My Royal Brunei flight to Bandar Seri Begawan was departing at 12:10PM, so I got to Kuala Lumpur Airport at around 10AM. I checked the departure monitor, and easily found the check-in area for Royal Brunei.
Kuala Lumpur Airport check-in hall
Royal Brunei had a business class counter, though it wasn’t staffed. I still queued there for a minute (since the main line was quite long), and after a few minutes the station manager got the hint, and had one of the associates staff that desk.
Within a few minutes I had a boarding pass to Bandar Seri Begawan, and an invitation to the Plaza Premium lounge. I’ve only ever used the Malaysia Airlines first class lounge in Kuala Lumpur, so was curious to see how one of the airport’s contract lounges compared.
Clearing security and immigration was a breeze, as there weren’t lines for either. After that I got on the train to the satellite concourse.
Kuala Lumpur Airport train station
Upon exiting the train I turned left, and followed the map on my lounge invitation towards the Priority Pass lounge.
Kuala Lumpur Airport airside
This lounge is on the same level as the Malaysia Airlines lounge, so you can take either the escalator or elevator up. However, once on the upper level, the Plaza Premium lounge was in the opposite direction.
Kuala Lumpur Airport airside
Upon entering the lounge I presented my invitation, though Priority Pass members also have access to this lounge. So if you have a credit card with lounge access, you can enter.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport exterior
The lounge was styled similarly to other Plaza Premium lounges I’ve been to, and wasn’t especially full. Just near the entrance was a bar with several high-top seats.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport seating
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport seating
Near that was an area featuring magazines and newspapers.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport magazines & newspapers
Behind that was the dining area, which featured tables that had seating for both two and four.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport dining area
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport dining area
There was a long bench with small circular tables.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport seating
Other than that, the lounge had pretty traditional seating, with chairs facing one another arranged in rows.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport seating
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport seating
There was a small business center with some cubicles and PCs.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport business center
The lounge faced the apron, and the mostly empty apron.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport views
The food spread was back near the entrance, and wasn’t especially good.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport buffet
There were a few types of veggies and fruit.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport food selection
There was a coffee machine, water, orange juice, toast, and croissants.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport food selection
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport food selection
Then there were soft drinks and bottled water.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport drink selection
Then there were a couple of hot dishes, neither of which looked very appealing.
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport food selection
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport food selection
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur Airport food selection
My one frustration with the lounge was that the Wi-Fi didn’t work. While I could connect to the airport’s Wi-Fi (which was free but really slow, at least from the lounge), the lounge’s Wi-Fi didn’t work. Oh well, I only had about 30 minutes in the lounge.
At around 11:10AM I headed to the departure gate, which was C13. The plane arrived from Bandar Seri Begawan at around 11:15AM, right as I got to the gate.
Royal Brunei A320 Kuala Lumpur Airport
Kuala Lumpur Airport has “sterile” gates, so once you enter the gate area you’re considered boarded onto the flight. Therefore they scan your boarding passes when you enter the gate area.
Boarding for Royal Brunei flight
The gate area was huge, so there were plenty of open seats given that we were only on an A320.
Royal Brunei boarding gate Kuala Lumpur Aiprort
At around 11:40AM boarding finally began, starting with people who needed extra time (which was about half the plane), and then after that business class.
Boarding for Royal Brunei flight
Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur bottom line
The Plaza Premium Lounge KL is a perfectly fine contract and Priority Pass lounge. The design was quite nice, though the food selection and lack of Wi-Fi were a bit disappointing. That being said, I do everything I can to avoid visiting a contract lounge while hungry. In general the airport isn’t especially inspiring when it comes to lounges — even the Malaysia first class lounge isn’t very nice.
I find KLIA to be among the more pleasant airports out there to transit. They have fast track immigration in both directions, and I’ve never had much of a wait for security.
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