from Penang to KL that is...
We all know how much of a hassle it is...to get to-from the Airports.
Especially for someone who lives on the "other side of the Island"...
and not to mention our state-of-the-art KLIA airport which is located a bit too ridiculously far out of KL city than is necessary (although there are airport shuttle liners running almost every hour, the journey to the airport from KL Sentral would take AT LEAST an hour @ RM10 per trip, lets not even begin to talk about taking the airport taxis/limos)
Then you have to factor in the 1 or 2 hour check-in time before your flight..etc...yes, even if you are lucky enough to snag a Zero fare ticket... its not that convenient after all!
Although I am a fan of the other low-cost airline, Fireflyz, I seldom find their ticket prices to be as affordable as they'd like to claim. A return ticket might set you back almost RM300! Although Subang airport is definitely more convenient in terms of location.
However, if you arrive very late at night (@ Subang), it might be a bit dark and if you're not lucky, you might need to wait at least 15-30 mins for a taxi. I once paid around RM25 for a ride to my friend's condo in Kelana Jaya! I thought it was a bit absurd, as it wasn't that far away.
So back to the topic at hand.
From my sponsored flight to KL for an interview, I realised that I took the same, if not a longer amount of time flying down than taking a coach!
My flight was at 8.40pm from Penang, so I had to leave my house around 6.30pm to get to the airport in time to check in one hour before. Yes, weekday peak hour traffic in Penang is bad (but not as bad as KL of course!)
We landed in KL at 9.35pm and after navigating my way around KLIA and getting to the bus depot, the only airport shuttle liner available was going to leave for KL Sentral at 10.30pm. It took more than an hour to get to KL Sentral, so I arrived just before midnight. (granted it was Deepavali eve, and KL Sentral is at Brickfields, so yea).
So in conclusion, the whole journey from PG to KL took me about 5+ hours (4+ if you minus the journey from my house).
Just the week before that, I took a coach from Sg. Nibong (which is also almost 9km before the airport - from where i'm coming from) at 6.30pm and arrived Pudu, KL at 11.30pm. Thats a total of around 6hrs (5 if u minus the journey from my house).
But it only cost me RM35 for the whole journey.
I'd say taking a coach is more time & cost effective.
Ok, now to the 2 coaches I had the pleasure of experiencing from my last trip down to KL (last weekend).
After some online research, I found
SUASANA EDARAN (TopClass).
A rival company to
AEROLINE(which I decided to take for my journey back to Penang due to their rigid time schedule).

For almost exactly the same price, both offered comfy seats, personal on-board entertainment, food & beverages served by their steward/stewardess.

Suasana Edaran's schedule from
Penang to KL are as follows:-
Penang to Kuala LumpurAdult - MYR 55.00
Children - MYR 35.00
They also have
KL to Singapore routes.
I made a call to the Suasana Edaran ticketing counter (Sg. Nibong terminal) and the friendly lady employee agreed to save me a single seat that I could pick up at my own convenience before the departure.
Pulau PinangSuasana Edaran Sdn Bhd
Kaunter 12, Terminal Bas Ekspres Sungai Nibong
Pulau Pinang
Tel: +604-657 6666
Kuala LumpurSuasana Edaran Sdn. Bhd.
Kaunter 41, Hentian Puduraya,
Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur,
Tel: +603-2072 2666
When I got there (well ahead of time), I found she had reserved the seat for me with my name on the ticket!

The coach was almost 80% full. We left right on time at 6.30pm and were warmly greeted by the steward, introducing himself, the driver and letting us know the estimated time of arrival in KL. He then proceeded to hand-out bottles of mineral water and headsets for our personalized on-board entertainment.


Unfortunately, my seat was almost to the end of the coach and when he got to me, he did not have enough headsets to go round. That was okay, as I brought along my own for my mp3 player. (yes i have my FitnessFirst headset coz the small earphones hurt my tiny ears!). I think some of the passengers up front must have opted to snooze instead and give up their headsets, as he later brought more headsets for the people behind me.

Top Deck

Bottom Deck
As we were on the Penang Bridge, he served our packed meal of tomato rice and a piece of fried chicken, which was followed by hot tea. I instantly devoured mine as I was dying of hunger!

I must say, it tasted pretty decent.
But then again, don't take my word for it, as I quite enjoy airline food as well! Hehe! I'm very easy to please.
There were 4 movies to choose from; 300, Narnia-Prince Caspian, Spiderman and (some cartoon i forgot). I opted for 300, as I've been putting off watching it for..ever and also the other movies really didn't interest me at all. I lost interest after 5 mins the first time i tried to watch 300, a year ago.
The movie quality was great!
There are also console games available..but I didn't try them out.
Apparently the seats were massage chairs as well...but after pressing a few buttons, nothing happened..so I guess the company decided to do away with it for some reason or other.
Too bad really. That would have been a treat!
Check out their Facilities on Board
here.
We stopped at a reststop for 10mins after about 2+ hours.
I tried to take a nap after the movie...but I guess I just couldn't fall asleep. But that's just me.
The steward said the journey would take approx. 5 hours. But we arrive in KL just a little after 10.30pm. The coach stopped at a bus stop at Kota Raya (right opposite the entrace of Petaling street). Which was less crowded than Pudu itself. Easier for pickups too.
Journey BackAs for
Aeroline, I took the 3.00pm coach from Corus Hotel right in the heart of KL city.
CORUS HOTEL
They offer 4 daily departures from various parts of
KL to Penang.

Bandar Utama (new wing 1U) - Penang @ 10.30am and 4.30pm

Corus Hotel, KL - Penang @ 3.30pm

Sunway Hotel - Penang @ 8.30am & 5.30pm (starting 20th Nov 2009)

All coaches arrive at both Queensbay Mall and Sg. Nibong bus terminal in Penang. (departure from Pg will be from Sg. Nibong first then proceeds to Queensbay in 15mins).
Pg - KL departures :-
Pg - BU @ 9.00am & 5.00pm
Pg - KL (Corus Hotel) @ 8.30am
Pg - Sunway Hotel @ 10.30am & 3.00pm (starting 21st Nov 2009)
Ticket cost RM55 per trip but online purchase will incur a 3% admin fee.
(Suasana Edaran does not have any online booking service so the price is fixed at RM55 nett).| PNG - BU |
| Departing | : | Queensbay Mall (Unit facing outwards on ground floor) GF-143A, 100 Persiaran Bayan Indah 11900 Bayan Lepas Pulau Pinang Bus Terminal Sungai Nibong Jalan Sultan Aziah Shah, Sungai Nibong 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang. |
| Arrival | : | 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama |
| Est. Duration | : | Approximately 5 hours |
| Fare | : | Double Deck Coach RM55 / SD23.50 Adult one way ticket RM110 / SD47 Adult two way ticket
RM27.50 / SD11.75 Child one way ticket RM55 / SD23.50 Child two way ticket |
Tel : (603) 6258 8800 Monday to Sunday from 7:30 am to 7:30 pmThe downside of not booking online and purchasing the ticket just prior to the journey is that you don't get a Subway sandwich for your meal. I had to settle for a bowl of maggi (chicken & shiitake mushroom flavour - which was a treat for me coz i LOVE maggi mee!! - see, easy to please). Of course they would inform you when you purchase your ticket at the counter, as they would need ample time to make the meal orders with Subway. Totally understandable.
They also provide a pillow, blanket, a headset, a bottle of mineral water and hot beverages with your meals, which you can take at your own convenience (i had to wake the poor steward up to get my meal as i wasn't hungry yet when he was serving earlier).
I got the front seat (like the friggin very front 2 feet away from the windscreen, front!)..yes..the kiasuness..feel it. As I didn't get to go up to Genting Highland to get my adrenaline rush (from the rollercoasters la..i dun gamble), I decided to get some kick out of this ride instead hahah!!)

There was a big flat screen tv on the left side (opp from my seat), which was still ok for where I was at but i just had to turn my head a bit to watch the movies. No, you don't get to choose the movie...its at the whim and fancy of the steward. Luckily he chose Wolverine (yarmeeh!) followed by Bride Wars, then an episode of Friends.

There is a toilet on-board the coach downstairs, at the lounge (about 5 sofa seats) which were unfortunately hogged by a whole family (some people can be so selfish) all the way from KL - PG. The toilet was tiny but clean, which served its purpose.

The coach did stop at a petrol station for a 10min break & prolly for the No. 2's. As the steward told us that the toilet on-board was "for light usage only, I repeat, for Light Usage Only
(for heavensake if u poo in it i will kill u, srsly!)".
I hardly felt the time go by as I was so engrossed with the movies and in no time we arrived Penang! That was one of the smoothest journey I have EVER had from KL-PG.
In conclusion, (omg, wht the hell? this isn't an essay!), I would definitely recommend both these coaches for travels from Pg-KL and vice versa and am planning to take either one down again for my next trip to KL next weekend!
Gosh, I should be paid for this promo review.
Stay tuned for my next post about Good Food in Ampang!