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

Ben Schlappig
Published: March 7, 2024
Updated: March 7, 2024
10

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 departure gate Ulaanbaatar

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.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 economy class seats

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class seats

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.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class tray table

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class entertainment controller

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class power outlets

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).

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 business class footrest

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines 737 overhead console

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.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class pre-departure drink

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class pillow & blanket

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class headphones

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.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class amenity kit

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.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class entertainment

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 streaming entertainment

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!

View after takeoff from Ulaanbaatar Airport

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.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class warm towel

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class drink service

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.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class meal

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class coffee

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

MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class dessert

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 737 business class lavatory amenities

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?

Conversations (10)

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Juan M Guest
March 11, 2024, 1:20 am

You also need to be aware Lucky that, some of that final routing you did there was to avoid NK airspace.

And as other commenters have said, CN airways can be VERY tight and you havee to do quite the drastic 90° turns.

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iamhere Guest
March 7, 2024, 9:18 pm

I think the reviews need to be relative. Given the price surely you were not expecting gulf carrier service....

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Julia Guest
March 7, 2024, 1:00 pm

"It consisted of a salad with some smoked chicken, parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, and croutons."

Almost like a Caesar salad, minus the dressing...

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W Gold
March 7, 2024, 11:57 am

The reason flights often zig zag in Chinese airspace is because 90% of the airspace over China is for military use. That only leaves a small portion for civilian planes. As a result, there are "highways" of sorts which planes have to follow. Often, these highways mean most flights aren't simply from Point A to Point B. For your flight, the aircraft had to travel on multiple "highways", hence the big zag pattern.

Just...
The reason flights often zig zag in Chinese airspace is because 90% of the airspace over China is for military use. That only leaves a small portion for civilian planes. As a result, there are "highways" of sorts which planes have to follow. Often, these highways mean most flights aren't simply from Point A to Point B. For your flight, the aircraft had to travel on multiple "highways", hence the big zag pattern.

Just go on Flightradar24 and search up domestic Chinese flights. Most of them follow this zig zag pattern. The exception is mainly major cities (like Beijing to Shanghai) due to the number of flights between those cities, so the government intentionally put a "highway" between them. But the more extreme routings are on flights from less major Chinese cities (such as Xian to Guangzhou; search up CZ3208 and you'll see).

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vlcnc Guest
March 7, 2024, 11:42 am

That looks wayyyyy better than the long-haul flight on the 787. I think if they want to fly to the US they're going to have improve that long-haul product a lot more, even just to the standard fo this would be something. The cabin of that 787 looked so miserable in comparison. I also think it is a shame they don't make more of Mongolian culture including the cuisine which can be fascinating and unusual...
That looks wayyyyy better than the long-haul flight on the 787. I think if they want to fly to the US they're going to have improve that long-haul product a lot more, even just to the standard fo this would be something. The cabin of that 787 looked so miserable in comparison. I also think it is a shame they don't make more of Mongolian culture including the cuisine which can be fascinating and unusual - I think MIAT could easily be a nice boutique airline that actually sells the country as a destination a bit like Fiji Airways does. Especially as it's a bit off the beaten track and the tourism they do have is a big part of the economy relatively.

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Never In Doubt Guest
March 7, 2024, 11:19 am

"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)."

Unless your legs are just the right length (mine aren't) they're useless.

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Nate Dyer Guest
March 7, 2024, 10:48 am

Great landscape to distract you from the only remaining meal option.... fish

LOL *eye roll*

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Paola Bracho Guest
March 7, 2024, 9:29 am

Chinese airspace is tightly controlled by the military, creating a whole set of problems for the civil aviation.

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3164982/china-relax-aviation-rules-shenzhen-opening-skies-more

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Abidjan Gold
March 7, 2024, 8:25 am

Compared to the long-haul product, much more impressive from start to finish. Those views certainly helped. Incredible.

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del Guest
March 7, 2024, 8:10 am

I believe it's something to do with a lot of the airspace being reserved for the military.

https://youtu.be/sJPxjVASlBc

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Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

W Gold

March 7, 2024, 11:57 am

The reason flights often zig zag in Chinese airspace is because 90% of the airspace over China is for military use. That only leaves a small portion for civilian planes. As a result, there are "highways" of sorts which planes have to follow. Often, these highways mean most flights aren't simply from Point A to Point B. For your flight, the aircraft had to travel on multiple "highways", hence the big zag pattern. Just go on Flightradar24 and search up domestic Chinese flights. Most of them follow this zig zag pattern. The exception is mainly major cities (like Beijing to Shanghai) due to the number of flights between those cities, so the government intentionally put a "highway" between them. But the more extreme routings are on flights from less major Chinese cities (such as Xian to Guangzhou; search up CZ3208 and you'll see).

vlcnc Guest

March 7, 2024, 11:42 am

That looks wayyyyy better than the long-haul flight on the 787. I think if they want to fly to the US they're going to have improve that long-haul product a lot more, even just to the standard fo this would be something. The cabin of that 787 looked so miserable in comparison. I also think it is a shame they don't make more of Mongolian culture including the cuisine which can be fascinating and unusual - I think MIAT could easily be a nice boutique airline that actually sells the country as a destination a bit like Fiji Airways does. Especially as it's a bit off the beaten track and the tourism they do have is a big part of the economy relatively.

Juan M Guest

March 11, 2024, 1:20 am

You also need to be aware Lucky that, some of that final routing you did there was to avoid NK airspace. And as other commenters have said, CN airways can be VERY tight and you havee to do quite the drastic 90° turns.