Review: MIAT Mongolian Airlines Business Class Boeing 737 (UBN-ICN)

For the next segment of my trip to Japan via Mongolia, I flew MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX 8 business class on the 2hr40min flight from Ulaanbaatar to Seoul Incheon. MIAT has a small Boeing 737 fleet, and I lucked out that I ended up on the carrier’s only 737 MAX 8, featuring the most modern interiors.

While my MIAT Boeing 787-9 business class flight from Frankfurt was rather underwhelming, I thought MIAT’s short haul product was much better, by comparison. The cabin had beautiful finishes, comfortable seats, and the soft product was nearly identical to what I had on the long haul flight. I’d fly MIAT again on the 737 MAX in a heartbeat.

How I booked my MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class ticket

I booked my MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class ticket using cash. Fortunately the airline has attractive fares in business class, regardless of whether you intend to travel to Mongolia, or just want to connect there. I booked the following for $1,113.40 one-way, which I’d consider to be a great deal:

1/27 OM138 Frankfurt to Ulaanbaatar departing 2:30PM arriving 5:40AM (+1 day)
1/28 OM301 Ulaanbaatar to Seoul departing 7:45AM arriving 12:05PM

Unfortunately there are no practical ways to redeem miles on MIAT Mongolian Airlines. That may change eventually, as the airline has expressed interest in becoming a oneworld Connect member, as part of its aspirations of flying to the United States.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class lounge & boarding

In the previous installment, I reviewed MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ Blue Sky Lounge, which is the carrier’s hub lounge in Ulaanbaatar. It’s a nice enough lounge, though a bit odd.

My flight to Seoul Incheon was departing from gate three, just a few steps from the lounge. Boarding was scheduled to start at 7AM, 45 minutes before departure, though ended up starting at 7:15AM instead. Business class passengers were invited to board first, and I was the only passenger in that line.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class cabin & seats

MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX 8 cabin is gorgeous, with cool seat patterns and some artistic bulkheads (unlike the Boeing 787-9).

Before even talking about business class, I also took a quick peek into the economy cabin, which looked fine.

Business class on this jet consists of 12 seats, spread across three rows in a 2-2 configuration.

Think of this as almost being like domestic first class within the United States, except with better legroom and footrests (and personal televisions, which is a point of differentiation compared to some airlines).

I assigned myself seat 3F, the window seat on the right side in the last row. The seat next to me remained open, so I had quite a bit of space to myself.

As far as seat features go, the tray table extends from the center armrest, and can be folded over in half.

The center console has an entertainment controller, though there’s not much need to use this, since the entertainment monitor is also touchscreen.

Outlets are located underneath the center console, and there’s the choice of both AC and USB-A charging.

Each seat also has a little bar that can be lowered to act as a footrest, which I tend to think is an underrated feature (given how easy and cheap this is to install, compared to some other amenities).

The aircraft has a modern overhead console, as you’d expect on a 737 MAX 8, with reading lights and individual air nozzles.

All-in-all, I thought this was a lovely business class cabin, among the better non-flat bed ones that I’ve seen on a narrow body.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class amenities

The amenities on this short haul flight were quite similar to the amenities on the long haul flight, so that’s pretty impressive. After boarding, pre-departure drinks were served, with the choice of sparkling wine or orange juice. Sure, it might’ve been 7AM, but you know what I ordered. Much like on the long haul flight, MIAT served Kupferberg Sekt on this flight, which retails for a few dollars.

There were also a pillow and blanket waiting at each seat.

Noise canceling headphones were distributed by one of the flight attendants during the boarding process.

Amenity kits were also passed out. This kit was a bit more basic than the one on the long haul flight, and contained eyeshades, slippers, and earplugs.

I’d consider those to be pretty decent amenities for a short haul flight!

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class entertainment

MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ Boeing 737 business class entertainment system is strange, much like on the 787. There’s seat back entertainment, which is a feature that’s nice to see.

However, all of the movies and TV shows are in Mongolian, so you won’t find any English options here.

I appreciated that this system also had a map feature, and it was a more modern and customizable system than on the 787, as you could select your preferred view.

On top of that, MIAT offers streaming entertainment, with movies and TV shows in English. This was a modest selection, with five new release movies, 18 classic movies, four comedy shows, six documentary shows, and five kids shows.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 departure from Ulaanbaatar

Boarding was quite efficient, and wrapped up at 7:40AM, at which point the main cabin door was immediately closed. I was surprised the cabin of the aircraft wasn’t cold during boarding, given the negative temperatures outside.

Initially seven of the 12 business class seats were occupied, but then one person seemed to get some sort of a friends and family upgrade. And then that guy invited someone else to come sit next to him. So in the end, nine of the 12 seats were taken, though the two upgrades just received the standard economy meals.

We pushed back just a couple of minutes after the door closed, and at that point a safety video was screened. Once we started our engines, we had a very quick taxi to runway 11, where we’d be departing from.

At around 7:50AM we got to the runway, and were immediately cleared for takeoff — there was no need to deice, so the whole process was very quick. Our climb out was possibly the most magical aviation moment that I’ve ever had. The sun was just starting to rise, and the views were breathtaking. Seriously, you’d think that you’re in Antarctica!

The seatbelt sign was turned off around 10 minutes after takeoff.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class meal service

Service was pretty quick to get started after takeoff, with one flight attendant being dedicated to the business class cabin. Around 25 minutes after takeoff, warm towels were distributed.

After that, passengers were offered tablecloths and drinks. I ordered another glass of sparkling wine, though I’m not sure why, exactly.

Around an hour after takeoff, a cart was rolled down the aisle with the meals. Since I was seated in the last row, only one option was available, which was a salmon dish. I believe the other option was an omelet with some fruit, which seems more fitting for an early morning flight. Then again, my body had no clue what time it was, so this worked just as well for me.

This was a pretty substantial meal. It consisted of a salad with some smoked chicken, parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, and croutons. Then the main course had salmon, potatoes au gratin, brussels sprouts, and carrots. While not the best airplane meal I’ve had, it wasn’t bad either.

Once trays were cleared, the flight attendant came around with coffee or tea. I ordered a cup of coffee.

Lastly, dessert was served, which was a blueberry cheesecake.

Compared to what I was offered on my long haul flight, I was actually quite impressed by this meal. It seems that MIAT doesn’t differentiate much between short haul and long haul flights when it comes to catering that’s offered.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class lavatory

The MIAT Mongolian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX has a lavatory at the front of the cabin by the cockpit, reserved exclusively for business class passengers. Unfortunately this is one of those awful 737 MAX lavatories — not only is the lavatory tiny, but the sink is almost unusably small, and it’s hard to wash your hands without water splashing everywhere.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class service

The flight attendant working business class on this flight was much more attentive, engaging, and warm, than the flight attendants that were working the flight from Frankfurt. This flight attendant was friendly, had an eye for detail, and constantly checked on passengers.

Interestingly toward the end of the flight I was presented with a survey about the meal service. It’s always a bit awkward to fill these out and then hand them back to the crew, when they presumably check all your responses.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 arrival in Seoul Incheon

I don’t think I’ve ever had a flight where my eyes were glued out the window quite like this one. The views over Mongolia, and in particular over the Gobi Desert, were spectacular. Heck, I’d take this flight again just for the views. Below is just a small sampling of some of the views…

At around 11:20AM, the seatbelt sign was turned on, as we had started our descent. We had quite the squiggly routing between Ulaanbaatar and Seoul Incheon. As you can see, the turns are mostly in Chinese airspace.

Does anyone specifically know why these kinds of paths are so common in China? I know planes use “tracks” in some regions (like across the Atlantic), but is that what’s happening here, is this for aircraft spacing, or what?

While it was a gorgeous, clear morning in Mongolia, the conditions weren’t quite as good near Seoul Incheon, where it was overcast.

We ended up touching down on runway 34L at Seoul Incheon at 11:40AM.

From there we had a rather long 15 minute taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 11:55AM.

Bottom line

I found MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX 8 business class product to be pleasant. The cabin was modern and spacious, there were a solid number of amenities for such a short flight, the food was decent enough, and the service was friendly. The highlight of this flight, though, was the incredible views. Departing Ulaanbaatar at sunrise in winter is nothing short of a magical experience.

What’s your take on MIAT Mongolian Airlines’ 737 business class?