Air Travel, Kuala Lumpur

How to arrive in Kuala Lumpur is a bit of a predicament if coming from Singapore. Considering the fact that the KL airport is 70km away from the center it does not make lots of sense to fly unless using AirAsia because of its inexpensive tickets. Once on the ground there are several options but AirAsia’s connections are again the best so you might even consider buying their bus transfer ticket as part of the airplane ticket and thus save same ringgits along the way. There are trains but apparently to get to them one has to board a bus first and then change somewhere down the road which makes it nonsense. The trains are better suited to the main airport terminal, not the low cost one where the base of AirAsia is. In the other direction, reaching the airport from downtown KL, there is the option of going all the way to the airport by taxi as well. The bus or train collection point downtown is KL Central (railway station) and naturally there is a need of a taxi ride to reach it. Despite the many warnings that taxis are metered and beyond any haggling, the magic still happens – the driver would offer a price for a ride all the way to the airport. Once in the comfortable environment of an air-conditioned car one starts to think of this possibility but saying yes as slowly as possible is going to lower the price to a very “competitive” rate – 40USD for 70 km suddenly sounds like a bargain.

If you wish to travel in and out of Kuala Lumpur with low airfare, you have to wait for the right time to book your airfare tickets either from Airasia or Firefly.

I usually book my air ticket in/out of Kuala Lumpur during Airasia O fare promotion period. If you subscribe the Airasia mailing list, they will email you the date you can book the low cost fare. The general rule is the earlier you book your tickets, the cheaper the airfare.

Firefly is a new low cost Airlines from MAS. They have low cost fare occasionally. I am not very good with Firefly. Their advertise fare are not included other cost... etc... so be aware of that...

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the terminal two or the Low Cost Carrier Terminal area of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the base of operation of Air Asia of Tony Fernandes and is the flagship of the famous no frills budget airline and also is the entrance and exit of other budget and low cost airlines like silk air or cebu pacific air or jet star or Tiger Airways and a slew of other carriers. Why low cost terminal? well, it is specifically designed to suit the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) business model where it would have no travellators, escalators, aerobridges and would be able to have a shorter turnaround time. The LCC Terminal operates on a point-to-point travel basis in line with the low-cost travel business model. There is no interlining arrangement between the Low Cost Airlines at the LCC Terminal and other airlines that operate at the Main Terminal Building of KLIA. so this is the terminal of choice of budget no frills airlines so if you want to go to KL on the cheap then book on a budget airline of your choice.

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Cebu Pacific is one of the low cost carriers in the Southeast Asian Region (they say low cost instead of Budget Airlines, a play on terminology). It was started in 1996 in the Philippines by entreprenuer Lance Gokongwei, a Chinese-Filipino Taipan and is now the number one airline of the philippines, beating the flag carrier Philippine Airlines. The Airline boasts of having one of the youngest Airbus A 319 and A 32-0 fleets in the World at an average age of 4 years. It is one of the comptetitors of Air Asia, Silk Air, Tiger Airways, Jet Star and other budget airlines and as such they dock in the Low Cost Terminal area of KLIA. Book your flight 2 months in advance and it will only costs $ 120 US Dollars (all in) to fly to Kuala Lumpur. As in other Budget carriers, this is a no frills airline where only the rest room are free and even the bottled water you have to pay for.

KUALA LUMPUR Ticket Offices:

Skyzone Tours & Travel SDN BHD
Lot 3.05-08, 3rd Floor, Shaw Parade,
Changkat Thambi Dollah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel No.: (603) 2118-7888
Fax No.: (603) 2118-7899

Bestour & Travel (M) Sdn Bhd
Lot 3.10 3rd Flr. Wisma Cosway,
Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel No.: (603) 2142-1741
Fax No.: (603) 2143-2048

Golden Deluxe Travel Service Agency Sd. Bhd.
10-1 Jalan Khoo Teik Ee,
Off Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel No.: (603) 2144-9888 / 6888
Fax No.: (603) 2142-8631 / 603-2144-424

AirAsia ofcourse. Ever since AirAsia rose from an upstart with only one plane with insane prices like RM9.99 KL to KK air travel has been turned upside down with cheapo concepts like buy your own meals on board, air stewardess is also air ticketdess, get left behind with no refund if you are 1 min late but don't expect any compensation if they postpone your flight at the last minute, pay extra to be ahead of the boarding line etc air travel had never been the same. Plus their planes are all new leased Air Buses and they have a nifty website where you can buy your tickets with prices that rise and fall like the stock market. Now they even have flights to other countries (goodness) with AirAsia X.

Oh by the way they don't land in KLiA but LCCT - best mode of transport RM9 airconditioned bus shuttle called the SkyBus (the red color ones mainly).

Nope the KLiA Express (or ErL) does not reach the LCCT (yet) so no 28mins zoom zoom to airport for budget travellers.

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If you are flying with Air Asia to or away from Kuala Lumpur, you will be using Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). It is located next to KLIA but everything about it seems 'low cost'. The building itself looks simple compared to KLIA and it's full of people all the time. It is a contrast to KLIA. There is a McDonald and it is always packed. There is a bookstore, Cooffee Bean Cafe, and a newly opened foodcourt which is a seperate building from the main terminal.

There are at least 4 bus companies connecting LCCT and Kuala Lumpur. Bus fare starts from RM9. Traveling time about 1 hour. The bus schedule is followed loosely. There are shuttle buses running between KLIA and LCCT (RM1.50 per person one way)

The new budget terminal (called LCC Terminal or LCCT for short) at KLIA will open on March 23... It is situated about 15km from the main KLIA Main Terminal... The LCC Terminal is specifically designed to suit the low cost carrier (LCC) business model where it would have no travellators, escalators, aerobridges and would be able to have a shorter turnaround time...

There are also a luggage storage room at the back of the information counter next to the domestic departure lounge... The daily charges are MYR10 (for small luggages), MYR20 (medium), MYR30 (large) and MYR40 (extra-large)... a free day's charge is given for every 10 days of storage...

The airport tax for international flights is MYR25 and domestic flight MYR6.

Access to the LCCT will be by taxi, ERL (followed by shuttle coach), direct coach from KL Sentral, KTM Komuter (followed by coach)... For coach transport from KL Sentral, check www.skybus.com.my ...

Fly, Train or Coach.

FLY: Easiest. Catch Japan Airlines (cheapest at S$128 when on offer), Sri Lankan Airlines (S$160 offer), Qatar Airways, Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines from Singapore's Changi Airport. 35 minutes journey. Downside: the 50-60 Ringgit connecting the 1 hr+ journey from KLIA into KL.
(I am not bothering with Air Asia from Senai)

TRAIN: 8-10 hours ride from Tanjong Pagar train station in Singapore. Not the most comfortable but perhaps the most "romantic" with some imagination.

COACH: NICE, AEROLINE & TRANSTAR buses (costing about S$100 both ways) are the most comfortable. Aeroline coaches depart from Harbourfront and end at Corus Hotel, opposite KLCC in KL. NICE coaches depart from Novotel Orchid Hotel and end at the old KTMB railway station in KL. 5 hours journey for both. (I have never tried Transtar's) GRASSLAND and other coaches (Transnational, Sri Maju, 707 etc) are cheaper (~S$50) but takes 6 hrs as they will make a stop. Grassland, Transnational and Sri Maju coaches depart from Golden Mile Complex along Beach Road while 707 coaches depart from Ban San Street Terminal near Bugis MRT. Most terminate at Puduraya in KL.

Try Golden Mile Complex near Beach Road (SG) and Puduraya (KL) for tickets.

The Singapore-KL Express bus also operates from Ban San Street Terminal (near Bugis MRT, behind the Church of the Lady of Good Lourdes). It is possibly the cheapest way to get to KL but the seats are not as comfortable as Aerolines's, NICE's or Grassland's. (Contact tel: 65-62928254; no known website)