Aeroline Business Class Coach from Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur to Queensbay Mall Penang

For this trip to Penang, I decided to take Aeroline from KL to see how it compares against the KTM ETS Business Class train. I’ve taken many ETS trains many times, but have not tried the bus trip yet. Also, the new weekend Penang Ferry schedule is even more dreadful now with a 60 to 90 minutes frequency for the 10-minute ride across the strait. For this Aeroline bus review, I will compare the services, speed, and cost of Aeroline against ETS Business Class.

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.

ETS Business Class uses the Ruby Lounge at KL Sentral as a pre-boarding waiting area for ETS Business Class with hot drinks provided. I decided to elevate my lounge experience at Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

Dondang Sayang Coffee House Buffet Breakfast

For my “lounge visit”, I used Dondang Sayang Coffee House to have a buffet breakfast before starting my bus trip to Penang.

Buffet breakfast at Corus Hotel Dondang Sayang Coffee House costs RM35 for the public. In-house guests are charged a special rate of RM30 if breakfast is not inclusive in the room rate.

The interior of my “pre-departure lounge” with a hot buffet breakfast.

There was a buffet spread of western and Malaysian options.

Here’s a sampling of my first plate from the buffet breakfast.

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.

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

Dates are also provided during Ramadan.

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

Aeroline KL-Penang Bus

VBR 8812 will be operating on my KL to Penang Aeroline bus service today. This is a new bus without the lower deck lounge. The KL to Penang Aeroline bus departs twice a day at 9.30am and 4.00pm.

Tickets are scanned by the steward at boarding. Show the QR code from the email ticket to the steward.

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

A galley is available on the lower deck for the steward to

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 steward 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.

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.

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

Unlike my previous JB experience, the Aeroline steward personally handed out blankets when all passengers have boarded. The mineral water bottle was placed in the storage basket in front before boarding.

The steward then handed out headsets for the entertainment system.

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.

It was a full bus on a Saturday morning from KL to Penang.

Departure

My Aeroline bus departed from Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur right on time at 9.30am.

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

I’m used to turning right at this junction for Singapore and JB, but it’s the first time turning left on Jalan Tun Razak to go to Penang.

Passing by Ampang Park MRT Station.

Heading on to the Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE Highway).

Passing by Sentul EMU Depot.

Heading through Batu Toll Plaza.

Passing by Segambut Railway Station.

PLUS North-South Expressway

Passing through Jalan Duta Toll Plaza, entering the closed toll system of the PLUS North-South Expressway.

Heading through the arch out of Kuala Lumpur.

Passing by the Bukit Lanjan interchange, continuing on the junction towards the north instead of back down to JB and Singapore.

Meeting the highway from the south.

Passing under R&R Restoran Jejantas Sungai Buloh.

Passing by Sungai Buloh Railway Station and MRT station.

Passing by Kuang Railway Station.

Meal Service

The meal service began 1 hour after departing from Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

Similar to my meal on the KL-JB Aeroline bus, the meal consisted of Fried Silver Pin Noodles with Potato Wedges and but with 2 fish balls in place of a chicken nugget. Similarly, the noodles were tasty and served hot, but being a microwaved meal, it also means that the potato wedges and fish balls was soggy.

The hot drink was served 20 minutes after the hot meal, just as I finished my lunch. I ordered a white coffee as usual.

Notably, the highway quality in the northern sector of the PLUS Highway is not as good as on the southern sector, and the road condition was quite bumpy, even with rumble strips on a highway. This caused a lot of splatter around my thankfully-covered hot coffee cup.

PETRONAS Simpang Pulai Arah Utara

At 11.46am, 2 horus and 16 minutes after departing from Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the Aeroline bus made a rest stop at PETRONAS Simpang Pulai Arah Utara for a 15-minute toilet break.

The stop here was convenient as it is fully sheltered, and a Mesra outlet was also available to buy snacks if required.

Toilets are located beside the Mesra outlet.

Heading back to the Aeroline bus. The bus departed at 11.57am, just an 11-minute stop here as all passengers were already back on board.

Passing by limestone hills around Ipoh.

Passing by Bukit Merah Operation Station.

Entering the state of Penang.

Turning off the main PLUS North-South Expressway heading to the Penang Second Bridge.

Heading through the Penang Second Bridge Integrated Toll Plaza or Bandar Cassia PLUS Toll Plaza, also known as Gateway Arch Toll Plaza.

The steward comes around to collect back the blankets and headsets after Penang Second Bridge Integrated Toll Plaza.

Passing by Bandar Cassia Interchange, notably for IKEA Batu Kawan.

Penang Second Bridge (Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge)

Aeroline takes Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge or Penang Second Bridge to head from the mainland to Penang Island. No Penang Ferry change needed here, so that saves me a lot of waiting time as compared to if I had taken ETS Business Class again.

This also marks the first time that I am crossing to or from Penang Island by land, as I have only done it by air and sea so far.

Most of the Penang Second Bridge is made of a level viaduct.

The road ascends up to a cable-stayed section with wider spans to allow ships to pass underneath.

Descending on approach to Penang Island.

Turning right at Batu Muang-JKSB Interchange to head north to Queensbay Mall via Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

No Butterworth this time round, thank you.

Exiting from the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway at Bayan Mutiara Interchange.

Turning right to Queensbay Mall.

Instead of using the 360 degree roundabout turn, the Aeroline bus took the new waterfront route on Jalan Bayan Indah to u-turn to Queensbay Mall in a rectangular route instead.

Passing by the new Queens Waterfront.

Are you okay?

Approaching Penang Queensbay Mall.

Passing by the Aeroline office and lounge at Penang Queensbay Mall.

Turning in to Penang Queensbay Mall.

Queensbay Mall Penang

My Aeroline bus arrived at Penang Queensbay Mall at 2.04pm, making this a journey of 4 hours and 34 minutes.

Heading into Queensbay Mall.

Queensbay Mall is the largest shopping mall in Penang, notably also with an AEON in it.

Do note that the Aeroline office is accessed from the exterior road, and not from inside the mall.

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-Penang route, with meals, drinks, entertainment, on-board toilet, and cabin crew 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 comparing with the KTM ETS Business Class train which was RM151 at the time of my search, then Aeroline’s RM60 fare is a steal with similar services. Actually, Aeroline has better entertainment than ETS Business Class even without watching anything because there is no entertainment on ETS Business Class.

In total, I paid RM60 (Aeroline bus fare) + RM1.80 (online admin fee) + RM35 (breakfast buffet) which costed me RM96.80 in total. This bus journey and full meals costed RM57.20 LESS than ETS Business Class. The journey time of 4 hours and 34 minutes is also just 19 minutes longer than the ETS train which takes 4 hours and 15 minutes for ETS Platinum 9174up. Not to mention that Aeroline gets me on to Penang Island without having to deal with the irregular Penang Ferry.

Are you willing to spend an extra 19 minutes to save RM57.20?

I think the answer is unfortunately clear. The arrival time of Aeroline into Penang is also just nice for a hotel check-in.

Of course, for a fair comparison, let’s continue the journey to KOMTAR to see if the total journey time still works out to get to the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Link coming soon.)