Premium Flat Bed Air Asia X Airbus A330 -Flightdeck Review
-AirAsia X Airbus A330 premium -flat bed from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok
Flight Deck Review
About the AirAsia X Flatbed
One of the unique features on AirAsia X is their Premium Flatbeds which have more space and provide one of the best low cost high quality seats in the sky. What they offer in comparison to their key competitor in this category, is to be able to lie flat with a complimentary pillow, duvet and complimentary meal.
With Air Asia Premium flatbeds are located up front of their widebody A330 aircraft, which are very popular with Australian travellers and they are often priced similar or even lower during special sales than an economy seat on a full service airline.”
“In terms of the business proposition it is based around price sensitivity – if you fly business class with Qantas or Singapore Airlines they are piling all the additonal costs and fuss of offering extra premium food and wines services and delivery etc.,but for AirAsiaX in contrast ,..all these frills are not deemed neccessary or included, …so basically what they focus on is simple ,… making sure you get a good night’s sleep and get a good value fare!”
Air AsiaX aircraft Airbus A-330
So what is the offering on AirAsia X Premium Flatbed-What is the Deal?
- Premium dedicated flatbed check in counter for vip service.
- Priority boarding.
- Priority baggage for collection on arrival.
- A spacious seat in a private premium flatbed zone which reclines to become a full flatbed or to an adjustable level as desired.
- Depending on the route and based on demand there are 12 or 18 Premium Flatbeds available.
- Privacy screen, foldaway table, adjustable head and footrest, pillow and duvet, reading light and universal power port.
- Up to 40kg of checked luggage as well as carry on allowance.
- Complimentary meal of the guests’ choice from our Santan menu plus a bottle of water.
- Additional meals/beverages available on request for purchase.
- Complimentary travel insurance on baggage delay & 1 hour on-time guarantee protection by Tune Protect.
- Unlimited flight changes up to two hours before your original departure time and four hours prior to your new departure time, subject to any applicable fare difference.
Actual Air Asia X Capsule Seating image taken by Flight Crew for Review author Axel Ritenis
Actual Air Asia X Flatbed image taken by Flight Review author Axel Ritenis
FLIGHT DECK REVIEW :
Reason for offering Premium Flatbeds?
“Because AirAsia X is all about providing the best value and choice for their guests as part of their mission,..products and services continuously evolve based on consumer demand. With AirAsia X business philosophy,..you pay for what you need and save on what you don’t need,.. so you have more in your pocket when you get to your destination.
As a value airline they cater to all travellers, from business to leisure and so the Premium Flatbeds were always an option since their very first flight from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast in November 2007.”
Then in 2013 AAX implemented another exclusive Quiet Zone located directly behind the Premium Flatbeds where passengers travelling with infants and children under the age of 12 who can be noisy,..are not permitted to book.
TRAVEL ITINERARY & THE FLIGHT
Flight 1 Sunday 20 August being the Thai AirAsia X from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok on board an Airbus A330-300.
Seating: Premium lie-flat seat 1H (aisle).
On board Meal: Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak
Drinks: Mineral Water (250ml) and I did order and pay for a Mocktail on board delicious ,..but declined to order from the now extensive range of Beers, Spirits and Wines
Checked baggage: 40kg
Flight time approximately 2 hours.
*There was no redemption of AirAsia Points for this flight as the passenger was a guest of the airline.However Points can be earned with a range of other airlines if booked through AirAsia’s app or website.
CHECK IN
Check in was potentially fraught with problems as I arrived late at KLIA (the Kuala Lumpur International Airport) as my pre-arranged Taxi pickup at the Ormond Chowkit Hotel in Central Kuala Lumpur did not arrive due to access being denied by local police because of a local Community Fun run and street blockages. Consequently I had to make a run for it by taking the MonoRail to Sentral Station and then hastily boarding the KLIA Airport Ekspress.
On arrival at the Air Asia check in zone ,..I was pleased to get Priority check in Services as Premium Flatbed passengers have their own check-in line and fortunately there is no one in front of me.. The last remaining hurdle was the Malaysian Immigration and Customs,..but fortunately the queues weren’t too long and I managed to comply with the formalities of flight departure expediently and the officials didn’t manage to slow me down..Thank God and a bit of good luck for that!..
Before I knew it,.. I was ready to board the massive Airbus A-330 and fortunately Premium lie-flat passengers have their own Priority Boarding line and here again there were only several passengers using the Flat Bed service that day,..so my boarding and welcome was pretty amazing and I was starting to feel like a VIP.
THE SEAT
AirAsia X’s premium seats are similar to what used to be business class seats on numerous other airlines. They are arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration,which makes for a quite roomy with 152 centimetres of pitch (real seat length) and 50 centimetres wide. The big selling point , however, is that they convert to a genuine lie-flat bed – not something other budget airlines’ premium seats offer. In fairness ,..it is not quite at the level of comfort and service you’d get in a business class “package “provided at a much higher cost by full-service airlines like Qantas or Singapore Airlines but the big advantage is the seat is not on a slight downward angle but entirely Flat!t
All things considered for a budget airline, this is exceptional and the AirAsia FlatBed is about as good as a seat gets and very comfy!
BAGGAGE
Premium lie-flat passengers get a generous 40 kilograms of check-in baggage but hand luggage is still limited to one bag up to seven kilograms in weight but in view of Priority Boarding and service don’t expect to be checked or scrutinized.
ENTERTAINMENT
Unfortunatley Air Asia really doesn’t currently offer Entertainment packages or In Flight entertainment,..so it. is pretty much bring your own. There are no inflight entertainment screens and no streaming service or Wi-Fi. Some compensation is that the flat seats do, at least, come with in seat power to ensure your devices are charged so that you can view your own videos and games
Actual Air Asia X Flight service image taken by Review author Axel Ritenis
SERVICE
Staff are super polite friendly and efficient. Prior to take off, Air Asia Premium-flat passengers get offered a time they would like their meals. This passenger ordered a delicious Mocktail and I noticed the gentlemen across the aisle appearing to enjoy several in flight drinks from the extensive Drinks selection including Fine Scotch Whiskies and Spirits and some good wines…but for my money the alchohol free cocktails were delicious. I was tempted to have a premium Beer but considering the early hour of the day and my low calorie diet I reconsidered.
Official Air Asia X image of Flight Crew
FOOD & BEVERAGE
As a matter of course ,Premium flatbed class comes with a meal and drink included. A bottle of water was waiting for m, while my pre-ordered meal is Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak with rice. The presentation is without any pretence of fine dining but just a typical airlines plastic meal container – but the meal itself was tasty enough and had all the right spices.. There were no accompaniments. Additional hot meals can be ordered depending on availability for around 35 MRY and, given the meals are on the small side,and cheap order up if you wish!
SERVCE AVAILIBILTY
– AirAsia X is the Malaysian based medium haul airline in the AirAsia Group which flies from Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Perth direct to Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia X also flies from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, Japan, India, South Korea, China, Kazakhstan and more with services that can be found affordably to fly from Kuala Lumpur on the vast AirAsia Group of airlines spanning over 130 destinations throughout Asia and beyond.
– Thai AirAsia X is relatively new to the Australian market and flies direct from Sydney to Bangkok and onto Japan and more from Bangkok.
– Combined, both AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia x fly nearly 40 services with Premium Flatbeds on board every week from Australia.
VERDICT
This is not a business class experience, but you get what you pay for – and what you pay for here is a lie-flat seat and the chance to get some sleep on a long flight at about 40 per cent less than what you’d pay for a business class seat on a full-service carrier.
OUR RATING OUT OF 10
As the flight guest on a short (experinetial) Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok flight ,…I would rate this flight and experience as a 9.0 (on a scale of 0 to 10),.. because of the sheer advantage of actually being able to stretch out in the capsule and the potential for deep and refreshing sleep …In view of the quiet zone and the minimal fussing with Business Class type services like constant provision of alcoholic beverages and perhaps excessive “over the top service culture” ,..I feel sure and I am personally convinced that if I had in fact been on the Bangkok to Sydney Flight in the AirAsia X Premium Flatbed ,. I feel sure I would have been able to sleep for the duration of the flight and wake up at 06.00 am at the Sydney or Melbourne destination in a refreshed and energetic physical state for my arrival back in Australia,.. so that I could potentially “hit the ground running” after embarkation,.. and attend any business engagements fully compus mentas and in good shape to perform adequately!
The writer Axel Ritenis, Editor of the Sydney TImes ,..flew as a guest of AirAsia X.
