Sharon Petersen
Cabin: Economy Class
Route: Yangon - Bagan. Heho - Mandalay
Aircraft: ATR 72-500
Knowing that Myanmar isn’t the worlds safest place to fly (though it has made drastic improvements), and having never heard of Air KBZ, I was a little apprehensive as we reached the aircraft on the courtesy bus – my traveling companion even more so. However after the first flight the only airline we wanted to fly around Myanmar with was Air KBZ. It’s old fashioned flying at its best.
Seat and Amenities
Seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration have a 30 inch seat pitch but do not recline. The seats were far more comfortable than the Jetstar flight we had just come off and considering the short flight times, there was plenty of leg room and seat width.
Customer service on board
The safety demonstration is – well it’s quick – but the cabin crew are on the ball when it comes to making sure you are seated with seat belts on and the cabin is clear for landing etc. Interestingly there are three cabin crew for 70 passengers yet on a flight of 180 passengers on a low cost carrier operating an A320 or 737-800 there are only 4 . The passenger to cabin crew ratio is very different and also explains why they are able to serve and clear a cabin so quickly and give attentive service.
Catering
This is where air KBZ really impressed. A refresher towel is handed out as you board the aircraft and as soon as the seat belt sign goes off the crew start handing out non alcoholic drinks. On flights less than 30 minutes only drinks are provided but on flights between 30 and 45 minutes a pastry as well as tea and coffee is offered and on flights over 45 minutes a snack box with a roll, and sweet pastry as well as two serves of tea,coffee and other nonalcoholic beverages. We happened to have flights in all three of these categories and were impressed.
Inflight entertainment
There is no in-flight entertainment, but there is an in-flight magazine and the view out the window is unbeatable.
Extra information
*Some flights have allocated seating and some do not so if you are keen for a particular seat make sure you line up early.
*Baggage is done on a manual scale and bags are taken away by hand – don’t be alarmed – they just don’t have baggage carousels in most places for domestic flights yet.
*If there is too much baggage for the hold the excess just gets put in with the pilots – watching them clamber over it to get into their seats was a holiday highlight.
*The toilets are better on board than in the airport so hold on and wait for the plane.