Thai AirAsia FD9515 from Johor Bahru Senai Airport to Bangkok Don Mueang Airport Flight Review

Thai AirAsia FD9515 is a daily flight from Johor Bahru Senai Airport to Bangkok Don Mueang Airport departing in the evening. I flew out of Senai Airport as the price for a Singapore to Bangkok ticket on a Friday evening was really expensive. For more than half the price, I got a ticket on Thai AirAsia FD9515 from Johor Bahru Senai Airport instead.

Johor Bahru Senai International Airport

I got to Johor Bahru Senai International Airport by Shuttle Tebrau and Causeway Link Senai Airport Shuttle Service AA1.

The public area of Johor Bahru Senai International Airport.

AirAsia Check-In at Senai Airport

Heading to the left side of the hall for departures. AirAsia check-in kiosks are placed prominently before the departure hall.

The contactless kiosks wouldn’t reprint my boarding pass as I had no check-in bags and thus no QR code to scan.

However, a new kiosk at the end of the row could function like how it’s done pre-COVID.

My boarding pass for my Thai AirAsia FD9515 flight from Johor Bahru Senai Airport to Bangkok Don Mueang Airport.

I had also printed my boarding pass on A4 paper from home as a standby.

Departure Hall

Heading to the departure hall.

My Thai AirAsia FD9515 flight would be the only international flight from Johor Bahru Senai Airport at the time of my departure so that’s easy to process. A smaller airport is certainly much easier to navigate.

Document Check & Security Screening

Heading for departure security screening. An AirAsia ground staff checks boarding passes and ticks off the sequence number on her paper as a document check.

A stamp is given by the AirAsia ground staff and the airport security gave a big tick at my name before going through security screening.

Heading up to the departures level after security screening.

There is a duty free shop for both domestic and international passengers.

Immigration

Immigration is done beside this duty free shop. Clearing immigration gets you to the international gate hold room with no backtracking.

Aside from my passport, immigration also gave the exit stamp on my boarding pass.

Immigration leads directly to Gate G1, Senai Airport’s only international gate.

Here, there is the ZON Duty Free shop selling alcohol and chocolates.

There is also a WHSmith travel retailer selling snacks and drinks.

There is a charging station beside the ZON Duty Free shop with 8 power sockets.

And that concludes the tour of the international gate hold room of Senai Internationa Airport.

Boarding

At a call for a Malaysia Airlines KL-bound flight, almost the whole plane stood up to start queuing in front of Gate G1. However, a quick check on Flightradar24 showed that the incoming flight FD9514 had not even landed yet, so there’s no rush for me to join the crowd.

I headed to the queue once the actual boarding call for FD9515 was made.

I had Airport Priority Service with my AirAsia Platinum membership status so I could board first in Zone 1.

Thai AirAsia FD9515

HS-CBB would be flying me from Johor Bahru Senai to Bangkok Don Mueang today.

Heading down the aerobridge, which was a surprise as domestic AirAsia flights do not use the aerobridge at Senai Airport. Maybe there’s a difference between AirAsia Berhad and Thai AirAsia.

Boarding HS-CBB with the aerobridge.

The interior of Thai AirAsia’s Airbus A320neo.

My seat at 23D.

Row 23 has quite a perfect window alignment so if you are into window seats, this row could be one of the best choices.

Interestingly, all reading lights were turned on during boarding.

The legroom available on board Thai AirAsia’s Airbus A320neo.

It was quite a full flight as expected on a Friday evening with what I think consists of many first-time flyers. Some were impressed that seats could be reclined, and started pulling down seats, tray tables, and window shades during boarding and taxi.

My Thai AirAsia FD9515 departed from Johor Bahru Senai International Airport at 7.36pm – 16 minutes delayed.

Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak

For dinner, I pre-booked a Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak as one does when flying on AirAsia. This costs RM19 – it’s slightly more expensive on Thai AirAsia. As this was a flight of around 2 hours, a free coffee was also offered as an alternative to the free bottle of water.

Thai AirAsia’s Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak this time round was very very spicy with a lump of paste for sambal which tasted very different from AirAsia’s and Santan’s sambal with not much onions.

Coffee was from the packet which tastes like regular non-premium in-flight coffee.

The cabin crew stamped my boarding pass after serving my meal, which now looks like a decorative piece of artwork with stamps and ticks along each step of the flying process.

The clean toilet on board HS-CBB.

Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport

My Thai AirAsia FD9515 arrived at Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport at 8.31pm – 9 minutes  early.

Heading up the aerobridge.

My pier was divided into an international section and domestic section.

Turning right to Don Mueang Airport Terminal 2. Domestic arrivals turn left here for Terminal 1.

Passing by the transfer desks.

Heading for immigration which had very short queues, and I was through in 2 minutes.

Without baggage to reclaim, I headed straight through customs to head out of the terminal.

Heading out of the passenger arrival area out to the public area.

A sign at the bridge to the old Don Mueang Railway Station and Amari Don Muang Airport Bangkok point passengers to the new Red Line station.

Signs out of the passenger arrival area also point to the SRT Red Line station.

The bus stop for airport buses out of Don Mueang Airport is just outside the arrival area, but I decided that I would catch the Red Line to the city this time to see how it’s like.

Here, I followed the signs pointing the route to the new Don Mueang Railway Station.

Conclusion

Thai AirAsia FD9515 is a useful evening flight from Johor Bahru Senai Airport to Bangkok Don Mueang Airport, offering a potentially cheaper alternative to flying out of Singapore Changi Airport especially with the rising airport taxes.