Is BATIK AIR As Bad As People Say? 6 Hours on a Low Cost 737! 

I love the fact that 4 and half hours of this flight is over Australia. This is something I remember every time I went to Singapore that 2/3rds of the flight was just spent crossing Australia!

Happy to see a new one! Had a very sad couple of weeks, and these trips always help, for whatever reason. 😊

Noel: “How will I survive a cramped six-hour flight on a narrowbody?” Any American flying a coast-to-coast west-bound domestic flight: “That’s adorable.”

Looking forward to seeing how you continued your journey to Jakarta Noel but with no real worry. There are so many flights every day from Denpasar to Jakarta that you'd have to be astonishingly unlucky not to get a seat.

12:40 didn’t age well

Hi Noel another great vid. I’ve flown on the 737 max 8. A fantastic aircraft and I’ve always felt safe on them. It’s amazing how big Australia actually is. Remember flying from Bangkok to Sydney and most the flight was spent over Australia. Also love the diddly squat t shirt!

"737 MAX is super duper safe, nothing else could possibly happen to these" sure didn't age well......

They’re really trying to dominate the market in a big way in parts of Australia, between Batik Indonesia and Batik Malaysia they’re currently running about 25 to 30 flights a week out of Perth to DPS and KUL and curiously applied for traffic rights to fly KUL-PER-AKL recently. Will be interesting to see where they’re at in the next few years particularly as some of the routes they want to fly really push the limits of the MAX 8’s range e.g KUL-MEL.

Thanks Noel for your willingness to be in claustrophobic position for 6 hours

Was doing a flight in the simulator from Australia to Singapore and I remember taking a nap while the flight was cruising over Australia, and when I woke up, I was STILL flying over Australia 😂😂

I flew Malindo from BKK to Melbourne in the premium cabin and loved it. Reminded me of upstairs in a 747.

I knew this video is about Batik Air Malaysia and i track your flight to Bali actually. As an Indonesian viewer, Batik Air Indonesia and Malaysia are the full service airline of Lion Air Group and not a low cost. Before 9M-LRF, it was previously being operated by Lion Air but Lion Air doesn't want this plane anymore for a few reasons. Now, 9M-LRF is operated by Batik Air Malaysia previous name Malindo Air. I love this video👍

I really appreciate your humor!! Always a word or phrase that makes we smile!!

For the 737 max. I’ve been on a lot of them. Transport Canada had so many strict protocols for them to return to the sky so I definitely feel very safe on them!

i flew Malindo a few years ago before they renamed to batik. flight was from MEL-DPS return and it was a definite experience... given the price of the tickets it's hard to complain too much about the lack of service (it was like $400aud return after i added luggage etc)... if you're on a budget it's no worse than jetstar, but it's not something i'm keen to repeat personally :)

The comments about the safety of the max 8 have aged well given the recent event... 😂

Flying for six hours in economy isn't optimal, but it is certainly ok. That airline seems to have quite a good experience in economy. Thanks for showing this.

I flew the Max on Air Canada a couple of weeks ago. Great plane. Quiet and roomy. I hope Malaysian Batik is a safer operator than Indonesian operators. Flying Lion Air you deserve a medal.

"They marked you as 2" Noel "I thought I lost weight" 😆😅🤣

Hi Noel, I thought you would fly from Brisbane to Perth, then take the 787 Dreamliner back home to London, a 17.5-hour flight. Great video as always. Keep up the awesome work. Safe travels.

Yeah thanks for the Solomon Airline A320 at 7:53, my country's airline. try us some time!

This airline crashes a lot..." make sure all electronic devices are turned off..." Noels cue to push record.... that's why we love you!

Hey Noel, I recently flew this flight and had the opposite experience. It was bloody terrible. 2 hour delay leaving Brisbane, and almost missed by two connecting domestic flight/s within Indonesia. Incredibly stressful experience and I will simply pay extra for malay/Singapore next time.

Max 8? You are braver than I am for flying one of those dangerous planes.

A new adventure indeed begins in a new place for you, Indonesia even if that stay may only be short! but one day, you'll hit up the new capital Nusantara in just 2 years time! You just may be back there one day!

Hope you made it to Jakarta Noel. An absolutely amazing city. I hope to get back there one day in the near future.

Malindo was one of my chosen way to fly to Australia. It's hugely better than Lionair. They used to have A320's. All seats had video screens. What a disappointment they changed. Noel, I live in Jakarta if you have need of a tour guide. LOL

Don’t worry there are plenty of flights from DPS to CGK. You will get your connecting easily.

I hate that they change the name Malindo to Batik air Malaysia when the offer is closer to lion air and different from the actual batik air

Great and entertaining video as always Noel! I am by no means an expert on Batik Air Malaysia / Malindo Air but I believe that their new cabins do feature in-flight entertainment, but most of the MAX-8 aircraft are ex-Lion Air planes and have not been reconfigured for Batik Air Malaysia. The new cabins also feature Business Class recliner seats. And btw Batik Air Malaysia is Sortof a Hybrid airline unlike Lion Air which is low cost and sucks. Let’s hope they get that fixed soon since 6 hours without IFE… 😬 keep it up mate!

I had 6 and half hours on a Virgin Australian 737 from Christchurch in New Zealand to Melbourne in Australia & onto Brisbane,seating in economy was cramped but the food was very good though.

It’s very sad what happened to all those people on the Max incidents Absolutely tragic and preventable

We unfortunately had to go on a Batik Air flight as Turkish Airlines use them on some flights to Australia. It was more basic than Ryanair and I was pretty annoyed we had to buy food and drinks not knowing anythjng anout the airline!

'if anything else happened to a max 8 Boeing would be done ...' still feeling so safe Noel?

You should start introducing the bell challenge. How long does it take for them to get to you.

I loved the video a lot! Seeing airlines from places I've never been to is amazing, and that arrival was stunning! Denpasar is definitely only my list! I have always loved the MAX ever since it came out, and I still do! I've been on SO MANY MAX's in my time, and I've never felt anything less than 150% safer on them.

Thanks a lot Great Noel, I was wondering how you will jump over those two passengers to go for a loo review but actually you made.

12:50 another issue amongst the countless others that go unreproted at being....finished? nah chief still in business lol

LETSS GOOO INDONESIA EPISODE WWWW

I actually appreciated your foray into Cebu Pacific’s all Economy A330, so I for one know that you’re NOT always in Business Class. Cheers and happy travels!

Great vlog as always! Keep up the good work. Be safe!

Last time I fly with batik/ malindo, there were entertaiment screen. Idk why they using non-entertaiment screen fleet for international haul flight like this. But I agree with the food, its decent and sometimes you had indian briyani/ tandoori, which really good.

I need that Diddly Squat Farm t-shirt!

11:37 Noel : "It's definitely chicken" Me watching in front of laptop drinking coffee : Yepp.......

Crew competence is the biggest issue with certain airlines, personally I would not have a problem with the B737 Max 8 as an aircraft

Batik is the full service company of the Lion Air Group, Lion (a budget airline) is the Original airline from Indonesia, Malindo is the Malaysian Lion Air, Thai Lion is the Thai version of Lion Air and Wings is the 'budget' Lion Air (also flying local minor routes using ATR-72s).

Wow, Brissy airport looked SO different - except for the tiled-floor arrival hall. Mind you, I was there circa 2003 or so. Glad your flight was pretty good, Noel - especially for such a tall, big westerner (no slights, mate, I've been there myself - and I was only 5'11" - but muscly - not a skeleton, so, to them, I was 'BIG".) Enjoying your vids, mate. Cheers!

If you say you never seen Noel on economy class, watch him cramped on Greyhound bus seat for hours.. For the sake of content creation, he tortured himself..

I had a chance to ride a MAX 8 Between Gatwick and Faro, Portugal (Both ways) with Tui last month. As my previous flight 6 years prior was in an A380 (BA), I was very surprised to find the little aircraft to be just as (if not slightly more) comfortable than the latter.

bought a ridge wallet years before you advertised it. finally broke it abd bought another. proapably cvould have done the thing to have them fix it but why worry. i like it and bought annother:) they are good!

Love those late night, early morning shuttle airport puckups

The people complaining about you only flying business class..is ridiculous..apparently they don't watch enough of your wonderful channel. So happy you and your family live in America now.. Welcome!!!!

Love the Jezza Clarkson diddly squat t shirt 👍

“I thought I had lost some weight” made me laugh Ngl 😂

I agree! Your in economy more then most of the other travel channels out there for sure. 👍🏾

Fun Fact: The 737 Max that you flew is a 737 Max 8 from Lion Air and it was given to Batik Air in 2022

You seemed to have been very comfortable on that flight giving everything a good report. It was interesting to see the attractive airport in Bali - I was there on a Qantas stopover once on a dark and stormy night, and as we flew out towards Australia all I could think was "if this plane goes down, that ocean is full of sharks".

Thanks for taking us along Noel! Have to say I love your t-shirt! Didddly Squat Farm! Lol

As an Aussie I’m be flown with malindo/batik air and it’s actually not bad. They serve a complimentary hot meal but no alcohol as they’re dry. Had IFE and usb charging for similar price to other airlines. Most other airlines flying to Indonesia from aus are budget carriers, some with even more questionable safety standards. I didn’t mind batik air

great video mate keep em coming!

Did a few flights around SE Asia a few years ago on Batik Air, we thought they were great, as you say comfy seats, nice service, decent chow & a great price. I don't know what some people expect really. As regards the MAX7-8, there is just no way in hell that the FAA would've given this thing another clean bill of health after the calamity the first time, and it was out for over 2 years, so that plane just wouldn't be flying now at all if there was anything less than 99.99% certainty that every tiny thing about this plane was tip-top, as you say, Boeing would be absolutely finished if something else did go very badly wrong this time. People need to stop going on about it now, repeating old news & views, the MAX8 is a different plane now, cos it had to be.

Wow, ace. At least the seats were comfy, sound vid Noel.

Hi Noel! Love your videos. Love your voice!

You make a very good point on the max 8 actually. If anything was to happen to another Boeing would be screwed. So they have done the most checks to any plane in the world to make it certified again. But I still would feel more nervous getting on one then a normal 737 as to me for Boeing to even let the max fly without all this stuff at first makes me fear what else they could be cheaping out on. I know they wouldn't as it would ruin Boeing just a psychological thing I think.

2:00 - 'Batty Care'..?? lol

They marked you as two. "I thought I'd lost some weight" lol

Great report, Noel. Enjoyed your milk run. Stay safe.

8:00 aaah, F-28. Really miss the pair of those RR Spey's *howl*

You seem lucky to have quite a smooth landing. Most people experienced rough and hard landing when they touched down in Denpasar.

I flew on a brand new 2022 Max 8 with Southwest. Very smooth ride. I got to ride on a -800 before hand and hands down the Max 8 was way more comfortable, and had more leg room with the slim seats.

it's nice to see that you were enjoying batik air. and about Lyon air they're known for their flight delays and cancelations, Lyon air is definitely one of the worst airways in Indonesia, for the best I'd say Garuda Indonesia. But overall great video, I enjoyed it. Keep it up :)

I did this in 2009 with Virgin Australia quite a haul in a 737 they were Virgin Blue back then

I flew malindo a couple years ago, I quite liked it actually, after experiencing Vietjet airlines as a tall person

As a Top Gear/ Clarkston fan I love the Diddily Squat Shop t-shirt.

If you haven't already done so (and I don't think you have) you should try to fly Luxair one of these days. I would be very interested what you make of them. 🙂

Thanks for flying these airlines Noel. Always really interesting

I flew Indonesia’s Lion Air domestic flight from Jakarta to Pontianak. The experience was below average. It just literally transport you from point A to B. Thats it. Didn’t expect anything else. Wanted to pre-book my meal online but somehow the website for that feature was disabled. Probably they only encourage people to buy it on board. But when they started to do the onboard sale, I guess the only thing that is available is cup noodles and selections of beverages. Then the online check in was only available 12hrs before departure. I remember when I had to wait sometimes till 1am or 2am to access the website to do the online check in. And had to wake up early to check out then go to the airport etc etc. 😢😢 Then during boarding, it was chaotic. The flight attendant will refrain you from arranging your own hand carry items at the overhead compartment. They literally shouted at you and said “owh just leave it there and have a sit. We will arrange it for you”… when u reached the destination, you will only to find out that your hand carry item was elsewhere (on top of the seat, few rows behind or at the front!) 😂😂😂

Welcome to my beautiful country Indonesia, Noel. We have tons of beautiful airport such as Ngurah Rai Bali, Yogyakarta Intl Airport, and the busiest airport of Soekarno Hatta Jakarta as well as our great National Flag Carrier Garuda Indonesia.

i too like riding on the max-8, very smooth

The ridge section of this video sounded like a quick fire rap video

Adelaide International Airport (YPAD) 4am open, coffee available at that time also pity that Brisbane is so behind us here in Adelaide (yes I'm from Adelaide)

Hi Noel - Just as a point of interest, do you ever have problems filming at the airport (s)?

Had I known you were coming to Brisbane I would've happily shouted you a meal featuring our reef and beef delicacies. Maybe next time!

I flew Malindo in their "Business Class' fom KL to Bali to Melbourne. Had the exact same experience as you, incredibly impressive.

“I thought I’d lost some weight” 😂😂😂😂😂

I was so surprised that this low cost airline could be so great for 6hrs in economy

'Batty Care': once heard, impossible to unhear. Maybe next time the chaos of Air NZ's Auckland to New York?

I recently had 3 Ryanair flights in 8 days, and all ended up being on 737 Maxs. Ryanair do not mention "Max" anywhere, and use the name 737 8200.

One time I missed my flight from Yogyakarta to Denpasar with Lion air, and bought a ticket with Batik air going to Jakarta first then Bali. I've flown few domestic flight in other countries, mostly US and Canada, gotta say Batik is probably the best domestic flight experience I've had. Their chair is spacious, has a screen for movies and games, and the plane is very empty for some reason (on my flight back to jogja lion air was really packed). I hit so many home runs on their baseball game too, wish they'd keep my record because all the top 10 was my record. Definitely won't mind to fly again, even surprised to learn that is a bad reputation budget airline.

Noel brilliant review ! As an enthusiast there were some very exotic colour schemes to be seen on departure and arrival of your great Max8 flight .😀

Hey Noel!!! Shout out to Jezza's farm lol 😆 nice t-shirt 👌 cheers mate for the latest content!!! ✌️

I'm glad that you thought the flight was good! I flew this exact route with Batik Air in September from Brisbane to Bali. The flight overall was decent, seats were comfortable enough, tickets were expensive but inflation what can you do, I just wish I knew about no inflight entertainment ahead of time. It made for a really boring flight but I downloaded some shows for the return flight.

Perth to bali $113 bag meal included i couldnt say no On the return flight was 11pax only Unfortunately seems now no free meal or baggage

I like your reports on the economy seats ... nice

Looking forwards to your see how you continued your flight. If you come to Melbourne next time, I would gladly show you around such as dinner in Lygon Street and the drive down the Great Ocean Rd to Apollo Bay.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Noel!

Had a trans-Atlantic flight on Westjet 737-800 (not a MAX) seven and a half hours from Dublin to Toronto in September. Somewhat odd as I flew on a Westjet 787 Dreamliner from Calgary to Dublin in early September.

I flew some years ago on Batik Air Indonesia, it was a delightful flight, a new plane, very attentive service, very delicious spicy food. My main complaint about Lion Air was airport side customer service. Absolutely useless, could not pay with a US based credit card. When credit card payment was possible, charged exorbitant commission for credit card payment. But the product itself ie the flight, crew, food, state of planes was very, very good. I have flown on Lion Air more than 15 times.

You know the TV like lines on your camera, this is caused by the radiation higher up in the atmosphere. Pretty cool 🤙

Batik Air is a standard/regular service airliner, although it's under the same group with Lion Air, its elder brother, which is the oldest LCC in Indonesia (that still alive). After Lion Air successfully rule in Indonesia sky, they wanted to broaden their strength in upper segment, so they make Batik Air. Still, the quality cannot be compared with Indonesia flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia. They are operates on much .. much higher standard.