Malindo Air Review: Buzzing from Subang to Penang on an ATR 72
Disclaimer
I took this flight in June 2017 and have re-uploaded this due to moving blogs. Malindo Air has since rebranded to Batik Air Malaysia and have retired its ATR 72 fleet in order to focus on Boeing 737 operations, although the carrier does still operate between Subang and Penang.
Background
Opting for an early summer holiday in Malaysia, I decided to split my time between the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and George Town, on the island of Penang off the coastline of northern Peninsula Malaysia. This was somewhere that I had been before, and I was aware that getting between the two is neither expensive nor difficult. Having made the journey by rail during my last visit, being a little more pressed for time, this time I decided to fly. At the time of my trip, AirAsia, Firefly, Malaysia Airlines and Malindo Air all operate this route, with Firefly and Malindo Air operating this from the smaller yet more convenient Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, also known as Subang Airport. With no real preference, I took to Skyscanner which revealed both AirAsia and Malindo Air to operate the cheapest flights, priced at an absolute bargain fare of under £10 in each direction! Furthermore, by flying Malindo Air, I could fly from Subang Airport on one of the airline’s ATR 72s, and return to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on a Boeing 737-800. With little hesitation, I booked through Malindo Air’s website which was a quick and easy process and was soon all set to head off on my adventure. Likewise, online check-in was an effortless experience and I was able to select my seats without paying any additional fee.
The Journey
After two nights in the Malaysian capital, it was time for me to head north to Penang. With my flight scheduled to depart Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at 1430, I had the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely morning with no particularly early wake-up required on the day of my flight. However, needing to check out of my hotel on Jalan Ampang near KLCC by 1030 and not wanting to spend longer than necessary in the summer heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur with a suitcase in tow, I opted for a prolonged stay at the airport rather than undertaking any last minute sightseeing. Subang Airport is located around 18 kilometres east of my hotel, less than half the distance to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, so I was not expecting a particularly slow or expensive journey to the airport. However, despite once being Malaysia’s main international hub and today serving a fair smorgasbord of destinations across Peninsular Malaysia, this did not seem to be fantastically well connected to Kuala Lumpur’s public transport network. Thus, given my suitcase and not fancying multiple bus changes, I decided that the best idea was to catch a taxi to the airport. Doing so via the Grab app, within about three minutes a locally produced Proton appeared outside.
Once on the road, a stop-start journey was in store, with plenty of jams and traffic lights as we made our way out of the city. After around thirty minutes, the taxi turned onto the airport’s long driveway where I caught glimpses of all sorts of aircraft ranging from twin-seat Cessna 152s, right up to stored Boeing 747-400s that were once the flagship of national carrier Malaysia Airlines. About twenty minutes after leaving the hotel, the car came to a halt outside Subang Airport’s rather modest and slightly dated-looking terminal building. Once there, I paid the very reasonable 31 ringgit fare and retrieved my suitcase from the boot of the car before darting through the heat and making it into the comfort of the terminal building.
Upon entering the terminal’s small check-in hall, I found the atmosphere to be quiet and subdued, with no crowds of passengers scurrying about, thereby reminding me that I was at Kuala Lumpur’s ‘other’ and much calmer airport! There, just two banks of check-in desks could be found – one occupied by Firefly, and the other by Malindo Air. Hoping to get rid of my suitcase, I joined the short queue at the Malindo Air desks, however, given my early arrival, as I had suspected, I was advised to return in an hour. To pass the time, I had a short walk around what can be best described as a mini shopping centre in the landside portion of the terminal, complete with the exciting additions of a flight simulator centre and an aviation enthusiasts’ shop. Once done there, I made my way to Starbucks for my third coffee of the day, which I sipped and people watched as the terminal seemed to become a little busier.
At around 1140, I headed back to the check-in area where I was able to walk straight up to the Malindo Air desks without standing in line. There, I found the agent to be polite and friendly, and I was able to check in for my flight without any issues whatsoever. With my suitcase having been sent into the depths of the airport and with my boarding pass in hand, I continued onwards to the small security checkpoint. Despite its small size, with just one other passenger in front of me I was able to sail through and before I knew it I was standing in the airside departure area.
Once airside, it was clear that Subang Airport’s terminal was not designed with any long waits in mind. Whilst far from being the most spartan terminal that I have passed through, this was still rather basic and consisted of a relatively small waiting area complete with cold hard metal benches, a couple of cafés and a small number of shops. With it now being lunchtime, I decided to head to the local Kampong Kravers where I opted for a nasi lemak with chicken curry which came to a total of 12 ringgit. This was one of the cheaper airport meals that I have enjoyed and left me with no complaints.
For aviation enthusiasts, whilst Subang Airport is home to a wide array of interesting aircraft, views out onto the apron were largely obscured. Furthermore, any view that could be had was limited to the collection of Firefly and Malindo Air ATR 72s parked directly outside the terminal waiting for their next flight. That afternoon, as I waited I hoped to pass the time on the wifi, however, unfortunately, this could not be connected to and so I was left with relatively little to do during my long wait. Finally, whilst the terminal was largely clean, the condition of the toilets was a little more questionable, although these were far from the worst airport toilets that I have encountered. As time passed, the terminal filled up, and the thirty-minute period between 1400 and 1430 appeared to be the airport’s rush half-hour with four flights departing. These consisted of two departures to Alor Setar and one departure each to Johor Bahru and Penang.
Boarding for the Malindo Air flight to Penang was announced a rather cautious 25 minutes before the flight’s departure through Gate 3, although I was very sceptical that it would take that long to board an ATR 72, even if the aircraft was full. A couple of minutes after joining the queue, my boarding pass was scanned and I wandered out into the hot afternoon air where the slightly weathered-looking ATR 72 that had been tasked with operating that afternoon’s flight to Penang could be seen standing outside ready for its mission. This aircraft came in the form of ATR 72-600 9M-LMS. Carrying the construction number 1332, this particular turboprop made its first flight from Toulouse Blagnac in May 2016 with the test registration F-WWEP and was thus almost exactly one year old at the time of my flight. Following testing, the aircraft began its long trek across Europe and Asia to Malaysia to its home in Subang, from where it had operated to Malindo Air’s network of regional destinations across Peninsula Malaysia ever since.
As I made my way around the wing and headed towards the aircraft’s cabin door at the rear of the cabin, noise filled the air thanks to a Firefly ATR 72 and a Gulfstream IV taxiing past on their way to the runway. Soon, I clambered up the steps built into the inner side of the cabin door and entered the small galley at the rear of the turboprop. Not giving off the very best first impression of the crew that afternoon, I failed to receive any sort of greeting from the flight attendant standing there before I turned left and entered the cabin. Being a new aircraft, its interior was expectedly bright and modern, whilst each seat was modern, slim and covered in a dark pleather cover, coming with a small tray table, seatback pocket and literature compartment.
Travelling in Seat 16A near the rear of the aircraft, I soon made it to my seat and settled in for the journey ahead. Once seated, I was pleased to find that the seat offered a decent amount of legroom for a turboprop airliner. Furthermore, this was in tip-top condition with no signs of wear and tear, and, despite only having a short time on the ground following its rotation to Kuala Terengganu, the area around my seat appeared to be clean and tidy. Examining the contents of the seatback pocket, this contained an advertisement card for Starbucks, a safety card and a copy of Malindo Air’s inflight magazine, Malindomag. Given the aircraft’s small size, boarding was completed fairly quickly and the flight ended up being around 90% full, with most passengers appearing to hail from Malaysia.
Once all passengers were seated, the main cabin door was closed and the cones were removed from around the aircraft. Ten minutes ahead of our scheduled departure time, the ATR 72 jolted as our short pushback commenced, during which time one of the two flight attendants performed a welcome announcement in Malay and English with the usual welcomes, thanks and safety instructions. Upon coming to a halt, the aircraft’s two Pratt and Whitney PW127M engines somewhat noisily spooled up into life and after a few minutes, the aircraft commenced its short taxi to the end of Runway 15. During this journey, one of the flight attendants passed through the cabin ensuring that all was secure for our departure.
With Subang Airport being far from the world’s busiest, no holding was required and at 1425 the ATR 72 taxied onto the runway and made a powerful and noisy rolling takeoff. Interestingly, the collection of pop songs that had accompanied our boarding and taxi did not come to an end, with Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain ringing out through the cabin as we powered down the runway. As the aircraft accelerated, a host of incredibly interesting aircraft, both stored and active, appeared. These included Boeing 727s and two stored Libyan C-130 Hercules, plus an array of light aircraft, turboprop airlines and just about everything in between! Following a short take-off roll, the ATR gently rotated into the skies and we soon left the airport behind.
Once in the skies, the ATR 72 turned to fly westwards and followed the Klang River to the coastline near Port Klang where we turned northwards and trundled up the coastline. Around five minutes after departure, the seatbelt signs were extinguished and one of the flight attendants passed through the cabin handing out tubs of water and straws to each passenger. Whilst by no means a luxurious service, given Malindo Air’s status as a low-cost carrier and the next-to-nothing fare that I had paid for the flight, this was very much appreciated. Once these tubs of water had been handed out, a flight attendant returned to the aisle with a small cart and commenced the buy-on-board service. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the ATR 72’s limited galley space, the options for sale were rather limited, consisting of a few drinks and snacks, and that afternoon the crew appeared to fail to make any sales.
Once the flight attendants had retreated to the galley, I decided to pay a trip to the aircraft’s sole lavatory, located at the rear of the aircraft. Upon opening this up, I found this to be clean, although was expectedly very small and I had to bend my head to avoid banging this on the ceiling. Unlike some turboprops, I was pleased to see that the sink featured running water. Soon, I returned to my seat and strapped myself in for the remainder of the flight.
As the aircraft cruised north up the Malaysian coastline, at 1451 the captain’s voice filled the cabin, informing passengers of our low cruising altitude, giving a short briefing on the weather in Penang, mentioning the aircraft’s 1515 arrival time and ending this with a word of thanks for flying with Malindo Air. At 1458, the aircraft commenced its descent and the seatbelt signs were illuminated in preparation for our arrival. This was accompanied by a brief announcement from one of the flight attendants who then passed through the cabin ensuring all was secure.
At 1505, a selection of pop songs rang out through the cabin once again whilst outside the first signs of the state of Penang came into view with the appearance of the small uninhabited island of Kendi and the southwestern tip of the main island at which point the gear and flaps were extended. Moments later the shorefront town of Teluk Kumbar came into view before the aircraft touched down on Runway 04 with a large thump, 47 minutes after taking to the skies. This was followed by some fairly noisy deceleration before the aircraft vacated the runway and made a short taxi over to the terminal.
Once the aircraft came to a halt and the engines spooled down, the doors were opened almost immediately and by 1516 I headed out onto the noisy apron and walked over to the terminal, getting a good final view of the aircraft before entering the modern building. From the gate it was a fair walk through departures, following signs for baggage reclaim until I arrived at the baggage carousels. That afternoon, perhaps unsurprisingly seeing as most onboard lacked hold luggage, at 1525 the few bags from the flight appeared. Thankfully, this included mine so I made it out of the airport in no time and soon found myself in another Grab taxi making my way into George Town.
Summary
Other than the slightly cool crew members, my second-ever flight with Malindo Air left me with absolutely nothing to complain about. The ATR 72 was comfortable, clean and modern, the complimentary water was appreciated and I made it to Penang in one piece and ahead of schedule. Given the price that I paid for this service, I would be more than happy to fly with Malindo Air again, and I looked forward to my return flight to Kuala Lumpur on one of their Boeing 737-800s.
