Intro
After a lovely time flying the brand new Garuda Business Class down to Bali, catching a wahoo off of Nusa Lembongan, and seeing my family for the week near Seminyak, it was time to embark on the adventure back to California. Ordinarily, most people flying from Bali to Los Angeles would choose a one-stop option, but seeing as I wanted to re-review the Batik Air 737 Business Class experience, I decided to make it a little more complicated 😅.




We went to this really cool speakeasy one night!

And I finally caught a fish in Bali! A nice 30 ish LB wahoo (if I am being generous lol maybe 22-25)




So, how was Batik Air in Business Class? Honestly, this is an exceptional product for the price you pay. Sure, you are not going to have excellent champagne and hundreds of movies, but it’s less than half the cost of Malaysian Airlines… Let’s jump in!
Routing
Flight routing
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- 8OD307- Business- Denpasar-Kuala Lumpur- Boeing 737 Max 8
How I Booked
Browsing online, I didn’t have many options when it came to getting from Denpasar to Kuala Lumpur on points, so I decided to look at cash fares. Originally, I was planning on flying economy, since business class really isn’t needed on such a short flight, but with economy fares on Batik at 192 and business class at 267$, it was a no-brainer.
Note: Batik Air tends to release 1-2 saver-priced seats on most flights. As an example, Jakarta to Denpasar prices out in business at 167$, but once those saver seats are filled, it will jump to around 270$, and then upwards to 350-400$.
Check-In
Heading off to the airport with Pak Jol, it was a beautiful day in Bali. Traffic was light, Danza Koduro was bumping, the sun was shining, and Bintangs were flowing. Depending on the time of day, it’s about a 30-40 minute drive from Seminyak to Ngurah Rai, and today we got lucky with traffic.



Pulling up to the international terminal, I was pleased to see my immigration assistant waiting for me curbside. While certainly not necessary, it’s something my family arranges for me on departure and arrival. He informed me that Batik Air uses check-in E at Denpasar International, which is quite inconvenient due to having to go downstairs to check in and then back upstairs to clear security/immigration. Ehh, life is life.


Thankfully, Batik Air has a dedicated Business Class check-in that had no line this afternoon. The agents were very friendly at check-in, and even wrote me an invitation to the JAS Premier Lounge, which I should NOT have had access to due to being on a saver fare. Well, well, I’m not complaining 😉.

Back upstairs we went, (maybe this is good to get the steps in after those Bintangs and all of the pasta from Mauri and Amici (my favorites)), security was a breeze, albeit with no fast track for business class regardless of airline, and it was off the lounge.
JAS Premier Lounge
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Batik Air sends their business class passengers to the JAS Premier Lounge in Denpasar, which happens to be the main lounge for the likes of Qatar and Etihad passengers.




While I have reviewed this lounge extensively in the past (you can find that on FR), it’s not a bad place, featuring plenty of space, free-flowing cocktails, and a good-sized buffet. It’s no flagship lounge, but it is functional.
Boarding
With our scheduled boarding time set for 2:20 pm, I headed over to the dreaded “6” gates that we had been assigned for today. Honestly, these are a pain when flying out of Denpasar as it requires a bus, but hey, can’t really complain when you get up and close with a Max 8.



As I arrived at 2:25 pm, I happened to be one of the last passengers to get on board the bus. Within minutes, the doors had closed, and we were whisked away to our remote stand a few minutes away.

My word, would you look at that plane! It’s as if an Aston Martin made love to a swan mid-flight, and the result was raised on a steady diet of Bond films and polite applause. Does that make sense? Probably not, but neither does my life…



Making my way up the stairs, I was warmly greeted by the flight attendants. I knew it was going to be a good flight already.
The Seat/Cabin
Turning right, I was greeted by a swanky-looking business-class cabin. The Batik Air fleet varies tremendously, but the Max 8 we were assigned features 3 rows of business class in a 2-2 configuration, totalling 12 seats. The swanky seats are upholstered in a beigy-brown colorway (I don’t know, I’m not an interior designer 😅), creating a relaxing vibe to the cabin.



Each seat features practically unlimited legroom (really top of the line here) to the point where I could say that outside of those funky African carriers with about 5000 inches of pitch, this might be some of the best pitch in the world for a recliner seat…


Seat controls+IFE


In the seatback in front is where you will find the IFE, but more on that later. Oh yeah, overhead air vents! In Asia! Heck Yeah!!!
Departure
No more than a minute of being onboard did a lovely flight attendant come over to introduce herself, welcome me onboard, and offer me a pre-departure beverage. While alcohol is not served on the ground (honestly, I needed a detox anyway 😅), I opted for an Orange Juice, which was brought out promptly with a package of nuts (ahh yes, my favorite 🥴).


Sipping on my orange juice, boarding was wrapped up by 2:30 pm, at which point another flight attendant came back to take my meal order for once we were airborne. There were 5 options on today's flight, and it got to the point that by the time she was done reading them, I had forgotten the first three 😅.
Soon enough, right on the dot at 2:50 pm, the captain came on to announce our flight time of 2 hours and 15 minutes and that we should be pushing back soon.
Sure enough, we did, and made our way on the long taxi out to Runway 09, passing by the infamous A330-900neo I flew the week before, as well as some other cool birds.





Much like I have come to expect in Bali, taxi times can be very long here in the afternoons as planes become backlogged. It wasn’t until 35 minutes after pushback that we were wheels up, departing to the East of Bali. The island needs a second runway desperately.






IFE+WIFI
Just after wheels up, I decided to check out the IFE on today's flight. While there is NO wifi offered onboard, I was pleased to see that Batik Air had improved their movie selection since last time. Instead of a grand total of eight movies, I found new releases such as Barbie and one of my favorites, Now You See Me.



No wifi. Ehhh

Sure, there are only 50 movies, but you also have to understand that this isn’t an ultra luxury carrier either… Perspective. Might have also gotten into a little cheeky 2048 action, and failed miserably… Could you imagine Pokémon Go on a plane btw?? Oh look: there is Charizard out of the right-hand side of the plane, hard to starboard, captain!


Amenities
Roughly 15 minutes into the flight, the same lovely flight attendant came over to provide me with a “get comfy kit”. For some odd reason, they gave this to me for free even though it usually costs, even for business class passengers. Not complaining when something is free 😉.
It featured a comfortable eye mask, an additional blanket, and an inflatable neck pillow. Hey, ANA, where are these amenities on a short-haul flight 😅?




In addition to the gift I received from the crew, all business class passengers are offered a comfortable blanket, a decent pillow, and a pair of Panasonic noise-cancelling headphones. Considering I managed to rest for about 45 minutes, this helped tremendously.



Not too shabby honestly…

All in all: amenities galore, blanket and pillow, comfort in store. Movies and meals, what’s not to adore? Sit back, relax, no need to implore.
Meal Service
With my meal order being taken prior to departure, it can’t have been more than 20 minutes after takeoff when my meal was presented. Although I was in the back of the cabin (4/12 filled), it was interesting to see that they served me first. Maybe they thought I was an influencer or something with all of this going on.

I chose the chicken teriyaki with rice (one of the two options I actually remember because the list was so long 😅) and it was delightful. Not only that, but I was pleased to see a nice presentation, combined with a sweet treat for dessert. Although Batik Air does serve beer on board, as well as soft drinks, I stuck with water for the flight (hashtag (since I can’t find the tag) detox).



Lavatories
Meal service all wrapped up, I headed off to the toilet (not before having a brief laugh with the crew), located near door 1L. While there was nothing showcasing that the lavatory was made for business class, it was kept clean, and it was nice to have 1 bathroom shared between 12 passengers (maximum).


Service
Over the past few flights I have had with Batik Air (another one coming soon), I have been mightily impressed with the service onboard. Today was no different.
From being warmly greeted at the door to being offered extra amenities and having a few laughs with them in the galley, it was an excellent flight. Heck, in my next report of Batik Air, the agent came into the lounge to give me a new boarding pass for an earlier flight. Talk about unbelievable service.
Arrival
Making up a good bit of time, the captain came at 5:26 pm local time to announce our initial descent into KUL. Interestingly, the last time I had been here was when I was 6 years old!



We ducked and dodged some beautiful cumulonimbililbililililibus (I don’t know, do you think I pay attention in school 😉) before lining up for a 14L landing. I have seen a lot of good landings in my life, but this was the best narrowbody landing I have experienced. I left my AirPods on the seat next to me, and they didn’t move an inch. Complete and utter butter, but don’t worry I’m not a nutter (dad joke 101).



Extraordinary landing!

Due to congestion, we had to wait about 5 minutes for our gate to free up, but we eventually pulled into our gate in Terminal 1 only 13 minutes behind schedule. Can’t blame Batik Air for the delay, as welcome to Bali traffic (on the ground and in the air apparently).



Bidding farewell to the crew, it was off to the Malaysia Airlines lounge to get ready for the next flight on their A—— (spoiler alert)

Wow this is much better than what I'd expect from Batik Air, impressive especially for that price. Looks like a nice cabin and it's good to know that they have IFE at least on some planes, I spent so much time last year trying to figure out if they still have it after their LCC rebranding. Seems like you got lucky with the free lounge access and amenities and it looks genuinely on par with regional J on the regional flag carriers. Thanks for sharing!
Hi VM, thanks for stopping by!
It's really quite an underrated and under-reviewed airline, but carves out quite a niche
For some reason I have always gotten lucky and had IFE on every flight with them, but I do think there are certain planes that don't and do.
Honestly, right on par, and for the price, much better. Heck, MH charges 50$ less for economy usually OW so worth it in my eyes.
Have a nice day! 🙂
I flew them a couple of times pre-COVID and they had IFE, once post-COVID and they didn't. I guess it's a bit of a gamble.
Well it is a fairly cheap route to fly but business that low is impressive and it's not like a Scoot style premium economy thing either... well, I'm going to go and have a look at it right now!
That is indeed a nice looking cabin. I like the beigy-brown-creamy colour scheme. It looks premium. And a proper curtain and bulkheads! I'm really not a fan of this trend in the U.S. to just hand a tiny little divider between classes and then have a sheer mosquito net curtain. It just doesn't feel very exclusive anymore.
Hah wow yeah that's a huge pitch. Officially 45" ... much better than the typical 36-37" in Domestic F in the US.
That amenity kit is definitely overkill for a regional flight, but it's great that they just gave it out for free.
Meal looks nice though simple.
Hahaha, that's what they should brand the cloud storing videos of China's version of Youtube Bilibili 🤣
Malindo Air...umm, I mean Batik Air Malaysia's J product on the 737 MAX looks fantastic overall and always seems like a good value! Will definitely have to check them out whenever I can get around to a Southeast Asia trip.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kevin, thanks for stopping by!
My gosh, yes. It annoys the living heck out of me because it is so simple, but I imagine there must be some safety reason or something. It baffles me, and even further on some US carriers (like Spirit I think) there is not even a mosquito net just a big seat. Ehhh
Well, thank you for that as I should probably start including it in the reviews 😅.
Definitely is complete overkill, but I have a huge collection at home of amenities so it's nice to add on to it.
😂😂😂😂
You definitely should! Was doing some more research on fares on this route today (for another trip ha) and saw this flight for 186$ in Business, not bad. Will look forward to your review of them if (when) you get out there. Shame they are not part of OW though 😅
Have a nice day!
Hi jettoajet!
Nice review! I've flown with Malindo/Batik many many times for the past 5ish years (from Perth), and yes their value for money is quite good. Pre-Covid in the Malindo days was the best, with free IFE on all planes and a meal included as well
You got really lucky! Batik's LRG/H/J planes are the only ones with IFE, the other 20 or so MAXs are ex Lion Air and have that inch LCC pitch and no IFE. The -800s are mostly ex-Garuda with screens but no working IFE. 6 hour delays happen sometimes, but you cant really complain at such a low price point 😂
It's an interesting product, but it's really inconsistent, you hit the jackpot!
Hi VH-YQW, thanks for your comments!
Interesting, and I wish I had gotten to try it back then! I remember hearing about them back in the Malindo days when they were a full service carrier. I think even if they charged just a little extra now, it would work really well as there aren't too many carriers in Indo that are full service. Nice you got to see that in person back then!
Wow, had no idea only three planes had it haha, very very lucky then.
Gosh, such an interesting fleet. This is why I love FR learning something new, so thanks for sharing this!
Island time I see doesn't affect the airlines 😅. Can't be as bad as LION though, my gosh, not even sure why they have a scheduled departure time for most flights 😅 (on domestic usually I see).
Thanks again, and have a nice day!
Hi, Jettoajet!
Thanks for this Flight-Report.
Wow, aren't you doing a good job advertising Bali? 😅
Poolside fresh pizza… I'm nearly there, darling! Next week, I’m off by train via Paris and Zürich for a long, languid summer at my parents’ villa in Italy. I *shall* be having my requisite dose of quattro formaggi with truffles by the pool, thank you very much.
Ah, splendid! My grandfather used to take me fishing on Lake Zürich — my hometown in Switzerland, not that other one in Illinois, heavens no! Mostly whitefish and perch, as I recall. Though between your impressive catch and your choice of beach shorts, I’m quite torn as to which is the more thrilling.
Indeed, Indonesia does boast a delightful array of homegrown hospitality brands — most clustered in Bali and Jakarta, of course. One does wonder, however, why no enterprising soul has ventured to elevate the airport lounge game. Surely something more polished than JAS Premier (or even Garuda’s offering) could be done with a bit of flair.
Oh, quite! I’ve avoided the place of late by sheer will, but yes, hard agree. Although one might suggest sorting the traffic before encouraging more arrivals. I’ve heard murmurs of a new airport in the north of the island… though I suspect it’s languishing in limbo, as such plans often do. 🤔
Indonesia has thousands of islands… and every time I’m there, I swear I’ll explore a new one. But if my route from Jakarta necessitates a stop in Bali, well I’d be silly not to spend a night or two. Ubud or Tabanan, I think. Somewhere lush and a little less chaotic.
Thanks again for this F-R!
Hi Razza, thanks for stopping by and for reading!
I try my best aha, but honestly, there are already too many tourists. It's impossible to go anywhere now 😅
Color me jealous, that sounds absolutely delightful. Wow. And pizza with truffles, now I'm even more jealous 😒. I hope you enjoy, I mean, would be hard not to hah
I'm so confused as to where you are from half the time lol, like I know there is Indonesian as you spoke about before (I think), and now Switzerland?
Nice! Do you still fish? Or just a thing when you were younger? So peaceful
I could not agree more, even a paid access lounge which is 60-70 USD would work wonders. Everyone leaving just wants to relax in a nice lounge, and it would probably do well. I remember going back and reading some TripAdvisor reviews of the JAS lounge saying "this isn't the Al Mourn Lounge, horrible". I mean, I am confused as to what people expect haha, but it isn't bad for a contract lounge.
I also heard about that... three years ago... but there was a certain issue from what I heard (cough cough corruption cough) so let's see, especially with Lovina growing as a tourist spot.
Definitely sounds much better than Canggu or Berawa, that is for sure. Have you been up north to Tembok? It's gorgeous!
Thanks for reading lah, and enjoy your time in Italy and truffle pizza ha. I'll still remain jealous 😅
I'm Swiss, born and raised! Went to England for boarding school at 16 (6th form), then uni after. Back to Switzerland for conscription and Masters, then... back to England again because it's more fun there (subjective, but where else can I find authentic pizza and also Tibetan cuisine in the same city?). Brother married an Indonesian, and I frequently visit, bar pandemonium of course
No longer. These days, I take my focusing skills instead to the shooting range, or if my friends are up to it, then clay pigeons! Don't suppose you know any good shooting range in Bali? 😜
Have you a backlog still for Asia/Africa trips? Or are we all caught up now?
My Gosh Razza, that is quite the background and clears up the Indonesia angle. Wow.
That is one thing I love about London. It is so diverse, I was there a few weeks ago and met a guy from Kabul. Anyways, back to the point, you can get food from all over the world and that is pretty neat.
From fishing to the shooting range 😂, not bad. Perhaps, there are some, but very very underground haha.
Still about 130 flights behind, with places like South Sudan, Libya, Ukraine and more coming up, but am going to jump ahead and post about Aden Yemen in a few days!
Have a nice day!