Due to the overwhelming popularity of the article 5 Facts about Choosing the Best Air Asia X Seat, we are pleased to give you a follow up article about Air Asia X’s much talked about XL seats. The XL seats are a separate cabin at the front of the aircraft which have larger seats but the same service. The current reviews and guides on the XL seats are out of date as things have changed a lot in 2009.

Air Asia X initially used leased aircraft but has since started to acquire its own and to refit all aircraft with a standardised cabin interior. The exception here is on the A340 aircraft which currently serves London – Kuala Lumpur and it has seats which are seats which recline further and are more comfortable. The airline has also said that it has renamed XL seats to be “Premium Seats”.

The Competition
The product is positioned similar to Premium Economy on other airlines – more comfortable seating but with standard Economy service. Well for Air Asia, standard Economy service doesn’t really consist of much so XL seat holders have to purchase meals and drinks as normal. The main advantage of this is that the price is far cheaper than regular Premium Economy flights. Special sale fares aside, the regular Air Asia XL seat fare is similar to full service airlines’ regular Economy fares. What this comes down to is a choice between the comfort of an Air Asia XL seat or the service of a traditional airline. Air Asia is betting that passengers will choose comfort and for the most part, they are correct. The final thing to consider here is that Air Asia X often, but not always, uses secondary airports in some cities meaning that although you have a nicer seat, your journey time to the city centre may be increased.

The Seat
Air Asia has a number of different seats in its XL class depending on which aircraft you are on. On A340 aircraft which serve London, the seating is actually more like traditional Business Class seats. However these may be refitted and very shortly all XL seats may be identical. What you are likely to have though is a 2-3-2 configuration seating which slides forward instead of reclines. Fortunately there is a lot of legroom with a 38” seat pitch so this makes for a comfortable flight. It’s certainly no flat bed, but more than comfortable enough to have a snooze on an overnight flight. In-flight video on demand is offered through individual TV screens, just the same as regular Air Asia X seats.

XL or XS?
Many people fear that the regular Air Asia X seats will be tiny and very uncomfortable on long haul journeys. Much newspaper flack has been directed at Air Asia, but this is largely exaggerated. Regular Air Asia seats have a 31” seat pitch (The same as British Airways, KLM, United Airlines and Qantas) but are slightly narrower, the same as some KLM/Emirates seats. They offer far more room than many charter airlines. The XL seats are more comfortable than any Economy Class seat on any airline. They rival most Premium Economy seats in the space and comfort offered. By all means pay for an XL seat if you want to have a comfortable trip, but do not feel you have to upgrade to avoid a terrible trip.

The Future of the XL Seat
Air Asia have announced through their on board magazine that they intend to replace all the XL seats in 2010 with new “flat” business class seats. Rumours have been going around that the current XL seats are not selling as well as expected and that the airline hopes to have fewer, but more comfortable seats. Whether this will be the traditional angled Business Class seats that many airlines have or something else is anyone’s guess at the moment. I think that there is some definite potential here for something great. There are few details at this time and I guess the more critical factor for the success or failure of the new XL seats will be the price. Another question is what will happen should a clever individual make a booking for the later part of 2010 with the current seats, only to find an airline wide refit has taken place and they now have a ticket for the new flat seats? Will the airline honour such a booking. It is certainly a gamble but there are potential savings to be had here.