Strategic Aviation
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Malaysia Is Closing Their Lounges At KLIA For Several Months - One Mile at a Time
Up until earlier this month, Malaysia’s regional lounge was closed for refurbishment. It has now reopened, and based on what I’ve heard the changes are fairly minimal. What I didn’t realize is that they’re now also closing their lounges in the satellite terminal, which are their biggest lounges serving the most passengers.
The Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge in the KLIA satellite terminal will be closed for renovation through January 29, 2018. Given the constant delays there are with airport work, I’d be surprised if that work is completed as scheduled, so personally I wouldn’t bet on it reopening as scheduled.
Malaysia Airlines outlines the three lounge options that passengers have in the interim:
The only real “accommodation” here is access to the Malaysia Airports CIP Lounge (which isn’t nice). That’s because Malaysia passengers always had access to the Malaysia Regional Lounge, and also always had access to the Cathay Pacific Lounge due to both airlines belonging to oneworld.
While Malaysia Airlines’ First Class Lounge wasn’t all that great, at least it was typically quiet, so access to it was a nice perk for oneworld Emerald members (Malaysia doesn’t have many actual first class passengers, given that they only offer the product on the A380, and soon the A350).
If you’re flying Malaysia over the coming months, I’d do everything in your power to minimize the time you spend in the lounges. I expect the lounge options available to passengers will be way overcrowded, given just how many people Malaysia’s satellite lounge usually serves.
Here’s to hoping that Malaysia Airlines at least takes the opportunity to do a good job refurbishing their lounges. The Malaysia First Class Lounge has potential, though up until now Malaysia hasn’t done anything with it. I’d love to see the lounge offer improved a la carte dining, nap rooms that seem less like prison cells, and a general refresh of the design.