Air Asia X Premium Lounge Review (2019)

Air Asia X Premium Lounge in Kuala Lumpur is a pragmatic lounge for anyone flying their Premium Flat Bed product. Their Premium Flat Bed is somewhere in between premium economy and no-frills business class. Their lounge matches that description, too. With paltry beverage options, limited food, but ample seating and clean showers, the lounge was fine for the price paid. My flight from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul cost ~$700USD, so I was happy to have a place to wait after my weekend in Kuala Lumpur. Here is my Air Asia X Premium Lounge review from 2019.

Note: The Air Asia X Premium Lounge at KLIA 2 has since closed, but I wanted to publish the review. Currently, Premium Flat bed passengers are directed to the Plaza Premium Lounge bat KLIA 2 satellite terminal.

Note:

Dear Reader,

Before you begin this review journey with me, I want you to know that this review is a bit dated. It is from before the COVID pandemic. I had planned on publishing this one and others slowly during and after the pandemic. However, my job at the time requested I not write them. As some of the airlines were their clients, they explicitly requested I refrain from writing anything that could imply any conflict of interest. Recently, after starting a new job, I have decided to publish this one and others. I will note wherever I can what has changed, and include a year for when the flight happened, in the interest of clarity. Please enjoy this review!

Location

The Air Asia X Premium lounge is located in Kuala Lumpur International’s Terminal 2. Similar to Terminal 1 (where most full service carriers fly out of), Terminal 2 has a satellite concourse. The concourse is smaller than T1’s satellite, but it was mostly empty when I was there past 9pm in the evening. I had a, 11pm departure, so with about two hours I proceeded to the lounge to kill some time.

The lounge welcome entrance is located right past the doors. The lounge is available to Air Asia X Premium Flat Bed passengers, as well as for those willing to pay for access. The cost is very reasonable, at ~$18USD if prebooked in advance, or ~$20 if access is bought at the entrance.

Amenities

The lounge was mostly empty while I was there. Upon entering, there is the main sitting/dining area. It is the largest portion of the lounge, however no more than 10 people aside from myself lingered there during my stay.

There is a window high-top table with tall chairs at the end of the main area. To the right, there is work zone/business center. It is located behind glass walls to try to reduce sound pollution from the main area. There are a few computers and some conference room style tables. The tables all had power outlets. While I was there, no one used that area, but there were a number of glasses and cans that had been left there by someone prior and were not picked up throughout my stay.

To the left of the main area there are a few unique amenities. There is a VIP room that can be booked in advance for a fee. I did not inquire about the cost, but it remained curtained off. An image from KLIA2’s website is here, as reference. It offers extra privacy, and I can see it being useful for a family.  Further left, there is a small sitting area next to a set of stairs that take you to what they call the loft. The loft is just a different sitting area with beanbag chairs of all sizes and shapes. What stood out to me the most was the Astroturf carpet. I have a dog and I’m used to seeing this fake grass at dog potty areas. It was really weird and I could not figure out a purpose for this area. I guess for kids to run around quietly?

Food & Beverage

The Air Asia X Premium lounge has some hot and cold food options. While I was there, there was only one hot food item (Pad Thai noodles) and some pastries and sandwiches. There were three empty warming plates, so I suspect there are more options during peak flight times. The noodles were good, especially after a long day.

Drinks are self-serve, with a variety of soft drinks available. Something that stood out to me was that there was one alcoholic drink: Tiger beer. It was self serve, however there was a fee for one. Sure, ~$3.50 isn’t too much for an airport beer, but it felt odd. I guess it’s not that different than some US lounges, where you have to pay for the non-house drinks.

I grabbed a coke can and a frosted glass and sat by the high-top table by the window while I caught up on news. The lounge has wifi and it was quite fast. I was able to log in through my company’s VPN without any issue.

Bathrooms & Showers

The lounge also has showers. The bathrooms, which were located in the same area as the showers, were clean. The showers had to be pre-reserved, and, while I did not use them, they seemed very clean.

Conrado’s Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Air Asia X Premium Flat Bed came with lounge access. A low frills premium cabin along with a low frills premium lounge makes perfect sense to me. Although there are some quirks to the lounge (Astroturf), it is a perfectly acceptable area to wait for your flight. Being able to grab a bite before flights where you might have to purchase food is a plus. Would I go out of my way to spend time at this lounge? No, but at 9pm it was a perfectly good option.

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