Trip Report: MIAT’s 767 Economy Class from Ulaanbaatar to Frankfurt

João Machado

After some very pleasant days in Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar, it was sadly time to go home. It was a number of very eventful days; we were invited by MIAT and we managed to write about their 767 Business Class — one of the most exotic products in Europe — and to do some planespotting.

Now it was time to return to Europe; because their flights are very full on Summer, this time we would fly on their Economy cabin. Nevertheless, it was a good opportunity to see if their leisure product stood to the test.

The flight originally left Ulaanbaatar in the morning. It didn’t connect with any inbound flights, but it was the last of MIAT’s wave of international departures of the day.

And because of this, naturally there was a lot of people in the check-in desks, but nevertheless the line moved quite fast and soon we had our boarding passes in hand.

Ulaanbaatar’s Airport was only recently opened, and the structure is very modern. This board celebrates the conclusion of the works, made in partnership with Japan.

And I have to say the airport looked very modern, if small (but remember Mongolia has a small population too). It serves its purpose very very well, even though it’s quite far from downtown.

Safety screening also did not take long and soon we were in front of our gate.

These were the remaining departures of the day. Can you guess all destinations in Mongolian/Cyrilic alphabet?

The answer is below.

The views from the windows were great, with this MIAT 737-800 almost ready to depart to Seoul/Incheon and a Hunnu Air Embraer 190 departing to the Oyu Tolgoi mine.

OM137 UBN-FRA (?)

And here was our ride of the day; again, MIAT’s single 767-300ER, JU-1021. And behind it, a very special guest; Air China’s VIP 747-400, which was bringing China’s chairman of the National People’s Congress, Li Zhanshu, who was on an official visit to Mongolia.

Boarding started on time — the flight really was full.

Despite that, everything went in a very smooth fashion.

«Chinggis Khaan», the aircraft, looked as fresh as on the first flight.

The only difference is that now they had added these headrest cover, sponsored by a local bank with the popular colours of a Brazilian artist, Romero Britto.

This time we would pass by Business Class, though.

Boarding was finished at 09h50, exactly at the scheduled time of departure.

The personal entertainment screens were like these: of an older model, but still quite responsive to touch.

Pushback quickly followed: it’s jsut a shame that the light was this bad, but still we managed to take one or two photos of Air China’s 747.

Legroom, by the way, was standard. The seat too was on standard for long-haul Economy class (there is not much more you could expect, as the seat had an adjustable headrest and minimal reclining).

A last picture of the 747; movement around it was increasing, so it seemed it was about to depart.

With no traffic ahead, taxi and take-off started quite fast, at 10h19. This is a nine-hour flight, and since the cabin was full, the take-off roll was quite long.

We waved goodbye, for now, to the beautiful Mongolian landscapes.

It definitely was a beautiful day for flying.

Some minutes after take-off, the crew started preparing the cabin for the first meal course. They handed the earbuds (the same ones given in Business Class).

And just as the meal was about to be handed, we performed a U-turn.

I called the FA to ask what was happening and she went to ask the Captain. She quickly returned telling us to listen to his announcement.

The Captain said they had an issue, and that their decision was to return to Ulaanbaatar so MIAT’s technicians could look into it.

Since we were way over our maximum landing weight, the Captain the announced we would dump fuel. That was a first for me and I’m glad we were in Economy class, since it allowed for these fantastic sights.

I never imagined the pressure with which the fuel is dispensed was so strong, and other passengers looked very much surprised, too.

But I think the crew handled the situation quite well as far as communications go, because no one seemed scared or anything like that.

We spent about an hour and a half orbiting to the northwest of Ulaanbaatar, and we landed back in Chinggis Khaan International Airport at 13h39.

Deboarding was quite fast and obviously was not particularly made in a rush.

For the time being, I wasn’t worried, since luckily I had booked my flight back home for the day after my arrival.

For MIAT’s part, the team was working hard on the APU trying to get us going as soon — and as safely — as possible.

MIAT handled the delay quite well; since our flight was the airport’s last departure of the day, at that stage all stores in the airport were closed. With that, everyone was offered a light meal and free drinks from the aircraft trolley (so I think they didn’t waste the food from the first service).

Through the whole time the airport agents kept passengers informed passengers on the situation and on the estimates, also handing signed certificates confirming the delay, for those who needed it.

OM137 UBN-FRA

Another crew was brought in and just before 6pm, boarding was cleared. And I had never seen a full 767 to be boarded that quick!

At 18h16, pushback started. Again, taxi was quick, since we were the last departure of the day.

And the views didn’t disappoint.

The pilots started applying thrust into the pair of GE CF6. Some seconds later JU-1021 gained the skies beautifully over the spectacular sights of Mongolia’s countryside.

After a right turn, the airport could be seen from the window.

It didn’t take long until service was started. Again the earbuds were handed, and the choice was simple between beef or fish. The meal quantity was adequate, and it tasted good too.

Again, the professionalism of MIAT’s crew shone through. They knew how uncomfortable such a large delay was, but still they handled everything very professionally.

Since we were «racing» the sun in our East-West routing, that was one a very long sunset.

And again, as in the first flight, the cabin was kept clean throughout the flight.

Unfortunately, though, I didn’t manage to get any sleep, given the timing of the flight. Still, I had brought my own podcasts and a couple of books to pass the time.

Speaking of entertainment, I left my screen throughout the flight on the map channel. But if you’re wondering, the movie selection is the same they offer on Business Class, just on a smaller screen.

Some two hours before we started our descent into Frankfurt, the second meal service was started.

And surprisingly, it was once again a main course; indeed, the options were the same as before, and they were as good as before, too.

Our route took us all the way to Moscow and then onto Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad and Poland, before we entered German airspace. Our final cruising altitude was 34,000 feet.

The night had just fallen as we started our descent into Frankfurt, at 20h18 (Germany time), just as we flew over Leipzig.

As we were sequenced into finals, our flight was very smooth. And so was the touchdown in Frankfurt, at 20h59 — with a delay of seven hours and 59 minutes.

Before we entered our position, we still had to hold on for a further 15 minutes as other aircraft made their way through Frankfurt Airport.

But soon enough we were parked, and the ground team rushed their way to turn the aircraft around. We were very tired, but it was a good experience with MIAT nevertheless; safety first, after all.

Final remarks

After a surprisingly good experience on MIAT’s Business Class, it was good to see their Economy Class was as good (obviously, relatively speaking). The crew was lovely again, the food options were good and entertainment system was okay.

Naturally, as I said in the first report, there is no point in demanding MIAT did more in their 767, as they’ll receive their 787s soon anyway.

And again it’s important to remember, MIAT plays practically alone in the Europe-Mongolia market, as it is a very small one. For the most part of the markets MIAT serves, it is the sole player, as the Mongolian population (and thus its consumer market) is small.

But as MIAT grows into more markets and Mongolia becomes more of a mainstream destination for foreign tourists, it’s important for the airline to have a good showing in terms of product, which I think it does. And it will be interesting to see how their 787s will look like.

Finally, the delay was handled very well considering everything. After all, it’s important to remark MIAT is a small carrier; it does not have a large fleet, so it couldn’t promptly replace our aircraft. Meals were offered to passengers during the delay, and they never withheld any information from whoever asked.

That was a very professional handling of a tough situation, and for me, it showed that yes, MIAT is a very interesting option to consider if ever the opportunity arises again — they also offer, from time to time, some connections from Europe to the Far East, which makes it all the more appealing to connecting passengers.

And by the way, if you ever have the opportunity, consider visiting Mongolia. We’ve had a great time over there; people are incredibly friendly and the atmosphere is super cool. We left and we already couldn’t wait to come back…

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