Not just any seat, it is a throne.
Early this year, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) started to retrofit all their Business Class seats and by now, they should have completed giving their business class product a completely new makeover.
MAS’ new A330 now offers seats at 20.6 inches wide and transforms into a fully-flat 76-inch flat bed. These are the same seats used on Swiss, Brussels and Finnair – all for their long haul destinations. The most sought-after seats are the ‘throne’ seats where the armrests are so wide, that I think they should be called side-tables instead.
I had the opportunity to try out these seats (although I am not the first one to write about it) from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and I selected the ‘throne’ seat – 1K. The business class cabin is configured in a 1-2-1 and 1-2-2 configuration. The first row seat on the left is A, followed by D, G and then K. The second row is A, D, G and H, K.
In my opinion, there is only one proper ‘throne’ seat – 1K – in the entire business class cabin although others point out that 4K and 6K are ‘thrones’ as well. True to a certain extent but the foot-well on those seats are flanked by two seats in front of you and it is smaller than the only throne at 1K. where you really do have a lot of ‘foot’ space.
The ‘A’ seats are good too but if you look carefully at the layout above, you don’t get a table space on the right-hand side as compared to those at K.
So if privacy and space is a must for you, by all means, grab the (1) Ks. You will not regret it.
This is a very poorly taken panoramic picture of the space I had on 1K. What I am trying to tell you is that you have so much work and meal space. Your meal table is on the left that swings toward you, and you can work and eat at the same time without having to put away your laptop. You don’t get this much ‘luxury’ on other seats
It was very disappointing to see that a premium business class cabin was ruined by old headsets where my ear sponges have disintegrated and not to mention their duvets and blankets were so paper thin that you might need to ask for two.
Knowing that MAS priority today is to return to profitability, I can agree that some cost-cutting measures have to be in place. However, a premium is still a premium and if the measures taken were not mindful on what they should and should not cut, then it might be difficult to justify what/who is considered premium for a national carrier.
In short, the new MAS business class product is quite attractive in terms of pricing and many people would concur that it has one of the cheapest business class product in the market right now. However, you still cannot buy the ‘throne’ seat at economy class prices, so there you go Malaysia Airlines, the ‘wow’ factor is still missing in your premium product.
Last but not the least, I have to say this, Satay on Malaysia Airlines at 30,000 feet. Bliss.
