There are several options for flights between Singapore and Penang, and I opted for a Singapore Airlines codeshare on Silk Air. I don't think this will qualify for any VS points / miles however.
Arrived around 06:00 for an 08:05 departure from Singapore Terminal 2 - slightly earlier than I needed but the traffic the day before had been very bad and the hotel had told me to allow a lot longer than it actually took. The Terminal was fairly empty, and I tried my luck at the SQ business counters and my VS gold card - although they said it wasn't usually allowed, they took my bag and also priority tagged it. Advised though that I couldn't use the lounge. Headed off for depatures. First stage was immigration, which was brief and efficient, as on the way in. The odd thing is that as you enter the departure lounge, there is no security screening.....more about that later.
Had a wander around - lots of shops everywhere. I had a loungeclub card couresy of the Amex Gold Card - however, I could only find one of their options in Terminal 2, which was a Japanese restaurant (not sure what you got using an access pass but decided not to find out). Found the 24 fast food area, and had some cheap rice, fried chicken and vegetables. Time seemed to fly by and then it was time to board. At each departure gate is a security screening area. This means only liquids that are sealed in an appropriate bag (e.g. alcohol. perfume) and those under 100mls can be taken on the plane - so no taking of a bottle of water on the plane.
Boarding was fairly quick and the plane was about 2/3 full. I was originally in seat 14F, but managed to move to 11D (an exit row, so much more leg room). The plane seemed new and the seats were pretty comfortable - interestingly, even though this was an exit row I had both a table in the arm rest as well as a fold down one from the seat in front. There is a business class cabin, which has typical US domestic first type seats - not wort it on an hour flight.
Take off was early, and then service started. The crew came round and identified those who were vegetarian upfront (you must include this in your booking or else you get a plate of biscuits) with a sticker on their seats. The option this morning was a hot curried chicken puff, served with water, juice and tea/coffee. It was actually very tasty, even though it was only 08:25!! Throughout the flight the crew were smiling, friendly and very efficient (well it is a Singapore based airline!)
The flight was fairly uneventful and fairly quick, and soon we were arriving into Penang airport. There was the usual warning about death for those who traffic drugs into Malaysia. This is ungoing a lot of rebuilding work at the moment and looks like a a large building site currently. The airport was much more of what you would expect in a tropical area. You mingle with departing passengers as you leave, pass by a thermal imaging camera checking for flu/other viral illnesses and then off to immigration. This was not as efficient as in Singapore, but much faster than the US. Baggage was off very quickly and all international arrivals had their hold baggaged screened on arrival.
Overall impression - nice short flight, with very friendly and efficient crew.
