Review of SilkAir flight Penang → Singapore in Economy

Hi!
This would be a rather short report because I did not take a lot of pictures as I was rather tired. Furthermore it's only a short hop from Malaysia to Singapore.
This report will mostly cover MI347 (Penang - Singapore) but I'll include some pics of mine from Singapore - Penang too if it goes with the flow.
*I have yet to get a camera so all pictures are from my note 3*
There's a problem with the timing I put as 12.45pm but they still show as 12.45am…

Here we go!
So we took the taxi from our hotel to Penang International Airport. A rather small airport but filled with international brands like KFC and Mcdonalds. When we arrived at PEN the check-in counters for MI has not opened yet so we waited and bought some souvenirs for our relatives. After which, we went to KFC for a simple meal before heading to airside.

Silkair's check-in counters.


And before we cleared immigration we saw this! :D *Felt like just taking one secretly*

It seems like it's a norm for Malaysia Airports to have airplane models? Because KLIA has a few too…

My ticket back home. School starts on Monday so I'm totally loathing it. (Genius me forgot to save a picture without the scribbles zzz)


Immigration was extremely fast (partly because it is not a huge airport) and I was in airside within 3 minutes. However, there is nothing much at airside (just a few shops selling souvenirs and food). When we cleared to airside at around 11.35pm the plane was not there yet. The plane eventually arrived at around 12pm, just before a CX A330 & MH B737. The plane only had a 45mins turnover time so that's pretty impressive.

Only managed to catch this Lion AIr B737-800 on it's way to Medan.

As you can see from this picture, PEN is not that plane spotting friendly…

At 12.05pm, boarding commenced but there weren't many passengers so the boarding too was quick and efficient. I would guess that the load was around 40 - 50% full. Strangely the emergency exits were not even taken (I think they were blocked when we were booking) and my dad just decided to move up.

Once in the plane (B737-800 - 9V-MGN), I realised that it was the newer plane due to the Boeing Sky Interior and the seats were different from the A319 that I took to get to Penang.

The seat and the Boeing Sky Interior


Unlike the A319, the B737 had entertainment in the seat too but they just looped the songs in different channels so it was just okay. They had Silkair Studio which allows guests to stream movies/songs directly from their phone. However, the albums that I checked were not that updated (2013 - 2014 songs) so I was a bit disappointed considering how SQ somehow manages to get the most updated albums but MI, who is a subsidiary of SQ, couldn't.

The view outside.


The seat pitch. It's quite comfortable for me but I'm vertically challenged (read: short) so…. and it does not have any foot rest so it's quite uncomfortable for my legs.


They gave us a wet towel before departure which is a nice gesture.


Pushback!


On the taxiway to the runway!


Bye Penang! You were fantastic! Partly because I managed to avoid the haze and train breakdown back in SG!


Refreshment!

It was chicken puff together with orange juice. Apparently they only served coffee, tea, plain water and OJ.


This is the part where I was extremely disappointed. If Airasia can manage to serve a proper meal, collect them back and prepare for landing all within 45mins or less (SIN - KUL), why can't MI do that on a 1hr plane ride? (SIN - PEN is slightly longer than SIN - KUL). I thought we were going to have a meal on our way to Penang so I skipped lunch only to find out that they gave sandwiches for a flight that departs at 1.20pm. I was honestly very disappointed with the food I was getting. If a budget airline can do it, why can't a full service carrier?

The refreshment they served from SIN - PEN.


Some random pics while on the flight

^We were apparently flying air to air with another plane (a small white spot by the engine) but I could not identify it.


Before we could eat finish, the pilot announced our descend in another 2 - 3mins and we began our descend soon.

We took the approach where we could see MBS, the national stadium and ECP but due to the haze, I could barely make out MBS and everything was just shrouded in haze.
Landing was extremely rough and the pilot just seemed like he wanted to end his day asap. The descend at the last part was a bit terrifying and the way the brake was applied was abrupt and not smooth. On touchdown the plane shooked rather violently. Even the small boy from Taiwan/Malaysia (I guess Taiwan but with a Malaysia accent LOL) told his dad that the plane was a bit scary (in Chinese). Guess that shows how scary the landing was. I guess they were on a connecting flight to SQ872 to HK.

Empty stand.

I guess SQ Cargo decommissioning one of their 747-400F?

Hey look it's an Etihad B787! I wanted to take a picture of it when flying out of SG but I failed to do so…


A SQ A333


Eventually we docked back at T2 gate F34. The plane was scheduled to fly to Penang again as MI352.


The flight crew for this flight were definitely more cheerful and well spoken than my previous flight. They were engaging and friendly throughout the flight.

The flight route (credits to flightradar24)


We arrived early (1.55pm when scheduled is 2.15pm)

I also spotted an AC plane in SIN but AC doesn't fly to Singapore? If there's anyone who knows why do you mind explaining? :D Like previously I spotted a LATAM plane in SG too?! :O
The day before we flew for Penang a SQ A333 got so tired that it decided to collapse it's nose gear. From what I knew it was at gate A17 but I did not manage to get anything :(

Thanks for reading this short report! Hope you enjoyed it!