I flew Air Asia X to London Stansted on the 19 March 2009 and the plane landed almost exactly on time. Congratulations.

However, clearing Immigration was a real hassle and I intend to complain to the UK Border Security (Immigration Dept). There was a very long line of people from our AirAsia X flight waiting to be cleared. There were many officers, as many as 12, clearing EU citizens from other flights and only 2 officers initially, increasing to 6 officers, working to clear AirAsia X customers. For me, it took one hour and 15 mins of waiting from the point of joining the line to being served. AirAsia X should also complain if UK officials habitually mishandle AirAsia X customers.

Apart from the unwarranted delay caused by ill informed UK public servants (one of whom said they did not expect to see so many people) the choice of Stansted may be a good one. AirAsia X's Airbus 340 was the largest aircraft in an airport dominated by little 737s and AB320s.

I used to suffer a lot of delays, circling over London waiting for a time slot to land at Heathrow or even Gatwick. At Stansted it was almost straight in and land. The bus service from Stansted to Central London was smooth. There are three bus companies competing for your business so it is good service and smiles all round. Trains and taxis are other options.

Any way I headed to Cumbria and went for walks in the Lake District. The weather was unusually pleasant for this time of the year and I enjoyed 12 sunny days out of 14. It rained in the afternoon on only two days.

I managed to walk the Cumbria Way from Ulverston to Coniston and onwards to Elterwater the next day. I slept in Elterwater before climbing over the mountain Pass to Borrowdale. After a good night rest I made my way to Keswick. The YHA at Keswick is by the river. From Keswick onwards to Caldbeck and finally into Carlisle. Walking the Cumbria Way took me 6 days rather than the recommended 5 days.

I made Keswick the base for the next three days climbing hills with names like Catbells and Skiddaw.

The English YHA offers good clean accommodation at an affordable price. You get to meet locals who are rather friendly and helpful at YHAs. You don't have to be young to stay at the YHA.

Hey. the boys and girls (cabin crew) on my AirAsia X flight were a great lot of people on my way over here. I hope to meet up with more happy and helpful staff on my way back to Perth.

Overall I enjoyed my walks in the Lakes and will do it again with AirAsia X.

Today is further proof what an amazing asset you are to both Malaysian and indeed international civil aviation. In less than 8 short years you have beaten all odds and brought a struggling carrier and transformed it into the worlds number 1 low cost carrier. It is because of this, the world is in debt to yourself and your magnificent team, as you truly have made it so everyone can fly.

Congratulations on the launch of your London-Stansted services, bringing the UK closer to Malaysians, the greater asian region and of course my home of Australia. I hope one day to be able to repay some of the debt us Australians owe you and your company, through flying for your airline, for what you have done for us.

I wish you every success for both today and in the future.

Kind regards,
GUEST
Perth - Western Australia

I am so relieved to know AirAsiaX has now launched the long-waited service direct from Kuala Lumpur to London. Stansted may not be as famous as her big sisters i.e Heathrow & Gatwick but in Europe, Stansted is definitely one of the most famous!

Ryanair, the nation's low-cost airline has been using STN as its port for the past few years and being the cheapest airline on the net, they're very very popular indeed; you can go as far away to the east as Constanta in Bulgaria or as far west as Gran Canaria in the Atlantic!

That is an opportunity (the cheapest way) for those who come from South-east Asia to travel to Europe and making STN as the starting point!

BUt remember to make sure you know the important information before heading off to these countries in Europe; you may need to apply for visa before hand!

Of course, unless you are already a Brit that is! :P

As for me, I will try to see the cheapest time possible to go back to Malaysia next year. I have no idea what the luggage fee gonna be with AirAsiaX but I definitely won't bring too much with me!!!

Bon Voyage y'all!