The cheapest Guinness in Malaysia…. sort of!

I recently came across this and it make me laugh. I’m not sure where it originated from but anybody who isn't a fan of the Air Asia extra charges should read this……

Spare a thought for Uncle Tony F, Chief Executive of ‘Cheapo Carrier Asia…….

Arriving in a hotel in KL Sentral he went to the bar and asked for a pint of draught Guinness. The barman nodded and said, “That will be one Ringgit please, Uncle Tony.”

Somewhat taken aback, Uncle Tony replied, “That’s very cheap,” and quickly handed over his money. “Well, we try to stay ahead of the competition”, said the barman. “And we are serving free pints every Wednesday evening from 6 until 8. We have the cheapest draught in Asia”

“That is remarkable value” Uncle Tony comments.
“I see you don’t seem to have a glass, so you’ll probably need one of ours. That will be three Ringgit please”.

Uncle Tony scowled, but paid up.

He took his drink and walked towards a seat. “Ah, you want to sit down?” said the barman. “That’ll be an extra two Ringgit You could have pre-book the seat, and it would have only cost you a Ringgit” “I think you may to be too big for the seat sir, can I ask you to sit in this frame please”

Uncle Tony attempts to sit down but the frame is too small and when he can’t squeeze in he complains “Nobody would fit in that little frame”.

“I’m afraid if you can’t fit in the frame you’ll have to pay an extra surcharge of four Ringgit for your seat sir” Tony swore to himself, but paid up.

“I see that you have brought your laptop with you” added the barman. “And since that wasn’t pre-booked either, that will be another three Ringgit” Uncle Tony was so annoyed that he walked back to the bar, slammed his drink on the counter, and yelled, “This is ridiculous, I want to speak to the manager”.

“Ah, I see you want to use the counter,” says the barman, “that will be two Ringgit please.”

Uncle’s face was red with rage. “Do you know who I am?”

“Of course I do Mr F”, quips the barman with glee.

“I’ve had enough, What sort of Hotel is this? I come in for a quiet drink and you treat me like this. I insist on speaking to a manager!” said Tony F, raising his voice.

“Here is his email address, or if you wish, you can contact him between 9 and 9.10 every morning, Monday to Tuesday at this free phone number. Calls are free, until they are answered, then there is a talking charge of only 10 sen per second provided you use Toon Talk using other mobile carriers would incur our normal charges of 30 Sen per second”, the barman answered coyly

“I will never use this bar again!”, exclaim the award winning CEO.

“OK Uncle , but remember, we are the only bar in Asia selling pints for one Ringgit…so that Now everyone can drink!”.

Journey to Bangkok

We recently took a trip to Bangkok and thought we would try Air Asia’s online/mobile check in service. Between us we have a BlackBerry and an Iphone and found that both applications worked well. When using a phone you are issued a bar code which you need to validate and then a boarding pass is printed from the terminal.

Upon arriving at KL’s LCCT we headed for the self service check in machines only to be initially confused over which terminals to use.



The web/printed boarding pass machines are on the right of the pic and mobile phone readers are on the left. Its disappointing that the separate machines are needed however I believe that this will be addressed at some point in the future.




The check in process worked well and we then proceeded to the baggage drop counter. Fortunately the counter was not busy but my perception is that if you need to drop baggage then the process takes just as long as it would if we checked in at a normal counter.

Just after check in I discovered this Police View box. With the modern day CCTV installed and armed patrols walking around is there really a need for a policeman to stand on a wooden box?

The flight as operated by Thai Air Asia and was pretty standard and the pre ordered hotdog was quite tasty for an airline snack

Arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport was via a domestic gate which meant slow a disembarkation whilst we waited for buses to ferry us to the international section.

The airport has been the centre of much controversy with the current complaint being around the immigration queues. Unfortunately we were not sparred and the hall was packed with the slow working officers taking almost 1 hour to process our queue.

The local media has reported that the problems are compounded by the immigration department not having any budget left to pay overtime so the airport authority will be paying millions of Thai baht try and prevent even more problem during the upcoming festive season.

Bangkok is now the proud owner of an airport express train with services being mixed between express and commuter stopping trains with the latter extended to Phaya Thai which is linked to the Skytrain station . The express train to the City Air Terminal takes 15mins and costs THB 150 and the city commuter train takes 30mins costs THB 45.

Depending on where you are staying and the traffic situation it could be much quicker however I know that the traffic around the City Air Terminal at Makassan can be very congested. Owing to us arriving early evening and staying just off Sukhumvit we decided to take the commuter train to Phaya Thai and then take the BTS to Nana.

The train was busy and we were lucky to get a seat however the ride was smooth and journey passed quickly. Upon arrival at Phaya Thai we found that there is no down escalator and the single lift was very small which resulted in a queue forming.

The connection to the BTS involves some staircases and at Nana station there is a long set of stairs to descend which is not easy with a heavy bag.

Considering that this is an airport link its disappointing that the designers haven’t seen fit to provide sufficient ease of access for people with baggage.

The train does provide a fast value for money alternative to taking a taxi and can be usful is you have light luggage and arrive in peak times.

Air Asia sneaky fee increases

So today Air Asia announced another promotion but they also had some other news they chose not to share.

The dreaded fees that we all love so much have increased by quite a high % amount. A sample of the increases on a KUL-BKK sector are:

• Hot Seat: RM25 to RM30 = 20% rise
• Convenience Fee RM6 to RM8 = RM33% rise
• Supersize Regular - International (up to 15kg) RM 30 to RM 35 = 17% rise
• Supersize Medium - International (up to 20kg) RM 35 to RM 40 = 14% rise 

I'm sure that there are many more increases but I haven't got the information to make the comparison. I really don't like the way that they try and bury the bad news under the hype of a promotion.

Its becoming more Ryan Air like as each month goes by which is not a good thing.

I guess the rule is to always check the bottom line when comparing flight costs.

KUL-SIN - A Commuters Story

For the past 4 years I’ve been a regular commuter between KL and Singapore and must have spent countless hours and dollars on flights and long distances buses between these two locations. A few people have asked me what it’s like to like to travel the 330+ km on a weekly or even twice weekly basis.

My preferred way of travelling when I’m not in a rush or when public/school holidays are taking place is by bus due to the value and comfort that they provide. Taking a flight is usually quicker provided that you minimise the wait time at the airport and everything runs like clockwork with no delays whatsoever. The total journey time for a flight is typically is 3.5-4 hrs vs 5-6 hrs by bus

Last Sunday I took AK709 from KL to Singapore and I thought I’d record some of the trip details and show you what a typical journey is like.

• Trip Date: Sunday 23/1/11
• Flight: AK (Air Asia) 709
• Time: 17:00

Owing to my haphazard travel planning the ticket was purchased around 24 hours before the flight at a cost of MYR283 which included a hot seat for extra leg room. No luggage option was needed due to myself only having hand luggage.

  

A taxi was booked to pick me up at 15:00 and as usual they arrived a little early. The journey from Wangsa Maju to KLIA/LCCT usually takes around 50-55 mins however owing to the rather poor mechanical condition of the taxi (Proton Wira) that started shaking if the driver exceeded 88 km/h the journey took a little longer than usual.

For many foreigners their first experience of a Proton is when they travel in a taxi and I’m sure that they are mentally scared for life with an image of a dirty, noisy, uncomfortable car with questionable maintenance forever ingrained on them.

We arrived at the LCCT at 16:01 and the taxi cost was MYR 80 inc toll which is about normal. Another much cheaper option is to take the LRT and then the shuttle bus from the KL Sentral however it adds a considerable amount of time and pretty much removes the upside of the quicker travel time that flying provides.

The LCCT is basically a large cargo hanger type of building containing rather basic and basic industrial style fixtures. Owing to the popularity of the budget airlines the terminal was way over capacity and an extension was added to ease the pressure on the terminal. The extension has helped somewhat but I find the place more akin to a bus station than an airport and its the complete opposite to the relaxing ambiance and fantastic architecture of the main terminal.

A few pics of the terminal are below:

  

A brand new LCCT is currently being build to the west of the airport and once open in a few years time the current building will revert to cargo use or be demolished

The LCCT is only a few hundred meters away from the main terminal however owing to the road layout a terminal transfer entails a 20km drive. As per the local press some plans are being discussed to look at other options which may involve transiting people airside.

   

For Singapore flights the check in boards will always display Kiosk for the checkin counter due to the airline wanting you to use the self serve or web check in facilities. Air Asia now allow people to book tickets up to 4 hours before departure however owing to credit card processing times any tickets booked within 48 hours are prohibited from using the web or self serv check in counters.

For the inexperienced traveller this can be confusing and I'm sure that many people must wonder round looking for counter ‘kiosk’.

  

As a regular I usually give the board a cursory glance and head to counters S8/9 for check in. These counters are used mainly for the flights to Thailand and most of the time I’ve been lucky not to encounter significant queues.

Check in was swift and completed by 16:07 so with my stomach yelling lapar lapar (very hungry) it was time to grab a quick snack at McDonalds. The restaurant was it usual busy self and full of people buying the bare minimum food or drinks so that they can sit there for hours playing on their laptops or reading a book. As a solo traveller it really winds me up when I can’t easily get a seat because of all the people facebook’ing, talking or even sleeping!

 

As with the main terminal the food costs more than that found of the majority of McD’s outlets and they sneakily try and hide it my changing the menu format and listing the price of just the burger and the fries/drink as an add on to make seem cheaper rather than just displaying the total price.

Food was completed by 16:24 and it was time to walk round to the immigration counters. Despite there being only a few counters open the immigration and security formalities were completed swiftly.

  

The now extended LCCT is now much better then when it opened and a few shops and food outlets have been added just after security prior to descending to the gate level. As I was collecting my bags from the xray machine the first call boarding was made at 16:32. Air Asia  customers who purchase hot seats are also entitled to priority boarding so to ensure that I didn’t miss out on this I rushed to the gate hence the lack of photos of the gate area.

  

Fortunately today there were no delays and after a minute or two we were allowed to start walking to Gate F62 to board the aircraft.

Air Asia run an extremely efficient turn around operation and today was no exception. I noticed that the last of the arriving passengers were still disembarking from the aircraft as I walking to the gate and upon boarding the crew were still wiping clean the last few seats. 

 


   

None of the gates at the LCCT have aero bridges so a walk in the heat and noise is needed to reach your aircraft. Although the A320 is a small jet aircraft, when standing at ground level it size seems anything but small.



  


 

The crew of an adjacent aircraft finding time for a chat. Photography in this part of the airport is forbidden so you have to be discrete and quick.  

I boarded the aircraft at 16:38 and owing to my regular seat being booked I was temporarily the man in seat 14a today. 

  

Rows 12 and 14 are adjacent to the over wing emergency exits and provide greater leg room. The only downside apart from the extra cost is that row 12 doesn't recline and row 14 only reclines on some aircraft

Most people found their seat quickly however there are always a few people who seem to be lost or only just realised that there are not sat with the partner because they didn’t pay extra to choose their seats.

Whilst waiting for everybody to board I snapped a few pics from the window

At 16:51 boarding was completed and the doors were closed a few minutes later. After a short taxi to runway 32R we departed at 17:03 heading north before making a u-turn back towards Singapore.

Despite the flight duration being short I typically snooze, catch up reading magazines or listen to music.

Owing to the journey being pretty short the relatively low cruising altitude of approx 22,000 ft is reached quickly and typically only a few minutes are spent at this level.  All too quickly at 17:23 it was time to start our descent as we passed the town of Batu Pahat. The decent was quite bumpy until we were below the clouds which is quite normal owing to the large amount of tropical storms that take place every day along the coast line. 

Due to the abundance of clouds photo opportunities were limited so I've added one from a recent Silk Air flight. The pic below shows Pulau Kukup and if you look at the top right of the pic the coastline of Tuas (Singapore) is just visible. 

Today we were vectored around the south of Singapore over the Riau Islands of Indonesia and seemed to take a slightly more southerly route than usual.

Due to some GPS issues the I've used sample track from a few weeks ago although the route was almost the exact same taken on this flight.

A landing from the south on the left runway at Changi provides fine views of East Coast Park and the sprawling condominiums dotted along the coast.

The pictures below were taken on a recent trip back to Singapore and start with a hazy Marina Bay and end with The Bayshore condominium (my old home).

A smooth landing was performed at 17:43 and we arrived at T1's gate D37 a few minutes later. Disembarkation of a single aisle aircraft is never quick however from from row 14 it only took around 5 minutes.

Terminal 1 is undergoing major renovations which also includes an extension to the retail area. As a result of this parts of the terminal are closed off with screens to hide the construction work. In T1,2 & 3 there are two immigration halls at each end of the terminal and a little tip to share is that if one is full then take a short walk to the other because it’s usually quieter.

As a Singapore employment pass holder I’m able to use the ICAS system (Immigration Automated Clearance System ). This is a superb system that reads your passport/access card and then performs a fingerprint scan thus allowing me to clear immigration in less than 1 minute.

Today I was travelling light with just some small hand baggage so a few minutes after leaving immigration I boarded a taxi at 18:00 reaching home at 18:23.

The total journey time was 3:23 which is pretty good going and close to the best I’ve had which is about 3:15. I hope that this gives you a little insight into my regular rather tedious commute that I perform.

Look out for the Man In Seat 12a

So how do bloggers get people to their blog?
Google? Referrals? Word of mouth? The press? All of these I guess.

Whilst it’s important to have good content you need to actually get people there in the first place.  The Man in Seat 12a is thinking about getting a t-shirt printed which will be used, you guessed it, when I travel in seat 12a on Air Asia, Tiger or other airlines. In the age of smartphones people can check the site instantly to see what it's about and I’m bound to get some strange looks from people but who cares.

Will it work? probably and you only have to look at Tony Fernandes who is never seen without a hat displaying Air Asia or Team Lotus logos.

Look out for the Man In Seat 12a and don’t be afraid to say hello.