In early 2024, Malaysia Airlines added a premium touch to its ground services at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). A year into this service being offered, we’re seeing an update to the car brand that the oneworld carrier is partnering with.
In this post:
The Kuala Lumpur Airport Aerotrain is broken
The Aerotrain is Kuala Lumpur Airport’s automated people mover, which transports passengers between the main terminal building and the satellite terminal building, with the latter being where international flights depart from.
The Aerotrain had been in consistent operation since the airport opened in 1998, though in recent years it has increasingly been having maintenance issues. Finally in March 2023, the decision was made to suspend this service, after the Aerotrain broke down and trapped 114 passengers mid-way down the tracks.
The airport is currently working on modernizing this system, though it’s expected that it will take at least three years for the new service to be active. So you can expect that best case scenario, the new train system will be working at some point in 2026.
While the Aerotrain is out of service, the airport is offering frequent bus service between the two terminal buildings. In order to improve the experience for premium passengers, Malaysia Airlines has been doing something pretty innovative, in the form of private transfers in luxury cars.
Malaysia Airlines offers private terminal transfers
In February 2024, Malaysia Airlines introduced a private transfer service between the main terminal building and the satellite building in Kuala Lumpur. This service operates 24/7, and is available to all Malaysia Airlines business class passengers, as well as Enrich Platinum members (though not those with oneworld Emerald status through a partner program). This is intended to complement the bus service offered by the airport.
Those eligible for the service should proceed to gate G1 in the main terminal building, where the transfers depart from. These transfers are fully private, so aren’t shared with anyone else outside of a traveler’s party. Each car can hold up to four people. Admittedly this is only needed because the train is out of service, though this sure is a premium offering, and it’s very impressive.
When this was first introduced, Malaysia Airlines partnered with BMW on this service, using a fleet of all-electric BMW i7s.
Now as of January 2025, Malaysia Airlines has updated this collaboration. The airline is no longer using BMWs, but instead has a new partnership with Mercedes-Benz. Specifically, the fleet for this service includes the S 580 e Plug-in Hybrid, and the all-electric EQS 500 4MATIC.
It’s interesting to note how this service is also being extended to others. For example, as of March 1, 2025, customers who purchase Mercedes-Benz vehicles will enjoy access to this service. I’m curious how exactly you prove that you’ve purchased a Mercedes-Benz, though that’s an interesting extension to this.
Bottom line
Malaysia Airlines offers a private transfer service between the main terminal building and the satellite building in Kuala Lumpur. This is being offered while extended work is being performed on the Aerotrain, as that won’t be completed until some point in 2026.
While this was initially offered in partnership with BMW, the carrier’s partnership is now with Mercedes-Benz, so you can expect a new fleet of vehicles. This is a very nice initiative on Malaysia Airlines’ part, as there aren’t many airlines offering private tarmac transfers to business class passengers.
What do you make of Malaysia Airlines’ premium ground transfer service?
Oh, the EQS... probably the ugliest Mercedes I've ever seen.
A EQS in China is cheaper than practically any car in Singapore atm.....
So the transfer cars will now come with turn indicators? :)
In mid-November, I enjoyed this (BMW) roundtrip service while in transit. I was flying Malaysia Air in economy but when I saw the gate with the service, I presumed that being a Oneworld Emerald would grant me access. It wasn't busy and no one checked my boarding pass either direction. It was a fun experience and it saved me a lot of time over the bus.
Unless something has changed, the aerotrain was supposed to restart this month (Jan 2025). Not that a delay would be shocking...
@ zigzagged8 -- Interesting, since 2026 was the initial timeline. I see that now when searching online. So I'm curious, what's the point of this? Is the private transfer service sticking around even when the new train launches? That wouldn't make much sense, no?
Totally agree, I have no idea what their plans are. Maybe once the aerotrain restarts they'll be using the private transfer service for tight connections?
Mercedes or BMW? …. Nothing to choose between them that a Lexus cannot master.
However, when it comes to vehicle recalls and unreliability, both Mercedes and BMW win hands down.