Flight Details
- Airline: Air Asia X
- Class: Business
- Route: Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Tashkent (TAS)
- Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Cheeky, cheeky, AirAsia… I love holding airlines accountable for the promises they make, and today we need to talk about what is happening over at the budget king of Asia.
I recently hopped on AirAsia X’s 7-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (TAS) in their Premium Flatbed business class. On paper, it sounds like a sweet deal: priority treatment, a lie-flat seat, food, and lounge access. But on the ground at KLIA2, I stumbled right into a cheeky little setup that I think is extremely misleading to passengers.
The Landside Lounge Trap
KLIA2 is essentially the only shopping mall in the world with an airport attached to it. After using the Fast Pass check-in counter—which ironically wasn’t fast at all — I asked the agent where the lounge was.
She casually told me, “It’s next to Burger King.”
What she conveniently forgot to mention—and what AirAsia fails to educate their customers on—is that the Plaza Premium Lounge is located LANDSIDE (before immigration and security).
In 99% of airports around the world, lounge access is located airside after you clear passport control. If you don’t know KLIA2, you do what every normal traveler does: you clear immigration, head to the gates, and look for the lounge. Once you cross that border, guess what? There is no lounge. You’re locked out of the benefit you paid for!
Unless you know to sit outside in the main departure hall before clearing security, you miss out entirely. It’s not cool, it’s super misleading, and frankly, it feels like a trick that saves the airline thousands of dollars every day when passengers inevitably miss it. AirAsia, train your staff and make this super, super clear!
Sitting in an Old Singapore Airlines Cabin
After the classic “boarding but not actually boarding” routine—where we were made to wait in a hot jet bridge for 15 minutes for reasons unknown—we finally made it on board.
If you felt like I time-traveled when looking at this cabin, you’re not alone. This aircraft is an 11-year-old Airbus A330 originally delivered to Singapore Airlines. AirAsia hasn’t refurbished it, so you are sitting in SQ’s old regional business class in a 2-2-2 setup!
It’s a bit different from AirAsia’s original proprietary flatbed, but for the price point, getting this hard product isn’t half bad. The retro SQ lavatory alone with its unique makeup mirror setup was a fun throwback!
The Bare Minimum Experience: What Happened to IFE?
One hour into the flight, it was time for the absolute star of the show: Uncle Chin’s Chicken Rice. I’ve been eating this exact airplane meal for over 15 years, and it never disappoints. It’s easily one of my favorite meals in the sky.
Unfortunately, the inflight experience took a massive nosedive right after lunch.
I looked at the seatback screen from the old SQ setup, but it was completely switched off. I asked the crew if they were handing out iPads with pre-loaded movies like they used to back in the day.
Crew: “No, we don’t do iPads anymore. That stopped about 4 or 5 years ago.”
Josh: “What about wireless streaming to our own devices?”
Crew: “No streaming either. They’ve dismantled the Wi-Fi.”
Seven hours on a flight with zero inflight entertainment, no streaming, and no Wi-Fi. If you don’t download movies to your phone beforehand, you are left reading a very boring onboard magazine or staring out the window. It’s sad to see an airline take away basic perks while prices keep going up. It’s cheap, value-driven, but definitely a bit stingy!
The Verdict
Ground Service – Priority lane was okay, but the landside lounge setup is a total scam.
The Seat – Decent comfort for the price, even if it’s an unrefurbished SQ relic.
Catering – Uncle Chin’s Chicken Rice gets a 10/10 every single time!
In-Flight Entertainment – 0/10. Completely stripped away.
At the end of the day, for the money I paid, the seat got me to Tashkent comfortably. But AirAsia needs to do better on transparency. Mr. Tony Fernandes, train your ground staff to tell passengers where the lounge actually is!
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This is it guys, wherever you’re off to, have a safe trip!
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About the Author
Josh Cahill is an award-winning Aviation YouTuber who is reportedly one of the most-watched flight reviewers on the internet. He organised Afghanistan’s first all-female flight together with Kam Air in February 2021 on a flight from Herat to Kabul for which he received the Aviation Achievement Award. His favourite hobby? Flying exotic airlines nobody has ever heard of.
