What to do during a 4 hour layover at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur?

Question

I have about a 4 hour layover at the LCCT in the evening. This does not seem like long enough to get into the city and do anything useful. (See also What options are there for a 5-hour layover in Kuala Lumpur? which is a related question about the main terminal.).

However, 4 hours at the LCCT sounds pretty boring. I'll be travelling with 3 older teenage children.

Will I be able to transfer to the main terminal where there are more things to amuse? Can this be done without going through customs and immigration? I'm travelling on an Australian passport if that makes a difference for visas.

Answer 1

There's a Plaza Premium Lounge in LCCT at KUL (and also another in the main terminal). I've not been to the LCCT one, but I think it's very similar to the one in the main terminal, which I have been in a few times. You can get a shower (they'll provide towels and shower gel), which I find nice between long flights. They have a large number of chairs, some with power points, some comfy sofa like ones, some at tables etc. There are a small number of newspapers (not a great selection though), some magazines, and a TV or two. There should also be a few massage chairs, but they're very popular. There is WiFi available, and a few computers to use. Food and drink wise, there ought to be a handful of different simple hot meals available, mostly Malaysian style, along with some snacks and fruit. There's beer, soft drinks, coffee etc. It's certainly not a high-end lounge like you get with a lot of the big flag carriers, but it's certainly above average for third party lounges.

Access to Plaza Premium lounges is covered by a range of programs, so it may be worth checking if you already have access. I know that Priority Pass gives access (that's how I get in), as do a range of higher-end credit cards. I don't believe that the Plaza website tells you about which cards have access, instead you'll need to check with your credit card about if it's in their lounge program or not.

Alternately, you can pay to get in. You can just pay on the door, but you can normally get some much better deals if you book online in advance, through a third party website. The headline price at the lounge is Rm118 for 2 hours, Rm158 for 5 hours. If you hunt around online, you can probably get it for about a third of that (I'm pretty sure I found a hefty discount the one time I went before getting a Priority Pass. A quick google found 3 hours for £20, or 6 hours for £27.50, on a respected lounge access website, you might well be able to beat that).

(There's also a higher risk option, which is to hope you manage to make friends with someone with a Priority Pass or similar, who's able to guest you into the lounge. If you don't find someone, then you'll be stuck having to pay the full fee on arrival to get in. You might have some luck if you find someone on a suitable FF forum, and arrange something in advance)

Answer 2

True to the name, the LCCT terminal is pretty barebones and has little of interest. It's also operating at way over capacity and will be replaced by the new, larger "KLIA2" in April 2013.

Sterile transfer is not possible at LCCT: you will have to enter Malaysia through Immigration, collect your bags, check them back in, and pass through exit immigration to catch your next flight. As an Australian, you will get a visa on arrival with no questions asked, but the rigmarole is still time-consuming and, depending on how jammed the terminal is, this alone can very easily chew up two hours. Edit: Apparently sterile transfer is now possible, if and only if you already have your onward boarding pass. AirAsia has a handy "Fly-Thru" page about this.

If you want to grab a bite to eat, do so while landside, where the options are (slightly) better and cheaper. The Plaza Premium Lounge is RM88/person for two hours, which is unlikely to be worth it unless you really need a shower or a PC with Internet access.