Airasia Flight 101

I am a frequent flyer of Airasia (QZ and AK). I fly with Airasia at least twice a month. So far I am satisfied with their service, although some cabin crews may not be friendly nor service oriented (once I saw a rude cabin crew in an AK flights-operated by Malaysia Airasia). But mostly the crews are fine. I once saw how the  cabin crews were so patiently handling a very annoying passenger, and could still manage to serve the passengers nicely afterward (thumbs up for these two QZ cabin crews-I forgot their names).  

They don’t delay often (sometimes they do but not for long. The longest delay time I experienced was 90 minutes because the previous flight was not permitted to landing due to weather reason, and they gave snacks after 1 hour delay while we were at the waiting room).

Based on my personal experiences, here are several tips to fly comfortably with Airasia:

1. Check the websites frequently to get best price, they have special price at unexpected times. If for the dates you need to travel Aisasia no longer have promo price, you might want to check other airlines. Sometimes non low cost airlines can offer lower price than regular price ticket of a low cost airline. Sometimes, annoyingly, the ticket fare can be more expensive if you buy months in advanced than if you buy only a few days in advanced.
   
2. Apply for BigshotID. The application process is simple, only by filling a form. By applying for BigshotID, for every purchase you make, you will get points which can be redeemed with flight ticket.
   
3. If you don’t plan to bring a lot of baggage, you don’t have to pay for a check-in baggage. Cabin baggage is restricted to maximum 7kg of a bag (dimension around 56 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm ) plus one laptop bag/handbag.
   
4. Unless you need more space, it is not quite necessarily needed to choose your seat. Seat number 1 to 5, 12 and 14 are hot seats. When you are on board after takeoff, you can move to other empty seat from your regular seat if you find it more comfortable, except those hot seats. Seats on row 11 (and maybe 12) cannot be reclined due to the emergency exit location.
   
5. If the travel time is more than two hours, maybe you want to consider buying a prebook meal. It is cheaper (up to 20%) than buying on board, has more variety, and comes with a cup of mineral water (about 100ml only). My favourite meal is Nasi Padang Combo (only available in QZ flights operated by Indonesia Air Asia). My other favourite menus are Chicken Satay and Asian Fried Rice (served with chicken satay). Nasi lemak Pak Nasser is so so, if you like nasi lemak you can try it. For non-rice menu, Blackpepper chicken is also a fine selection. The pizza is too small, and the pancake’s texture is too crumbled so I don’t recommend those two. If you order a prebook meal, place your boarding pass in your pocket or in places that are easy to reach, because the crew will need to stamp your boarding pass before hand over the meal to you.
   
6. If you don’t have check-in baggage, use web check-in facility or self check-in machine at the airport to avoid long queue of the check-in counter. You can check-in at the airport or using your smartphone and then use the check-in machine to scan the barcode sent to your phone and have your boarding pass printed.
   
7. On board before takeoff, always pay full attention to the aircrew when they are showing the safety procedure. Ask for infant life-vest if you travel with an infant. Remember that all the electronic devices are supposed to be off (not on flight mode) when takeoff and landing. If you are planning to use your mobile phone after takeoff, switch it to flight mode before turning the phone off.
   
8. Read ‘travel 3sixty’ magazine to kill time if you find it difficult to sleep on board. It is located on your seat pocket. They have new edition every month. My favourite article is ‘Pilot’s Perspective’ by Captain Lim Khoy Hing.