I was fortunate enough to have booked a Premium Flatbed seat on an AirAsia flight to Chongqing and it was a comfortable plane rides (Although not better than premium business class offered by other airline ). Now, I’ll have to say this in advance: yes, I know AirAsia is a budget airline. That said, being a budget airline and offering a great flight experience aren’t mutually exclusive. Today, I’ll talk about my experience so that hopefully, you’ll know what to expect when you book one.
AirAsia Premium Flatbed: Here’s My Review Based on My Experience
The first thing I noticed was that the seat looked relatively normal. I made sure to get the window seats and I was not disappointed. AirAsia was nice enough to already have a pillow ready for me on my seat and I thought that was really nice of them.
As I took a seat, I was greeted by my complimentary bottle of Spritzer and a welcome card. In terms of comfort, the seat more than met my expectations. It was just the right firmness for my back and buttocks while its headrest made sleeping really comfortable.
Perhaps what I really liked about this experience was this handwritten letter. Yes, I understand that it’s a generic note (because does not has my name on it!) but I still appreciate the effort of somebody having written possibly hundreds of these notes for passengers like me who got a Premium Flatbed seat.
While the seat looked relatively normal, I think what sets the Premium Flatbed apart from a regular seat is the legroom. It might look like I’m close to the seat but there’s still plenty of space from where I’m standing. If there’s one thing that I didn’t like about the seat it’s that it’s not as wide as I would have wanted. If you’re of average build then you really don’t have to worry but people with larger frames might struggle. That being said, it’s still very spacious compared to the seats you’ll find in economy.
So this is a closer look at the headrest I was talking about earlier. Admittedly it doesn’t look ‘premium’ but believe me, you’re going to end up loving it by the end of your flight. You might also notice from this picture how far the seat to the back is. This just shows how much legroom these seats have.
Here are some adjustable reading lights that should prove helpful when you’re trying to read a book or something on your phone when the cabin lights are turned off. I didn’t really get to use this a lot as the trip was relatively short for an international flight. If you’re on a long-haul flight though then I can see how helpful this could be.
Here’s a look at the other seats in the Premium Flatbed area. Behind you’ll catch a glimpse of the seats in the Quiet Zone which is another area in AirAsia flights. Take note that both Premium Flatbed and the QuietZone areas are only available on AirAsia X which is exclusively for international flights.
Another neat feature of the Premium Flatbed seats is this separator/cover that would definitely come in handy if you don’t want your neighbor’s hand or belongings inadvertently getting in your space. Admittedly I would have wanted the cover to extend further but this is a budget airline so I kind of get why it’s like this.
If you plan to use your reading light then you ought to really have the separator/cover extended. In this image, it’s retracted and you can just imagine how that reading light would spill over to your neighbor and possibly wake them from their sleep.
Here’s a recess where you can place your items for easy access. I’m not a big fan of these since I’m afraid of forgetting my valuables. Still, this is a pretty neat feature to have.
What’s quite possibly the best feature of the Premium Flatbed seats here is this control panel for adjusting the seat’s position. The control panel has three presets and there’s also options to manually adjust two of the seat’s sections (back support and footrest).
Here’s the partition that separates the Premium Flatbed Area from the Quiet Zone. During the flight, you can also expect the attendants to unfurl the curtain to give the two areas more privacy.
Now if for some reason you need to charge your phone and/or other electronic devices, you can make use of this electrical outlet. It’s easy to access (it’s on the seat divider and is level with your footrest) and it actually supports a decent number of plugs.
Here’s a seat that’s fully flat relative to its adjacent seat that’s in the default position. One thing I will say is that the fully flat position is actually really nice for sleeping. I initially thought it would be uncomfortable but it was pretty much the opposite. If you want more privacy you can also just pull the curtain and you can now rest with minimal disturbance.
This is a closer look of the seat in the flat position. It’s not shown on this image but once we were up in the air, the attendants came around offering duvets/blankets which were really soft and warm. If you plan to sleep then I’d recommend you get or request for one. Believe me, the AC can get rather cold and you wouldn’t want to be sleeping without a duvet covering you.
Air Asia In Flight Menu
One of the features that elevate the Premium Flatbed experience is, in my opinion, the food. Here is the inflight menu and I was honestly impressed at just the wide selection of dishes from Santan that’s on here. In this page you have the option for Classic or Jumbo orders of Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak, Uncle Chin’s Chicken Rice, Prawn and Chicken Wonton Noodles, and Bukharra Chicken Biryani (just to name a few).
For soups, the available options include Beef Soup Noodle with Chicken Slices, Mushroom and Chicken Porridge, and Prawn and Seafood Noodles. When it comes to snacks, your options are Chicken Curry Puffs, Chick-a-Pop, Chicken Floss Taro Shokupan, Cranberry Cream Cheese Oyaki Bun, and Mum’s Butter Cake.
Now before I continue with the other menu items, I think it’s important to discuss how AirAsia’s in-flight meals for Premium Flatbed seats work. Once you book a Premium Flatbed seat, you actually get a complimentary in-flight meal (along with a drink) from this menu. However, you can also opt to order more items if you want with the caveat being that you’ll need to pay for the additional meal/s in cash.
If you brought with you a kid then they’re going to love this page in the menu. Aside from featuring the Kids Meal items (Chick-a-Pop and Mac and Cheese Combo meals), it also has a spot the difference game for them to play.
On this page of the menu is a listing for an OG Burnt Cheesecake as well as Zero Pistachio Coconut Milk, Milk Tea, and Latte. What’s great about these items is that they’re all Zero Sugar so they’re relatively healthy (when consumed in moderation of course).
Not a fan of zero sugar drinks? Not to worry as you can always opt for regular drinks such as The Best Santa Latte, Zus Spanish Latte, Cafe Latte, Americano, and Cafe Mocha. Other than coffee, you can also try out Coconut Water, a number of Fu Liang Black Tea flavors, and Fizzy Iced Yuzu among others.
Now a long flight can get boring so it’s probably a good idea to stock up on some chips. Thankfully, the Santan menu has listings for Tortilla Chips with Guacamole Dip, Lay’s Stax, Kitkat, and some KowKow Mixed Nuts. For drinks, you can choose from Coca Cola, Spritzer, and C.C. Lemon Sparkling Drink.
On this page is what looks to be a new Santan product called Saturnbird. From what I can tell, it looks to be like a premium instant coffee mix with a variety of flavors. Coffee enthusiasts who want to give this a try can choose from a 6 pack or a 9 pack.
One thing I appreciate about the in-flight menu is that it actually has a page dedicated to Allergen Information. In case you happen to be allergic then make sure you check out the menu first to get an idea of the food or ingredients that might inadvertently trigger your allergies.
So this is one reason why I like to get a window seat (whether I’m riding a bus or flying on an airplane). If I booked a seat in the middle aisle I would’ve never gotten to see this sight.
I’m not going to lie, this looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie. I think I saw this video on Youtube that talked about always choosing an aisle seat and I could never seem to understand their reasoning. Just look at this view. You’ re never going to see something like it if you’re in the middle aisle.
Okay, enough with the talk about window seats and views. My Uncle Chin Chicken Rice order just got delivered and this was honestly such a good meal. The rice was cooked just right and the chicken was juicy and flavorful. It wasn’t quite the best meal that I had on a flight but it was still really delicious.
After around 4-5 hours, I finally got to see Chongqing from my window. The city honestly looked amazing and the most important part was that I was quite ready to explore it thanks to the rest I had on this flight.
And with that, my experience with AirAsia’s Premium Flatbed ends. It was stellar for the most part though there were some issues like the lack of an entertainment feature (to name one). When compared to what I would have paid for business class options from other airlines though, I think this was still more than worth it. Have you booked and flew on an AirAsia X Premium Flatbed yet? If yes then do share your experience with us!
