A Prop and a jet to Kuala Lumpur (Firefly Economy and Malindo Business)

[ycp81]

Over the weekend, I made a short trip up to neighbouring Kuala Lumpur, flying on a mix of turboprop and jet. The flight up was booked on Firefly, and it would also probably by my last turboprop flight out from Changi as Firefly (and all future turboprop operations) would be shifted to Singapore's Seletar airport by the end of the year.

Checking in at Terminal 2 and proper coloured boarding pass was issued. The flight is code-shared with Malaysia Airlines.






After immigration, we headed to the The Green Market, where Priority Pass holders are eligible for a selection of set meals. I had a salmon set and the portion was rather generous!






Departure gate at F53, which is a bus gate.







06 July 2018
Firefly
FY 3012
Singapore (SIN) - Kuala Lumpur Subang (SZB)
ATR72-500
9M-FYA
Economy Class
Flight Time: 1H06M


Boarding was announced and all passengers on the flight were herded onto a bus to bring us to the aircraft parked at the remote bay. While on the bus ride, we spotted a rare visitor to Changi, a MH A380! Apparently, MH had a shortage of B737 pilots, and hence combined 2 of their flights into a whalejet flight on the very short SIN-KUL route. The dugong was operating as MH616 on the day and had a delayed departure.




Reached our very tiny ATR72 (in comparison to the A380) and boarded the aircraft via the rear stairs.








Legroom was tight but sufficient for the short hops operated by the ATR.




View out the window.

[ycp81]

Inflight magazine and Firefly's network map.






Safety card




Boarding was swiftly completed and safety demo was carried out. As expected for a Friday evening departure, it was an almost totally full flight.




We had a very fast taxi to Rwy20C, and departed for Subang. Had clear views of the airport during the climb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=275f1UA1hhE










Inflight service started shortly after departure. Firefly continues to offer complimentary refreshments on its flights and this evening, we were offered a choice of curry puff or peanuts (or both). For drinks, there was a choice of mango juice or soya bean milk. Service was generally friendly and efficient.








After the trash was cleared, lights were dimmed for passengers to rest, and after almost an hour of flying (the ATRs are definitely much slower than the jets), we started the descent into Subang.

[ycp81]

Landing into Subang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport Rwy15 right on schedule.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7gBlsj_tcc


Taxi to the terminal.




A look at the seats during disembarking.




Malindo's ATR72 at Subang. Malindo is strongly rumoured to start ATR72 operations to Singapore's Seletar Airport once the new terminal building at Seletar is in operation. Gonna pose strong competition for Firefly, which enjoyed a monopoly on the SIN-SZB route till now.




Our aircraft already being cleaned during disembarkation, and other Firefly ATR72s on the tarmac.








A very convenient and comfortable shuttle flight from Singapore right to almost the central of KL (Subang airport is so much nearer to KL city center than KLIA, being only a 20min ride to town in good traffic). With the move to Singapore's Seletar airport and possible increased competition, it would to be seen if the new XSP-SZB route would see more traffic.


On this trip, I stayed at Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur, right smack in the action in Bukit Bintang.






For brunch the next day, we proceeded to the must-go haunt at ICC Pudu for a hearty morning feast.






A simple dinner at Kim Gary HK Café at Times Square.

[ycp81]

Experiencing my 1st Gold Class cinema experience at Pavilion Mall.




Late supper at the famous Wong Ah Wah eatery, famous for the bbq chicken wings, along Jalan Alor.






And the King of Fruits to end.




A dim sum feast on the last day at Hee Lai Ton Restaurant at Shaw Parade.










For the flight back to Singapore, I booked on Malindo. Malindo frequently runs very good promotions from Malaysia, and on this instance, my fare on Malindo's Business class was almost equivalent to the economy class fare! After almost an hour's Grab ride to KLIA right in the middle of oil palm plantations, we arrived and checked in at the dedicated Business Class desks with no queues.




Boarding pass and a meal/lounge voucher for Business Class passengers was issued. As Malindo does not have its own lounge in KLIA, it uses contract lounges. Passengers also have the option to claim a RM30 meal voucher at selected eateries instead.






As the contract lounges are nothing to shout about (Priority Pass could also be allowed entry into the Plaza Premium Lounge, which is better than Malindo's contract lounges), we decided to use the vouchers for hearty meals at Old Town White Coffee restaurant instead.

[ycp81]

Aircraft on the tarmac were mainly MH's.






Also to add, the departure immigration queues at KLIA were extremely long, and boy was I glad that I was flying in Business as First/Business passengers on all airlines had a separate immigration queue. After dinner, we headed to the gate at the far end of the other side of the main terminal building. The 2 abandoned B747s can be spotted.




Security at the gate.




The scheduled aircraft was 'upsized' from a B738 to a B739ER.






Boarding gate.





08 July 2018
Malindo Air
OD 805
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Singapore (SIN)
B737-900ER
9M-LNL
Business Class
Flight Time: 50M


Boarding was called and Business Class passengers were invited to board at leisure. Others were by row numbers.




Welcomed at the door and took my seat at 1A. On each Business Class seat was a small pillow. The seat is of the exact same model as on MI and GA B738s and VN A321s.




View of the cabin towards the rear.




Very generous legroom in 1A.




Mechanical seat controls.

[ycp81]

IFE handset and headphone jack at the side. There is no use for the handset as the IFE monitor is touch-screen enabled.




Inflight magazine and shopping catalogue.




Malindo's fleet.




And the airline's rapidly growing route network.




After most passengers had boarded, we were offered a selection of welcome drinks, including water, apple and orange juices. I had an apple juice, which was served in a proper glass. This evening load in Business was 6/12.




Aerobridge retracted and we would be on our way. The cabin crew also came round and inform that refreshment would be served, and for our choice of either a chicken or vege sandwich and beverage selection.




Safety video was shown and we taxied to the runway. There was a delay in departure due to the long takeoff queue coupled with intermittent aircraft landing.




Finally we departed from Rwy32R 30min behind schedule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SufVOwsAZrM




Immediately after seatbelt signs were switched on, the crew came around to lay the tray tables with linens. Surprisingly, headphones were also distributed even though there is enough time to watch the IFE selection. The full selection of IFE is available.






Flight map was shown on the overhead monitors.




Crew were preparing the refreshment trays in the galley.

[ycp81]

The refreshment tray was hand delivered from the galley, consisting of a properly plated warm chicken pizza sandwich and red velvet muffin, and a hazelnut chocolate waffle bar at the side. It was accompanied with my pre-ordered apple juice. The tray linen and metal cutlery were Batik Air branded. The sandwich tasted average, but muffin was good. Hot coffee and tea were also available on request. The Business Class crew were also proactively topping up our beverages despite the very short flight.










Watching 15min worth of IFE.




A quick visit to the lavatory as we started the descent. The lavatory was clean and stocked with the basic amenities.




My messy seat with legrest out. Did not fully recline the seat and so could not comment on the full recline angle.




We flew along the southern coast of Singapore before heading up north to approach from the north.






Landing in Changi Rwy20R 20min behind schedule due to the delayed departure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obcI-_w0G9s


Parked at Terminal 3.




Last look at my seat and aircraft during disembarkation.






At the price paid for this Business Class experience on the short hop, it was definitely more than worth it for the quality of service and offerings received. Malindo certainly exceeded my expectations for the fight, and I certainly would hope to fly them again when there are future promotional fares in the premium cabin.

[yflyer]

Thanks for posting, ycp81!

Mouthwatering food pics of KL local delights!

I enjoy flying in ATR's...much more interesting than a 737 or A320 for short flights.

Should be interesting when Firefly moves to Seletar. A very different airport from Changi.

[ycp81]

I enjoy flying in ATR's...much more interesting than a 737 or A320 for short flights.

Agree! I have another ATR72 flight coming up next month. Not on Firefly though.

[CarbonMan]

Thanks, ycp81! Great TR. Love the food pics!

[jammed]

Thanks for the TR ycp81 the props are always an interesting sight in Changi, they will be missed when shifted to Seletar. Your pictures in KL are saliva-inducing, especially when i’m Reading this at dinner-time!

PS. Park Royal was also my usual stays when i used to frequent KL, nice location, and i see they have renovated their furnishings a bit =)

[SQfanatic]

Great TR ycp81. Excellent pics of KL and the airlines you flew on.

[davidfusq]

Great trip report ycp81!

I wonder how SQ’s business class service compares in this short SIN-KUL route.

From my previous experience flying economy class in both, Malindo serves a snack and drink while SQ only serves drink.