My 1050 flight to Kuala Lumpur was perfectly timed. I woke at 0700 and grabbed a quick shower and caught the bus to the airport from across the road. It got me to the terminal some 2h20 minutes prior to departure which meant that I didn’t stress out at check-in and was able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the lounge after.
The AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur and the onward one to Kuching were punctual and pleasant. I had allowed ample time for the connection (or rather, self-connection) in Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia being a budget point-to-point airline generally doesn’t take responsibility for connections even between its own flights (but is increasingly starting to do that for a small number of routes).
One of the gripes I had was not being able to bagdrop for a domestic flight until 2h prior. Normally when I allow 3-4 hours to make my connection (in case of delays), I find that my flight arrives on time and I have to wait for another hour or more before I can bagdrop.
Today I was pleasantly surprised to find that domestic bagdrop now opens 3h prior. That allowed me to lose my baggage and spend quality time in the lounge with a beer. I did have a hiccup with the online checkin for the second flight. As the flight was quite full and many people had prebooked their seats, I couldn’t checkin on the internet or at the kiosk as there were only exit-row seats left. The checkin staff had to see me to ensure that I was able-bodied to help in an emergency.