See my previous Asian reports:
- JetStar Hong Kong - Singapore
- Scoot Singapore - Kuala Lumpur
I chose AirAsia for my flight. This famous low-cost airline revolutionized the travel industry in Malaysia by transferring people from buses to planes. In addition, for me it was known as the airline with the lowest cost of its flight activities in the world. Therefore, it was very interesting for me to fly with AirAsia.
Review content:
1. Booking a ticket
2. Departure from Kuala Lumpur (KLIA2)
3. On board an AirAsia A320
4. Views of Cam Ranh
5. Arrival at Nha Trang Cam Ranh Airport
1. Booking a ticket
AirAsia is known worldwide as the lowest cost carrier in the world. Production success in reducing costs is reflected in the cost of services. The airline pleases already at the stage of booking a ticket - with its good base price and a good set of extras. services for quite reasonable money.
I booked the ticket directly on the carrier's website www.airasia.com
The ticket price from Kuala Lumpur to Nha Trang on my flight was only 20 USD. And this is for a flight of more than 2 hours! The added baggage of 20 kg added another 20 USD to the price. The cost of a ticket with luggage at 39.48 USD is also quite acceptable.
Further, when buying a ticket, various additional services are offered. Optional, but reasonably priced. For example, many food options are priced at $2.57 per serving. The food is purely Asian - spicy and spicy. I ordered a portion for my flight, see the photo below in the review.
Prices for choosing a seat have a wide range - from 0.5 to 9 USD. Scroll through the following photos for details.
2 . Departure from Kuala Lumpur (KLIA2)
My flight from the capital of Malaysia took place from the same airport where I arrived a few days earlier. This is KLIA2 - Terminal 2 of the International Kuala Lumpur Airport.
KLIA2 is the AirAsia base. The large office building of this carrier is located next to the terminal.
As I wrote in the previous review, a new large terminal 2 opened at Kuala Lumpur Airport not so long ago, in 2014. The terminal is probably overbuilt. Therefore, now it is spacious here - in comparison with its area, there are not so many cars and not so many people.
Next, a view of terminal 2 and parking for airport employees. Note. There are much more bikes in the parking lot than cars.
The KLIA2 platform does not shine with a variety of sides. Some Asian low-cost airlines, such as JetStar in the photo below...
...and many, many AirAsia liners.
Entire zone disembarking passengers from taxis and buses, as well as the entrance to the terminal, are covered with a large canopy. It's not a building yet, but not quite a street either.
Immediately after entering, passengers are greeted by a large information board and an interactive kiosk with information about departing flights.
We need to go a little further forward...
...and then begins the registration area with branches to the left and right. On another hanging board you can see the check-in counter number of the desired flight.
The check-in counters are decorated in a designer way.
With some creative lighting , similar to a scattering of some flowers or mushrooms.
There are also counters for self-registration in Kuala Lumpur. But their number is not as large as in the Singapore I described earlier.
The central square near the check-in sectors is the busiest place at the airport. In different corners and at different levels you can find cafes, shops, ATMs, etc.
Probably, the majority of passengers at the airport still fly on domestic flights within Malaysia. Because immediately after passing the control of the "International Departures" signboard, there are many times fewer people.
The interiors here are already quite ascetic. White walls and a gray ceiling.
AirAsia is already here. There are simply no planes of other airlines at the piers.
Inside Kuala Lumpur Terminal 2, unlike the fantastic Changi Airport, something it turned out to be quite difficult to find interesting things.
The only things that caught my eye were the figures in stores, designed to attract customers.
Yes, these are small carts for hand luggage. It is very convenient, by the way, to take your things to some distant gate on them. Much nicer than lugging a bag on you.
A couple more photos of the interiors of the clean area to show the overall picture of the terminal.
I visited a business lounge before departure with a Priority Pass card. The word "business lounge" is too strong for him. More like a comfort room. Very small and tight. There are almost no services there, except for Wi-Fi and TV. Food and drinks are very scarce.
But when taking off from Kuala Lumpur, an excellent view of the airport opened before my eyes. Scroll through the slides.
A little further - the main terminal KLIA1, the base of the national carrier of Malaysia , as well as a service point for long-haul international flights.
After a few minutes, the coast appears and the plane leaves for the clouds over the Strait of Malacca.
3. On board an AirAsia A320
During my Asian tour I made 4 flights with 4 different low cost airlines. But at the same time, all 4 times I flew on the plane Airbus A320. Based on this random selection of mine, we can conclude that the A320 is the most popular type among low-cost carriers in Asia.
AirAsia's A320 cabin is very similar to the JetStar and Scoot I described earlier. The same single economy class cabin - only 180 seats (30 rows of 6).
Interestingly, the seats are again leather and again black. For some reason, Asians love black chairs! For identity, AirAsia only added red belts (red is the carrier's corporate color).
Another general rule. Asian airlines have not yet been overwhelmed by the European trend to "compress" backrests and remove folding tables. Here you can still fly in classic comfort - folding the table in front of you, putting your personal belongings in the net and resting your head on the headrest. . Like many other carriers, emergency exit seats (with more legroom) sell for more. Here they are considered as "premium" and are marked in the cabin with red headrests.
Well, a sign of brand solidity is the airline logo on the back of each seat.
In general, the cabin is in excellent condition. Everything is clean and new, nothing to complain about.
The service on board the AirAsia liner is also of a very high level. Despite the fact that this is a low-cost airline.
In the seat pocket you can find 2 thick magazines, a hygiene bag and safety instructions.
The magazines contain texts in English, and not in Malay. What is a plus.
The range of goods for sale on board is large and varied.
A lot of attention is paid to branded products. During the flight, you can buy model airplanes, baseball caps, T-shirts, etc. with the AirAsia logo.
In addition, a good selection of meals and snacks can be ordered for an additional fee.
I ordered my meals right when I booked the ticket. Large selection and good portion sizes. But the food itself has a Malaysian twist. I had a double meal on this flight. Essentially 2 courses are "chicken with rice" and "chicken with pasta". But the cooking is very Asian - with local spices and seasonings, the taste is far from the usual European.
There are also no questions about the work of flight attendants on the flight. Young girls, smiling and friendly.
4. Views of Cam Ranh
Flight from Kuala Lumpur to Nha Trang lasts just over 2 hours. Before landing, our liner emerges from the clouds and begins a U-turn over Cam Ranh before landing.
The terrain here is already noticeably different from Malaysia, from where I flew. Less forests, more sand.
Flying around Binh Ba Island, famous for its coral reef and sea restaurants.
In 2004, Cam Ranh Airport began to operate as a civilian one. Since then, tourism has developed here.
The following photo shows the whole of Cam Ranh. In the foreground, the construction of the seaport, the airport is visible in the distance.
The piers of the former military base are still used now, but by Vietnamese sailors.
But the tourism industry is experiencing a real boom. The entire area between Cam Ranh Airport and the city of Nha Trang is being actively built up with hotels and residential buildings.
The airport is also expanding. New taxiways and a new passenger terminal have been built.
5. Arrival at Nha Trang Cam Ranh Airport
My visit to Cam Ranh came just before the opening of the new passenger terminal 2. I found it built, but not yet operational.
Then the flights were served by the old, more cramped, air terminal. It is currently called Terminal 1 and is used to service domestic airlines. All international flights have been transferred to the new terminal.
Both terminals are located next to each other.
There are direct charter flights to Nha Trang from many Russian cities . This is a popular holiday destination for residents of Siberia and the Russian Far East. In the previous photos, you can replace the Boeing-757-200 of the Russian airline Royal Flight.
But Vietnamese still prevail here airlines. Cam Ranh is one of the key airports of the local low-cost carrier VietJet. Next is the Airbus A321 of this airline.
Next again is the A321, but already the national carrier of Vietnam - Vietnam Airlines.
Passengers are disembarked on the platform, far from the terminal.
Upon arrival at the station, passengers enter a fairly spacious baggage claim area.
There are only a few baggage belts in a large room.
There are border control desks at the opposite end of the hall. Citizens of many countries of the world, including Russia, do not need a visa to visit Vietnam.
To get to the forecourt, you need to go through the common hall of the airport terminal.
The departure and arrival areas here are divided into 2 floors. On the first floor there is an arrivals and a check-in hall for departing flights, on the second floor there is a special control and a departure area.
Friendly Vietnamese themselves asked to be photographed. Therefore, I am attaching this photo in this review, demonstrating the friendliness of local residents to tourists.
At the exit from the terminal, you can take a taxi or take a shuttle bus to get to the hotel in the resort of Nha Trang.
For the continuation of the story, see the final report of my Asian tour. Flight from Nha Trang to Hong Kong by another Asian low-cost carrier HK Express.
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