Aeroline Business Class Coach from Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur to Persada Johor International Convention Centre Johor Bahru

Aeroline is a familiar operator operating Business Class coaches especially to Singapore and Penang from KL. On this trip, I decided to try out the once-a-day KL-JB route to head back to Singapore in comfort and at a much lower price than going to HarbourFront Centre.

Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Aeroline’s main KL boarding point is at Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur near the PETRONAS Twin Towers (KLCC), easily accessible from KLCC LRT Station on the LRT Kelana Jaya Line or the new Ampang Park MRT Station on the MRT Putrajaya Line.

Heading in to Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

Aeroline Ticket Counter & Waiting Lounge

Aeroline’s ticket counter and waiting lounge is just beside the main entrance.

The seating plan and ticket prices for Aeroline coaches.

After showing my ticket to the ticket counter staff, I proceeded to the waiting lounge to wait for my bus.

The lounge is formed of some tables and chairs from Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s Dondang Sayang Coffee House.

Self-service tea is available on a side table with disposable cups and stirrers provided.

My hot tea from the Aeroline waiting lounge.

Toilets are available after the hotel lobby before the lift lobby.

Boarding is called 15 minutes before departure time.

The Aeroline bus waits at the bus stop outside Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

Aeroline KL-JB Bus

VBR 8809 will be operating on my KL to JB Aeroline bus service today. This is a new bus without the lower deck lounge. The KL to JB Aeroline bus departs only once a day at 10.30am.

Tickets are scanned by the stewardess before boarding. Show the QR code from the email ticket to the stewardess.

The interior of the lower deck with 6 seats in a 2+1 configuration.

A toilet is also available at the rear of the lower deck by the galley. The toilet is for “light usage” only as announced. If you would like a “longer use”, inform the stewardess or driver who will then stop the bus at an R&R for your “long use”.

There is a small luggage rack above the wheel hub on the lower deck.

Heading up the stairs to the upper deck.

The interior of the upper deck with 28 seats in a 2+1 configuration.

Do note that the seat numbers between the single seats and pair seats misalign by 1 row, due to matching the seat numbers with the old bus configuration.

There are 2 rows with only pair seats at the front which are 1B & 1C, and 2B & 2C.

On the 3rd row, the seat numbers are 4A (single), and 3B & 3C.

This goes on to the last row which seat numbers are 11A (single), and 10B & 10C.

Row 11 continues at the lower deck confusingly consisting of 11D (single), and 11B & 11C.

As such, if you are a group of 3 or more and want to sit in a single row, remember that the single seat number is +1 of the pair seat number.

My single seat at 6A.

The generous legroom available on board Aeroline.

A fold-out tray table is located in the armrest.

A blanket and bottle of mineral water was already provided at my seat during boarding. This differs from the Singapore service when the steward or stewardess hands out the amenities personally.

The personal entertainment screen displays my seat number as the starting screen. A USB power socket is located on the personal entertainment screen. Charging is slow, but you have the whole bus journey to charge your mobile device.

There is also a USB power socket at the front of the armrest.

There is also a 3-pin power socket for faster charging at the corner near the floor.

It was quite a full bus on a weekday morning which was surprising.

The personal entertainment screen can be pulled forward when the person in front reclines.

A 2-minute safety video plays on first touch of the entertainment screen. This unfortunately cannot be skipped.

The safety video wasn’t much for the bus ride, but for COVID safety, which not all information is applied now, especially with regards to social distancing.

Case in point. It’s an almost-full bus.

The main entertainment menu.

A variety of music and movies are available.

The channel for GPS information of where the bus is, however, was not working throughout the trip.

My Aeroline bus departed from Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur at 10.36am – 6 minutes delayed.

Passing by Tapak Urban Street Dining on departure.

Passing by Ampang Park LRT & MRT Station. The 2 stations are a connecting station with a sheltered walkway linking them up.

Turning right at Jalan Tun Razak to access the PLUS North-South Expressway via Sungai Besi.

PLUS North-South Expressway

Heading through the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza to enter the PLUS North-South Expressway.

After entering the PLUS North-South Expressway, the stewardess comes around to distribute headsets and thereafter to take orders for hot drinks to be served after the meal.

Meal Service

Lunch was served about half an hour after the distribution of headsets.

Lunch consisted of Fried Silver Pin Noodles with Potato Wedges and a Chicken Nugget (hidden below the wedges). The noodles were tasty and served hot, but being a microwaved meal, it also means that the potato wedges and 1 nugget was soggy.

The hot drink was served 25 minutes after the hot meal, just as I finished my lunch.

I ordered a white coffee as usual.

R&R Pagoh Selatan Southbound

At 12.48pm, the Aeroline bus entered R&R Pagoh Selatan Southbound for a 20-minute break.

My JB-bound Aeroline bus at R&R Pagoh Selatan Southbound.

My JB-bound Aeroline bus was parked beside a Singapore-bound Aeroline bus. Too bad I can’t just transfer here.

R&R Pagoh Selatan Southbound has a big food court which was crowded at lunch time. However, as I just had my lunch served by Aeroline, I wasn’t hungry anyway.

Toilets are located behind the food court.

Despite the crowd, I was surprised that the toilets at R&R Pagoh Selatan Southbound was reasonably clean for usual standards.

Heading back to the bus after my short break.

Exiting the PLUS North-South Expressway at Skudai Toll Plaza. This differs from the Singapore route where the Aeroline would continue on to the Second Link Expressway 1 exit before Skudai Toll Plaza.

Heading on to Skudai Highway.

Differing from other regular KL-JB buses, Aeroline continues on the Skudai Highway south and does not go to Larkin Sentral.

Heading onwards to the city centre.

Aeroline turns in to Jalan Lingkaran Dalam after Padang Seri Gelam on approach to the JB stop.

Heading to Persada Johor International Convention Centre via Jalan Gereja and Jalan Trus where the former Kotaraya II Bus Terminal was located previously.

Passing by Suasana All Suites Hotel Johor Bahru and Amari Johor Bahru.

City Square can be seen already behind the construction site of Coronation Square.

Passing by the sheltered walkway shortcut to City Square.

Persada Johor International Convention Centre Johor Bahru

My Aeroline bus arrived at Persada Johor International Convention Centre in Johor Bahru at 3.17pm, making this a total journey time of 4 hours and 47 minutes if counting scheduled departure time, or 4 hours and 41 minutes if counting actual journey time excluding the initial delay.

The Aeroline bus stops outside the office at Persada Johor International Convention Centre. While the bus door opens up to the road instead of the kerb, the road is not busy.

This same bus will form the 5.30pm departure back from JB to KL, with this route also departing once a day.

Sheltered Walkway to JB City Square

From here, I took the sheltered walkway to JB City Square to start getting back to Singapore This is located just at the road junction in front of the Aeroline stop.

The sheltered walkway is straightforward with no turns needed.

This view should be familiar to Singaporeans who visit JB, and the path to JB Sentral and Bangunan Sultan Iskandar customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex is self-explanatory from here.

Conclusion

It was a comfortable ride on board Aeroline from KL to JB, perhaps I could say that it is the best bus operator on the KL-JB route, with meals, drinks, entertainment, on-board toilet, and stewardess service provided. However, the Aeroline bus fare is of course at a premium, almost double, at RM60, as compared to other buses from TBS which averages around RM30-35. But if factoring in the on-board services provided, especially with the generous legroom, the fare of RM60 could be worth it. If comparing with the new Singapore fare of RM128, this is definitely worth it.

Do note that the only departure time of 10.30am for this once-a-day Aeroline bus from KL to JB means that almost the whole day is wasted for travel to Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur, sitting on board the bus, and especially if travelling onwards to Singapore by the Johor-Singapore Causeway by public transport. If you are not using Aeroline for leisure or you need to get something done during the day, this may not be the best way to go time-wise.