I haven’t written a trip report for many years, hence I thought I should contribute to the forum that I so much love, after all this time. Especially having met and made two friends just from enjoying their trip reports!
Background:
A last minute trip to UK was decided on, for pleasure… Being that I’ve just started a new business and have VERY limited funds at the moment I couldn’t justify the $7-$10k outlay for a full service business class flight. However nor was I prepared to slug it in Y for 22 hours to LHR! As such I was on the prowl for a happy medium… Having heard about Air Asia X’s new ‘lie flat’ seats I priced up a return journey PER-KUL-STN (YES STANSTED!!! EEEK) at approx $3300 AUD – bargain!
Thus the flight was booked for two weeks 16th May to 30th May PER-KUL-STN-KUL-PER
Outbound:
Let me start by saying I’m no morning person… in fact, I’m a decidedly anti morning person… So much so that I quite often don’t rise before midday even on a work day (yes I love being self employed) hence the concept of a 6.50am departure with its attached 3.50am wakeup really concerned me and was something I’d not endured since I was a child…. It was horrific… but enough of the self pity - onto the report.
Taxi arrived on time – good start. The driver was a friendly chap… we shared a love of Thailand and it’s wonderful food, easy accessibility (from Perth), great climate… what I wish he hadn’t shared was his stories about him and his three 60yro mates who go there each year to be drunk, eat satay and have his unsavoury way with 20yro thai ladies… Naturally he didn’t put it quite so inoffensively.
Nightmare pictures in my head from the taxi ride aside, I arrived on time to Perth Airport and quickly remembered I was flying a LCC – no priority check in. On the upside there was a check in counter for Standsted, despite Air Asia being very implicit that they don’t ‘through check’. It seems there are a big number of people who fly from Perth to STN on AA, (almost a third of the onward flight by my calculations) so they’ve obviously decided it’s worth the extra effort to through check.
Through immigration with the obligatory explosives check, of which I haven’t missed a single one for the past five years – the joys of travelling alone I suppose.
Departures was busy but no decent food options, as expected, and no lounge access – though AA have said they’ll be providing some form of lounge access in the future. Whether or not that includes Perth remains to be seen.
Boarding was relatively efficient and I was soon sitting in the new air asia premium seat. Starting out well I thought. Comfy enough, enough leg room, friendly cabin crew. We left on time and shortly after the food came out… I’d pre paid for the meals and comfort kit etc to avoid the hassle on board. Annoyingly you’re required to present your boarding card at each meal so they can cross it off and confirm you’ve paid. WARNING – meal portion sizes are TINY. I don’t eat big meals – I prefer to snack often and in smaller amounts, however these meals came no where near to filling me… You will need a second (or third on a London sector) IMHO. The Malaysian meals were very tasty however.
As mentioned I’m definitely not a morning person so I was thoroughly wrecked by 8am, after food had been cleared. I put the bed into ‘flat’ mode and promptly fell asleep. Lucky I was so very tired as I would not have slept otherwise - this bed is rock hard. I think they forgot to put any padding in the seat whatsoever. Added to that the slope is severe (definitely worse than QF skybed MK1 IMHO). Not comfy for sleeping at all.
The rest of the flight was uneventful as I woke half an hour from KUL. We disembarked by stairs, and walked to the terminal where we were left to explore the gorgeous, spacious and modern Low Cost Terminal (sarcasm noted?) I used my priority pass to access the lounge there which is basic but does the job. Food appalling but filled up on rice with chili sauce on it!
Two-and-a-bit hours later and it was time to leave for STN. Everyone else was packed into a small departure lounge where I joined and boarding was called on time. Premium guests and guests with wheelchairs/children first (take note Perth). Along the tarmac we walked to the ex air Canada A340. First impression of the (soon to be replaced) old premium cabin? Thumbs up! Space galore. HUGE legroom… The seats were well padded and very comfortable for a traditional recliner type. Even more surprising was when reclined for sleep – they go almost 180 degrees flat! It was by far more comfortable than the ‘new’ A330 seat IMO. I slept like a baby though admit to being hungry due to the small food portion sizes. Annoyingly I’d also spent all my ringgit on red wine so couldn’t order more food!
Flight again was on time and the cabin crew were sufficiently friendly and helpful (though definitely not of a SQ/MH/QF quality) Arrival in Stansted was simple enough though took an eternity for the bags to come.
London, as always, was amazing. I am already planning the next trip probably for September.
I am currently sitting in the KUL LCCT Plaza premium lounge where I’ve written this report. The first leg back from STN was perfectly fine and again I slept well in the old Air Canada business class (this would have been an industry leading product in it’s day!).
Summary:
AAX premium offers a good value for money product which provides good comfort without the frills. Would I do it again? Probably Would I do it if I could get a full service J carrier for $6k AUD? No…
Pros:
Value for money
A340 Seat (soon to be removed)
Good flight attendants
On Time Flights
Tasty (but far to small) food
Cons:
IFE units are cough
Stansted and KUL LCCT are basic and don’t offer what most discerning travelers want
New A330 seat is way too hard and angled
Lacks refinement of a true ‘J’ product
Sketchy priority treatment – offered in STN but not PER?!
Sorry for lack of photos – lost my camera the day before I left for the trip and my iPhone photo skills are severely lacking.
Background:
A last minute trip to UK was decided on, for pleasure… Being that I’ve just started a new business and have VERY limited funds at the moment I couldn’t justify the $7-$10k outlay for a full service business class flight. However nor was I prepared to slug it in Y for 22 hours to LHR! As such I was on the prowl for a happy medium… Having heard about Air Asia X’s new ‘lie flat’ seats I priced up a return journey PER-KUL-STN (YES STANSTED!!! EEEK) at approx $3300 AUD – bargain!
Thus the flight was booked for two weeks 16th May to 30th May PER-KUL-STN-KUL-PER
Outbound:
Let me start by saying I’m no morning person… in fact, I’m a decidedly anti morning person… So much so that I quite often don’t rise before midday even on a work day (yes I love being self employed) hence the concept of a 6.50am departure with its attached 3.50am wakeup really concerned me and was something I’d not endured since I was a child…. It was horrific… but enough of the self pity - onto the report.
Taxi arrived on time – good start. The driver was a friendly chap… we shared a love of Thailand and it’s wonderful food, easy accessibility (from Perth), great climate… what I wish he hadn’t shared was his stories about him and his three 60yro mates who go there each year to be drunk, eat satay and have his unsavoury way with 20yro thai ladies… Naturally he didn’t put it quite so inoffensively.
Nightmare pictures in my head from the taxi ride aside, I arrived on time to Perth Airport and quickly remembered I was flying a LCC – no priority check in. On the upside there was a check in counter for Standsted, despite Air Asia being very implicit that they don’t ‘through check’. It seems there are a big number of people who fly from Perth to STN on AA, (almost a third of the onward flight by my calculations) so they’ve obviously decided it’s worth the extra effort to through check.
Through immigration with the obligatory explosives check, of which I haven’t missed a single one for the past five years – the joys of travelling alone I suppose.
Departures was busy but no decent food options, as expected, and no lounge access – though AA have said they’ll be providing some form of lounge access in the future. Whether or not that includes Perth remains to be seen.
Boarding was relatively efficient and I was soon sitting in the new air asia premium seat. Starting out well I thought. Comfy enough, enough leg room, friendly cabin crew. We left on time and shortly after the food came out… I’d pre paid for the meals and comfort kit etc to avoid the hassle on board. Annoyingly you’re required to present your boarding card at each meal so they can cross it off and confirm you’ve paid. WARNING – meal portion sizes are TINY. I don’t eat big meals – I prefer to snack often and in smaller amounts, however these meals came no where near to filling me… You will need a second (or third on a London sector) IMHO. The Malaysian meals were very tasty however.
As mentioned I’m definitely not a morning person so I was thoroughly wrecked by 8am, after food had been cleared. I put the bed into ‘flat’ mode and promptly fell asleep. Lucky I was so very tired as I would not have slept otherwise - this bed is rock hard. I think they forgot to put any padding in the seat whatsoever. Added to that the slope is severe (definitely worse than QF skybed MK1 IMHO). Not comfy for sleeping at all.
The rest of the flight was uneventful as I woke half an hour from KUL. We disembarked by stairs, and walked to the terminal where we were left to explore the gorgeous, spacious and modern Low Cost Terminal (sarcasm noted?) I used my priority pass to access the lounge there which is basic but does the job. Food appalling but filled up on rice with chili sauce on it!
Two-and-a-bit hours later and it was time to leave for STN. Everyone else was packed into a small departure lounge where I joined and boarding was called on time. Premium guests and guests with wheelchairs/children first (take note Perth). Along the tarmac we walked to the ex air Canada A340. First impression of the (soon to be replaced) old premium cabin? Thumbs up! Space galore. HUGE legroom… The seats were well padded and very comfortable for a traditional recliner type. Even more surprising was when reclined for sleep – they go almost 180 degrees flat! It was by far more comfortable than the ‘new’ A330 seat IMO. I slept like a baby though admit to being hungry due to the small food portion sizes. Annoyingly I’d also spent all my ringgit on red wine so couldn’t order more food!
Flight again was on time and the cabin crew were sufficiently friendly and helpful (though definitely not of a SQ/MH/QF quality) Arrival in Stansted was simple enough though took an eternity for the bags to come.
London, as always, was amazing. I am already planning the next trip probably for September.
I am currently sitting in the KUL LCCT Plaza premium lounge where I’ve written this report. The first leg back from STN was perfectly fine and again I slept well in the old Air Canada business class (this would have been an industry leading product in it’s day!).
Summary:
AAX premium offers a good value for money product which provides good comfort without the frills. Would I do it again? Probably Would I do it if I could get a full service J carrier for $6k AUD? No…
Pros:
Value for money
A340 Seat (soon to be removed)
Good flight attendants
On Time Flights
Tasty (but far to small) food
Cons:
IFE units are cough
Stansted and KUL LCCT are basic and don’t offer what most discerning travelers want
New A330 seat is way too hard and angled
Lacks refinement of a true ‘J’ product
Sketchy priority treatment – offered in STN but not PER?!
Sorry for lack of photos – lost my camera the day before I left for the trip and my iPhone photo skills are severely lacking.
