Penang Flights

1 more image

Being the second largest city in Malaysia, there are few international budget flights connecting to/from Penang's neighbour cities, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta,and Bangkok. If you ever ask my personal opinion, I would suggest AirAsia since it is one of the best budget airlines in the world.
If you wish to purchase buy-on-board food, AirAsia also offers a rather fair price; however, it would be quite boring for someone to have a flight more than 3 hours without any entertainment. My suggestion is bring your own laptop and enjoy the show. Also, if you wish to shorten your time for check-in, you can also check-in online.
What's more, I never receive any flight delay alert, but I did for AirAsia this time. It really reduced my anger to certain extent for being notified for delayed flight.

4 more images

Go Penang to Phuket by Firefly:
http://www.fireflyz.com.my/
or Penang to Hat Yai by minibus, then bus/minibus to Krabi and Phuket,
or Langkawi to Satun by boat, then bus/minibus to Krabi and Phuket,
or november to may boat to Ko Lipe, Ko Lanta and Phuket:
http://www.kohlipethailand.com/ferry_times.php

When we arrived at Penang airport in April 2008, my wife's checked suitcase had been broken open and the contents rifled. nothing apparently was stolen but then there was nothing of intrinsic value in the case. We had flown from KL with a budget airline.

A week later we flew with the same airline from Penang to Bangkok. When we retrieved our checked suitcases in Bangkok we saw that the combination locks were missing from both suitcases and again the contents had been rifled. I found in my suitcase a dirty and damp towel which was not mine. Again nothing appeared to be missing.

The budget airline replaced the zip tag which had been broken off my case and said they were only liable for damage to the case. They compiled a report of the incident in case I needed to claim off my travel insurance.

We can only assume that the damage to our suitcases and attempted theft probably happened at Penang airport after check-in.

For direct from Singapore to Penang:

1. Singapore airline (SQ) return air tickets will costs around SGD484 with taxes - http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/index.jsp while MH

2. Malaysia airline (MH) return air tickets will costs around SGD610 with taxes - http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/main_SG.aspx?lang=en-US

The cheapest airline will be AirAsia but departure is from Senai airport, Johor:

1. AirAsia (AK) return air tickets will costs around SGD131.30 with taxes - http://www.airasia.com/site/sg/en/home.jsp

Firefly is the new budget airline in Malaysia. And Penang is the hub! From Penang, there are flights going to Kuala Lumpur (arrive at the old SUbang Airport Terminal 3), Langkawi, Kota Bharu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Phuket (Thailand) and Koh Samui (Thailand).

But looking at their website, their airplane seems a bit small and old...

So nice to have another low cost option.

You need to check in at least 1 hour before international departure. Travelling by economy class, this was served on the way back to Singapore : chicken noodle with a piece of cake. Only 3 choices of drinks served on board - coffee, tea, orange juice (the same as when coming into Penang). Noticed the cutlery is now all plastic as compared to metal in the arriving trip. Could it be MAS cutting cost?

Caught a good deal at the MAS air-ticket sales (17-25 February 2006). Return tickets are priced at S$59 only. Though the ticket package says that only snacks provided, I was surprise that they do serve lunch. Here's a picture of the tandori chicken rice with a piece of red bean dessert.. yummy! :)
(It doesn't taste as spicy as it looks. In fact it is quite sweet.)

Air Asia probably offers the widest selection of cheap flights for air travel in SE Asia. They are criticized for not being the most reliable carrier, however out of the 6 flights I took with them, only one was late by 10 minutes.

Air Asia usually has a daily flight between Bangkok and Penang, as well as 3-4 daily between KL and Penang. Depending on time of departure and how far ahead you book your ticket, a one-way flight from BKK (1hr 50min) will cost you as little as $50, and a one-way flight from KL (50 min) as little as $20.

Bottom-line: For the budget traveler, Air Asia is a great way to get around SE Asia. They might not always be on time, but you get what you pay for, and all things considered it's a good value.