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Theairplaneguy4ever

"So, three tickets to Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia then?", asks my travel agent.

"Yes, on the morning flight.", I reply.

"So, AK1204 arrival at 6 am then?"

"Um no, I think they have a new flight in the morning.", I reply trying to sound casual.

"Really? Where did you hear about it?", she asks rather perplexed.

"I think I saw it in an ad in the paper", I lied. AirAsia hadn't even had a whiff of an advertisement on their new morning flight operating three times a week.
Keenly following the schedules meant that I'd known about it the day AirAsia put it on their website, which destined it was time to fly once again.

List of video trip reports

As always, music in all three of the videos is composed by me.

Hong Kong Airlines HX774

http://youtu.be/il3BVLG9fM8

This TR will most likely not have its written version, but here's the video featuring a spotting session in Hong Kong as well. Flown on the airbus A330-200, this was perhaps the most scenic trip of the BKK-CNX-HKG series TRs.

Theairplaneguy4ever's 2014 preview

http://youtu.be/cSV0K1-SCe4

Perhaps you should watch this first before reading this TR. It offers a sneak peek into what's coming up for this year.

AirAsia AK9706

http://youtu.be/YkIpe3X9oys

The TR for this flight. It is a bit shorter than the other video trip reports, but hopefully that is for the better. The music in the video was composed in the month of December and as such, is Christmas inspired.

AirAsia AK9706 - Kochi to Kuala Lumpur

We start off at the airport sans an introduction, where our favorite taxi driver has dropped us off 2 hrs shy of the departure time of AK9706, at 6:20 am. This new 3x weekly service had popped up in the peak season of December just like last year, when AirAsia decided to go 10x weekly on the Kochi-KL route. Why fly the new flight, you ask? Simple, because you can actually see where you're going instead of the sleepless red eye.

For the uninitiated AirAsia is one of the largest, if not largest, Low Cost Carriers in Asia, operating out of Malaysia and its hub Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia Malaysia which I am flying on today, has many sister carriers in countries like Thailand, Indonesia and soon in India as well.

This is not my first time flying AirAsia nor is it my first time flying it on this route. It was the old AK203-204 evening rotation back in 2010 when I'd experienced the 'World's Best LCC' according to SkyTrax. Being a 5 time winner of this award (No matter what you think of SkyTrax and their policies) is impressive for AirAsia, proving themselves to bring quality along with quantity, to the table.

My boarding pass reads seat 19A, which I'd pre-selected thanks to my agent. Of course on an LCC, this comes for a fee of RM 15.

Immigration is surprisingly quick at Kochi and a mere 10 min in line is all it takes to get to the airside of the international terminal.

The scenes of the tarmac - A40-BC pushes back to head to Muscat in Oman. Meanwhile a Jet 738 is preparing to fly domestically.

Kochi airport has 6 gates. Gate 1 & 2 at the extreme left are 'heavy' gates frequented by Emirates, Qatar and Saudia with their wide bodies. Here's gate one, ready to host the passengers of EK531 leaving to Dubai at 9:40 am.

And here's the entire terminal in one shot. As there is just the AirAsia flight departing at this wee hour, the terminal is deserted.

The regular reader of my trip reports might notice the structure on the left as the "Wifi lounge" I had raved about in my Emirates TR early this year. Unfortunately, the signal there seems to have mysteriously vanished. But, thankfully it is still open air and the melody of a pair of CFM56s at full reverse on the tarmac fill the small structure.

Indeed, our plane had arrived from Kuala Lumpur. 9M-AHY is an ETOPS rated Airbus A320-200 flying today's route.

After entering the holding area of the gate. Boarding is announced 15 min late at 8:15 am. Here, I am pleasantly surprised at not being caught at COK for photography. This year has meant a statistic of being caught 100% right here, flying out of COK, that is, every single damn time.

Scheduled departure - 08:25 Local
Scheduled arrival - 15:10 Local
Scheduled flight time - 4 hrs and 10 min

1st time on 9M-AHY.
10th time on an Airbus A320-200.
11th time on an Airbus A320 aircraft.

A warm welcome by the crew and I make my way towards row 19 being greeted by each of the FAs as I make my way down. Here's a look at the leather seats AirAsia uses.

The legroom shot. While comfortable in the normal position, if the passenger in the front decides to have a nap, it is not a nice situation. For reference I'm 186 cm.

My favorite seats on the A320s are rows 18-20, which are right behind the wing. In the background is A6-EKS which has finally arrived from Dubai.

The holiday mood menu. Christmas is just two days away and AirAsia are certainly not backing away from the celebrations. It would be nice if they actually had Christmas time menu items, though.

The cabin. No sooner had I taken this picture and we were pushing back bang on time. Boarding was completed in a miraculous 10 min! On a 180 seat all economy plane where row wise boarding had not been called out either!

We push back facing east and to my astonishment taxi to runway 27 to take off west ward. I'd specifically seated myself on the left to get a nice view of the terminal as we roar past it on the Airbus, as it usually takes off east ward. But, it seems AK9706 is taking off in the opposite direction this morning.

The new Go Air morning flight to Mumbai was ready for departure as well. G8 had announced this flight in the winter schedule.

A rather slow takeoff follows and we are up in the air. We pass my favorite spotting location where both the "Plane Spotting at Kochi Airport" videos have been shot.

Above the clouds, we pass the lower Western Ghats and the sight is amazing.

The crew start their F&B sales up front, but as there is only one cart, it takes an hour to get to row 19. My pre-ordered Nasi Lemak awaits me.

Pre-booking online means you get a free a cup of water along with the meal for RM 10 or 200 INR.

Nasi Lemak is one of the most iconic dishes of Malaysian cuisine. It involves chicken Rendang, a Malaysian curry like preparation along with sambal, fried anchovies, an egg and some roasted peanuts, all served along with fragrant coconut rice, cooked with pandan leaves.

AirAsia are most famous for this meal and I thought it was amazing, at the time. But, I'll let you in on a secret, it doesn't even come close to the real Nasi Lemak.

The rest of the flight was spent reading the IFE magazine, which isn't half bad by the way, and looking at the gorgeous view outside.

But, soon enough it was time to land and we come down south before taking a left to land into KL facing north.

At this stage, perhaps an introduction is in order for our neighbors seated in the back. They are a group of Sabarimala pilgrims heading back to Malaysia after their pilgrimage. And they did not stop hollering all the way to the stand in KL. You can hear them at every stage in the video. One guy seated behind, seemed to have mistaken my seat for a punching back and decides that it is the right time for a work out. A nasty look at the guy makes him stop eventually though. Can you not sit down for a 4 hr flight?

While on the ground taxiing to the terminal it is announced that photography is prohibited by the aircraft authorities on the tarmac. Seems the Malaysians are copying us in terms of ridiculous rules! So, I don't raise my camera, but instead, here's a grab from the video. Yes, I know it's low-res.

In the terminal, Immigration takes an unbelievable 1.5 hours and it's 5:00 pm by the time we pass by this lovely AirAsia X A330-300, 9M-XXF, in the 'Fly to Malaysia' livery. It had come from the Gold Coast in Australia. Remember this Jishnu?

And there ends the aviation part of this trip report. Overall, this is a flight I enjoyed, though it does become boring with nothing to do on a 4 hr flight. But, that isn't AirAsia's fault.

Now, we are at Jalan Petaling after dropping our bags at the Swiss Inn hotel, which is wonderful by the way. Tomorrow morning another flight awaits, so a short transit is spent here, at KL's Chinatown!

Immediately upon entering the area, I notice an old man selling Chinese baked goods. I grab one of each and oh my, they are all heavenly!

Chinatown in KL is basically a giant street market selling cheap goods where only the food is Chinese influenced.

The lanterns everywhere are a mesmerizing sight.

What's that? What do you mean it's not that impressive? Sure, it's not like the original Chinese lanterns, but don't tell me you don't like them.

The outer areas of Jalan Petaling are also Chinese influenced, many of the eateries here are quite famous.

I've always found Chinese culture intriguing, perhaps why I cannot get enough of these awe inspiring lanterns.

It is now time to savor some of the food here at Chinatown KL and along the main street, there are many eateries and Cafes. We duck into one such cafe.

Kwai Far noodles - sautéed crab meat and egg along with noodles, I didn't try this as crab isn't my strongest point. My parents enjoyed this though.

And my usual favorite - pork with noodle soup. This one is perhaps the best I've had, topping Bangkok and Hong Kong. There were also crunchy bits of fried garlic in it as well, along with kale, the green vegetable you see.

And perhaps the most famous dish of Malaysia, Satay! Skewered meat on a stick, spiced up and grilled. This one is the popular chicken variant, beef is also available though. The sauce is peanut based and is equally famous as the satay. They make a killer combo and were incredibly delicious.

And as the clock strikes 9:30 pm, we head back to our hotel, which is right in Chinatown and end this short stay. By morning, all the stalls have vanished, only to return once again in the late evening.

Here ends this TR which I've kept short. The next destination is perhaps the highlight of this holiday tour.

But, that is for another read.

Thanks for taking the time to go through this.

Feedback and comments appreciated.
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India's first HD Video Trip Report Channel : www.youtube.com/Theairplaneguy4ever

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

jbalonso777 · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 6:43 pm Post subject:

After seeing the video pop up on my YouTube homepage a few days, I knew something was coming up really soon. And of course, I was right!
Another fascinating TR from you, Adi! I enjoyed reading it, and going through your video at the same time! A few points..
-Air Asia seem to be a fabulous airline! But how would compare the seating experience with IndiGo? Like Air Arabia, they seem to be doing well in India, since they have preferable and cheap connections from where they originate, as discussed by other forum members.
-Air Asia made some difference during Christmas, by adopting a slight Christmasy theme. However, I'm surprised they didn't have a few decorations onboard, or maybe they're just another LCC?
-Nasi Lemak - hmm. I haven't tried it yet, and quite honestly, it doesn't look all that good inflight Sad

As you say, the proper one should be better!
-Sit down on a 4 hour flight? Hah, I had a passenger sitting right beside on a 2hr10min flight and he would NOT stop fidgeting around! All in the fourth flight.
-Getting bored on a 4 hour flight? Hah, I get bored on a 1hr05min flight Sad

If it is a day flight, taking pictures keeps me entertained, I get bored for 2 minutes, and soon, we start descending. However, on the night flights, once all trays and all are collected, the next 20 odd minutes seem extraordinarily long! Rolling Eyes

-And of course, last but not least, thank you for a mention in this trip report! I feel honored! Smile

Oh, how can I forget the beautiful sight of that bird being pushed back right in front of me?

I'm quite impressed that the Air Asia is very popular in SL, and demands suggest a need for the A330, and Air Asia X!

Looking forward to more!
Regards
Jish

abhijith16 · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:02 pm Post subject:

Hey Adi!

Glad you chose this route! I wanted to know how AK was like (since, I may, fly down to MEL with AK, and AK only offers MEL from COK)

They seem to be great! Nice TR!

Oh, and BTW I love how 9W's aircraft is being serviced using AI's ground equipment!!!!!!! Laughing

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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

PAL@YWG · Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 8:32 am Post subject:

As always excellent pictures, Adi!
How come you & I ordered the same Nasi Lemak Smile

? When I was contemplating what to order looking at their online menu, Nasi Lemak beat all other in that group by sheer presentation! When I got to taste that I would say I was not disappointed!

Air Asia is a fantastic airline! One more thing, when I was checking in for my Tiger Airways flight for KUL-SIN, I saw Air Asia has a whole section dedicated to flights going to India. I remember Kochi was one of them.

Nice TR, keep posting!
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sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Great Trip And Video Report as always. The background score was interesting. BTW is the video shot on Full HD or 720P?

Air Asia is a dominant carrier in South East Asia and I hope their venture in India becomes a sucess. The only issue I have is that they tend to launch new routes with great fanfare only to drop it after a couple of months.

I see that the airport is still called and named as "Cochin International Airport" even though the city has got renamed. I am guessing the people and politicians do not mind using the old and the new name. If this was to happen in Bombay local political thugs would have vandalized the airport just to make sure everyone uses the new name.

Sri_Bom

Nimish · Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 1:52 pm Post subject:

Another fascinating Video TR - amazing work to compile the videos! The lanterns are truly gorgeous. The seat pitch on AK seem uncomfortably small, but I guess that's what is possible in an LCC environment.
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We miss you Nalini!

Theairplaneguy4ever

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:37 pm Post subject:

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:45 pm Post subject:

Karan69 · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 1334

Great Trip And Video Report as always., You sure know how to make a mundane All Y 320 flight look enjoyable and interesting with those excellent video editing skills

This is the first time I realised that you do the music as well, kudos on that

Is it awkward carrying a video camera all around , do you get a lot of stares or it does not just bother you anymore?

I do love those food pics,

One question why the short transit at KL, does not the Visa costs escalate?

Karan

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

very nice ... tr! and lovely pictures!