Review: Malaysia Airlines Business Class (A350)

malaysia airlines business class a350 review featured image

I flew Malaysia Airlines business class as a positioning flight during the SAS Millionaire promotion, during which I had to fly on 15 SkyTeam airlines to earn 1,000,000 SAS EuroBonus miles. While I was initially uneasy about booking an airline best known internationally for losing a Boeing 777, my mind was immediately put at ease by some of the best cabin crew I’ve encountered.

Let’s take a look at what you can expect when flying Malaysia Airlines business class on the A350!

Booking Malaysia Airlines Business Class

Business ClassAircraftRouteFlight Duration
MH 161A350-900 (Type 1)Doha (DOH) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL)Doha (DOH) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

I booked this flight in the Turkish Airlines lounge at Istanbul Airport about 13 hours before the first segment took off. It was part of a larger journey starting in Medina (MED) after I flew there from Jeddah (JED) on Saudia to cross off another SkyTeam airline for the Millionaire promotion. 

Starting my itinerary with a short hop from Medina played into my favor, as Qatar Airways sells their domestic business class product as ‘First Class,’ allowing me to access the First Class lounge at my connection in Doha. 

I was able to book my entire itinerary of Medina to Doha on Qatar Airways First Class, visit the Al Safwa Lounge in Doha, and then connect onwards from Doha to Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines business class for a total cost of 55,000 Avios plus 844 SAR (~$318 CAD) through Qatar Airways Privilege Club:

medina to doha to kuala lumpur redemption on qatar airways privilege club

On the other hand, if I had booked the Doha to Kuala Lumpur flight only, I would have paid 50,000 Avios plus 580 QAR (~$225 CAD) in taxes and fees:

doha to kuala lumpur business class redemption on qatar airways privilege club

The Al Safwa First Class lounge is one of the nicest in the world and you can purchase access to Al Safwa if you’re flying on a business class ticket for 600 QAR (~$230 CAD), but I think it’s a much better value to try and schedule a First Class flight for only 5,000 extra Avios and $90 CAD difference in taxes and fees.

Cabin Arrangement

Malaysia Airlines has two layouts for its A350-900 fleet. The older seat design is found in the Type 1 layout, which is what I flew. Malaysia Airlines has a First Class product in this layout they brand as a ‘Business Suite’ which I was able to grab a photo of while exiting.

malaysia airlines first class seat

This layout has 35 business class seats spread out over 9 rows, with a mini business class cabin of 3 rows before economy class.

malaysia airlines business class a350 seat map

I was seated in 5D for this journey, and because I booked my ticket so late, I had no choice in the seat, but I was lucky to end up in one of the better ones! For a solo traveler, the best seats would be the throne seats, which alternate rows in the K row. I think the seats to avoid are any H seats or the alternating A, D, and G seats that are exposed to the aisle.

Seat 6D is exposed to the aisle and has a shared armrest with 6G. 5A is also exposed to the aisle, but at least the armrest on the window is supersized.

Seat

I usually prefer window seats when traveling in premium cabins. Still, arriving at my seat, I was pleased to see that it was well-separated from the passenger next to me and protected from aisle traffic.

malaysia airlines business class seat overview

My seat had significantly more storage than the G seat directly next to me, but there was no place to store personal items like a backpack or laptop.

Over your left shoulder, there are quite a few features plugged into a very small space, it’s an effective use of the surface area. The mesh pocket above the seat controls was a great place to store my phone, but the seat controls were finicky at best. Here, you’ll also find a reading lamp and audio jack. 

The seat controls offered an ambient light setting (which is activated in the photos) and was a great luxury touch. It wasn’t the same level as Etihad’s outstanding business class seat design, but it was better than some other lie flat products like Lufthansa’s legacy business class seat. Shortly after boarding, water bottles were distributed.

The storage area on the armrest is vast and even includes a vanity mirror. There’s some storage built into the top of the locker, which I mainly used as a garbage bin for all the plastic wrapping from the mattress pad, blanket, and other amenities.

Because this is a ‘middle’ seat, all of the seat controls are to your left, as the right armrest belongs to the passenger sitting in G. Under a flap, you’ll find the entertainment remote and some seat shortcuts just in front of that. I think seat shortcuts are underrated, and easy-to-find controls like this are my favorite.

The tray table controls are super unique. I’ve only seen something similar on JetBlue Mint business class. Pressing on this small metal tab will start the process, which then kicks the whole table forward out of a slot, you then rotate the tray down towards the seat and finally spin the tray 90 degrees clockwise.

If you need more storage than the mini locker on the armrest, there’s also a small amount under the in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen and a coat hook just next to the IFE.

It took me a few minutes of searching to find the power port, which is cleverly placed in the “walkway” to the seat and out of your normal view. It also includes handy USB-A connectivity. Below the power port, you’ll find the safety card and a magazine.

The footwell was tight, but removing my shoes made it reasonable.

malaysia airlines business class footwell

The last note about the seat is that even though it’s not a classic window seat, the staggered nature of the cabin allowed me to have easy viewing throughout the flight.

Bed

Shortly after take-off, the cabin crew distributed mattress pads and slippers, which was much appreciated considering the flight took off at nearly 3 AM local time.

When I arrived at the seating during boarding, there was already a pillow and blanket waiting for me.

The mattress pad made a significant difference to the comfort of the seat. There was no great place to store my shoes, so I placed them in the walkway from the seat to the aisle. The cabin lights were also dimmed with a lovely purple and orange hue.

malaysia airlines business class seat with mattress pad

Like many modern lie-flat seats, this one is operated on an airbag platform. It made for some frustrating and nearly unbearable adjustments with those finicky buttons I mentioned earlier. The deflate button worked fine, but inflating the seat again was incredibly difficult. 

For a moment, the airbag was so deflated I could feel the metal inner workings of the seat poking through! After some patience with the buttons and fewer clicks, the system responded, and I was able to find a comfortable level of ‘softness.’

malaysia airlines business class seat lie-flat bed 3

I was absolutely exhausted on this flight, so it’s no surprise I got an excellent sleep, but this was definitely the best sleep experience I’ve had on a plane regarding sleep time and quality. Qatar Airways QSuites earlier in the year were exceptional, with a double bed in the sky and enclosed doors, but this was the first time I’ve slept through the second meal service and had to be awoken by cabin crew as we were 30 minutes from landing.

If you’re a back sleeper, you might find that the shoulder area is quite tight, but as a side sleeper, I was able to find a comfortable position pretty easily.

Amenity Kit

On my flight, the amenity kit was branded Aspinal of London, but the products inside were branded PAYOT. Skin products included a facial mist, lip balm, body cream, and a ‘pulse point roller ball’ which I think is just cologne.

The amenity kit also included a face mask, socks, dental kit, and some info about being a sustainable amenity kit.

Dining

The service for business class passengers started with a welcome drink before takeoff, which included a choice of champagne or juice and was quickly followed up with a warm towel.

malaysia airlines business class champagne and hot towel

The dinner menu included some nice literature about Malaysian Satay, which I didn’t realize was around long before the famous Singaporean Satay. Singaporean Chicken Satay has become world famous thanks to Singapore Airlines, which serves it onboard its business class product.

The menu was a bit confusing regarding service until I read closer as it lists the catering for both the route departing Kuala Lumpur and the catering leaving Doha.

On top of the excellent service I received, I must say that Malaysia Airlines really won me over on this flight. I plan to seek out their flights in the future rather than shy away, and I want to find a way to redeem miles for the First Class cabin I got a glimpse of. 

Before any food was served, a white tablecloth was placed on the tray table. It was adequately sized as it should be, but whenever this service is rolled out, I’ll always compare it to the hilariously small tablecloths on Delta One business class. I was also given some salted peanuts.

The satay service was lovely, and it also allowed me to photograph the intricate sarong kebaya that the crew wears. I think Malaysia Airlines should be regarded as much closer to Singapore Airlines than low-cost carriers, as even the crew bears similarities. 

malaysia airlines business class cart with food

With my satay, I ordered a beer, which, unfortunately, was served barely cold and almost warm. I must say, though, that I preferred the satay on Singapore Airlines, and I flew them in March, so it wasn’t that long between flights (8 months).

I didn’t order any wine as after the satay, I went straight to sleep, but the selection was plentiful, and in hindsight, I should have ordered from the wine list as the beer selection was simply listed as “Selection of beer.”

Entertainment

Entertainment Console

The headsets were wrapped in plastic and waiting at the seats during boarding. Once unwrapped they were nice, and emblazoned with the Malaysia Airlines logo.

The controller for the screen was easy to use and similar to many other business class products, but it lacked the flight countdown timer, which I loved on Air France’s business class.

malaysia airlines business class entertainment console controls

The infotainment system had a bit of a dated feel to it, but it wasn’t as ancient as Lufthansa’s.

malaysia airlines business class entertainment console home screen

There were some new release movies, along with some classics, a small selection of TV shows, and some information about what to do in Malaysia.

One feature I missed until we landed was the onboard camera, which is a feature I loved when I flew ANA’s The Room.

WiFi

Wifi was available, but the data quantities seemed relatively small for the price. I’m not sure really if you can accomplish anything with 10MB of data! Strangely, there was literature promoting voice calls onboard, which I’ve never seen before. Usually, using Wi-Fi for any voice application is forbidden so as not to disturb other passengers.

Conclusion

Flying on Malaysia Airlines was an eye-opening experience that I’m delighted I had. Between the lovely traditional food served onboard, extremely friendly service from attendants, and the best sleep I’ve ever had on an airplane, I look forward to being back!

Unfortunately, Malaysia Airlines doesn’t serve any North American destinations when I’m writing this. Still, they offer flights from London and Paris to Kuala Lumpur and onwards to Australia and New Zealand. If you’re open to going the long way, they could be an excellent option for flying to the Oceana region.

Daniel Burkett

Daniel Burkett

Contributor at Frugal Flyer
Daniel entered the Miles and Points game in 2021 and has taken the “make up for lost time” mentality. After spending five years travelling for work and paying no attention to loyalty programs, some say Daniel is out for Points Revenge. With his desire to maximize every point available, he hopes to share the knowledge gained with more travellers to prevent the same mistakes he made.

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