Malaysia’s AirAsia X is looking to boost its premium product in a move designed to differentiate it from its low-cost competition and reposition its brand.
AirAsia X already offers its premium customers separate check-in and boarding, an additional luggage allowance, flatbed seats, a free meal, water and entertainment as well as a premium blanket and pillow.
The Kuala Lumpur-based airline, which celebrates its 11th anniversary in November, was the world’s first low-cost carrier to introduce flatbed seats and flies a product that is 20-inches wide with a generous 60-inch seat pitch.
The seats stretch out to 77 inches in a full recline position and come with an adjustable headrest as well as a universal power plug.
But AirAsia X Malaysia chief executive Benyamin Ismail says he wants to tweak the Premium Flatbed product to boost yield.
“The team’s working on it but I think what I have in my mind is making a bit more of a presentation in terms of the food that you get,’’ he said.
“Rather than a plastic fork, give it a nicer presentation. We may put in a tray.
“We may give you an option of not just having water, we may have juice or a glass of wine or beer and see how it goes.”
READ: AirAsia X to expand low fares footprint.
The airline has also done a deal with electronics giant Sony to replace its earbuds with noise canceling headphones.
It gives premium customers a Huawei tablet loaded with a selection of films, games and TV episodes but Ismail admits the cheap headphones it provides don’t work well.
The AirAsia X chief said he would also look at a suggestion by AirlineRatings that premium customers get a higher cabin baggage allowance and more attention from cabin crew.
He said the airline would price the improvements into the fare and see whether the market absorbs it.
But he believed the main attraction of the airline’s premium seating was the extra leg room.
Ismail wasn’t convinced by the trend among legacy carriers of converting seats in an airline’s economy section into extra leg room seats. It already has what it calls “hot seats” which cover the bulkhead and exit rows
He said people liked to sit in the quiet zone so they would not be disturbed by children but the downside of roomier seats in the zone would be an increase in costs per seat.
He sees Singapore Airlines offshoot Scoot as the main competitor for AirAsia X but argues that the size of the busy Kuala Lumpur hub means a bigger market for his airline.
He also noted the ability to network with other members of the AirAsia Group offered an advantage for the long-haul carrier and flights were timed to make connections.
AirAsia X operates to 28 leisure destination in Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the US but allows passengers to connect to 130 destinations through short-haul affiliate AirAsia.
The airline offers a “Fly-Thru” service that allows them to transit through Kuala Lumpur, check-in at the transfer hall and have their bags tagged through to their final destination.
They also get a free flight move if their first flight is delayed.
“We’re sitting down every time now when we do route analysis we make sure that first thing we look at is the viability of the route and whether it makes sense to fly there,’’ he said.
“The second biggest thing we look at is connections, to see where the O and D (origin and destination) traffic is coming from.’’
One thing that will not be expanding is the airline’s Red Lounge available free to premium customers at its Kuala Lumpur hub or to other passengers prepared to pay.
“It’s only 12 seats and I don’t think people will pay extra to go there,’’ Ismail said.
“Plus we don’t have a system where we’re great at getting loyalty members, we’re not there yet.
“So at the moment we’re just giving you the KL lounge experience. “
AirAsia X began with two aircraft based in Kuala Lumpur. It now has 32 Airbus A330 aircraft based in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia and has flown over 40 million passengers.
In a related announcement, AirAsia X Berhad announced that AirAsia X Thailand boss Nadda Buranasiri had been appointed AirAsia X Group chief executive effective immediately.
He replaces co-group CEO’s Kamarudin Meranun and Tony Fernandes who become non-executive directors but will continue to oversee the strategic direction of the business and its operations as directors of AirAsia X Berhad.
Fernandes said the announcement was an important one for AirAsia’s long-haul airline as it continued its business transformation plans to take long-haul, value air travel to new heights.
A former banking, advertising and music industry executive, Buranasiri joined the aviation industry in January 2014 as CEO of AirAsia X Thailand.
Steve Creedy flew to Kuala Lumpur courtesy of AirAsia X.
