Malaysia Airlines Business Class Lounge Review KUL (2019)

My Malaysia Airlines Business Class lounge review in Kuala Lumpur is part of a longer installment of my flights back to the US. Although there were some interruptions on my travel plans, I reviewed this lounge thanks to the delay. The Malaysia Airlines business class lounge is quite nice. Since then, the Cathay Pacific lounge in KUL has closed. This means that all OW premium/elite passengers get to enjoy the lovely Malaysia Airlines business class lounge.

Note:

Dear Reader,

Before you begin this review journey with me, I want you to know that this review is a bit dated. It is from before the COVID pandemic. I had planned on publishing this one and others slowly during and after the pandemic. However, my job at the time requested I not write them. As some of the airlines were their clients, they explicitly requested I refrain from writing anything that could imply any conflict of interest. Recently, after starting a new job, I have decided to publish this one and others. I will note wherever I can what has changed, and include a year for when the flight happened, in the interest of clarity. Please enjoy this review!

Arrival at KLIA

I had flown in from a flight from Delhi the night before. For some reason, that was never properly communicated, my flight to Tokyo that night was canceled. I was initially booked in business class on Malaysia Airlines A330 (which I have reviewed previously). After the cancellation, I was booked on the Malaysia Airlines A350. Imagine my surprise when I saw that I had been booked into Business Suites! I was very excited, and since I had 36-hours buffer in Tokyo, I did not mind. After booking a hotel for the night (using my travel interruption insurance from my AMEX Platinum), I left the airport to return the next morning.

I proceeded to the Golden Falcon First Class lounge, where I spent most of the day. However, I did take a quick peek at the business class lounge. 

Location

In the satellite terminal, where most of Malaysia Airlines (and other international carriers) depart from, the business class lounge is across from the Golden Falcon First Class lounge. The lounges are on the second level. In order to access the lounge, you must be flying Malaysia Airlines (or other Oneworld carrier) in business class. Other ways to access the lounge include being a Sapphire or higher Oneworld elite status holder.

As I had already checked in for the First Class lounge, I simply asked the lounge check in attendants if I could see the business class lounge. They happily obliged.

Sitting Areas

Once you enter the lounge, there is a large central atrium area, where there is an open kitchen. On both sides, you can find sitting areas. One of these runs parallel to the window facing the tarmac.

The seats are your standard lounge armchairs. Each seat had power ports and a small side table. They are arranged in groups of four, and a nice, decorative partition separates each group of chairs.

On the opposite side of the lounge, there are more sitting areas. Here, you can also find a long high-top table. Much like the arm chairs, each seat has power ports next to it. There are a couple of other loungers, grouped into sets of two or four seats.

Dining Areas and Food & Beverage

The center of the lounge is the main dining area. The focal point of the whole lounge is the open kitchen found here. As I was visiting during breakfast hours, the kitchen was empty. When I asked, a lounge agent told me that the kitchen is used during lunch/dinner to prepare some of the buffet items, as well as some made-to-order dishes. It seemed like a really nice touch, but without proper ventilation, the heat could have made the already warm lounge unbearable.

The buffet spread for breakfast included eggs, fruit, buns, and some fried Malaysian/South East Asian delicacies. I tried one of the buns and it was delicious.

Behind the kitchen, there was the main area with tables.

Once I was done with my bun, I walked around the rest of the lounge. During the morning, the lounge was relatively empty. I could see staff walking around the lounge asking passengers if they needed anything. Once the evening flight bank starts, I can see the lounge getting much busier, but not to the point of being unable to find seats.

That being said, the lounge was relatively warm even though there were such few passengers. Once the lounge crowds up, it might get a little stuffy.

Conrado’s Thoughts

The Malaysia Airlines business class lounge is a solid lounge. The open kitchen concept is quite fun, I love open kitchen restaurants. With the amount of staff, even when it’s crowded, I believe guests will have a good experience. Ample sitting, fast Wi-Fi, good food, and bathrooms/showers are pretty much the most important aspects of a lounge. The Malaysia Airlines business class lounge checks all of them. I would not hesitate to visit this lounge again!

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