First trip report, so bear with me.

Thought this may be of use as few will have travelled on Berjaya Air (J8).
It is a Malaysian airline with a small fleet of turbo-props which service Berjaya resorts. it started in the late 1980s as a charter service but I believe all its scheduled services are now open to passengers whether they are staying at a Berjaya brand resort or not.

My origin was Tioman Island, a beautiful spot off the east of the Malayais peninsular which is famous as the inspiration for Bali Ha'i in the musical South Pacific. It retains much of its charm, especially if you avoid the bigger resorts.

They provide a service to Tioman Island daily to KUL and 5x weekly from SIN, which allow you to avoid the slow ferry ride to Mersing which brought me over. The ferry is very dependent on tides and the whims of bus and ferry operators. If heading on to SIN you also avoid the slow immigration and parade of buses over the Causeway when making a land crossing. The fare can get as low as 150MYR one way, but I booked a few days in advance for 280MYR. A premium over ferry+bus, but well worth it for the time savings.

My journey from my lodgings to the airport was by water taxi, a first for me and perhaps the best way to arrive at any airport. Basically you ask the locals at the nearest bar and they rustle up someone with a serviceable boat. This set me back 50MYR but was well worth it to arrive by speedboat!

The Tioman terminal is a small wooden building. Beware the 'duty free' shop, for as far as I'm aware you cannot claim duty free upon entering Singapore and if staying airside and connecting there would be better value items in Changi.

Check in is literally a breeze as most of the terminal is an open sided building with fans running in each corner. The dot matrix boarding pass is a blast from the past.



I'm afraid I have no photos of the terminal or flight as I checked my bag in with camera inside, although as it sat on a trolley in clear sight until being loaded I probably could have asked for it back, such is the wonderfully relaxed vibe, although the airport is fully serviced by security screening and an outward immigration desk; no doubt a coveted posting for officials with only two flights a day.

No lounge necessary as you can enjoy the breeze while waiting on the verandah and watching the famously difficult landing of the inbound flight. Although recently lengthened, the runway is still a narrow short strip between the forest and the sea. The day before our departure must have been pilot training day as a light aircraft was doing take-offs and landings all afternoon.

Our equipment, and I suspect the largest plane the airport could handle is a Dash 7-400. The cabin is dated but comfortable enough for a 100mi flight! Our flight was half full and we still needed all the runway before making a sharp left turn to avoid the mountains and take a last look at this stunning island.

The flight has a 50 minute block time but little more than 20 in the air, so it was to my surprise that there was a light service of a bag of nuts and bottle of water, all branded in Berjaya livery.



We arrived into the budget terminal at Changi which was the most painful part of the whole procedure as we were behind a few plane loads of tiger passengers. The good news is that with its closure in late September flights now arrive into Terminal 2 which will be far superior and very grand for our little dash aircraft!

Now that J8 flies into the main terminal, there is a lot to recommend this service for quick weekend away from SIN. However do be aware that the checked baggage allowance is 10kg, so if you plan to scuba dive, one of the island's main attractions, you'll have to come by ferry or hire on the island.