Malaysia Airlines shows once again its ability to deliver a more than decent service on its domestic business class flights despite their short duration.
For the record here is the air routing of this trip.
You will find all the articles about this trip in Malaysia at the bottom of the page.
Arrival at the airport and check-in
I had anticipated a risk of traffic jams and had left the Ritz Carlton Langkawi quite early. The driver of my Grab mumbles in a hesitant English “traffic jam but me know shortcut”. His shortcut works because I will arrive at the airport in less than 20 minutes. Early. Much too early.
My flight boards in two hours and the check-in counter is not open.
It does not open until one hour before boarding…although it is indicated that it closes one hour before boarding. The disadvantage of standardized signage in an airport that has its own specificities.
For lack of really interesting things to do in the terminal (quite nice though) I will go outside to sunbathe.
Finally I came back at the right time, checked-in my luggage in less time than it takes to say it, and learned at that moment thatMalaysia Airlines finally has a lounge in Langkawi ! Or rather sends its clients to a Plaza Premium lounge which did not exist during my previous visits here.
A lounge not really awesome but which has the merit to exist. Disadvantage: it is landside. Having no reason to linger, I will leave it soon after eating. I quickly went through the airside with smooth controls despite the absence of priority queue and maybe because I arrived either before the crowd…or after because they went to the boarding lounge directly after the check-in because of the lack of lounge to pass the time.
In Langkawi there are no gangways, the boarding is done by the ground and instead of boarding gates there is a large waiting room with three or four doors that open onto the tarmac.
Boarding
At the supposed time of boarding our aircraft has not yet arrived.
Flight radar confirms a delay of the incoming flight while the airline makes no announcement.
Our B737 finally shows up.
The disembarkation is fast and our boarding will start soon after. Priorities are respected, things are calm and organized and I find myself on the tarmac walking towards the aircraft.
A last shot of the fuselage before boarding.
The cabin
It’s the same as on my outbound flight from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi but this time the seats are in fabric and not in leather.
Configuration of the business class in 2-2 instead of 3-3 in economy. The seat, a recliner, is quite similar (maybe the same?) to the one Olivier enjoyed on Norse between New York and Paris.
The legroom in the front row is impressive.
But in row 2 it’s not bad either!
More than enough as we will spend barely 40 minutes in flight.
Malaysia Airlines must be one of the few airlines to continue to distribute an in-flight magazine after the COVID.
The cabin is far from full and I won’t have a seatmate. Nous serons 9 sur 4 rangées donc une capacité de 16.
During the boarding we are brought a fresh oshibori and a welcome drink. Choice of water, apple or orange juice.
Finally we will be ready to leave with 10 minutes before the announced time after the initial delay.
The flight and the service
We leave the ground and fly over this beautiful island that I always have a little difficulty to leave.
In fact Langkawi is not an island but a chain of 99 islands but this detail is not too important here.
Unlike the outbound flight, we were not asked on the ground if we wanted to eat during the flight. Very soon after takeoff the trays come out of the galley and you are free to ask for them or not.
I’ll take it of course.
If I liked the service of the outward journey, this one seems to me even superior. There’s some kind of cheese naan and a chicken curry.
The naan will be very soft, the chicken melting and the sauce perfectly spiced. Really excellent considering the length of the flight and far superior to Singapore Airlines service on a flight of similar length a few days earlier.
I’ll have a coffee to go with it.
The coasts already appear below us.
The crew
Very friendly and efficient.
Arrival and disembarkation
We land quickly and after a short taxi we reach the terminal.
As soon as the plane stops, the crew closes the curtain that separates the business class from the economy class so that we can gather our things and disembark quietly without being bothered.
While looking for my luggage mat, I noticed that my flight had a rather original codehare: Emirates, Etihad, Garuda Indonesia and Turkish Airlines. When a legacy airline has a virtual monopoly on a domestic route, the logic of alliances has little weight.
By the way, the Singapore Airlines flight I will take a few days later to reach Singapore will be in codeshare with Malaysia Airlines and…Air France.
My suitcase will arrive in 5th on the conveyor belt and I will take the KLIA Ekspres to reach the central station of Kuala Lumpur.
Bottom line
It’s hard to do better when you spend 40 minutes in the air.
All articles on this trip to Malaysia
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