London with Air Asia X

People raise their eye brows and follow on with plenty of questions whenever I announce that I flew on Air Asia X on my trip back to KL this time. Sympathy comes through their face as if I've lost a limb in a war.


But their reactions are completely understandable. For the past few years, Air Asia X have been known to provide cheap and new flights in exchange for uncomfortable black leather seats and outward bound school treatment by the cabin staff. So the assumption that I went through the same treatment for 14 hours must have surprised them. In fact, the two FAQs to me were on legroom and service.

My experience with Air Asia X flight to and from London was completely different. It was more pleasant than I expected. One of the reasons the London flight was more comfortable than other Air Asia X flights was because of the aircraft. I read that the aircraft was leased from full service Air Canada for a year to test the viability of the route.

The Oakland Raiders Air Asia X aircraft.

When it was time for boarding, I saw for the first time the hideous aircraft we were boarding in. You don't know how embarrassing I felt as a Malaysian to know that this "chav" design aircraft was going to land in London! It's like knowing the guy on the street in a yellow tank top, with a scarlet feather scarf around his neck and in tight pink jeans, a pair of orange socks and light green leather shoes, is your cousin. I was prepared to betray Air Asia and announce that it's a Singaporean-owned company should I be asked if it was actually Malaysian.

Anyway I have some photos taken during my flight back to London:

For a start, the legroom was much better than I expected. To provide a meaningful description of the space in my seat, I have taken The Star newspaper as a measure of the legroom.

A good half-foot space available

Then there's the adjustable headrest

I have pre-booked my meals. Two meals were served - the first, one hour after take off, and the second three hours before landing. Don't expect to be filled up by the meal box. They are served in calculator-sized boxes. You can estimate the size of the mealbox by looking at my mobile phone case placed next to it.

First meal

Second meal

I took the international meal option on my trip back to KL. They served lasagne on the first meal and pasta on the second. In hindsight, it was surprising no one was killed eating that sort of stuff. It was the worst flight meal I've ever eaten. I'm glad I took the Asian option on my trip back to London.

If you're not filled up, you can buy an extra. But I was quite put off by the size and indiscriminate charging of the mealbox. For example, it cost me RM12 for Pak Nasser's nasi lemak on my flight to Taipei but the same thing cost RM36 (£6) on my flight to London! That's a complete rip-off! Don't get me wrong, I am not against paying £6 for a plate of nasi lemak and Pak Nasser's nasi lemak is up to mark. I've paid more in London and they satiate me. It's the size and two-pricing arrangements that I am against.

Flight menu and price discrepancy

In terms of service, I think they have improved a lot since I flew with them to Hong Kong. There were smiles most of the time. The cabin crew were also friendly and polite throughout the flight.

Another drawback is the lack of in-flight entertainment. As you can see from the photo below, the personal visual display units have been taken out of the seats. You can rent their entertainment kit for £6.


All in all, it was a pleasant flight. 14 hours is not a long flight if you can sleep most of the time or have a book to read in the absence of in-flight entertainment. But these sacrifices and the inconveniences of traveling to Stansted (which is a setback) for the flight must come with a lower fare price.

I don't think I am asking too much for the price they are currently charging. If I remember, they are supposed to be a no-frills airline! To justify my argument, I checked recently on Emirates doing £400, MAS £500 and Air Asia £404 (w/o meals and checked-in luggage) for a return ticket to KL. The first two flies out from Heathrow and Air Asia from Stansted. At the current price, I struggle to find a reason to fly with Air Asia except that I save two hours by not transiting in Dubai. But that's marginal difference. Therefore Air Asia's fares must go lower. I would start paying attention to anything near £300ish inclusive of meals and checked-in luggage.

Friendly cabin crew

Air Asia X is now the second airline company that flies direct to Kuala Lumpur from London. The first is Malaysia Airlines. If Air Asia X can offer more competitive fares than MAS and other full service flights, I wouldn't mind flying with them again. For now, I need to stop flying back to Malaysia and start exploring Europe. That's why I am based here in the first place!