KL-Melbourne-Canberra flight: the good and the bad
Contrary to the cliche, I shall start with the bad first.
The bad
(B1) At LCCT, boarding pass and passport were checked 4 times. Typically it's only 3 times: right at the main departure gate, the immigration checkpoint and then at the boarding gate, typically by the airline crew. This time, however, there was yet another check, just about 2m away from the airline crew (who checked already) and right before the last bag screening, by security force.
(B2) Air Asia X's chicken sandwich was very dry. Bet it would have worked well as a sponge.
(B3) I couldn't sleep on the plane but this was no fault of the airline though.
(B4) Someone's handphone was switched on at least 2 hours before landing and during landing. She used it from time to time. Even worse was the fact she received an sms (I recognised that standard ringtone anywhere, which fyi was supposedly a Morse code for S M S) and had the audacity to read it...during the landing process! I was certain that at least the nearest attendant could hear the ringtone but none of them reprimanded her.
(B5) At Melbourne airport, took 1 hour to clear both immigration and custom checkpoints. Insane.
(B6) My luggage's top part of the handle (the part that could be pulled up so that you can drag the bag on wheels) was gone when I got it at the carousel, with 2 pieces of steel sticking out (the ones that allow you to unlock and lock the handle in place) out of the lower part of the handle. I was upset, especially it was Ban who lent it to me. I tried looking for it on the carousel but to no avail.
(B7) I had already checked in for my domestic flight on Virgin Australia via the web and all I had to do was to drop by bag. The queue was monstrously long. It took 40 mins.
(B8) The landing by Virgin Australia at the Canberra airport was shakey.
(B9) Remember my damaged luggage? By the time I picked it up at Canberra airport, even the pieces of steel were gone and so there was no way for me to somehow use the damanged handle any more.
The good
(G1) There was no traffic on the way to LCCT. In fact, fewer cars than usual.
(G2) There was no delay in departure and arrival by Air Asia X.
(G3) Air Asia X's chicken sandwich was filling.
(G4) Pleasantly surprised to discover (since I assume Air Asia is stingy) that I could get a refill of hot water for my tea bag. Saved money on mineral water.
(G5) Temperature within Air Asia X's plane was thankfully normal this time, unlike a previous trip where it was a lot warmer.
(G6) At the end of the ridiculous queue for custom checkpoint, I was not randomly picked for checking of my luggage. I would hate to waste more time there.
(G7) There was no delay in departure and arrival by Virgin Australia. In fact, I believed they arrived a little earlier than scheduled.
(G8) I was pleasantly surprised that Virgin Australia served a snack and juice/water for free. It could be their normal procedure but I didn't expect it to be that way.
The bad
(B1) At LCCT, boarding pass and passport were checked 4 times. Typically it's only 3 times: right at the main departure gate, the immigration checkpoint and then at the boarding gate, typically by the airline crew. This time, however, there was yet another check, just about 2m away from the airline crew (who checked already) and right before the last bag screening, by security force.
(B2) Air Asia X's chicken sandwich was very dry. Bet it would have worked well as a sponge.
(B3) I couldn't sleep on the plane but this was no fault of the airline though.
(B4) Someone's handphone was switched on at least 2 hours before landing and during landing. She used it from time to time. Even worse was the fact she received an sms (I recognised that standard ringtone anywhere, which fyi was supposedly a Morse code for S M S) and had the audacity to read it...during the landing process! I was certain that at least the nearest attendant could hear the ringtone but none of them reprimanded her.
(B5) At Melbourne airport, took 1 hour to clear both immigration and custom checkpoints. Insane.
(B6) My luggage's top part of the handle (the part that could be pulled up so that you can drag the bag on wheels) was gone when I got it at the carousel, with 2 pieces of steel sticking out (the ones that allow you to unlock and lock the handle in place) out of the lower part of the handle. I was upset, especially it was Ban who lent it to me. I tried looking for it on the carousel but to no avail.
(B7) I had already checked in for my domestic flight on Virgin Australia via the web and all I had to do was to drop by bag. The queue was monstrously long. It took 40 mins.
(B8) The landing by Virgin Australia at the Canberra airport was shakey.
(B9) Remember my damaged luggage? By the time I picked it up at Canberra airport, even the pieces of steel were gone and so there was no way for me to somehow use the damanged handle any more.
The good
(G1) There was no traffic on the way to LCCT. In fact, fewer cars than usual.
(G2) There was no delay in departure and arrival by Air Asia X.
(G3) Air Asia X's chicken sandwich was filling.
(G4) Pleasantly surprised to discover (since I assume Air Asia is stingy) that I could get a refill of hot water for my tea bag. Saved money on mineral water.
(G5) Temperature within Air Asia X's plane was thankfully normal this time, unlike a previous trip where it was a lot warmer.
(G6) At the end of the ridiculous queue for custom checkpoint, I was not randomly picked for checking of my luggage. I would hate to waste more time there.
(G7) There was no delay in departure and arrival by Virgin Australia. In fact, I believed they arrived a little earlier than scheduled.
(G8) I was pleasantly surprised that Virgin Australia served a snack and juice/water for free. It could be their normal procedure but I didn't expect it to be that way.
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