Review of Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong in Economy

#7 out of 21 Low-cost airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 122 reviews

By AirCanada881 5116

Published on 2nd December 2013

GOING OFF THE GRID PART 7

Itinerary
1. 07 August 2013 - BUD-IST Y http://flight-report.com/en/report-4805.html
2. 08 August 2013 - IST-HKG W http://flight-report.com/en/report-4817.html
3. 10 August 2013 – HKG-CEB Y- http://flight-report.com/en/report-4915.html
4. 21 August 2013 - CEB-CGM Y- http://flight-report.com/fr/report-5627.html
5. 31 August 2013 - CEB-MNL Y- http://flight-report.com/en/report-5649.html
6. 31 August 2013 - MNL-KUL Y- http://flight-report.com/en/report-5656.html
7. 02 September 2013 - KUL-HKG Y- YOU ARE HERE
8. 03 September 2013 - HKG-IST W To be published
9. 04 September 2013 - IST-VIE Y To be published

After a rather short (too short) visit in Kuala Lumpur, the honeymoon was already reaching its end, I was sad to leave Asia. As my first time this far East, I can only say that Asia is under rated to the max, and those who don't want to go there are missing out their life big time. I cannot wait to go back and visit other countries, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, so many possibilities!!

The good news was that I Still had 3 flights to look forward to, and most importantly a return flight on my new favorite airline, in comfort class, thanks to 007, my mentor :-D And also one last night in HK + almost one full day there

We did not have the time to get acquainted well enough with KL so we decided to not take any chances and take a taxi but I was afraid of getting ripped off. The day before I had posted a message on Trip Advisor and someone gave me number for this taxi driver; I called and booked. I can say at this point in time that I was extremely grateful for such websites, not only did I get a great deal (75 RM to LCCT), but I got to meet one of the nicest, oddest; funniest and most talkative woman in my life. This drivers was in her sixties and I had never seen so much commitment in my life to such a job. Se was truly a blessing and I can only recommend you book with her if you need a taxi in KL, just contact me and I'll give you her number.

We arrived at the airport about 90 minutes before the flight. Lots of people already there.

Air Asia is the predominant carrier here and it shows, check in was seamless and our bags were tagged to Hong-Kong, we had a bit of time so we headed to McDonald's for lunch

Our flight left from the domestic terminal for some reason

I guess McDonald's is popular everywhere

I won't bore you with a picture of our selection :) We had to hurry abit as it seemed Air Asia is nothing like Cebu Pacific in the sense that their flights tend to leave on time, if not early!

Our boarding passes. Interestingly enough these were printed back in Panglao Island in the Philippines, we were a long ways from there now!

AK Territory and it shows, since they only operate 1 type of aircraft I guess differentiating the liveries was necessary

Malay is definitely an interesting language

Sweet a 747!

Here's our bird to HK!

Engine closeup

Last few seconds on Malay soil :(

Front row seats again for a small premium, the flight would be about 70% full

Pitch

Cabin filling up

Door L1

We were all on board by 16:20, the doors closed and we pushed back ahead of schedule

KLIA control tower

First time my eyes lay upon an EK A380, albeit a bit distant!

The other side of the apron is Malaysian land :)

Some cargo ships

Takeoff roll

The ground looks interesting

Does anyone know if this is KL? I couldn't tell but it looked like a large suburban area so I presumed so

The captain came on to make an annoucement, in Malay first and then in English; he sounded much more normal than our 5J friend :-P

As we had lunch not long ago, and I had preordered some food on board, I Asked the FA if we could have our food later to which she responded absolutely with a big smile, sweet!

Here's what AK offers for in flight purchase. In my opinion the prices were pretty reasonable

I enjoyed looking out the window seeing the clouds pass by

The population demographic on board was mainly Asian. And right behind us were sitting 3 ladies in their 50's, who ummm seemed to have runny noses. But never did they handle the problem, except by sniffing. So for 2 hours we got to listen to each one in turn go snifffffff with a nose so full, it was really disgusting :( At some point they pressed the call button to hail the FA''s; me and my wife were thinking that FINALLY they would be asking for tissues to blow their noses, NOPE, they just wanted some water… So we got fed up and noticed that some rows behind us were empty so we packed our stuff and made our way to the middle of the bus

Cabin

I remember one member on here mentioning hot FA's were keeping an eye on passengers trying to scoop a premium seat without having paid for it, I don't know if they knew we had paid or not but no one came to tell us off when we moved. At the same time I was surprised no one snagged those seats so it could very well be true, I just didn't notice it. Are they legally allowed to tell you to vacate a premium seat? I mean on an all economy fleet, I'm not sure how they could enforce this.

Sunset

Second Pitch shot

I do like AK's choice in colors for the cabin

Empty seats

Eventually we moved to the EE rows

Seat pitch mildly better

Pretty Asia FA's ^^

Eventually it got dark and as the flight was progressing well we decided it was time to have dinner, I had selected 3 meals, chicken satay, byriani and Asia fried rice. Each meal came with a 100ml pack of water which I found to be on the small side :/

Chicken Satay

Chicken Byriani

Satay Close up

Asian fried rice

Both the chicken satay and byriani were delicious, I tasted both and I really loved the flavors, the chicken was moist and the dishes were nice and spicy. Kudos to Air Asia for these awesome selections. The Asian Fried Rice however wasn't very good, the chicken was dry and the rice had a nasty fishing smell/taste, no good. Since we were just 2 of us I will be giving the final catering grade on the score of 2 of these 3 options.

While we were eating we encountered some rather severe turbulence (why does it always happen when I am eating…) and the flight remained turbulent as we approached a very stormy Hong-Kong

Apologies for the blurry photos, it was pitch black on approach

Landing video

We park next to a Dragonnair A330

Deplaning

And there it was, 23 days later, we were back in Hong-Kong, after a triangular route across SE Asia. I was happy to be back in HK, but sad to be leaving next day.

Good old bus E11 direct to Wan Chai and the JJ hotel at Lucky Centre (Again, excellent value, cannot recommend this hotel enough)

Verdict

Air Asia

7.8/10

Cabin8.0

Cabin crew8.0

Entertainment/wifi7.0

Buy-on-board menu8.0

Kuala Lumpur - KUL

7.8/10

Efficiency7.0

Access8.0

Services8.0

Cleanliness8.0

Hong Kong - HKG

9.8/10

Efficiency9.0

Access10.0

Services10.0

Cleanliness10.0

Conclusion

Air Asia was a very pleasant surprise, everything about this airline works. It's no frills so you get what you pay for. I found the staff to be very nice, efficient and professional; service with a smile and beyond. The planes are well maintained. The seats are ok, obviously for a 3.5 hour flight it's long in economy but the Exit Rows add some comfort.

Catering to me was a winner; best food I've had on a low cost and surpasses most food I've had in economy to date (except for TK)

KUL LCCT is an ok airport to transit by; there isn't much to do but the selection of places to eat is quite good.

It's always a pleasure to transit through HKG. That airport is a masterpiece, a real success.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you on board TK for our flight home as we bid our final farewells to the beautiful South East Asian world.

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Information on the route Kuala Lumpur (KUL) → Hong Kong (HKG)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 11 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Kuala Lumpur (KUL) → Hong Kong (HKG).

Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Cathay Pacific avec 8.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 3 heures et 52 minutes.

More information

VIEWED

Kuala Lumpur ✈ Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific flight in Economy

Airbus A330-300

VIEWED

Kuala Lumpur ✈ Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific flight in Economy

Airbus A330-300

8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

jetsetpanda 2283 Comments 2013-12-03 00:06:02

Thanks for sharing this great report on a LCC. I've heard that Air Asia actually made travel really affordable for the masses thanks to the foresight and leadership of its CEO - Mr. Fernandes.

I don't blame you for moving a few rows back because of the sniffing ladies. Let's face it, when you offer cheap fares, you are bound to attract travelers that are not the most refined. I don't want to sound elitist, but I really can't stand lack of hygiene and common courtesy.

Nice to read about the food offerings on this carrier. Perhaps one of these days I will give them a try. This one and Bangkok Airways are on my list of to try carriers. I agree with you that Asia has a lot to offer and is so rich in terms of culture, landscape, people and especially food. I have yet to find an Asian country whose national cuisine I did not like.

Your hotel in HKG looks good. I might keep that in mind on my next trip to HKG. Nice pics and the ones descending in HKG gives a sense of the awesomeness of this city despite the blurriness. 2013-12-03 00:06:02

AirCanada881 AUTHOR 1616 Comments 2013-12-03 13:19:36

Thanks for your comment :) Yes I was really happy with them and can honestly recommend them to family and friends. Sure it's no Malaysia or Cathay Pacific, but then, neither is the price, I paid 49 euros for this trip one way including all the frills. Yes the JJ hotel is fantastic value, in the heart of HK Island and close to everything. I miss HK :( 2013-12-03 13:19:36

Papoumada GOLD 7321 Comments 2013-12-03 11:36:17

Thank you for this comprehensive report.

I fully agree about Asia deserving to be discovered. And it is such a good money-value ratio !

This is always a pity when one has to stand unpolite persons.

You had a good experience with Air Asia maybe improved as the cabin was not full.

The BoB catering looks good and at a reasonable price unlike on Norwegian as a recent FR proves it. Therefore, I will not support a dry airline.

Thanks you for sharing.

2013-12-03 11:36:17

AirCanada881 AUTHOR 1616 Comments 2013-12-03 13:20:54

Thanks for your comment, yes I agree the fact that the cabin wasn't full definitely added to the comfort of the flight. Regarding people who travel on the plane with you; I guess it's a lottery and part of the experience :-) 2013-12-03 13:20:54

lagentsecret 12184 Comments 2013-12-03 19:32:10

Thanks for sharing this comprehensive FR

A lot of great pictures of the aircraft

Air Asia seems to ge a good choice and I won't hesitate to fly with them

The food looks yummy !

Please give me more satays ;) 2013-12-03 19:32:10

watchbird BRONZE 444 Comments 2013-12-03 20:32:24

Thanks for this FR, interesting AirAsia experience that maybe tells a lot on the reasons for there success!
Also the pictures of the clouds in the evening light are just amazing! It replaces the IFE easily I guess... 2013-12-03 20:32:24