I was so delighted to know that the Thai subsidiary of Lior Air Group, Thai Lion Air has launched its daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok-DMK (Don Mueang airport) in December 2013, as part of its preliminary international destination in addition to Jakarta, Indonesia. Domestically, they have introduced daily flight to Chieng Mai from their base in DMK as well.
One pet peeve that i have when it comes to LCC is that, it must be cheap (or relatively cheaper) than a full service carrier which i honestly feel AirAsia failed miserably on this element as their fares are ridiculously high all the time-as far as my experience can tell. That's the reason why i always avoid them at all cost. However, im glad to state that Thai Lion Air delivers it promise "to offer the lowest fares around" as ive got myself a one-way ticket from KUL to DMK at a steal for roughly RM 117 and this fare include free baggage allowance of 15 kg. So if we were to make some comparison with AirAsia, these are the plus points of flying Thai Lion Air:
i) Cheaper fare
ii) Free baggage allowance of 15 kg
iii) fying out of KLIA instead of the current factory like LCCT
iv) arriving at city-centre airport of Don Mueng in Bangkok
Currently they are only offering once daily flight with the outbound from KUL at 7.55 am and outbound from DMK at 11.55pm. The outbound from KUL is convenient for me however the outbound from DMK may cause hassle as you'll arrive pass midnite at KLIA with the possibility of having no transportation to your home.
The factory fresh Boeing 737-900ER at its gate
boarding commences
airborne
many mainland chinese tourist on this plane and i was surrounded by them in my original seat, thus i moved behind
safety instruction
they offer buy on bought menu
on finals to DMK
landed
empty terminal, this airport is only partly used currently, but there are plans for its full utilization to complement Suvarnabhumi
our plane after disembarkation
overall it was a pleasant flight with Thai Lion Air and i wont hesitate to fly them again, the fares are cheap, cabin crews are friendly and landing at DMK, eventhough not as flashy as Suvarnabhumi proves to be convenient as it has simple layout whereby you can easily be out to the landside within 10 minutes from disembarking, due to low traffic here.
Cheers and happy new year 2014.
