Review: Malaysian Airlines A350 Business Class Kuala Lumpur-Tokyo (NRT)
- Konrad Tillman
- 17 hours ago
- 9 min read
Intro
After arriving on a lovely flight onboard Batik Air in Business Class from Bali, it was time to head off on the start of a new adventure back home. Now, there are two main reasons why I decided to take this flight. Firstly, I found a fantastic fare booking through United, and secondly, because I wanted to try out one of the only carriers in Southeast Asia I haven’t yet.
How was it? Not great. Put this up in the West, and you’ll be alright, but compared to the competitors in the region, there is a lot of work that needs to be done if they want to stand out.
Route- Kuala Lumpur- Tokyo (NRT)
Flight Number- MH88
Seat- 10A
Aircraft- Airbus A350-900
Date- August 24th, 2024
Flight Time- 7 Hours and 13 Minutes
Price Paid- 2250$ (5 flights)
How I Booked
Back in early last summer (around this time), there was an excellent fare that United Airlines offered from Kuala Lumpur to the US. With the need to head back again in December, I booked the following for a total of 2250 USD:
Malaysia Airlines A350-900 Business Class Kuala Lumpur-Tokyo
United 777-300 Polaris Tokyo-San Francisco
United 737 Max 8 Domestic First San Francisco-Los Angeles
United 787-9 Polaris Los Angeles-Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Hong Kong-Kuala Lumpur
This fare was truly one of the best fares I had come across, and it even worked for a couple of hundred more to New York. Unfortunately, this isn’t around anymore, but I wish it were 😅. What do you think? Good deal?
Lounge
Arriving around 6:30 pm, I headed off to the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge located upstairs and in the very back right of the terminal, to grab my boarding pass. Of course, for some reason, they couldn’t print my boarding pass 🥴 and informed me to head downstairs to the transit counter. I digress, not really the point of the review, but frustrating.
Turning left (the right section is for First Class and OW Emerald members), I found a very large space offering practically unlimited food selections. Whether you are looking for made-to-order pasta with your favorite sauce or custom-made paninis, this is a lounge that does really well to fill your belly.
Other than that, the showers and toilets were out of service during my time there (probably not the norm), and the lounge was packed come the evening bank of departures. During the early evening, it was alright, but it got to the point where it was tough to find a seat. Throw in the fact that Malaysia Airlines’ flagship lounge has 5 liquor options, no champagne, and only one red/white option, it’s a huge disappointment compared to BR/SQ/GA/TG.
Eventually, it was so busy in the lounge that I headed off to grab a burger elsewhere at the Hard Rock Cafe.
So, for the lounge, this is a good place to grab a quick bite to eat before your flight, but don’t show up 3 hours early here.
Boarding
With boarding set to commence at 10:45, I headed over to gate C35 at 10:35, only to find out that the plane had been delayed for no reason. No PA announcements, no apologies, nothing. Quite a shame, actually, and the opposite of what you expect with Singapore Airlines.
I digress, boarding ended up commencing at 11:05, and much like with Singapore Changi, security takes place at the gate. I’m not a fan of this mechanism, but even more so when there are no lines for business/first. It’s just a huge mess for no reason.
By the time I made it through, it seemed like all groups were boarding. Thankfully, Malaysia Airlines does provide two jetbridges. Hey, beggars can’t be choosers, and I will always appreciate it when good things come my way! Whether it be in Somalia or on A350 😉.
The Seat/Cabin
Stepping onto this magnificent Flagship Airbus (keep in mind the airline has one from SAS in a different setup), I headed left, passing by the once First Class cabin now sold as “Business Suites”. It’s interesting, as Malaysia only sold one Business Suite on this flight, but oversold business class and gave an upgrade (op-up) to three passengers about 3 hours before departure (I was talking with someone in the lounge, that’s why). Seats looked proper nice though, I’ll give the airline credit here!
Behind that, you will find 22 business class seats in an alternating 1-2-1 (odd rows) and 1-2-2 (even rows) completing the cabin between doors 1 and 2. On the left-hand side of the aircraft, the solo seats alternate between being closer to the window and closer to the aisle, while on the right-hand side, it’s either 2 abreast or a lovely throne seat. Gosh, Malaysia Airlines really had to make it this complicated 😉.
However, if you know me by now, you know that I love my mini cabins. Malaysia Airlines offers a smaller cabin featuring 3 rows just behind door 2. My seat, 10A, was the only true window seat in the mini cabin and provided plenty of privacy for the red-eye.
The seat itself vastly reminded me of the old JetBlue Mint (not to be mistaken with the amazing new Mint), featuring a small cubby, accessible seat controls, and a small container for a beverage on the right-hand panel, as well as a remote that pops out.
As per usual with this layout, the footwell remains quite constricted when in lie-flat mode. Definitely something to be aware of.
Oh yeah, no overhead AIR VENTS. First world problems, I know 😉.
Departure
Settling into my seat, boarding was a chaotic mess due to us being behind schedule. All said and done, boarding was wrapped up at 11:25 pm (quite efficient), at which point the cabin crew came around, welcomed me by name, and distributed hot towels. While no pre-departure beverage was offered, I have to presume it was due to the rush we were in to make our departure slot.
Around 11:35 pm, the captain came on to welcome us onboard and announce that we were delayed due to weather, as well as that we should be pushing back shortly. Sure enough, we pushed back 15 minutes late and were wheels up on a grim evening right at midnight.
I have traveled on a lot of flights and been on aircraft that went down the flight after, but this was the bumpiest ascent I have ever witnessed. For a solid 25 minutes, there were drops and climbs and everything of the sort. No fault of the captain's, but I was more relieved when we got out of it than I was escaping a near-death experience in Kyiv. Phewww.
Amenities
Once getting to cruising altitude, it was time to make up my bed for this short red-eye. Each business class passenger receives a mattress pad, an okay-ish blanket, and an adequate pillow. Is it exceptional? Nope, but the mattress pad does work wonders. Credit where credit is due.
In addition, I was pleased to find that Malaysia Airlines offers a nice pair of noise-cancelling headphones, as well as an Aspinal of London amenity kit, which came in clutch after the amount of Wagyu I ate the next day in Tokyo.
Well, I guess this is an amenity, but we did receive a bottle of the finest mineral water. Delicious! Do you know what I was thinking? Imagine you could pre-order stuff at your seat, like a canned illy or a screw off prosecco. How cool would that be?
Meal Service/Bed
Exhausted from the long day and the long day ahead, I decided to skip the meal service for two reasons:
It was a short red-eye flight, and my 2/4 flight in a row
Malaysian Airlines has a lot of dishes that contain peanuts, and thus I decided to err on the side of caution due to my peanut/hazelnut allergy (it sucks and I hate it, I know you can call me a little flipper flopper frying pan).
However, I have attached pictures of what the menu looked like below, and it looks quite appetizing!
And then it was off to bed, where I slept soundly for 5.5 hours and woke up about 30 minutes before our descent into Tokyo. Not the most comfortable bed, but when you are tired, anything works (including a floor in Nouakschott).
IFE+WIFI
Arising from my slumber like Smaug from Lord of The Rings, it was time to check out the IFE offerings that Malaysia Airlines has. I have to say, considering these planes are relatively new, the IFE system feels quite dated and certainly not high definition. However, there were some good options available, including many new releases.
But the real kicker here is that I am happy to see that Malaysia Airlines has followed suit with providing free wifi for business class customers. It wasn’t bad either…
Lavatories
Just prior to descent, I decided to check out the lavatories. While there are only two lavatories for 35 business class suites (and 2 for business suites), I was pleased to find that they were kept in good condition, even after 6.5 hours of flying.
Service
You know, usually I can get a good grasp when it comes to reviewing service onboard, but this flight was a bit of a challenge.
On the one hand, it was a great moment to have the cabin crew greet me by name.
But on the other hand, that was about the extent of the good service. Nobody is coming over upon waking up to offer me a cup of coffee, no pre-departure beverage, and no overly warm service. Granted, I slept most of the flight, so I can’t get a full look at the service angle.
Arrival
Around about 7:15 am, the flight deck came on to announce our descent into Tokyo Narita, thanked us for flying Malaysia Airlines, and informed us that we would be on the ground shortly.
It was a gorgeous day over Japan, and I was looking forward to the 12 hours I had planned here. From strolling the streets of Tokyo, to drinking Japanese beer, and eating some delicious Wagyu Beef.
We touched down at 7:43 am local time and had a 10-minute taxi over to Terminal 2, where we arrived 13 minutes behind schedule. Not bad.
I’ve gotta say, how beautiful is the A350 series? Personally, I prefer the A35K, but that’s just me.
It was off to immigration, and after dealing with the horrible lines in Taipei and Seoul recently, I was thankful to be back in the realm of efficiency. Ahh, yes. Next up: United Polaris.
Final Thoughts
For a short redeye flight, I accomplished what really mattered: sleep. However, with so many exceptional carriers in the region, I hate to say it, but Malaysia Airlines slightly drops the ball here. With a dated business class product, not a great lounge, and service that could be improved, I would personally look somewhere else next time unless the pricing and schedule matched with my needs.
Not to say that it was bad, as it would top a lot of carriers in the west, but for Southeast Asia, it needs a lot to once again be competitive in the region.
