After a quick trip to Malaysia Airlines Platinum Lounge, I caught the Aerotrain and reached Terminal 2 to take my onward connection to Jakarta. On this day my flight was departing from Gate G10.

My boarding pass displayed a boarding time of 8 am for the 9 o’clock departure. Although the flight was listed on the screens, there were no signs boarding was going to commence anytime soon.

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Flight Display Monitor, Kuala Lumpur Airport

Then at around 8:15 am, they called the Jakarta flight and started screening passengers to get them inside the Gate lounge.

Business Class Cabin & Seats

Boarding commenced at about 8:35 am. Passengers with small children and the elderly were invited to board first, this was followed by Business Class passengers as well as Malaysia Airlines Enrich elites and OneWorld Emerald members.

I boarded the aircraft from the forward door and turned right to enter the cabin. On Malaysia Airlines B-737, the Business Class Cabin is laid out in a 2-2 configuration. There are 4 rows in total, with 4 seats in each row for a total of 16 seats.

Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Cabin

Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seats

These recliner seats are spacious, well padded and perfectly suited to operate Malaysia Airlines regional routes many of which have a flight time of under 2 hours. On this flight, I had selected Seat 3A for myself which was a window seat in the 3rd row on the right side of the cabin.

Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seats

Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seats

Legroom, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seats

Each seat had access to a seatback entertainment screen and a pair of noise cancelling headphones. That said, there’s never really enough time on these short-hops to indulge.

Seatback Entertainment Screen, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Cabin

Headphones, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Cabin

You could recline the seat backwards, or if already reclined, bring it back to the default position by pushing the levers fitted to the front of your armrest.

Reclining Controls, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seat

The tray-table was hidden in a compartment under the left armrest, to deploy, lift the top and pull the table out. You could keep the tray-table part way or fully extended depending on your requirement.

Tray-Table Compartment, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seat

Full Extended Tray-Table, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seat

Part open Tray-Table, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seat

The hand-held device to operate the entertainment unit was fitted to the inside of the right armrest. There was also a small tray located under the armrest where you could put down your drink.

Hand Held Device, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seat

Drink Tray, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class Seat

Overall, I thought this was an excellent seat and more than adequate for flights of up to 3 hours in time.

Food & Beverages

Pre-departure drinks were served within minutes of boarding, the choice was between Apple and Orange juice. I had a glass of the former.

Pre-departure drinks, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class

Pre-departure drinks, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class

With a scheduled departure time of 9 am, breakfast was the main meal on this flight. Service commenced shortly after we reached cruising height and captain had turned-off the seat belt signs. There was a team of 3 crew members working the Business Class cabin which had 13/16 seats occupied.

There were no individual menu cards, rather, a member of the crew went around the cabin with a copy of the menu to take the orders. I had pre-ordered Nasi Lemak for breakfast but it seemed the crew weren’t aware of it, so I placed the order again.

Breakfast, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class

Note that pre-ordering is only available on Malaysia Airlines flights departing out of Kuala Lumpur, you cannot do this if you are flying into KL.

The breakfast was served on a single tray which was fine for this short flight of 1hr 50 mins. Besides Nasi Lemak, the tray also contained a fruit bowl. Peanuts & dried anchovies weren’t sprinkled over the Nasi Lemak as we are accustomed to seeing, they were instead placed inside a small plastic packaging.

Breakfast, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class

Mid-way through the breakfast, the crew brought out the bread basket, I helped myself to a croissant and a slice of warm banana bread. I also ordered a cappuccino to to wash it all down.

Breakfast, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class

Cappuccino, Malaysia Airlines B-737 Business Class

To sum up, I was very impressed with the breakfast offering on my flight. To go along with the catering on my long-haul Sydney – Kuala Lumpur flight, I have no hesitation in saying that Malaysia Airlines have really taken their in-flight hospitality to the next level.

Arrival into Jakarta

Fully satiated, I pulled down the window shades and dozed-off for about 30 minutes. I was woken up by the voice of the First Officer making an announcement regarding our descent into Jakarta. From this point on, the crew got busy with the landing drill and in getting the cabin ready for arrival.

We landed at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport right on time at 10:10 am. After taxiing for few more minutes, we pulled into the arrival gate and started deplaning shortly afterwards.

In Conclusion

Having now flown Malaysia Airlines long-haul and regional business class both, I can confidently say that the carrier has lifted its games several notches and offers a high quality onboard experience.

Without dwelling too much in the past it has to be said that Malaysia Airlines have had some very turbulent years, first due to couple of unfortunate mid-air incidents, then due to Covid. At one point in time, there were grave fears about it’s survival. Coming from such a dark place, the carrier has done a commendable job in getting to the point where it is today.

I had a fantastic time flying Malaysia Airlines Regional Business Class and look forward to doing it again.

Have you flown Malaysia Airlines short-haul Business Class? Leave a comment below.