Review: Batik Air 737 Max 8 Business Class Denpasar (Bali)-Kuala Lumpur
- Konrad Tillman
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
Intro
After a lovely time flying the brand new Garuda Business Class down to Bali, catching a wahoo off of Nusa Lembongan, and seeing my family for the week near Seminyak, it was time to embark on the adventure back to California. Ordinarily, most people flying from Bali to Los Angeles would choose a one-stop option, but seeing as I wanted to re-review the Batik Air 737 Business Class experience, I decided to make it a little more complicated 😅.
So, how was Batik Air in Business Class? Honestly, this is an exceptional product for the price you pay. Sure, you are not going to have excellent champagne and hundreds of movies, but it’s less than half the cost of Malaysian Airlines… Let’s jump in!
Route- Denpasar (DPS)- Kuala Lumpur
Flight Number- OD307
Seat- 3F
Aircraft- Boeing 737 Max 8
Date- August 24th, 2024
Flight Time- 2 Hours and 43 Minutes
Price Paid- 267$
How I Booked
Browsing online, I didn’t have many options when it came to getting from Denpasar to Kuala Lumpur on points, so I decided to look at cash fares. Originally, I was planning on flying economy, since business class really isn’t needed on such a short flight, but with economy fares on Batik at 192 and business class at 267$, it was a no-brainer.
Note: Batik Air tends to release 1-2 saver-priced seats on most flights. As an example, Jakarta to Denpasar prices out in business at 167$, but once those saver seats are filled, it will jump to around 270$, and then upwards to 350-400$.
Check-In
Heading off to the airport with Pak Jol, it was a beautiful day in Bali. Traffic was light, Danza Koduro was bumping, the sun was shining, and Bintangs were flowing. Depending on the time of day, it’s about a 30-40 minute drive from Seminyak to Ngurah Rai, and today we got lucky with traffic.
Pulling up to the international terminal, I was pleased to see my immigration assistant waiting for me curbside. While certainly not necessary, it’s something my family arranges for me on departure and arrival. He informed me that Batik Air uses check-in E at Denpasar International, which is quite inconvenient due to having to go downstairs to check in and then back upstairs to clear security/immigration. Ehh, life is life.
Thankfully, Batik Air has a dedicated Business Class check-in that had no line this afternoon. The agents were very friendly at check-in, and even wrote me an invitation to the JAS Premier Lounge, which I should NOT have had access to due to being on a saver fare. Well, well, I’m not complaining 😉.
Back upstairs we went, (maybe this is good to get the steps in after those Bintangs and all of the pasta from Mauri and Amici (my favorites)), security was a breeze, albeit with no fast track for business class regardless of airline, and it was off the lounge.
JAS Premier Lounge
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Batik Air sends their business class passengers to the JAS Premier Lounge in Denpasar, which happens to be the main lounge for the likes of Qatar and Etihad passengers.
While I have reviewed this lounge extensively in the past (you can find that here), it’s not a bad place, featuring plenty of space, free-flowing cocktails, and a good-sized buffet. It’s no flagship lounge, but it is functional.
Boarding
With our scheduled boarding time set for 2:20 pm, I headed over to the dreaded “6” gates that we had been assigned for today. Honestly, these are a pain when flying out of Denpasar as it requires a bus, but hey, can’t really complain when you get up and close with a Max 8.
As I arrived at 2:25 pm, I happened to be one of the last passengers to get on board the bus. Within minutes, the doors had closed, and we were whisked away to our remote stand a few minutes away.
My word, would you look at that plane! It’s as if an Aston Martin made love to a swan mid-flight, and the result was raised on a steady diet of Bond films and polite applause. Does that make sense? Probably not, but neither does my life…
Making my way up the stairs, I was warmly greeted by the flight attendants. I knew it was going to be a good flight already.
The Seat/Cabin
Turning right, I was greeted by a swanky-looking business-class cabin. The Batik Air fleet varies tremendously, but the Max 8 we were assigned features 3 rows of business class in a 2-2 configuration, totalling 12 seats. The swanky seats are upholstered in a beigy-brown colorway (I don’t know, I’m not an interior designer 😅), creating a relaxing vibe to the cabin.
Each seat features practically unlimited legroom (really top of the line here) to the point where I could say that outside of those funky African carriers with about 5000 inches of pitch, this might be some of the best pitch in the world for a recliner seat…
Additionally, there are seat controls and a remote located in the center armrest. Easy enough to use, but you also won’t click any buttons by accident.
In the seatback in front is where you will find the IFE, but more on that later. Oh yeah, overhead air vents! In Asia! Heck Yeah!!!
Departure
No more than a minute of being onboard did a lovely flight attendant come over to introduce herself, welcome me onboard, and offer me a pre-departure beverage. While alcohol is not served on the ground (honestly, I needed a detox anyway 😅), I opted for an Orange Juice, which was brought out promptly with a package of nuts (ahh yes, my favorite 🥴).
Sipping on my orange juice, boarding was wrapped up by 2:30 pm, at which point another flight attendant came back to take my meal order for once we were airborne. There were 5 options on today's flight, and it got to the point that by the time she was done reading them, I had forgotten the first three 😅.
Soon enough, right on the dot at 2:50 pm, the captain came on to announce our flight time of 2 hours and 15 minutes and that we should be pushing back soon.
Sure enough, we did, and made our way on the long taxi out to Runway 09, passing by the infamous A330-900neo I flew the week before, as well as some other cool birds.
Much like I have come to expect in Bali, taxi times can be very long here in the afternoons as planes become backlogged. It wasn’t until 35 minutes after pushback that we were wheels up, departing to the East of Bali. The island needs a second runway desperately.
IFE+Wifi
Just after wheels up, I decided to check out the IFE on today's flight. While there is NO wifi offered onboard, I was pleased to see that Batik Air had improved their movie selection since last time. Instead of a grand total of eight movies, I found new releases such as Barbie and one of my favorites, Now You See Me.
Sure, there are only 50 movies, but you also have to understand that this isn’t an ultra luxury carrier either… Perspective. Might have also gotten into a little cheeky 2048 action, and failed miserably… Could you imagine Pokémon Go on a plane btw?? Oh look: there is Charizard out of the right-hand side of the plane, hard to starboard, captain!
Amenities+IFE
Roughly 15 minutes into the flight, the same lovely flight attendant came over to provide me with a “get comfy kit”. For some odd reason, they gave this to me for free even though it usually costs, even for business class passengers. Not complaining when something is free 😉.
It featured a comfortable eye mask, an additional blanket, and an inflatable neck pillow. Hey, ANA, where are these amenities on a short-haul flight 😅?
In addition to the gift I received from the crew, all business class passengers are offered a comfortable blanket, a decent pillow, and a pair of Panasonic noise-cancelling headphones. Considering I managed to rest for about 45 minutes, this helped tremendously.
All in all: amenities galore, blanket and pillow, comfort in store. Movies and meals, what’s not to adore? Sit back, relax, no need to implore.
Meal Service
With my meal order being taken prior to departure, it can’t have been more than 20 minutes after takeoff when my meal was presented. Although I was in the back of the cabin (4/12 filled), it was interesting to see that they served me first. Maybe they thought I was an influencer or something with all of this going on.
I chose the chicken teriyaki with rice (one of the two options I actually remember because the list was so long 😅) and it was delightful. Not only that, but I was pleased to see a nice presentation, combined with a sweet treat for dessert. Although Batik Air does serve beer on board, as well as soft drinks, I stuck with water for the flight (hashtag (since I can’t find the tag) detox).
Lavatories
Meal service all wrapped up, I headed off to the toilet (not before having a brief laugh with the crew), located near door 1L. While there was nothing showcasing that the lavatory was made for business class, it was kept clean, and it was nice to have 1 bathroom shared between 12 passengers (maximum).
Service
Over the past few flights I have had with Batik Air (another one coming soon), I have been mightily impressed with the service onboard. Today was no different.
From being warmly greeted at the door to being offered extra amenities and having a few laughs with them in the galley, it was an excellent flight. Heck, in my next report of Batik Air, the agent came into the lounge to give me a new boarding pass for an earlier flight. Talk about unbelievable service.
Arrival
Making up a good bit of time, the captain came at 5:26 pm local time to announce our initial descent into KUL. Interestingly, the last time I had been here was when I was 6 years old!
We ducked and dodged some beautiful cumulonimbililbililililibus (I don’t know, do you think I pay attention in school 😉) before lining up for a 14L landing. I have seen a lot of good landings in my life, but this was the best narrowbody landing I have experienced. I left my AirPods on the seat next to me, and they didn’t move an inch. Complete and utter butter, but don’t worry I’m not a nutter (dad joke 101).
Due to congestion, we had to wait about 5 minutes for our gate to free up, but we eventually pulled into our gate in Terminal 1 only 13 minutes behind schedule. Can’t blame Batik Air for the delay, as welcome to Bali traffic (on the ground and in the air apparently).
Bidding farewell to the crew, it was off to the Malaysia Airlines lounge to get ready for the next flight on their A—— (spoiler alert)
Final Thoughts
What a fabulous flight onboard Batik Air. This airline has really grown on me across Indonesia, primarily due to the fact that you get amazing bang for your buck, and the fact that Garuda tends to price 3-4x higher in Business Class. In my last flight, I received a private bus to the plane, and on this flight, I was provided with lounge access, a friendly crew, a sleek cabin, a decent selection of IFE, a tasty meal, and top-notch amenities. Honestly, even if the price were the same, I would take Batik Air over Malaysia Airlines, just based on my past experiences.
267$ in Business? Sold.
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