Yesterday's Airlines
  • Home
  • About
    • Links
  • My Fleets
    • My Hobby Room >
      • The Old Hobby Room
    • US Trunk Fleets >
      • My American Airlines Fleet
      • My Braniff Intnl Fleet
      • My Continental Fleet
      • My Delta Air Lines Fleet
      • My Eastern Air Lines Fleet
      • My National Airlines Fleet
      • My Northeast / Capital Fleet
      • My Northwest Airlines Fleet
      • My Pan Am Fleet
      • My TWA Fleet
      • My United Airlines Fleet
      • My Western Airlines Fleet
    • US Local Service Fleets >
      • My Frontier Airlines Fleet
      • My Hughes Airwest Fleet
      • My Ozark Airlines Fleet
      • My Republic Airlines Fleet
      • My Texas Int Fleet
    • US Other Fleets >
      • My Alaska Airlines Fleet
      • My Hawaiian / Aloha Fleet
      • My PSA Fleet
      • My Flying Tigers Fleet
      • My World Airways Fleet
    • UK Fleets >
      • My British Airways Fleet
    • Canadian Fleets
    • China Fleets >
      • My Cathay Pacific Fleet
    • Russian Fleet >
      • Russian Fleet Video
    • Fleet Videos >
      • US Trunk Airlines
    • Aviation Stickers >
      • ATR Stickers
      • A300 Stickers
      • DC-9 Stickers
      • DC-10 Stickers
  • Aviation Blogs
    • Airline History Blog
    • Model Blog
  • Airline Dev
    • CANADA >
      • Canadian Mainline
      • Canadian Charters & LCCs
      • Canadian Regionals
    • CHINA >
      • Part 1: China's Airlines Industry Blossoms 1984-2002
      • Part 2: The Big Six in the 1990s
      • The Big Three
      • Hainan Airlines Group
      • Other Chinese Airlines
    • MEXICO >
      • 1988-2005: Competition arrives
      • 2005-2014: Low cost in Mexico
      • Mexican Airline Genealogy
      • Mexicana Livery Tails
    • RUSSIA >
      • Aeroflot Group
      • S7 Airlines & AiRUnion
      • Other Russian Airlines
    • SOUTH AFRICA
    • UNITED KINGDOM >
      • BA Genealogy Pt1
      • BA Genealogy Pt2
      • BA Genealogy Pt3
      • BUIA & BUAF Genealogies
      • UK Charter Airlines Pt1
      • UK Charter Airlines Pt2
      • BEA Liveries 1946-1974
      • BOAC Liveries 1939-1974
    • UNITED STATES >
      • Trunk & Local Service Airlines >
        • American / TWA Genealogy
        • Delta / Northwest Genealogy
        • United / Continental Genealogy
        • Braniff / Eastern / US Airways Genealogy
      • Territorial Airlines
      • Intra-State Airlines
      • Supplemental Airlines
      • Deregulation Startups 1
      • Deregulation Startups 2
      • Trunk Airline Livery Changes 1959-1980
  • Liveries
    • American Airlines Liveries
    • British Airways Liveries
    • Continental Airlines Liveries
    • Delta Air Lines Liveries
    • National Airlines Liveries
    • United Airlines Liveries
    • Landor Liveries
  • Airports
    • Dowse National Airport >
      • Gallery 1: Chicago c.1966
      • Gallery 2: Miami c.1970
    • Wright Field Municipal >
      • Wright Field Video Tour
    • Xin Long International
    • Imogenia Intnl 1/600 Scale
    • Real Airport Histories >
      • Albany International
      • Dallas Love Field
      • Rochester International Pt1
      • Rochester International Pt2
      • San Francisco - 1927-1959
      • San Francisco - 1959-1978
      • San Francisco - 1978-2015
      • San Jose International
      • San Jose International Pt2
  • Mould Reviews
    • Airbus >
      • Airbus A300
      • Airbus A310
      • Airbus A320
      • Airbus A330-200/300
      • Airbus A330-200F
      • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
    • Boeing >
      • Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser
      • Boeing 707-120/138/720
      • Boeing 707-320/420
      • Boeing 727-100
      • Boeing 727-200
      • Boeing 737-100/200
      • Boeing 737-300/400/500
      • Boeing 737NG
      • Boeing 747-100/200
      • Boeing 747SP
      • Boeing 757-200
      • Boeing 767-200
      • Boeing 767-300
      • Boeing 777-200
    • British >
      • BAC One-Eleven 200-500
      • BAE-146 / Avro RJ-85-100
      • De Havilland DH-106 Comet
      • Hawker Siddeley Trident
      • Shorts 360
      • Vickers VC10
      • Vickers Viscount
    • Douglas >
      • Douglas DC-3 / C-47
      • Douglas DC-6
      • Douglas DC-7
      • Douglas DC-7C
      • Douglas DC-8-10-50
      • Douglas DC-8-60s/70s
      • Douglas DC-9-10
      • Douglas DC-9
      • McDonnell Douglas DC-10
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-11
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-80
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-90
    • Lockheed >
      • Lockheed Constellation
      • Lockheed Super Connie
      • Lockheed L-1649 Starliner
      • Lockheed L-188 Electra
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 1
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 500
    • Other >
      • Convair CV-240-580
      • Convair CV-880/990
      • Curtiss C-46
      • Fairchild F-27 / Fokker F27
      • Fairchild-Hiller FH-227
      • Fokker F28/F70/F100
      • SE 210 Caravelle
    • Russian >
      • Ilyushin IL-62
      • Ilyushin IL-86/IL-96
      • Tupolev TU-154B-2/M
  • Real As It Gets
    • Real As It Gets - 1/200
    • Real As It Gets - Africa
    • Real As It Gets - Asia
    • Real As It Gets - China
    • Real As It Gets - Europe
    • Real As It Gets - Middle East
    • Real As It Gets - N America
    • Real As It Gets - Oceania
    • Real As It Gets - Russia
    • Real As It Gets - S America
1:400 Model News & Airport Model Blog

Passing Through Kuala Lumpur Pt1: Overview

10/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have just returned from a trip home to the UK fron NZ. I've done this journey multiple times but try and see stopovers on the way. This time we travelled via Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines. Despite the adverse publicity I was fine flying Malaysia, which is a solid, safe and reliable, if not particularly profitable, airline. We spent a few days in KL so due to the modern inconveniences of air travel even though I didn't get any time to specifically get to do spotting I did get several hours near the traffic at the airport. Here's a review of my experience at KLIA.
My family and I arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (abbreviated to KLIA, though the IATA code is KUL) after departing Auckland on flight MH0132 on August 14, 2015 aboard Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER 9M-MRA. KLIA is nowadays really two almost separate airports which share one of three runways. The original terminal building consists of a traditional terminal box with twin horizontal piers plus a large cross shaped satellite. The former handles Malaysia Airlines domestic and regional narrowbody flights whilst the satellite handles all other international traffic for Malaysia Airlines and foreign non-low cost carriers. The terminal is between two parallel runways.
Picture
The satellite from the main terminal
Two kilometres away from the main terminal exists the new KLIA2, which is the largest low-cost carrier terminal in the world. This huge structure has 80 contact gates and two main piers connected by a walkway over the taxiways (similar to that at Gatwick's North Terminal). KLIA2 shares one of the original terminal's runways but also has its own parallel runway. The primary airline tenants of KLIA2 are AirAsia, AirAsiaX and Malindo Air.
Picture
The far pier of KLIA2 from the main terminal with a runway in between
Picture
Cross taxiway pier connector at KLIA2
Our 777 arrived into satellite gate 36 and we caught the monorail across to the main terminal building for processing. Upon our departure four days later we again would leave from the satellite. Given the distance to KLIA2 and the usage of specific runways by its traffic my view of it was very limited and restricted to long range shots. This review will focus on my experience at the older main terminal building and satellite.
Picture
Plan of the satellite. You can see the monorail leaves from the gate C1-6 arm. The North zone faces the main terminal building.
Picture
The monorail tubes inside the satellite terminal
Picture
The monorail slips under a main taxiway on its path from the main terminal to the satellite
Also present, for the time being at least, was the MASkargo operation with its A330Fs and 747-400Fs. Other cargo operators I saw were fairly standard - UPS 757s and FedEx A300s. Distant shots of the MASkargo apron were possible:
Picture
Pleasantly the terminal structures at KLIA allow a lot of natural light into the buildings necessitating huge areas of windows, which provide pretty good views of the airside areas despite the usual obscuring of much of the glass by lounges and shops. In the main terminal building before you go through security there is a viewing area which although behind glass gives good views of the domestic gates (almost universally stocked with MH's fleet of 737-800s), decent views of one side of the satellite pier and distant views of the runways and KLIA2.
Much domestic traffic and some international passes in front of this area when positioning to the runways or gates. Malaysia doesn't have the best air quality (due to burn offs from deforestation in Indonesia) so the sky is often hazy but this does mean that sun on the windows is less of an issue than it might be. Being behind glass appears a hindrance but it is very very hot and humid outside so the air-conditioning is a blessing! The above shots are nothing special but when taking pictures of individual aircraft you can avoid the annoying reflection issues.
Going through security gives you wider access to the piers though photographic opportunities are not as great as you might hope because each gate has its own secondary security also. This leaves relatively few areas where you can actually get up to the outside glass. Below is a selection of the sort of low quality and obstructed shots that can be achieved through security before travelling to the satellite:
Travelling over to the satellite terminal things improve as it has two levels. Good views of the outside can be gained from several of the upper level restaurants and smoking rooms. The latter are insanely toxic and I felt ill after spending only a minute or two inside! Photo opportunities from the monorail itself are limited due to its speed and juddering. Here's about the best shot I managed from the monorail:
Picture
Now none of the photos in this blog are going to win any awards, however it is possible to take much better shots and in part 2 I will showcase some of these photos whilst I discuss the traffic that I saw in my brief time at the airport. Here's a teaser:
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm Richard Stretton: a fan of 1/400 scale model aircraft and airports. This blog reports work on my model airport dioramas and discussion of the model manufacturers output.


    RSS Feed


    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    Aeroclassics
    Airline Manufacture
    Airliner Magazines
    Airport Diorama Design
    Auckland Spotting
    Aviation400
    BigBird
    Book Review
    Detailed Mould Reviews
    Dowse National Airport
    Dream Air
    Gemini Jets
    GSE
    Hobby Room
    HYJLwings
    JC Wings
    Lockness Models
    Model Moulds
    Model Photography
    Model Reviews
    Model Vs Model
    My Collection
    New Releases
    NG Models
    Panda Models
    Phoenix
    Plane Spotting
    Real Airports
    Retailers
    Retro Models
    Wishlists
    Wright Field
    Xīn Lóng International

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • About
    • Links
  • My Fleets
    • My Hobby Room >
      • The Old Hobby Room
    • US Trunk Fleets >
      • My American Airlines Fleet
      • My Braniff Intnl Fleet
      • My Continental Fleet
      • My Delta Air Lines Fleet
      • My Eastern Air Lines Fleet
      • My National Airlines Fleet
      • My Northeast / Capital Fleet
      • My Northwest Airlines Fleet
      • My Pan Am Fleet
      • My TWA Fleet
      • My United Airlines Fleet
      • My Western Airlines Fleet
    • US Local Service Fleets >
      • My Frontier Airlines Fleet
      • My Hughes Airwest Fleet
      • My Ozark Airlines Fleet
      • My Republic Airlines Fleet
      • My Texas Int Fleet
    • US Other Fleets >
      • My Alaska Airlines Fleet
      • My Hawaiian / Aloha Fleet
      • My PSA Fleet
      • My Flying Tigers Fleet
      • My World Airways Fleet
    • UK Fleets >
      • My British Airways Fleet
    • Canadian Fleets
    • China Fleets >
      • My Cathay Pacific Fleet
    • Russian Fleet >
      • Russian Fleet Video
    • Fleet Videos >
      • US Trunk Airlines
    • Aviation Stickers >
      • ATR Stickers
      • A300 Stickers
      • DC-9 Stickers
      • DC-10 Stickers
  • Aviation Blogs
    • Airline History Blog
    • Model Blog
  • Airline Dev
    • CANADA >
      • Canadian Mainline
      • Canadian Charters & LCCs
      • Canadian Regionals
    • CHINA >
      • Part 1: China's Airlines Industry Blossoms 1984-2002
      • Part 2: The Big Six in the 1990s
      • The Big Three
      • Hainan Airlines Group
      • Other Chinese Airlines
    • MEXICO >
      • 1988-2005: Competition arrives
      • 2005-2014: Low cost in Mexico
      • Mexican Airline Genealogy
      • Mexicana Livery Tails
    • RUSSIA >
      • Aeroflot Group
      • S7 Airlines & AiRUnion
      • Other Russian Airlines
    • SOUTH AFRICA
    • UNITED KINGDOM >
      • BA Genealogy Pt1
      • BA Genealogy Pt2
      • BA Genealogy Pt3
      • BUIA & BUAF Genealogies
      • UK Charter Airlines Pt1
      • UK Charter Airlines Pt2
      • BEA Liveries 1946-1974
      • BOAC Liveries 1939-1974
    • UNITED STATES >
      • Trunk & Local Service Airlines >
        • American / TWA Genealogy
        • Delta / Northwest Genealogy
        • United / Continental Genealogy
        • Braniff / Eastern / US Airways Genealogy
      • Territorial Airlines
      • Intra-State Airlines
      • Supplemental Airlines
      • Deregulation Startups 1
      • Deregulation Startups 2
      • Trunk Airline Livery Changes 1959-1980
  • Liveries
    • American Airlines Liveries
    • British Airways Liveries
    • Continental Airlines Liveries
    • Delta Air Lines Liveries
    • National Airlines Liveries
    • United Airlines Liveries
    • Landor Liveries
  • Airports
    • Dowse National Airport >
      • Gallery 1: Chicago c.1966
      • Gallery 2: Miami c.1970
    • Wright Field Municipal >
      • Wright Field Video Tour
    • Xin Long International
    • Imogenia Intnl 1/600 Scale
    • Real Airport Histories >
      • Albany International
      • Dallas Love Field
      • Rochester International Pt1
      • Rochester International Pt2
      • San Francisco - 1927-1959
      • San Francisco - 1959-1978
      • San Francisco - 1978-2015
      • San Jose International
      • San Jose International Pt2
  • Mould Reviews
    • Airbus >
      • Airbus A300
      • Airbus A310
      • Airbus A320
      • Airbus A330-200/300
      • Airbus A330-200F
      • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
    • Boeing >
      • Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser
      • Boeing 707-120/138/720
      • Boeing 707-320/420
      • Boeing 727-100
      • Boeing 727-200
      • Boeing 737-100/200
      • Boeing 737-300/400/500
      • Boeing 737NG
      • Boeing 747-100/200
      • Boeing 747SP
      • Boeing 757-200
      • Boeing 767-200
      • Boeing 767-300
      • Boeing 777-200
    • British >
      • BAC One-Eleven 200-500
      • BAE-146 / Avro RJ-85-100
      • De Havilland DH-106 Comet
      • Hawker Siddeley Trident
      • Shorts 360
      • Vickers VC10
      • Vickers Viscount
    • Douglas >
      • Douglas DC-3 / C-47
      • Douglas DC-6
      • Douglas DC-7
      • Douglas DC-7C
      • Douglas DC-8-10-50
      • Douglas DC-8-60s/70s
      • Douglas DC-9-10
      • Douglas DC-9
      • McDonnell Douglas DC-10
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-11
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-80
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-90
    • Lockheed >
      • Lockheed Constellation
      • Lockheed Super Connie
      • Lockheed L-1649 Starliner
      • Lockheed L-188 Electra
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 1
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 500
    • Other >
      • Convair CV-240-580
      • Convair CV-880/990
      • Curtiss C-46
      • Fairchild F-27 / Fokker F27
      • Fairchild-Hiller FH-227
      • Fokker F28/F70/F100
      • SE 210 Caravelle
    • Russian >
      • Ilyushin IL-62
      • Ilyushin IL-86/IL-96
      • Tupolev TU-154B-2/M
  • Real As It Gets
    • Real As It Gets - 1/200
    • Real As It Gets - Africa
    • Real As It Gets - Asia
    • Real As It Gets - China
    • Real As It Gets - Europe
    • Real As It Gets - Middle East
    • Real As It Gets - N America
    • Real As It Gets - Oceania
    • Real As It Gets - Russia
    • Real As It Gets - S America