MYAirline Z97104 from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur KLIA T2 Flight Review

MYAirline is a new low cost carrier based in Malaysia which I’ve been wanting to try. After a long overland and detoured way from Singapore to Tumpat, it’s now time to shorten the return journey back to Singapore by flights. I booked myself on MYAirline Z97104 from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur to try out what MYAirline is about.

Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport

Heading in to Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport after alighting from my Grab from Wakaf Bharu Railway Station from the Shuttle Timuran 57dn.

I got to just nice at about 80 minutes to departure, still in good time for check-in. Check-in closes 45 minutes before scheduled departure for domestic flights.

X-ray scanners are placed before entering the check-in row. Passengers with check-in baggage must run them through the scanners first.

There was a huge crowd queuing to check in baggage for AirAsia.

The polar opposite for me, there was no one at the MYAirline check-in counters at 1 to 3.

Check-in was fuss-free as I had no check-in bags and my 1 small sling bag would definitely pass even the strictest Ryanair checks. The check-in agent was also quite friendly and assigned me an up-front seat when I requested for one due to my onward connection in KLIA.

Heading out of the check-in area.

My boarding pass for my MYAirline Z97104 flight from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur. MYAirline uses KLIA T2.

Heading over to the other side for departures.

Security Screening

The departure area for passengers to enter. Here, there is a staff for each departing airline who will tick off the sequence number on a piece of paper for everyone passing through for boarding. A very manual reconciliation system, but it works.

Security check follows. Domestic flights in Malaysia do not apply any liquid, aerosols and gels (LAG) restrictions, and you can bring in liquids of any amounts through security. Especially water.

The escalator up from security leads directly to the boarding area.

Karya Executive Lounge

There is now an airport lounge, Karya Executive Lounge, at the departures area at Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, operated by Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK)

Karya Executive Lounge looks quite simple, with a café-style interior.

A variety of food and drinks are available.

Departures Waiting Area

The rest of the transit area is pretty much filled with lots of seats only.

My was departing from Gate 3 at the right end of the building.

At 6.02pm, the incoming MYAirline Z97103 flight from KLIA T2 touched down 13 minutes early. This plane will form my MYAirline Z97104 flight to KLIA T2.

9M-DAG taxiing to Gate 3.

Placing the chocks on 9M-DAG at Gate 3.

Aerobridge use is provided at Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport by MYAirline.

The crowd quickly gathered at Gate 3 for boarding once an announcement was made.

The first group of boarding is for passengers who require special assistance, expectant mothers, travelling with infants, and seated in rows 1-5, 12, 14, and 22-31.

Which is like half the plane already.

Priority boarding and Zone C are in a single group.

Surprisingly, the ground staff took the big portion of the receipt-like boarding pass, leaving me with this stump.

While boarding was done very quickly at the gate, MYAirline reminded me of Ryanair where boarding means standing on the aerobridge only and waiting there, and not actual boarding of the aircraft. Arriving passengers were still disembarking from the aircraft.

The earlier AirAsia AK6439 to KLIA T2 was pushing back first.

The boarding gates at Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport seem to be fixed by airlines, with turboprop Firefly and Batik Air Malaysia logos pointing towards the staircase to the apron…

… and the MYAirline logo pointing towards the aerobridge. Perhaps the other 2 gates are reserved for Malaysia Airlines respectively.

Seems like MYAirline names their aircraft, with 9M-DAG bearing the name D. Allan. 9M-DAG is a brand new aircraft which was delivered on 5 November 2022.

Seems like there are some expansion works going on at Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport.

Boarding my first MYAirline flight.

The interior of MYAirline’s Airbus A320-200 with Geven superEco seats. MYAirline only has 1 type of plane and configuration in their fleet.

Rows 1 to 5, 12, and 14 have a red seat covering, being sold at a premium. Thank you MYAirline check-in staff at Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport for giving me an upfront seat for my onward flight connection at KLIA T2.

On first impression, MYAirline’s seats are very thin, but let me take a seat before judging properly.

There is quite good legroom available on board MYAirline. I compared this upfront legroom with those at the rear at the aircraft during the flight, and the legroom is the same. Excluding rows 1, 12, and 14 of course.

A small tray table is provided. The small size of the tray table also gives an illusion of more arm space around.

The tray table can be pulled closer.

The seats on MYAirline are thin, but they are actually quite comfortable. Thinner seats means more legroom, so that’s a good trade-off.

Seats are also welded upright and do not recline. However, I noticed that the seats are in pre-reclined position similar to Ryanair. This actually makes the flight more comfortable since I’m technically in reclined position throughout the flight, and no one can physically recline into me as well.

The safety card for MYAirline’s Airbus A320-200.

The food and drinks menu is also in the seat pocket.

Interestingly, while the “no smoking” sign is a permanent fixture which won’t be lit up which is getting common nowadays, there is a newly reinstated icon for turning off mobile devices.

MYAirline seems to enforce mobile devices be off throughout the flight and for flight mode to be used on ground before take-off and after landing which is above and beyond Malaysia and even international requirements nowadays.

My MYAirline Z97104 flight departed from Kota Bharu Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at 6.35pm – 5 minutes early.

MYAirline Nasi Lemak

My pre-booked meal was served shortly after the seat belt signs were switched off. I ordered a Nasi Lemak for RM15 which comes with a bottle of mineral water when pre-booked online.

If ordered on-board, the Nasi Lemak costs RM17 without the mineral water.

The chicken rendang and sambal was separated in a foil cup within the casserole, and ikan bilis and peanuts were served in a separate ziploc bag, so it kept moist things moist and crispy things crispy.

While the chicken rendang was on the oily side, it was quite flavourful and the rendang and sambal pairs very well with the lemak Nasi Lemak. AirAsia has a new rival.

The clean toilet on board.

Extra brownie points for MYAirline for providing paper towels in the toilets. This felt premium already.

It was not a very full flight as I was flying in the reverse direction of the mass exodus from KL before the start of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri long holidays. I overhead that there were just 99 passengers on board, meaning that I was the last to check-in.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2

My MYAirline Z97104 flight landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7.24pm – 26 minutes early.

Thanks to my upfront seat, I was one of the first to disembark from the plane.

Heading up the aerobridge to the terminal building.

I arrived at KLIA T2 Pier J which is a lot more pleasant than the shared Pier K with international flights as the walkway is a lot wider and the roof is a lot higher.

Feels weird to be back in KL in less than 1 hour when I just did an overnight trip from KL to Kelantan.

Heading up to the arrival path.

Most passengers would be continuing straight to the arrival hall for baggage reclaim and to enter KL.

However, that was not my plan today as I did not want to mix with the exodus crowd in the Hari Raya rush, and hence I planned my return trip back to Singapore by a transfer to have a separate immigration path.

Here, I continued on the path to international transfers.

Conclusion

MYAirline is definitely an airline to watch out for in the Malaysia domestic scene.

I paid just RM59.90 for my Kota Bharu-Kuala Lumpur flight ticket and an additional RM15 for a Nasi Lemak which is a great bargain. On top of that, my flight arrived 26 minutes early which is impressive. Passenger comfort on board is also great with a pre-reclined seat and more arm room.

It might be an unpopular opinion, but the more low-cost an airline goes, comfort seems to be increased? I’ve enjoyed all my Ryanair flights so far, and now I enjoyed MYAirline too on a thin seat with no recline. I thought MYAirline’s thin, non-reclining seat was a lot more comfortable than a padded low-cost carrier seat with recline, as there is more legroom on MYAirline and no one else in front can recline into my face. The pre-recline angle also felt perfect as I was neither too upright nor overly slouching.

Perhaps ultra low-cost is the way forward in the future for better passenger comfort?

Just please don’t get any ideas to charge passengers for a 7kg cabin bag yeah, MYAirline.