is at the gate, but there is an initial scan here. There is no priority here, so I lined up with everyone else. It was quick though.
Lounge Access: Golden Lounge
Once through the formalities, you can go to one of Malaysia Airline’s Golden Lounge. There are three at KLIA. One is in the domestic terminal, one in the main terminal (very close to where you first go through security) and the main, big one is in the satellite terminal.
Since my flight was departing from the satellite terminal, I hopped on the quick train ride and was in the lounge soon after. To make sure you find it easily, exit the train, walk forward and then look back – you’ll see it on the next level behind you.
I have been to both Golden Lounges in the international terminals and both are great. The satellite one does offer more because it is so big, so if you are gong to be departing from there, I recommend you skip past the one in the main terminal and go straight to the satellite one.
This lounge has a few different areas including a bar, a noodle bar, the main eating and drinks area (but no alcoholic drinks here) and a lot of seating. It’s calm and has a great ambience.
I had some great food, some soft drink and relaxed updating my lounge article while I waited for my flight. Accessing this lounge is definitely a great perk of flying business class.
You can read my full review of the satellite Golden Lounge here.
Boarding Experience
My relaxing experience at the airport so far fell apart a little when I went to board my flight.
When I got to the gate, I had to pass security to get onboard. This had quite a long line and they started boarding while I was lining up. There was no priority line for security so it wasn’t possible for me to board the plan with priority as you would expect with business class. After security, I was in another line to get into the gate while they checked tickets and passports.
Then I was straight on board. At least business class had its own airbridge and I was soon at my seat. I had a warm welcome from one of the staff members.
Business class was already half full when I arrived and they were offering apple or orange juice with a cold flannel. I asked for champagne but was told they weren’t solving alcohol on this flight!
I was quite taken aback. I know the flight is short, but I hadn’t had that experience before. It may be a small thing, but I really love that moment I sit in a business class seat after dealing with airports and decompress with a glass of champagne. It kind of encapsulates the whole business class experience for me.
Malaysia Airlines Business Class Seat Review
While Malaysia Airlines is famous for having its seats in a 2-2-1 configuration, on this plane, it was a 1-2-1 configuration. Much better!
Every second row in the middle had the seats right next to each other so seek this out if you are a couple. The window seats alternate to being right in the aisle (with no privacy – as pictured above) with being right by the window (with a good amount of privacy). I booked the latter on their site easily before my flight. It’s really only these directly-by-the-window seats that are private.
This aspect was great, but I was disappointed when I first sat in my seat.
While I was happy to be in business class compared to economy, my first impression of my seat weren’t good. There wasn’t storage and it was too narrow. I couldn’t reach my screen and it all seemed very poorly designed.
This seemed even more the case when I tried to use my tray table. It was small and a long way from my seat. I had to move my seat to it for it to be any good. Then there was no room for my legs unless I put them horiztonal over the foot rest.
The upside was I could get out of my seat without touching my tray table but I’d rather sit comfortably while using it.
Another upside is that there is a huge amount of forward leg room. It’s a long way to the foot rest when sitting upright. It’s also a long way to the entertainment screen and it didn’t have a remote so the only way to use it was to put my seat far foward and have my legs squished. Even if I did that, the screen didn’t work properly, and it was painful to select anything. So I can’t comment on whether there was a good selection.
We weren’t given headphones though so between all of that, I gave up on using it.
I enjoyed the seat massage function and there was a USB charger and an international power point.
During the flight, I put the seat into the lie-flat position and lied down on it to try it out. I had to lie sideways to fit comfortably. It was long enough but just so narrow especially where your feet go, although most of the “bed” wasn’t covered which is a win.
I am 1.64 metres tall and a slim to average build, and I found the seat narrow both when sitting up and lying down. I would not recommend it for bigger people.
However, my biggest problem was the lack of storage. Initially, I couldn’t even find somewhere to put my phone, let alone a book or laptop. Eventually I found the equivalent of the economy seat back pocket where I could put my phone and book, but it was very awkward to reach from my seat. I don’t know why they would place that so badly.
It all seemed old and liked it need updating.
Overall, I found it a terrible design that I just don’t understand. I was mostly just confused why the chair wasn’t functional. I would definitely book Qantas, Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines on a long haul flight over this seat. For a one hour flight, though, it was good.
I highly recommend you watch my video above for a good look at the seat and everything I am talking about.
If you do fly on this aircraft, I did like my seat 4K. It is relatively private, tucked away by the window. and I liked that aspect of it.
Food And Drinks In Malaysia Airlines Business Class Kuala Lumpur To Singapore
This is only a short flight, so I expected a limited meal service (which it was), but I didn’t expect such a limited range of drinks.
All you could have was water, coke, apple or orange juice in a small cup. I was offered more in Singapore Airlines economy on this route.
The meal was rice and Malaysia Airline’s famous satay sticks. It didn’t come in a cart and was a pre-prepared serving but it tasted good, and I thought it was a great option for a short flight.
They also gave me peanuts.
Amenities
On arrival at my seat, there was a blanket and a pillow which felt a little overkill for this short, daytime flight. Unfortunately, though, there were no headphones.
The bathroom was far from special and looked like they hadn’t finished setting it up with items and paper towel in the sink.
There were no toiletries which is fine for a flight this length.
Malaysia Airlines Business Class Service
The service was between perfunctory and good. Nothing special, but nothing bad either. I have no warm stories, but I didn’t have any problems with it either.
Disembarking And Luggage
We arrived in Singapore on time and I was soon heading into the terminal to get my bags just to check in again for another flight home.
I had priority luggage but there was a lot of priority luggage onboard to the point where it didn’t really help and my bags came out about midway through.
Final Words: Is Malaysia Airlines Business Class Worth It?
As I said before, it really depends how much you pay and what you consider worth it.
When I flew this flight, it was about twice as much as economy class.
If you don’t like spending time in lines in airport and love lounge access, this could be worth it. Although I don’t think the seat was a big enough win to be worth it personally.
For a long haul flight, I would only pick this product over similar airlines, like Singapore, if it was a fair bit cheaper as I don’t think it measures up.
I did love the lounge, the priority check-in and immigration line and the food was good for a one hour flight.
I didn’t like the seat (although it’s far superior to economy), the bathroom should have been set up, I should have been able to use the entertainment unit and I’m still disappointed there was no champagne or anything but juice and coke.
I fly to Malaysia regularly from Melbourne, Australia and I would prefer to fly straight to KL instead of via Singapore. However, while Malaysia Airlines stays a similar price to its competitors, I would fly one of the business class options to Singapore instead for a superior product (more about this below).
With a decent price reduction over its competitors, I would consider flying Malaysia Airlines business class again, especially if they changed their seats.
Malaysia Airlines Business Class Vs AirAsia/Jetstar/Scoot Premium Classes
I have previously reviewed the budget airline premium classes that fly to this part of the world and I have flown all of AirAsia, Jetstar and Scoot between Melbourne and either KL or Singapore.
Malaysia Airlines is far and away better.
I do prefer the AirAsia seat, but it lacks the service and all the on-ground extras of Malaysia Airlines, and you just don’t get that business class special feeling. It clearly wins over ScootPlus and Jetstar business class though in most ways.
Malaysia Airlines Business Class Vs Singapore Airlines/Qantas Business Class
While this Malaysia Airlines business class review A330-200 wins over budget carriers, I far prefer Singapore Airlines and Qantas business class. Since I am flying between Melbourne and Singapore/Kuala Lumpur, I have flown all three within a month and Malaysia Airlines does not stack up.
The on-the-ground experience is similar with all three, but the amazing service and seat is better on Qantas and Singapore Airlines. Far better.
I only recommend Malaysia Airlines over these airlines if you find it significantly cheaper and, ideally, you aren’t tall or wide.
However, if you are looking for business class between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, this is a good option to get between these two cities as pleasantly as possible.
I hope you have found this full Malaysia business class review useful. You can also read my Singapore Airlines business class review, Qantas business class review here, AirAsia business class review here, Jetstar business here and Scoot Plus here. You can find all my planning guides (including flight reviews) here.
Planning a trip to Malaysia? Have any questions? Join our Malaysia Travel Planning Facebook group here now! It’s the perfect place to ask any questions and to be inspired!
