Who said flying first class had to be expensive?
You’re flying on a budget airline for a 13-hour flight? Are you sure you want to do that? I heard their seats are cramped and uncomfortable and service is terrible. Why don’t you travel on a traditional airline instead?
The premium seats fold out to a flat bed position and offer lots of leg room. This was the feedback I received from friends and acquaintances when I told them that I was planning to fly AirAsiaX to London. The irony of it was that these comments were from people who have only flown on short-haul AirAsia flights.
“But I have a tight budget,” I lamented. “How bad can it be?”
After checking out the rates of other airlines, I discovered that the flight tickets were quite reasonable compared to what they were a few years before. Competition is certainly healthy and we customers are the ones who benefit the most.
To my surprise, the Premium seats on AirAsiaX were just a couple of hundred ringgit more than the economy seats on traditional airlines so I thought why not? I’d rather pay a little extra if I can travel in comfort. And the flight is direct too. There would be no time wasted in transit.
The only drawback of flying on a budget airline is that nothing is given free. You have to pay for your check-in luggage, meals and entertainment.
Let’s talk about the seats. There are 30 Premium seats spaced out nicely in three rows. The seats are wide and spacious, especially for a small person like me. There are buttons at the side that allow you to raise the leg rest, activate the lumbar support and recline the chair.
I was amazed at how much the seat could recline. It goes to almost a flat bed position. I was a bit concerned that it would disturb the passenger behind me but there was ample space.
Like meals and entertainment, you have to pay extra for the Comfort Kit which is RM25. The flight attendant said that the management would be changing their current seats to a flatbed type in January next year for the Airbus A330s and in June for the A340s.
“Changing it to flatbeds means reducing the number of seats available, but increasing the comfort space for the passengers,’’ she added.
Can’t wait to try that out.
It’s very important to keep yourself hydrated during a flight. But what if you dread waking the person next to you just to go to the toilet?
Can‘t fly without entertainment? Movies on the ePlayer — a portable entertainment unit available on the Airbus A340 — cost RM30. I didn’t have any problems at all because there was so much leg space I could just walk around the person next to me.
Meals are served twice during the flight, once just slightly after take off and the next, two hours before landing. You can choose to have a Malaysian, international or vegetarian meal and there’s up to 20% discount if you pre-book your meals online.
You have to pay for your Comfort Kit (RM25) as well, which includes an inflatable neck pillow, a blanket and suede eyeshades. I didn’t find the neck pillow comfortable but the blanket was cosy and the eyeshades did its job blocking out the light.
I was getting bored after three hours of flying so I decided to check out their entertainment. There are two types available, the Xcite, a built-in screen on the back of the headrest which is available on the new A330s and the ePlayer, a portable unit available on the A340s. Both cost RM30 to operate.
Seat buttons that ease your transition to slumberland. As I was flying in an A340, only the portable unit was available. It had international and local movies, TV series, music and games. Selection was limited with the latest movies being Angels & Demons, Indiana Jones IV and The Proposal.
Jeffrey Hu, 22, an accountant flying back to London for work, said that it was his first time flying in XL seats.
“I’ve always flown economy but since the Premium seats were more or less the same price as the economy seats on traditional airlines, I decided to try it instead. The seats here are really comfortable and there is plenty of leg space,” says Hu.
He was also fascinated with the entertainment unit as he had much lower expectations.
“You would expect a budget airline not to have the latest facilities because of the price we pay but I was pleasantly surprised. I think it’s quite innovative and smart. They have limited units but they can work on that in the future.
British businessman Peter Lewis, 45, says that he chooses to fly in Premium seats as he needs to be fresh for his meetings when he lands.
“I have business in Malaysia and I travel frequently to Kuala Lumpur for meetings. My meetings are scheduled very tightly, sometimes, just a few hours after I land. Therefore, it is very important that I am well-rested before,” says Lewis.
Lewis flies with a budget airline because he runs his own company and does not want to spend excessively on business class seats.
“I have to watch my company’s expenses so flying AirAsiaX is a smart choice for me. The only drawback is that you have to pay for additional comfort,’’ he says.
It was certainly a good flight for me as I arrived in London fresh and well-rested too. I didn’t have jetlag at all because I slept most of the way. It’s definitely a worthwhile investment if you value comfort.
Now who said you can’t fly luxury on a budget?
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