By Belinda Jackson

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For such a pared-back flight, you might expect snarky staff and customers, but these passengers know the score and are prepped, and the staff laugh and joke delightedly as they wheel the drinks trolley through the cabin. It’s a genuine delight. They’re not just here for show; the bathrooms remain clean and tidy right to the end of the flight, and they’re kind and quick to help stow bags in the overhead lockers.

Food isn’t included in the fare. You could pre-order meals online beforehand – they’re cheap at about $8 for a main – or roll the dice inflight, as the tastiest options sell out early. We breakfast in the terminal beforehand, and my huge box of leftover nasi lemak becomes an inflight meal. It’s Malaysia, so bags of dried mango from the terminal are a healthy-ish snack, supplemented with some not-so-healthy but delicious popcorn chicken and teh tarik [tea with condensed milk] from the inflight menu. AirAsia’s founder, Tony Fernandes, swears by the airline’s nasi lemak.

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