On a mission to try as many new airlines as I can, I opted for Batik Air Malaysia, formerly known as Malindo Air to fly between Kuala Lumpur and the Indonesian tourist hot spot of Bali.

Booking was a massive pain in the APU, which was unexpected as the carrier’s website is, at first glance, fully functional. But when it came time to pay, something went wrong at every step.

I tried credit cards, debit cards, PayPal and bank transfer over the course of several days but nothing worked. Fellow RGN contributor Jason Rabinowitz suggested I try booking via the app, which at first appeared to work but then failed as well.

All that activity eventually led to both my bank account and credit card being frozen for suspected fraudulent activity. It cost me a few hours to clear them all up, only to try Batik Air again and have my credit card frozen for a second time!

I know, I should’ve given up. But what can I say, I’m stubborn.

Finally, and honest to goodness I couldn’t tell you how or why, I managed to successfully book the one-way for $92 US. For whatever reason, the base ticket was all I got. It included one checked bag at 20kg, but nothing else. I repeatedly tried to add seats and was considering extra baggage, but Batik Air’s system wouldn’t accept any changes.

I tried one last time to add seats a week before the flight, eventually reaching out to several of the airline’s customer service channels. None of my queries received a response until the day before, when I learned I was trying to manage the booking via the wrong website. I was directed to login on Malindo’s old website, despite having booked on Batik Air’s site. Probably related, I was handed a new-to-me PNR. I didn’t even know that was possible. 

Finally, armed with information that was actually useful, I was able to add seats for another $10.

Right, and then there was the flight.

Check-in was unremarkable, at least now that I had a PNR that worked, and a checked bag was sent on its way. So too was boarding, despite being a free-for-all.

The airline operates a mostly Boeing 737 fleet, though it recently added two Airbus A330s. My flight was on board a new Boeing 737 MAX 8, configured in a standard 3-3 layout with just shy of 200 seats.

Thankfully the aircraft was maybe 70% full, leaving me and a travel mate with row eight to ourselves. For slimline seats, they were surprisingly comfortable: 31 inches of pitch, the 737’s standard 17 inches of width and considerably more recline than I expected. The winged headrest was a nice addition too, though obviously the empty middle made a huge difference in our favor.

There was no in-seat power. I knew this in advance so I carried a multi-device charging brick.

Crew members spent a good chunk of the first half of the flight distributing pre-ordered meals, which we didn’t have. It seemed to be a struggle, and the beverage cart wound up blocking our row for 25 minutes. The airline has a buy-on-board menu in the literature pocket, and feeling a bit peckish I could’ve been convinced to buy something. Prices for decently-sized meals like fried rice with chicken satay or pratha and dhal ran from $4 to $5 (20-25myr), and included a bottle of water.

Unfortunately, at no point did the crew make any attempt to solicit my attention or take my cues for theirs.

By the time I could finally get out of our row I had already made do with a few snacks squirreled away in my bag. I later bought a soda from the rear galley for 10myr in cash.

Based on pre-flight research I had expected some combination of seatback or stream-to-device content, or at least Wi-Fi. But there was none to be had on this flight. Exactly which product you’ll get, if any, appears to be a mystery. Luckily I preloaded my phone with some music, and got some work done on my laptop.

We landed in Bali a bit behind schedule thanks to an air traffic control hold. Total time aloft, two hours and forty-five minutes. The checked bag appeared forty minutes later on the carousel.

In the end, the onboard product was passable. I wish I’d been able to try more of what Batik Air theoretically has to offer, as I’ve reason to believe it could be better than what I experienced. Nonetheless an empty middle seat on a mid-range flight is about as good as it gets.

Add in the booking experience though, and I’d be hard pressed to bother with Batik Air again. If you can’t make taking my money easy, you don’t deserve it.

Related Articles:

• Garuda A330 economy: full service product at a full service price
• Air Malta: small and unremarkable but fairly solid
• Weighing carryon bags, Thai AirAsia proves embodiment of LCC
• Grime time? Flying Nok Air on Phuket-Bangkok
• Business class on Malaysia 737-800 proves PaxEx mixed bag

All images credited to the author, Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren