After a quick visit to Kuala Lumpur, we were off to Langkawi to celebrate our anniversary. Looking at flight options, we had three airlines to choose from: Air Asia, Batik Air and Malaysia Airlines. Batik Air had the most ideal flight times for our itinerary so we ultimately decided to book with them.
We had never heard of Batik Air before so we were a bit skeptical at first. Is Batik Air reliable? Was our flight going to get cancelled or delayed? Read on for our full Batik Air review based on our experience!
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Batik Air Review – Economy Class OD2204 KUL-LGK
We booked our flights directly with Batik Air Malaysia, which was formerly known as Malindo Air.
For a one-way economy ticket, the price was extremely cheap – we couldn’t believe it! If we had felt like splurging, we could have even booked business class for only about $100 more.
Flight Overview:
- Route: KUL to LGK
- Flight number: OD2204
- Aircraft: Boeing 737-8
- Departure Time: 10:00 am
- Flight time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Our seats: 10A & 10B
- Cost: MYR 78.78 per person (about $25 CAD)
Batik Air Check-in
Batik Air opens online check-in 24 hours prior to departure time. We completed our mobile check-in the night before and were able to select our seats for free. Our mobile boarding passes were emailed to us, along with a printable PDF version.
Batik Air operates out of KLIA1, which was clearly indicated on our booking. Coming from downtown Kuala Lumpur, we took the KLIA Ekspres train directly to KLIA1.
When flying out of Kuala Lumpur, it’s important to make sure you head to the correct terminal as they are not connected. KLIA1 and KLIA2 are, in fact, two kilometres apart, and require either a shuttle bus or train ride to transfer between them.
We arrived at the airport an hour and 45 minutes prior to departure time, to be safe. Batik Air recommends being at the gate at least 45 minutes prior to departure, with boarding cutoff 20 minutes prior to departure.
Terminal 1 is very nice and modern. We were amazed that it only took us 10 minutes between arriving at the airport to being at our gate! Airport security was so quick and easy, and the agents were very friendly.
Batik Air Economy Class Baggage Allowance
Considering how affordable our tickets were, we were surprised to learn we even had a checked luggage allowance of 20kg each! We were flying carry-on only, though, so we didn’t end up using it, but wow, what a nice surprise to have on a budget airline.
Our carry-on allowance was one bag, with maximum dimensions of 56 x 36 x 23 cm, and a maximum weight of 7kg. An additional personal item is also allowed, but must still be below 7kg when combined with the carry-on bag.
I had heard these budget airlines are very strict about carry-on limits, so I painstakingly packed our carry-on bags to ensure we were below the limits. However, no one ever stopped to look at or weigh our bags! I saw numerous other passengers with bags that were clearly over the stated size limit.
Maybe it depends where you’re flying from, but at KLIA, Batik Air was not strict with carry-on baggage.
Boarding
We made it to our gate quite early since we breezed through security. In fact, when we got there, our gate wasn’t even open yet. It remained closed off until one hour prior to departure.
Once the gate opened, we found it to be very spacious, with ample seating, and it was very clean. There were charging stations, which we always appreciate.
Boarding began about 20 minutes prior to the flight. We just scanned our mobile boarding passes ourselves, no passport needed. It was a pretty seamless process. We were impressed – we were off to a good start!
Admittedly, I had been expecting the worst as we’ve had bad experiences with budget airlines before. I’m always expecting a delay or cancellation, so when everything was going as planned, I was very pleased.
Cabins and Seats
We boarded via jet bridge at the front of the plane, allowing us a glance at the small business class cabin.
The seats actually looked fairly nice and very spacious. To our surprise, the business class cabin remained empty for our flight.
We made it to our economy seats in row 10 and were excited to be the only ones in our row.
In fact, the entire plane was not very full with lots of empty rows.
For economy seats, they actually felt pretty spacious compared to other economy flights we’ve taken. Another plus for Batik Air in our books!
Takeoff
After a promising start to the flight, we soon realized it was past departure time, and we still were not moving. Turns out, there was only one runway in use so we were stuck waiting.
It was very hot on the plane and they did not have the air turned on. After a short while, the heat felt suffocating. To make matters worse, we did not have any water on us.
Finally, 50 minutes after departure time, we took off! Thankfully at this point the air was turned back on and the plane cooled down.
Onboard Food
About 10 minutes after takeoff, the crew came around with snacks for purchase. The menu looked quite good and prices were very reasonable. Had we not been so full from our buffet breakfast, we would have ordered something.
Lavatory
When it was time to use the bathroom, I was disappointed to find that the soap dispenser was broken and there was no soap available. There were also no paper towels, only tissues.
Thankfully, I always travel with hand sanitizer.
Entertainment
There are no in-flight entertainment systems, but I was pleased to see a Batik Air magazine in the seatback pocket. I always enjoy reading these airline magazines on planes. Considering it was only an hour-long flight, the lack of IFEs did not bother us.
Touchdown
After a late takeoff, we arrived in Langkawi only 30 minutes behind schedule.
Deplaning was fairly quick and since we did not have any checked bags, we were able to walk right out to our rental car.
Batik Air Review- Final Verdict
Overall, for a budget airline, we were quite impressed by Batik Air! The ticket cost was extremely affordable and yet, the flight did not feel “cheap”. Often with budget airlines, even in Canada, you are nickel and dimed by having to pay for anything extra, such as baggage and seat selection. However, this was not the case with Batik Air.
Now, maybe they aren’t the most advanced airline. They don’t have an app and there were no in-flight entertainment systems on our plane. But from what we experienced, the flight was fairly on-time, they were not picky about carry-on baggage, and overall, there was not much to complain about.
I would certainly fly with Batik Air again whenever we are back in the region!
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