Review - Malaysia Airlines Economy Class B737-800 Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar

The last country on our whirlwind of a SE Asia trip was Indonesia. I decided to fly with Malaysia Airlines, primarily because I hadn’t been able to take advantage of my oneworld emerald status in Asia in the past few years. Malaysia Airlines is a member of oneworld, and I’ve flown with them several times from short hops in economy between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to intercontinental business class to Heathrow (throwback to the days when Malaysia had A380s). While its onboard experience could best be described as lackluster, the ground service at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) was reasonably nice. Specifically, I was looking forward to returning to its Golden Lounge, which had a separate first class section.

The drive from downtown KL to KLIA was a lengthy one. Fortunately, pretty much the whole way was on a toll road, so traffic was minimal. Alternatively, you could take the KLIA Ekspres train, which I’ve used before when I was traveling light.

Once at the airport, there was a dedicated aisle for premium passengers. You can’t miss the big arch with Malaysia Airlines logo.

Premium Check-in by Malaysia Airlines at KUL

The check-in area was then separated into business class and business suite. Malaysia Airlines used to have proper first class, however, the notion of “first class” didn’t jive too well with a country battered by corrupt politicians. So Malaysia Airlines rebranded its first class to business suite. We had access to the business suite check-in counters, tucked away behind partitions with the usual red carpets rolled out for esteemed guests. Not us, we were just on a sub-$200 coach ticket to Bali like any other backpacker.

Business Suite Check-in by Malaysia Airlines at KUL

Check-in took a bit, which involved us filling out the custom declaration form for Indonesia on our phones. With our boarding passes in hand, we headed through immigration and security check, then on our way to the lounge.

Lounge:

Malaysia Airlines operated a slew of Golden Lounges at KLIA, with the regional one in the main terminal, and the long-haul one in the satellite terminal. Only the satellite lounge had a first class lounge, so we made our trek there. KLIA’s APM system was broken at the time, so we had to take a shuttle bus. It wasn’t the most efficient option, but at least we got to spot some random airplanes, such as the Super Air Jet A320 below…

When you’re in the satellite terminal, just take a lift to the floor above concourse, and the Golden Lounge Satellite was located towards the very end of that floor.

Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge Satellite Entrance

The lounge had been around for many years at this point, so don’t expect the most modern hard product. The receptionist was friendly, and we were quickly admitted to the first class lounge, which was to the right.

Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge Satellite Reception

Once past the reception, there was the restaurant to the right, while the rest of the lounge was straight ahead.

Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge Satellite

The lounge portion consisted of various seating arrangements, some beverage and snack options and a partially obstructed view of the apron.

The first class lounge also had its own restrooms, as well as a shower suite. I sort of remember having to shower in the business class lounge the last time I was there, so maybe that changed since then.

If you want anything to eat, your best chance would be the lounge’s restaurant. This was a proper restaurant with made-to-order dishes. I do have to commend Malaysia Airlines for maintaining this, as it doesn’t even offer a real first class product anymore.

Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge Satellite Restaurant

Service was a bit slow to start, and we had to flag someone down for the menu.

Since we were headed to Bali, we figured we might as well get the party started. Malaysia was serving Duval-Leroy, which United also served in its Polaris business class. What United didn’t do was serving it in a chilled flute, lol.

I chose the smoked duck salad with peach, mint leaves and mesclun with yuzu sesame dressing for appetizer. This was terrible, as the lettuce was not fresh.

My partner had better luck with his tom yum goong with prawns.

I recalled this lounge used to have a beautifully presented bread service with breadsticks and butter dish, so I asked for some bread, which wasn’t proactively offered.

I immediately regretted ordering that…

Thankfully the main courses saved the day. My Portuguese-style grilled seabass was flavorful, and the coconut rice was fluffy and fragrant.

Back in the day the steak cut was a ribeye, which had now been switched to a tenderloin. It was still decent, though.

We definitely didn’t need the desserts, but I had a blog to run, so I forced us to each try one item.

Service was reactive. It was really more of a fun thing to do before a flight than anything else. Then again, I don't have much to complain about when I’m having a three-course meal with champagne on a short-haul economy ticket.

Boarding:

We made our way back to the main terminal to board the flight to Bali. Our bird today was a refurbished Boeing 737-800 with new interior.

The cabin felt brighter and fresher, thanks to the mood lighting and the new seats.

Malaysia Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Cabin

Unfortunately, Malaysia Airlines elected to remove personal seatback monitors.

We chose the exit row for additional comfort. Our flight had a very light load, with roughly 2/5 of the seats occupied.

Malaysia Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Seat

In-flight:

We pushed back on-time and were airborne shortly.

On this 3-hour flight, lunch was provided to all passengers. In economy, the options were between fish in cream sauce and chicken satay fried rice.

Malaysia Airlines Economy Class Lunch KUL-DPS

Again, for review purposes, I ordered one of each. The fish was disgusting, but the chicken satay was quite outstanding. I mean, how bad can chicken satay be…

After lunch was wrapped up, the crew came around the cabin one more time for another round of beverage service, before they disappeared until we were near Bali.

On Arrival:

Soon enough we commenced our descent into Denpasar and had a smooth touchdown. On our way to the gate, we passed the gigantic Emirates A380. I didn’t know the runway at DPS was long enough for that???

Our quick flight on Malaysia Airlines was about what I expected. In my opinion, Malaysia Airlines is similar to Thai Airways, which is also past its prime. It’s a treat to enjoy the lounge before a short regional flight, but I wouldn’t fly with them on longer flights unless it’s a screaming deal.

Review - Malaysia Airlines Economy Class B737-800 Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar

MH853 KUL-DPS

December 26th, 2023

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