Subang to Seletar on the Firefly ATR 72

This is a review in three parts. We look at the airports at both ends as well as the actual Subang to Seletar flight, which is a point to point service between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Our starting point is Subang SkyPark, a small airport close to Kuala Lumpur, with an early morning Firefly ATR 72-500 flight into Singapore Seletar Airport on the island’s northern coast. You can also check out our video at the bottom of the page, or watch it on YouTube.

Subang to Seletar

We booked our flight booked early for best price. It was a Saturday morning and our preferred early morning was the best on offer. You can get a breakdown of the fixed charges so you can see your base fare.

Before you fly

Online check-in is available for Malaysian domestic and Singapore Seletar flights. This is available from 7 days (24 hours for code share) to scheduled departure date and up to ONE hour before scheduled departure time. It’s not available for outgoing/return Indonesian and outgoing/return Thailand flights. For these, you must check-in at the counter at the airport. Before checking in, I had a quick look at one of the popular flight tracking apps to see which view I would like out the window. Looking out to my left means an ‘A’ seat, out to my right, ‘K’.

Web Check-In service is NOT available if you are:

• Guest(s) travelling with infant(s).
• Guest(s) with reduced mobility and those with special assistance needs.
• Bookings with more than 9 passengers.

You should print your the Web Check-In boarding pass either before going to the airport, or at a kiosk near the check-in counter. To reprint boarding pass, if you have already checked-in online, click on the Reprint Boarding Pass button on the screen and follow the instructions. Have your Booking number and passport handy.

Two days before you fly, complete your Singapore Arrival Card online. I took about 10 minutes to complete the form and had an instant confirmation. It’s important to remember this is not a visa, which they can only do at as you pass through the immigration checkpoint.

Completing your Arrival card online will save you the hassle of standing in the crowd before Singapore Immigration, having to complete it standing up. The SG Arrival Card is also available on MyICA Mobile Application. For more information, visit the ICA website. They have a handy video and links to download the free app for iPhone and Android.

Flight Details

Our aircraft, 9M FYI was delivered to Firefly in 2010 and operates domestic services out of their hub in Subang SkyPark to airports across the Peninsular, as well as Singapore Seletar airport. As we had no checked bags, we arrived an hour before our 7.20am flight, FY 3124 with a flight time of 1 hour, 20 minutes. We touched down in Seletar Airport at 8.35am before taxiing back to the terminal, about 5 minutes. 

 

Our Flight, Subang to Seletar

Of the last 25 flights from Subang to Seletar, one took off to the north and 23 to the South doing a right (West) turn after take-off, around Port Klang and south to land from the North in Seletar. So I selected my 10A seat on this basis. Only one turned left (East) to pass South of Kuala Lumpur before turning right to head south. This was the route our flight took. So while it was not the view I’d planned for, I had a good view of the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur.

The seats are arranged in twos, across a single aisle. All windows have a view as they are below the wings. My seat, 10A seats is one of those which have a pillar in the middle of two windows. The most sought after seats are those at the rear of the aircraft, as entry/exit is from there.

You may want to avoid the rows between 8 – 12, which are close to the propellers and tend to be noisier. There is a very small toilet on the aircraft, located to the right of the door as you enter the aircraft. It’s not obvious and I had to ask.

Workspace and food

The tray table is a one piece drop down table which can comfortably accommodate a laptop or a snack. There’s no entertainment available on this aircraft. The snack was delivered not long after take-off and after the disappointment of no drink availability in the Departure lounge at Subang, a bottle of water was very welcome. It was accompanied by a packet of chocolate chip cookies and the ever popular Malaysian Airlines salted peanuts. (Firefly is part of the Malaysia Airlines Group.)

 

Subang SkyPark

Things to note:

• Checked baggage must be scanned before dropping them at the counter.
• The SkyPark Link train service has been suspended until the airport regeneration/upgrades are complete.
• For bus and taxi transport, proceed to the counter beside the entrance/exit for Arrivals/Departures.
• All parking is across the main road, accessed by a walk-over bridge.
  • It is not covered parking.
• All Malaysian airlines have counters close to the Check-in area.
• Bag wrapping and storage facilities are located just inside the ‘Departures’ entrance.
• The Airport is well served by food outlets (landside).
• Once you enter the International Departure lounge there is seating and a clean toilet.
  • There was no obvious water dispenser, nor a drink vending machine.
  • A Duty Free shop in the corner of the lounge was not open, and there was no information about the hours.
• The Domestic Departure lounge has a convenience store.

Singapore Seletar Airport

When you fly in to Singapore Seletar airport, it’s a short walk across to the entrance to the Immigration. There are plenty of signs and a QR code you can scan if you have not yet completed your arrival details. The Immigration officers were polite and helpful, the autogates accepted my passport without complaint and it was straight through to Customs. I had no baggage and was cleared straight through the green lane and out into the waiting area.

The single story structure is clean and efficiently laid out with Departures at the southern end, arrivals at the north. The check-in counter on the left is right beside the entry to the Departure Lounge. If you have time, there is a small kopitiam (Mr Teh Tarik Express) to the right of the Departure Lounge doors. In need of sustenance, I ordered a local coffee and kaya toast. The toast was crisp and the butter generous. The kaya was a little sweet, but the coffee does not get a recommendation. Perhaps their other offerings like Teh Tarik, would be a better choice.

There is also a small, but nicely laid out, seating area in front of the doors, matching that at the Arrival end of the airport. There’s a water fountain in the connecting hallway, outside clean toilets. Braille is used on the various labels. A very clean, well organised and efficient airport.

images©ET