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Intra-Asia 2015 Part 2: Air Asia X Revisit

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  • Intra-Asia 2015 Part 2: Air Asia X Revisit

    Intra-Asia 2015 Part 2: Air Asia X Revisit

    I have actually written about Air Asia X before, and flew their inaugural to Nagoya about a year ago. Sadly that flight is actually cancelled now. Anyway, I have to fly from KL to Taipei and have originally issued an award ticket on CX via Hong Kong. But then I found this $270USD oneway ticket from KL to Taipei on Air Asia X, which allowed me to fly nonstop and enjoyed a few more hours in Taoyuan. When I stepped onboard, the service was actually just average, but since it was a pretty light flight, I managed to snap many picture. That’s why I decide to write a short report on flying Air Asia X now renamed “business” class and klia2 international flying experience.

    April 21, 2015
    D7 372 KUL-TPE Lv1000 Arr1440 Airbus A330-300E 9M-XXG


    I did online check in fourteen days prior to departure and printed out my boarding pass, since I did not have any baggage to check-in. However, you still need to go to either premium check-in or “document check” line to verify your passport and visa situation prior to entering the boarding gate. As a business class passenger, I choose to use the premium check-in line, which was empty at these early hours with little D7 flights. The agent just printed me a real boarding pass (not the supermarket receipt type) and wished me a present flight to Taipei.

    I did not need to wait long for going through immigration, and there is a custom check prior to entering immigration. For international flights, there are three possible piers: L, P & Q. Pier L is the closest one without the need to cross the Air Bridge, but basically only serves narrowbody flights and some non-Air Asia flights. There is a Plaza Premium lounge near L2, but since each pier has its own individualized security checkpoint, it is too much hassle to go through security check for Pier L just for a lounge visit. I really klia2 really needs to address this situation, and Air Asia X according to the inflight magazine will introduce lounge access soon, so I guess they either have to put a lounge at each pier, especially P & Q, in which all the long haul flights use or locate the lounge in the central area between P & Q now.

    Anyway, I headed straight to Pier Q. I spotted 9M-XXM resting here at tarmac, and it has the updated livery.


    When I arrived near my gate Q4 around 8:30am, I did not see a plane, but when I turned on my flightradar app, I saw a few D7 flights heading into KLIA. 9M-XXG was arriving from Beijing, and I immediately knew it was the plane being used on my flight to Taipei today. The plane parked at 8:45am.






    Gate was already opened by 9am and there were two to three agents checking passport and admitting passengers to the secured gate area. I stayed around in the outside area a bit longer and used the facility first. Around 9:15am, I entered the gate area and the friendly agent immediately pointed out that there was a priority seating area for business class and express boarding passengers.






    At 9:26am, boarding began, and I was the first business class passenger boarding the flight. I wasted no time in snapping away. A F/A was greeting passengers at the entrance, and they were all young and well groomed. There were two rows of business class, and I think I still prefer row 1 especially I like window seats in general. There are still spaces for me to use the restroom without bothering my neighbor.

  • #2
    Few more pictures of business class cabin:




    Bulkhead seats for business class



    Directly behind business class was the Quiet Zone of the economy class cabin. It was lightly loaded too and not too many passengers were willing to pay for these seats. Anyway, here are a few more pictures! 3-3-3 in economy look super tight and I don’t think I will buy tickets for this cabin.





    Bulkhead row – hot seats with extra legroom


    A quick description of the business class seat:


    Power Port of course

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    • #3
      Shoe storage bin


      Literature storage bin – there is no built in IFE and you can rent some individual entertainment players.
      Here is a description of the IFE to rent:


      All the reading literature – magazine, duty free, menu, and safety card


      No IFE of course, but you can rent this entertainment player



      Towards the end, five other passengers joined me in the business class cabin and I got an empty seat next to me. Some passengers were asking about upgrades during boarding, but no one bought an upgrade. I guess the load in Y was pretty low too.

      Pre-takeoff beverage: bottled water


      Door was closed early at 9:48am, and we pushed back four minutes later.

      Goodbye KLIA2


      We slowly taxied towards R/W33 and took off at 10:03am for this four hours and twenty-seven minutes flight.
      Passing KLIA after takeoff




      Our flight route took us over Karak, Sungai Tong, and Merang, before reaching 41,000feet. We headed towards Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon and then Buon Ma Thout before descending to 39,000feet. Then we entered the Taiwanese airspace at 37,000feet and passing Chiayi and cruising along the West Coast of Taiwan. We were held over Hsinchu for a while, due to ATC congestion and TPE is down to single runway due to repairs on the other one. Taoyuan airport will face ATC delay for the rest of the year, as the other runway won’t reopened till shortly before Chinese New Year.

      After takeoff, the F/A passed out pillow and duvet to J passengers, and they were comfortable.


      Then they passed out a tray of mango juice, and followed up with meal orders. I ordered two meals – big breakfast and chicken teriyaki. I chose to have the big breakfast first, and then chicken teriyaki when they did their final service. Many passengers in business class chose to have their meals prior to arrival.

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      • #4
        Here is a photo of Big Breakfast in the menu:


        Here is what I got:






        Honestly it was too dramatically different, except that yogurt was not offered and replaced by fresh fruit in mint syrup! A nicer croissant replaced the boring bread roll! It seems that all passengers receive their meals with fresh fruit bowl, a croissant, and a kit kat.

        Omelet was filled with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, and came with a side of button mushrooms, chicken sausage, potato hash brown, and baked beans. The meal was pretty filling and tasted pretty good.

        Tea and coffee were also offered, and I had a cup of tea. The F/As then began their services in economy class after completing our business class first meal service. With only half of us choosing to eat first, the service was done quickly.


        After the meal I snapped a few picture of the seats in recline and full flat positions.







        For the rest of the flight, I watched my own television shows in my laptop – I was catching up with my Voice UK episodes. The power outlet looked perfectly. Soon we hit some moderate chop, which lasted for the rest of the flight.

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        • #5
          Hit some rough chop – a quick look out of the window


          The final meal service began about fifty-five minutes prior to arrival. It was a bit rushed, as descent started a bit earlier than expected. The F/As wasted no time in passing this meal tray. I decided to try the Chicken Teriyaki meal, which was a bit disappointing. It was nice that they separated out the chicken in a separate tin foil, but they lacked sauce. The meal came with an apple juice, fruit salad, croissant, a pineapple tart, and kit kat. The last two items was part of the “Maximize the meal” package that I have purchased. I saved the sweets for later, as the descent was pretty rough.








          Approaching Taoyuan


          We soon landed on R/W5R at 2:30pm and parked at gate A6 at 2:37pm.



          The flight attendants on today’s flight were not particularly outstanding like the inaugural flights, but were in general cordial, efficient, and polite. They all seemed pretty happy working for Air Asia X.

          In conclusion, it was a pretty nice experience, and for less than $300USD one way, I got a comfortable ride on an Air Asia A330 with lie flat seats, which are better than all these other regional business class seats offered by BR, CI, and MH on their A330s and narrowbody fleet. There is not much to discuss in terms of ground experience, but at least the inflight service was comparable. The catering is still economy class, but for that price, it is okay. I will not hesitate to fly Air Asia X again.

          The next part will be about a brand new LCC based in Taiwan, V Air!

          Carfield

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          • #6
            Interesting thanks - looks OK. Doesn't look to be much foot room with the seat reclined?

            Is the catering complimentary?

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            • #7
              Yikes, 9-abreast A330! X means no for me!

              But Air Asia (Without the X) looks very appealing, though...

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              • #8
                Thanks for the report! Catering while could be presented nicer, but I think it should be quite tasty, just like AK's.

                Yes. Yikes 9 abreast! I did try AirAsia-X from SYD when they launched with the 105 fare in '12 I think. And my goodness, the 9 abreast Y combined with sitting next to an OZ man, is no joke. I was in an aisle seat and I was getting bumped from either side. After that trip, it was no more AAX Y for me.

                Didn't get the chance to try AAX Premium so far because for the routes I fly and the timeframe I buy my tickets (2 weeks), 2nd-tier J class airlines are just slightly more expensive and have better timetables. For lounge and FFP, I usually choose the latter. Maybe someday I will get the chance.

                How would you compare the seat comfort to say the last generation lie-flats like AA's?

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                • #9
                  Thanks for all your kind comments!

                  Catering - there is one free meal included, and you can order/prebook/pay for a second meal.

                  It is a sliding lie flat seat, but is a bit better than AA's angled lie flat seats. They are a bit better in terms of the angle. I prefer row 1!

                  Carfield

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Carfield View Post
                    It is a sliding lie flat seat, but is a bit better than AA's angled lie flat seats. They are a bit better in terms of the angle. I prefer row 1!
                    I'd agree. They're awful on the 75L, 763 and barely tolerable on the 777.

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