Firstly, as usual, please apologize for my bad English, and also bad photo quality as I took all shots by my cellphone.
This report is continuing my previous story from Jakarta to Singapore by Jetstar Asia (click here).
After about 12 hours to Singapore, I went to Kuala Lumpur (popularly abbreviated as "KL") by an express international bus. From KL, I took a bus again to Genting Highland, an integrated resort located in the mountain area close to Kuala Lumpur. It contains world's largest hotel, theme park, concert hall, shopping mall, and (most people come here for) casino. Genting's casino is also the only legal place in Malaysia for gambling.
After a night in Genting Highland, I went down to Kuala Lumpur by cable car and express bus. Here are some snapshots of KL.
My lunch: famous "Hor Fun" (rice noodles) at Pau Kee Restaurant.
After lunch, I hop the monorail train to KL Sentral station, where I would take the bus from there to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
KL Sentral, KL's main transport hub, containing stations of KTM Commuter, Kelana Jaya Line LRT, KLIA Express/Transit Train, and buses to KLIA and Genting Highland.
From KL Sentral, I boarded an express bus to the airport. It took around 50 minute to reach the airport, without any traffic jam.
KLIA Departure Hall.
Once again, for the KL-Jakarta route I chose my favorite European airlines, KLM, as it offers really cheap price starting from IDR 500,000 (about USD 37.00) and strategic schedule.
Here is the check-in counter, where I had my check-in process done.
Then I got the powerful pass to fly. I didn't know why they printed the boarding pass on a Malaysia Airlines' card.
From the check in counter, I proceed to the immigration counter. The immigration check was simple without any cards to be filled, only a fingerprint scan.
Then after the immigration check, as usual we were welcomed by these unique jet miniatures.
At that time, we were still in the main terminal, while our boarding gate was located in the satellite terminal. To reach there, we had to hop the people mover.
While in the people mover, there were nice views outside. Etihad and Saudia aircrafts.
The Malaysia Airlines' area.
Arriving in satellite terminal.
Then I proceed to gate C3, our boarding gate.
At the left side was gate C1, boarding gate of Saudia to Jeddah.
After a tight security check, I and other passengers entered the waiting hall of the gate.
Our aircraft ready for departure. The registration code was PH-BVC (National Park Sian Ka'an), with "KLM Asia" livery. Personally I don't like this livery, as it lose its "precious" crown.
Boarding process started. Time to enter the aircraft.
My seat, on the 1st row of the economy class area, with very wide space. I was very lucky to get this row.
My seat was at the aisle side. At my right side was a Dutch couple. Based on my simple observation, majority of the passengers were Dutch and Indonesian. Not too many Malaysians. I also saw a lady holding Peruvian passport. Really far.
All passengers had boarded, and the safety video with unique animation cards started.
Without any queues and turbulences, the aircraft flew smoothly to the sky at 5.20 p.m. (GMT+8). Around 10 minutes after that, the seat-belt signs were turned off, and I went to the toilet. Very clean toilet.
Cabin situation.
Back to my seat. I checked the safety cards, magazines, and other stuffs inside the pocket.
An overview of their newest Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the magazine.
Then the cabin crews started distributing the headphone. As usual, don't have high expectation of its quality.
Exploring the IFE, but as usual, I wasn't interested in movies or TV series, so I put my own flash drive to the IFE.
Meals menu on the IFE screen. Unfortunately it could not be used on this short-distance flight.
Then a cabin crew came to our seat and served the snack. I also requested a cup of sparkling water for my drink.
I then enjoyed the music from IFE. The flight was smooth, without bad weather conditions and turbulences. A Dutch lady at my right side was busy with her fiction book, while her couple slept peacefully.
Finally the aircraft landed safely and smoothly in Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 6.10 p.m. (GMT+7).
Before leaving the aircraft, I took some final snapshots of the cabin.
Business class.
The aircraft was parked together with B777-300ER of Turkish Airlines, ready for departure to Istanbul.
Then I proceed to immigration counter, and after that, I passed through baggage claim area. I didn't check any baggage so I didn't have anything to put here.
After that, I left the terminal building and proceed to the bus station to catch the bus to Gambir train station.
The traffic was not bad. I reached Gambir Station after 30 minutes from the airport. Then I walked to my campus to meet my friends. There were many assignments from my lecturers to be done.
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Verdict
KLM
7.9/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering7.5
Kuala Lumpur - KUL
7.3/10
Efficiency7.0
Access7.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.0
Jakarta - CGK
6.3/10
Efficiency6.0
Access6.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness6.5
Conclusion
As I've said in my previous reports, today KLM is my first choice to fly on this route. It always impress me and never makes me disappointed. Their service was great. Cabin condition was fresh (though the PH-BVC jet has been operated for 8 years), clean, and well-maintained. Senior cabin crews were friendly and helpful. The veggie pie was good, but I'm sure KLM can provide better foods than that (I still missed their chicken noodle on my previous flight from Jakarta to KL with KLM in July 2016). The IFE system was great, with movie and music collections from around the world. Even as a Dutch airlines it also offered good collection of my favorite Asian (Japanese, Korean, Chinese) movies and musics. You can also connect your own flash drive to the IFE. The other important thing is the power plug, where you can recharge your devices during the flight.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is good enough, but personally I think that their service has been downgrading compared to my first experience with the airport in 2004.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport? No comment. Similar with my previous reports.
Thanks for reading. Any suggestion and feedback are appreciated.
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I notice that your plane is the same as the one on my flight report from Singapore to Denpasar. While the plane may be dated, I believe they are already refurbished as previously KLM's 777 carry old 9-abreast economy class and 7-abreast angled lie flat business class seats, which explains your comment on the plane feeling quite new.
How do you find the airport bus to Gambir? I tried it once a few years ago and found the seats rather uncomfortable, although the price is almost unbeatable for solo travelers.
"I notice that your plane is the same as the one on my flight report from Singapore to Denpasar. While the plane may be dated, I believe they are already refurbished as previously KLM's 777 carry old 9-abreast economy class and 7-abreast angled lie flat business class seats, which explains your comment on the plane feeling quite new." -- You're right. It's PH-BVC (National Park Sian Ka'an). When were you onboard the plane to DPS? I guess it has been refurbished to the new cabin.
"How do you find the airport bus to Gambir? I tried it once a few years ago and found the seats rather uncomfortable, although the price is almost unbeatable for solo travelers." -- If you arrive in terminal 2, go straight to the left (after Terminal 2F). In the end you will find "Shelter Bus" sign. Here you can take the buses anywhere. The Damri bus to Gambir is now very comfortable. New bus fleets with the latest type of bus body. It even provides power plugs on each row.
I was on PH-BVC just one month before you (to be exact 21 December). It has been refurbished to the new cabin and shown as such during booking even a few months before - otherwise chances are I wouldn't even give KLM a try since the fare premium was quite steep (around 40%) over Garuda's economy class.
The improvements seem quite drastic, so I guess I should try it on my next solo trip. Was the fare still Rp40.000/pax, or has it increased?
"The improvements seem quite drastic, so I guess I should try it on my next solo trip. Was the fare still Rp40.000/pax, or has it increased?" -- Yes, it's still IDR 40,000.
Well, I don't know the exact number of passengers, but I guess around 60-70% of the seats were occupied. Some of them, like myself, started their journey from KL to Jakarta. KLM's popularity on this short route has been growing.
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6 Comments
I notice that your plane is the same as the one on my flight report from Singapore to Denpasar. While the plane may be dated, I believe they are already refurbished as previously KLM's 777 carry old 9-abreast economy class and 7-abreast angled lie flat business class seats, which explains your comment on the plane feeling quite new.
How do you find the airport bus to Gambir? I tried it once a few years ago and found the seats rather uncomfortable, although the price is almost unbeatable for solo travelers.
-- You're right. It's PH-BVC (National Park Sian Ka'an). When were you onboard the plane to DPS? I guess it has been refurbished to the new cabin.
"How do you find the airport bus to Gambir? I tried it once a few years ago and found the seats rather uncomfortable, although the price is almost unbeatable for solo travelers."
-- If you arrive in terminal 2, go straight to the left (after Terminal 2F). In the end you will find "Shelter Bus" sign. Here you can take the buses anywhere. The Damri bus to Gambir is now very comfortable. New bus fleets with the latest type of bus body. It even provides power plugs on each row.
Thanks for your comment.
The improvements seem quite drastic, so I guess I should try it on my next solo trip. Was the fare still Rp40.000/pax, or has it increased?
-- Yes, it's still IDR 40,000.
Great bonus pictures in the beginning.
Nice spotting shots at KLIA.
Were there many passengers that joined you on this KUL-CGK leg? There seemed to be a decent amount of people at the gate.
Great pictures throughout the report.
Have a good one, see you!
Thanks for your comment.
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