A Quick Domestic Hop on a Boeing 737-800: Kuala Lumpur to Penang with Malaysia Airlines

Background

In Spring 2025, I headed to the Himalayas, spending several weeks hiking in Nepal’s Everest region. Anticipating that I would require some rest, recovery and relaxation time following my adventure, I decided to tag a week in Malaysia onto the end of my trip. This was primarily down to the fact that it turned out to be just as cheap to fly back via Kuala Lumpur on two separate tickets as it was to return on a single ticket via either India or the Middle East. 

Touching down on Malaysian soil at 0450 on a Friday morning following a Batik Air Malaysia flight from Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur, I decided that I would commence my stay in the country on the island of  Penang. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to get from the Malaysian capital to Penang, including a host of trains, and flights from both Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, also known as Subang. Seeking to make the most of my time, I decided to fly straight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport following my arrival from Nepal. This left me with three options: AirAsia, Batik Air Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines. Once I had added on the luggage fees for AirAsia and Batik Air Malaysia, all flights seemed to be very similarly priced at around £20. 

Considering the ideal 0820 departure time, and encouraged by my stellar experience when flying from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok in late 2023, I decided to fly with Malaysia Airlines. Opting to book via Trip, I found my booking experience to be quick and easy and I faced no issues when managing my booking using the platform’s app. However, as I had discovered during my first and only trip with Malaysia Airlines, seats could only be pre-reserved by paying an additional fee – with all standard Economy seats priced at 22 ringgit (£3.78). This is a little unusual for an Asian full service carrier. Fortunately, these could be selected for free during the online check-in process, which was quick and easy, and required minimal additional information seeing as this was a domestic service. 

The Journey

A little over two thousand miles and four hours after rocketing off from the hustle and bustle of Nepal’s capital city, my overnight ride on a rather battered Batik Air Malaysia Boeing 737 MAX 8 came to an end as we safely and smoothly touched down on Malaysian soil. Given this particular service’s seemingly poor on time performance, I was pleasantly surprised that we touched down ahead of schedule and pulled into a stand at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1, more commonly known as KLIA1, fourteen minutes ahead of schedule at 0436. This thereby elongated my transit time to well over three hours, which, despite the various steps that I needed to go through seeing as I was travelling on two separate tickets, seemed to be more than enough time to get through the airport.  

Once I had disembarked, I entered the airport’s bright and modern terminal. As is not that common back home in Europe but seems to be the norm in Malaysia, passengers are immediately deposited in the international departures area thereby making for incredibly quick and easy connections. Arriving at the main terminal as opposed to Terminal 1’s satellite, no bus ride was required and I made a long trundle towards the centre of the terminal before heading down a set of escalators to immigration. Much to my delight, unlike my previous entry into Malaysia, this area was absolutely devoid of passengers, and, now able to use the electronic gates, I was able to enter the country quickly and easily, before arriving in the empty baggage collection hall. Having sped through the terminal, unsurprisingly upon arriving at the baggage carousel, the first bags from the flight were yet to arrive and so about five minutes of waiting was in store before my suitcase appeared. Ending my pleasantly speedy journey from the aircraft, I sped through customs without the need for any additional checks before arriving in the quiet landside arrivals area. 

Turning to my itinerary, after a weekend in Penang, I would head to Kota Kinabalu and Miri on the island of Borneo, before returning to Kuala Lumpur. With two AirAsia flights in my schedule, both excluding checked luggage, I decided that I would leave my bag at the left luggage facility in the arrivals portion of the terminal. Once there, after being a little internally shocked at the pricey daily rate of 27 ringgit, with no other options, I dropped off my suitcase before heading over to purchase a SIM card. Opting for an unlimited data Tune Mobile  plan, this set me back a very reasonable 35 ringgit, which was far cheaper than similar e-SIM plans that I had come across before arriving in the country. 

Having passed through Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s Terminal 1 a fair number of times, I had a reasonable idea of what to expect from the terminal that morning. Although that said, this was to be my first time departing on a domestic service. Once I had parted with my bag and with a working SIM card in my phone, I decided to wander around the terminal and made my way up the escalators to the gigantic cavernous check-in hall, which serves both international and domestic passengers. Terminal 1 was designed by the famed late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, and is arguably one of the architect’s most famous and renowned works, combining elements of traditional local design with modern styles. Whilst Terminal 1 opened in 1998, this continues to have a modern air to it and is definitely one of the more memorable airport terminals that I have passed through. 

Once in the check-in hall, a slew of early morning flights departing to destinations across Asia and beyond meant that this was rather busy, with plenty of passengers seen scurrying about here, there and everywhere at the start of their adventures. Unlike some airports, the landside portion of Terminal 1 hosts a cornucopia of shops, cafés and restaurants, making it a rather easy place to pass the time for those who are either not flying, or who arrive too early to check in for their flight. 

Unfortunately, for all of its highlights, I had discovered during my last trip through the terminal that once through security, unobstructed views of the action outside are a little limited. With that considered, and seeing as I had plenty of time on my hands, I decided that I would remain landside for a while and visit the observation deck. Sitting near the check-in hall, this is a spacious area that allows for good views of many of the main terminal’s stands as well as a nearby taxiway. However, more professional spotters ought to note that this is not fantastic for photography as all photos must be taken through an often smudged layer of glass. Following signs for the observation deck, I was led away from the hustle and bustle of the check-in area and walked past a few of the terminal’s robots before arriving there. At that time, a host of slumbering passengers filled this space, whilst, thanks to the darkness, views were limited. With little to see and feeling slightly peckish, I ventured to the local McDonald’s for my first fast food meal in well over three weeks, opting for a breakfast wrap which I hoped would see me through until I arrived in Penang. 

As I munched on my unhealthily greasy breakfast, I received a notification from Malaysia Airlines’ app which advised me that my flight would depart from Gate A11 – which coincidentally was very close to the gate that I had arrived at following my flight from Kathmandu. After another slow saunter around, with approximately ninety minutes to go until my flight to Penang, I followed signs for the domestic departures area. A few minutes later, I arrived at the entrance of a small checkpoint where, in the usual manner, passengers’ identity documents and boarding passes were checked and verified. Unlike at the terminal’s international gates, where security is rather unusually undertaken at the entrance to these, security for domestic services is more orthadox, taking place right after this initial checkpoint. Despite being a busy time for domestic departures, with a slew of flights jetting off to all corners of Malaysia on their first flights of the day, with all checkpoints open, passing through securoity was a quick and painless experience, assisted by the fact that I was not required to remove either liquids or electronics from my backpack. 

Immediately after passing through immigration, I reached a shop that sold the same array of items that you would expect to find in a duty free store, although, as I understand it, these were not duty free goods at all given the fact that this was a domestic terminal. Once through this, I reached the main airside domestic departures area. Covering a fairly large geographical area that is split between Peninsula Malaysia and Borneo, Malaysia hosts plenty of domestic air services, with flights being the only reasonable way to travel to and from Borneo given the lack of any regular ferry services. Terminal 1 serves those flights operated by Batik Air Malaysia, Malaysian Airlines and their low cost subsidiary, Firefly. With plenty of flights, unsurprisingly the domestic portion of Terminal 1 covers a fairly large space that sits directly below the international portion of the main terminal. Its design means that rather cleverly, the two halves of the terminal can share most of the terminal’s stands. Thus making it easy for an aircraft to arrive operating an international service and depart operating a domestic one or vice versa. This portion of the terminal is split into two halves, with the ‘A’ gates sitting at the western end of the terminal and the ‘B’ gates at the eastern end. 

Wandering around, I found the terminal to be bright, clean and modern, home to everything that you would expect to find in a domestic terminal including ample space to sit and wait, charging points and fast, complimentary wifi. However, as you would perhaps expect, compared to the international terminal, this lacked the same wide array of facilities, with options for passengers to pass the time limited to a few shops and cafés. Nevertheless, I am sure that most people passing through the domestic portion of Terminal 1 are probably not there for more than a couple of  hours or so. From an aviation enthusiast’s perspective, I was pleased to discover that the terminal featured decent airside views, with large floor-to-ceiling windows providing good vistas of the movements outside from a  number of spots inside the terminal. 

By the time that I had undertaken a lap around the domestic terminal, taking in all of its wondrous sights, I decided it sensible to wander over to Gate A11, located at the far western end of the terminal. Upon arriving there, I was greeted by the sight of a fairly busy gate area where few vacant seats remained thus implying that it would be an almost full flight up to Penang that morning. 

Looking outside, the aircraft that had been assigned to the first of Malaysia Airlines’ four rotations to Penang that day could be seen being readied for its mission. This took the form of Boeing 737-8H6 9M-MXC which sported a combination of Malaysia Airlines’ patriotic Negaraku livery and large OneWorld titles that promoted the airline’s membership of this worldwide alliance. Assembled at Boeing’s Renton plant, this aircraft carries the line number 3495 and first took to the skies in December 2010, making it well over fourteen years at the time of my flight. Following testing, the aircraft was shuttled across the Pacific Ocean to Kuala Lumpur where it has been based ever since, serving destinations across Asia and Australasia. This received its enlarged OneWorld titles in March 2013, before being repainted into the Negaraku livery in 2021. In the week before my flight, the aircraft  had been flying virtually non-stop, connecting Kuala Lumpur with Alor Setar, Danang, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Kuala Terengganu, Manila, Sandakan, Singapore and Tawau, with these flights lasting in between forty minutes and over three hours. 

Interestingly, this Boeing was sitting next to the special liveried Batik Air Malaysia Boeing 737 MAX 8 that had transported me up from Kathmandu a few hours earlier – with this having been towed to a ‘remote’  stand  following its arrival – thus enabling me to get a good view of this aircraft in the light.  

According to my mobile boarding pass, boarding for the Penang  service would commence an hour before departure at 0705. However, I was sceptical that, even if full, it would take a full hour to fill our 174-seat jet. Indeed, upon arriving at the gate I noticed that the screen above the gate podium advised that boarding would actually commence at 0735, a much more reasonable thirty minutes before departure. Taking a seat near the window, I watched as a smorgasbord of AirAsia, Batik Air Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines aircraft taxied past, and before I knew it, an announcement was being made inviting those  requiring assistance, elite members of OneWorld frequent flyer programmes and those in Business Class to board the aircraft. This was followed a short time later by those in Group 4, which consisted of those in Economy and seated in the aircraft’s rearmost rows.

Once those in Group 4 had been called forward, wasting no time, I joined the short queue and had my boarding pass scanned  and passport checked before I was free to head the short distance down the jetbridge to the waiting Boeing. Following a very short queue, I stepped into the small forward galley where I received a warm greeting in English from the Purser who was smartly dressed in Malaysia Airlines’ colourful and iconic Sarong Kebaya uniform. Once they had checked my boarding pass, I turned right and entered the aircraft’s Business Class cabin. Matching the interior of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 that I had flown to Bangkok in 2023, this particular aircraft featured the airline’s ‘new’ narrowbody cabin, with this having been installed on the aircraft in 2024. Meanwhile, given the aircraft’s age, I was also surprised to find that the jet featured the bright and airy Boeing Sky Interior, meaning that this must have been one of the very first Boeing 737 jets to be fitted with this cabin. 

Onboard, Business Class featured three rows of Safran 600 seats in a 2-2 arrangement. Each of these was covered in a smart blue fabric and topped with an adjustable headrest. Despite being slightly less substantial than Malaysia Airlines’ old chunky recliner seats, these appeared to be more than comfortable and most certainly beat any ‘Eurobiz’ seat! 

Soon making my way through the Business Class cabin, I received a more lukewarm welcome as I entered the Economy cabin. As I had expected, upon arriving there, I was presented with the sight of 144 Safran 110i ironing board modern slimline seats. At first glance, these were not too dissimilar to seats that you would expect to see onboard a low cost carrier and lacked the personal inflight entertainment screens which their predecessor seats featured. Indeed, this new cost-saving cabin has drawn a fair amount of criticism from those who argue it is representative of Malaysia Airlines’ supposed falling levels of service. Regardless, I have to say that Malaysia Airlines has done rather well in the seats’ design, with these being modern, smart and stylish. These feature a pleather cover of blue and grey, with a strip featuring a traditional pattern separating blue and grey portions of the seat, and are topped with a disposable fabric antimacassar which features Malaysia Airlines’ famous motif. Each of these features a USB-A and USB-C port as well as a device holder, seatback pocket and literature compartment – the latter containing a safety card, the latest copy of Malaysia Airlines’ Going Places inflight magazine and the Temptations inflight shopping catalogue. 

Making a stop-start journey down the aircraft, eventually I arrived at Seat 24A and after stowing my bag, I slid myself in and settled for the ride ahead. Admittedly, I have to say that the seat did not seem to be as spacious as I had remembered, plus there were a few patches of well ingrained dirt in the area around this, alongside a fair number of marks and scratches. Most notably, the plastic cover of one of my armrests had gone missing! As passengers boarded the aircraft, Malaysia Airlines’ catchy if not slightly repetitive boarding music filled the cabin. That morning, all passengers appeared to make it to the aircraft on time and as a result, boarding was completed well ahead of schedule at 0745. 

That morning I was uncertain of just how busy the flight would be. Being an early departure from Kuala Lumpur, I assumed that there would be few passengers simply travelling between Kuala Lumpur and Penang, given the plethora of flights on this route from the far more convenient Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, not to mention the many early morning railway services. As it turned out, the flight was almost totally full, and as I had predicted, most took the form of weary looking passengers that had arrived in Kuala Lumpur on overnight services. Most of my fellow passengers appeared to take the form of young tourists from China, travelling in groups and couples. 

Wasting no time whatsoever, as soon as the final passenger had boarded the aircraft, the cabin door was closed and the jet bridge was slowly positioned away from the aircraft. Meanwhile, inside the cabin, the calming boarding music soon came to an end and the Purser welcomed all passengers on board in Malay and English. During this announcement they thanked passengers for flying with Malaysia Airlines, introduced the Captain, noted our short forty minute flight time and ran through the usual warnings regarding seatbelts and smoking. As this announcement was underway, three flight attendants took to the aisle armed with lifejackets, before the pre-recorded safety announcement rang out in Malay and English. 

As the safety instructions were played, six minutes ahead of our scheduled departure time, the remote controlled tug could be felt pushing the Boeing 737 away from its parking position before the familiar hums, whirs and vibrations of the two CFMI CFM56-7B26 engines filled the cabin in preparation to propel us through the skies of Malaysia. Upon coming to a halt, the flaps were partially extended with a loud whine and after pausing for a couple of minutes or so, the Boeing powered away under its own steam, whilst two ground members waved us a friendly farewell as we commenced our journey to the end of the Runway 32L. 

Making our way around the far western end of Terminal 1, we soon left the masses of Batik Air Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737s behind and followed two Chinese visitors to the end of the runaway – a China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 and a Xiamen Air Boeing 737-800 bound for Guangzhou and Fuzhou respectively. Looking outside, once we had passed Terminal 1’s satellite terminal, we made our way past the airport’s large cargo terminal where I was treated to views of a selection of airlines that I would never see back in Britain, including K-Mile Air, MY Jet Xpress Airlines and Raya Airways. This was then followed by the sorry sight of a fleet of stored AirAsia and Scoot Airbus A320neo and Airbus A321neo jets, grounded due to the ongoing engine issues. I also spotted two highly unusual visitors, an Airbus A320neo operated by French Caledonian airline AirCalin, and a LATAM Brasil Airbus A321 which was to commence its long delivery flight that day! 

Following my impromptu planespotting session, the aircraft swung right and without pausing taxied onto the runway via an  intersection, enabling it to sneak ahead of the two aforementioned Chinese Boeings. Once safely on the runway, the Boeing performed a powerful rolling takeoff, accelerating rapidly and with a few bumps and sways from side-to-side before the nose was pointed skywards and we roared into the skies of Malaysia. Looking outside, once in the skies, the green fields and forests around the airport popped into view, alongside the odd passing town as we trundled northwards towards Kuala Lumpur. 

Unfortunately, the views were not to last for too long and by the time we reached the southern fringes of Kuala Lumpur, the jet climbed into the clouds which largely blocked views of Malaysia as we sped northwards towards Penang. As soon as we made it through the clouds, the crew were released from their seats, although the seatbelt signs remained illuminated for the duration of the flight. Despite the flight’s short duration, all passengers were offered a light snack, with the crew speeding through the cabin distributing these in a cool yet crucially efficient manner. Soon, without a word I was handed a small Malaysia Airlines branded packet of salted peanuts alongside a bottle of still water and a serviette featuring the airline’s iconic motif. Whilst this was incomparable to the feast that I had been treated to on my previous flight with Malaysia Airlines, given the very short duration of the hop up to Penang, this was still very much appreciated. 

Seeing as Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Penang are separated by no more than about two hundred miles, that morning we cruised along at just 24,000 feet and reached this altitude about fourteen minutes into the flight as we flew along the coastline of Selangor and edged towards the state of Perak. Whilst the clouds soon dissipated outside, thanks to our route, which consisted of flying up Peninsula Malaysia’s western coastline, and my position on the left hand side of the aircraft, nothing could be seen outside other than the blue waters of the Indian Sea and the odd glimpse of coastline almost directly beneath us as we trundled northwards. 

Once upon a time, most Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 737-800s were fitted with inflight entertainment screens. With these undoubtedly serving to be a welcome feature on the type’s longer deployments to the likes of Australia and South Asia. However, these have since been replaced by a wifi-based streaming platform. Whilst this was most certainly not required on the short hop up to Penang, I did decide to experiment with this, and had no issues when connecting to the platform on my phone. This was quick-to-load, easy to navigate and featured a plethora of music, television programmes, films, information about the airline and its destinations, and of course the all important moving map. However, my slight grumble is that this was available in just Malay and English, despite the broad array of languages that are spoken across Malaysia Airlines’ destinations (and indeed within Malaysia itself! Turning to the Going Places magazine, I found this to be of decent quality and catered to both the local and international market, featuring an array of articles on all sorts of topics. Furthermore, this did not seem to be as loaded with advertisements as the magazines of some other airlines. 

That morning, the Boeing cruised at 24,000 feet for just four minutes and upon entering the skies of Perak, the aircraft could be felt commencing its journey back towards earth. Moments later, the Captain’s calm tones could be heard as they thanked passengers for flying with Malaysia Airlines and provided an update on the weather in Penang in both Malay and English. This was then followed by the reillumination  of the seatbelt signs and the Purser’s pre-arrival announcement with all the usual warnings regarding seat belts, seatbacks, window shades and tray tables. Meanwhile, in the aisle, several crew members began to collect rubbish before returning to undertake two passes of the cabin to ensure that everything was secure and in position for our arrival.  However, I should note that during these passes, the crew failed to recognise that the passenger in front of me kept their seat in the reclined position. 

Looking outside through the partially blurred window, as we sank downwards and the crew took their seats, the blue waters below became increasingly clearer and soon, the flaps were extended in stages in preparation for our arrival as we smoothly approached the island of Penang. Landing on Penang International Airport’s northerly runway, Runway 04, and approaching from the south, we made a straight in approach with virtually no twists or turns. Soon, the forest covered coastline near Bukit Payung appeared and we soon sped over the shoreline before crossing the perimeter fence at which point the terminal appeared. 

Following 37 minutes in the air, the Boeing made a smooth touchdown before decelerating rather quickly. As we vacated the runway, the Purser welcomed all to Penang, and gave the usual warning regarding seatbelts as we taxied over to Stand B1. Looking outside, it seemed to be a fairly busy morning in Penang, with a smorgasbord of aircraft provided by the likes of AirAsia, Batik Air Malaysia, China Southern Airlines, Firefly, IndiGo and Raya Airways seen as we made our way into the gate. 

Before I knew it, the Boeing cautiously pulled into the gate and came to a halt. In the usual manner, once we had stopped, many of those around me jumped up in a frantic rush to disembark and soon the jetbridge was connected. A short time later, disembarkation commenced and once the queue in the aisle began to shift, I stood up and made my way through the cabin, thanking two crew members in the forward galley before stepping off the jet and heading up the jetbridge and into the terminal, ending my second ever ride with Malaysia Airlines. 

Summary

I have to say, my second flight with Malaysia Airlines was not as good as my first. The cabin was not in the same great shape as I had previously found, and the crew were a little cooler and distant. Although the latter can be partially excused due to the short flight time and limited opportunity to interact with passengers. Whilst I wouldn’t avoid Malaysia Airlines based on this experience,  I probably would not pay a premium to fly with them on such a short flight. However, unlike their competitors on this route, tickets with the carrier do include complimentary baggage.