Friday, November 13, 2009

5 Facts About Choosing the Best Air Asia X Seat

With AirAsia available in our own land, budget travel has become a key contributor to increase in travel for leisure. Needless to say, one can't expect the same level of comfort as what one would have on a regular full-service airline. We've often heard gripes about the lack of space or the seat being too small or not able to recline.

This article I stumbled upon on Articlesbase would give us a little insight into AirAsia seating.

5 Facts About Choosing the Best Air Asia X Seat

This article will give you five facts that everyone should know before choosing the best Air Asia X seat for your next flight. As well as informing you of the best seats and explaining the truth about the Air Asia X seat pitch, this article will also explain how to actually go about securing these seats for your next flight.

Tip #1: The truth about seat pitch

Many major newspapers around the world incorrectly slate Air Asia for having very small seats with only a 31" seat pitch. Well 31" isn't that small and it is actually the same as British Airways, Lufthansa and United Airlines have. Even tall people can still fit in these seats no problem.

Tip#2: Seat widths

Air Asia X use Airbus A330 aircraft equipped with 9 seats (3-3-3) across. Most airlines that use the aircraft have 8 seats across (2-4-2). Air Asia was smart about it and reduced the width of the aisles and the armrests making the seats only slightly narrower. If you are fine with a regular Economy seat, then you will find Air Asia X seats to be comfortable enough as well.

Tip#3: Seat recline

The genius behind the 9 seat across plan was clearly having a bad day when the seat recline options were chosen. Air Asia X seats do not recline, instead the base slides forward to create an angled back. If you are in a regular seat this will kill most of your legroom and make it very uncomfortable. This is not an issue with exit row/bulkhead seats or if you are a small person. The airline has listened to customer feedback and is replacing these seats with regular ones in 2010. Until then, remember to bring a neck pillow.

Tip #4: Exit row seats

It is worth mentioning that all seats on Air Asia X have individual TV screens with video on demand. The TV for exit row seats is in the armrest, which normally makes these seats slightly narrower. Air Asia X decided this would make these seats too small. Instead, the airline made the middle seat in the Exit row very narrow and always leaves these seats empty. This is a great as it means the remaining exit row seats have unlimited legroom and they have an empty seat next to them. These seats can be booked in advance, for a fee, anytime including at time of booking and are labelled as hot seats. These normally cost 100 Ringgit, £20GBP or $40AUD.

Tip#5: Bulkhead seats

Bulkhead seats are a similar story to Exit row seats. The middle seat is always free as it is too narrow for anyone to sit in. The downside of bulkhead seats is that their legroom is slightly limited when compared to exit row seats. Furthermore, they are more likely to have babies in them as these seats are next to the bassinet. Still, if exit row seats are not available, these are excellent seats to have. Again, you can book these on the Air Asia X website when you book you ticket or at any time until you have checked in. Also note that if these seats are empty, you will not be permitted to sit in them unless you have paid the extra hot seat charge.

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Author:
Christian Webster has spent his life flying all over the world find out the secrets of affordable luxury air travel. To find out more about what he thinks of flight delays click here. Wondering how you can save time and money on air travel, visit his blog now at: http://www.neverflyeconomy.com

12 comments:

  1. Not sure how true are the 'facts'. My personal experience is that Air Asia's legroom is slightly shorter than that of Firefly, definitely much shorter than that of MAS.

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  2. i've taken the AirAsia X to London, and actually i didn't find any problem with the seats at all.. despite anything extra you would need to pay - food, drinks, entertainment, extra space, blankets etc.. it's really not that bad actually, i have to be frank..

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  3. According to this site, Air Asia's seat pitch is actually 29" only.

    Air Asia X's seat pitch is 31", as stated in the company's press release.

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  4. More info...

    Firefly uses ATR-72-500 planes. According to this page, the plane has seat pitch at 30" when configured to 74 seats.

    Firefly's official site does say that its planes can carry 72 passengers. The remaining 2 seats must be reserved for cabin crew.

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  5. Thanks for the info, but you know I really hate to travel for more than 4 hours inside a plane. I just can't stand it! I do not know how I will fly to Europe or USA! I hope they invent the "Beam Me Up" Star Trek technology soon! : )

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  6. Don't know that seats in aircraft also have so many knowledge. I seldom choose my seat.

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  7. KS, I'm sure there is more space on full-service aircrafts than budget ones. Thanks for the extra info and links.

    SK, thanks. Good to know.

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  8. Foong, I read that on budget airline, any travel exceeding 4 to 6 hours would be taxing but then again, everyone's tolerance level is different.

    LOL! "Beam me up, Scotty!"

    Superman, ya lor. So many configurations, hor? haha.. But comparison and competition is good for the traveller because they will result in improvements.

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  9. So AirAsia X is not that bad after all lar? :p Might consider it if I'm going somewhere with my wife next year.

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  10. PaulK5:00 PM

    Most recently, my wife and I were stranded in Abu Dhabi when AirAsiaX announced they were canceling service to/from Abu Dhabi in January this year. They didn’t notify us (their stranded passengers), until Feb 10th. Neither did they offer any accommodation nor answer our emails asking for help. We had to get back to Malaysia on our own. They won’t reimburse our additional expenses either.

    They said they would refund the Abu Dhabi/Kuala Lumpur portion of our trip, but it will take them 30-50 days to process the refund. Such an attitude!

    Watch out for these guys. If you are considering using AirAsiaX, It might be a good idea to develop a plan B... just in case.

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  11. In only a Private Jet you can choose your preferred model according to seats available, speed and other features.

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  12. There is lots of competition in air industry. All the airlines will be putting efforts on there services these days.

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