This International flight on Malaysia Airlines (MH) is pretty short, taking around the same time it took for me to fly domestically from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, but the service is even better. And yes, for those who know their maps well, I have gone the long way round to get from Penang to Phuket via Kuala Lumpur.

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While I could have gone by boat, bus and/or train, I need to arrive into Thailand by air. Why? Because I am staying in Thailand for 3 weeks and when you arrive by a land border, you are only given a 14 day visa to enter the country, by air it’s a 30 day visa. While there is a direct flight operating between the islands, the Malaysia Airlines flights were about half the price, offered me QANTAS Frequent Flyer points and Status credits, a generous baggage allowance of 30kgs and meals.

Malaysia Airlines, Penang to Kuala Lumpur Boeing 737-800. Economy Class.

I am offered the emergency exit row seats again and agree to assist the crew in the event of an emergency. My seat, 14A, has a seat pitch of 34″ against the normal pitch of 30″ in the Economy class cabin on MH’s Boeing 737-800’s.

The AVOD (Audio Visual On Demand) features the same content as on my domestic flight, so I flick through and watch an episode of Big Bang Theory on my 9″ screen. There is a USB port for charging devices and a remote that comes from under the screen which helps avoid bumping it in the armrest.

The main difference between this and my Malaysia Airlines domestic flight is the inflight meal. There is only one choice for lunch, but it is hot.

The lunch is marinated chicken with noodles and vegetables. It is plentiful and filling although overall a little on the bland side. The chicken is moist yet not much flavour, the noodles watery. We are 30-something-thousand-feet in the air so I know my tastebuds arent working as well as usual so I’m just happy to have a hot lunch at this point.

We have a pretty smooth flight with clear views over northern Malaysia on the short hop to Phuket, Thailand.

The flight lands on time into a drizzly, wet and steamy Phuket. Overall I’ve had great flight and I like Malaysia Airlines. The Service efficient, the aircraft modern and comfortable and I  earn those points and status credits!

FreakyFlier paid for his ticket independently