Kuala Lumpur International

I took the KLIA Airport Ekspress from KL Sentral to the airport, which is an easy and comfortable means of transportation for going to the airport. Malaysia Airlines had its own dedicated check in area in the terminal and next to the dedicated First Class / Emerald Check in area is the Business Class / Sapphire & Ruby check in area. There were not many other passengers in this area and I approached one of the two check-in desks for Business Class Passengers. I handed my passport to the check in agent who retrieved the booking from the system and asked if my luggage should be checked to Bangkok. On the one hand the question was a bit strange, since Bangkok was my final destination but given that I was staying only a short time in Bangkok and had their less time than during my layover in Kuala Lumpur somehow an understandable question. So I confirmed with her that my luggage should be checked to Bangkok. I also received an invitation to the fast track Premium Lane at Kuala Lumpur and was given directions how to reach immigration, which is an escalator ride down from the main concourse.

Immigration was not very busy and the Premium Lane was not staffed since there were not queues at the regular lines. Therefore I passed the regular immigration in just a couple of second. There is a first security check in after immigration where only a quick check is performed – the real safety check in is done at the gate like e.g. in Singapore.

I decided to visit the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge at the main concourse only and try out the other lounge during my visit in two days. The lounge is located upstairs and there is an escalator available. My boarding pass was checked and I was welcomed in the lounge which was not very busy. There is a business area and a buffet with a noodle bar next to a buffet with hot dishes like scrambled eggs, sausages, hashed potatoes, Nasi Lembak and a curry dish. Rolls, pastries and sandwiches were also available. A fridge offered soft drinks while coffee and tea were served by the bar.

I grabbed a sandwich from the bar and a soda water from the fridge and took a seat. The lounge offered free WiFi and also nice views to the tarmac and the arriving and departing planes.

On the tarmac parked an Airbus A340-300 which an all white livery but the registration was visible 9M-XAB. I had already noticed it during my arrival from TPE the day before and researched it in the engine. My guess was that it was an Air Asia X plane and this guess was right. It was delivered to Air Canada in June 1999 and stored in October 2008 before it came to the fleet of Air Asia X in 2009. It was stored again in April 2012 and leased by Air Algerie in July 2012 for only two month. It was at in May 2014 still with Air Asia but was about to be moved to Venezuelan ConViasa. Currently it is since February 2015 back to Air Asia X. To me it is always interesting to learn about the history of an airplane. Sometimes it is very simply and the plane was only used by one airline from its delivery till its last flight, but many times it changed ownerships frequently, is leased and operated by many different airlines and has a very vivid history.

Thirty minutes ahead of scheduled departing time I left the lounge and went to the gate, which was close to the lounge. There was a line of round about ten people queuing for security but the waiting time was not very long and I was able to pass security in less than ten minutes. At the entrance to the waiting area my boarding pass was checked against my ID and I was allowed to enter the waiting area. The wait was not long and I was barely able to spot the registration of the plane and write it down before the boarding announcement was made in which first passengers with small children and elderly people were invited to board the aircraft. Business Class Passengers could board the plane whenever they wished to do so. As nobody was approaching the desk and since I was sitting close to it, I decided to go first and after the agent verified I was indeed travelling in Business Class was on my way to the plane.

06 May 2014
KUL – BKK
[Kuala Lumpur International – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi]
MH 788; Boeing 737-800 (9M-MSC)
Gate G 4
12:20 – 13:25 [effective 12:18 – 13:49]
Business Class
Seat 04 A

At the door of the Boeing 737-800 I was friendly greeted by a flight attendant. I stored my carry on in the overhead compartment and took my window seat in the very last row of the Business Class Cabin.

Pre Departure Drink

Guava Juice

Pillow and blankets were lying on the seat while the menus and headphones were placed in the seat pocket in front of each seat. We were offered pre-departure drinks while Economy Class Passengers boarded the plane. I took the Guava Juice, which is according to the menu only offered on flights out of Kuala Lumpur, but this seems not to be true for all flights and to depend where catering is done. Later another flight attendant offered to hang my jacket. Malaysia Airlines has the closet for passenger jackets in the back of the plane, which means you are not able to get anything out of the pockets quickly and therefore asks to take everything out of it. On the ground a cold refreshing towel was offered, though it was called how towel. The printed menu was also given to the passengers in Business Class.

The safety video was shown while we were still at the gate. We were pushed back at 12:18 but the push back car broke down during push back. So we waited on the tarmac without really knowing what was going on. Finally we had to be towed back to the gate and a new push back car was called. It took a while and the flight deck only told us about this incident later during our taxi to the runway, so we had no information about this at this time, though looking out of the window could get you some idea what was going on. It took round about twenty minutes and finally we were pushed back and could taxi to the runway. We had to queue behind a Royal Brunei plane bound for Bandar Seri Begawan, another Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 and an Air Asia plane. Finally at 12:52 it was our turn and we leave Kuala Lumpur on runway 32 R.

Our plane for the flight to Bangkok was a Boeing 737-8H6 (WL) with the registration 9M-MSC.It was delivered to MH on April 04, 2013 and equipped with 16 seats in Business Class an 146 seats in Economy Class. Like the plane for the flight from Taipei to Bangkok, our flight was powered by two CFM56-7B26E engines by manufacturer CFMI.

Both classes were not fully booked and in Business Class 12 out of the 16 available seats were taken, the seat next to me remained free. The cabin layout was similar to that on the flight the previous day.

We were still climbing as the seat belt signs were switched off and the curtain between Economy and Business Class was closed. Soon later the tray table was laid with linen.
Time to see what MH offered on this flight (click on icon - opens new window)

Due to higher load on this flight the service was done using the cart. Earlier the flight attendant had asked what we like to have as our meal of choice. Now the selected menu with all other plates arrived on the tray. The break basket was also offered and on offer were rolls, croissant and garlic bread and also pastries. I decided to have white wine with the meal, which was not immediately served, as the flight attendant had to go searching for a cork puller, which was not available in the Business Class but in the Economy Class Cabin. The glass of water was already pre-filled and placed on the tray.

Main Course

Smoked Salmon
with Waldorf Salad

Chicken Chettinad
Tender chicken cooked in South Indian masala with basmathi rice and temoerec cabbage

Carrot Cake

The meal was quite good and very tasty. During the meal refills of wine and water was frequently offered.
Tray were cleared individually once the passenger had finished the meal, which was nice as it means one had not to wait till the cart arrived and could for example start working with the laptop immediately after finishing the meal. I was not in the rush and took my time to finish everything.

After the tray was cleared and already a bit earlier depending on how quickly one had finished the meal, tea and coffee was offered and I opted for a coffee, which was brought soon later. The cart was not used again, only for the main meal service.

Soon enough the flight time was over and we began our descent into Bangkok, passing the old airport. Unfortunately we were not able to save some time in the air, meaning we were arriving with a delay of close to 25 minutes in Bangkok. Before arrival we received invitations for the fast track in Bangkok.

we touched down at 13:40 and taxied to our gate at the main concourse. At 13:52 the seat belt signs were switched off and the curtain between Economy Class and Business Class again closed and we could enter the terminal.

The fast lane was empty and so I was arriving at the luggage carousel even before the first bag made its appearance. It was not the first bag on the belt, but the twelfth, which was not bad.

Unfortunately the delay meant I had missed the Express train, so it was the local train to Makassan Station.

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