AiaAsia, the unpredictable

 I returned to Japan from October 20th to 25th.

On this trip to Japan, I flew from KUL before 2AM to KIX (Kansai) after 9AM, and returned from HND (Haneda) at 11PM to KUL at 6AM. I used AirAsia night flights for both the outbound and return flights.

Since I was sleeping most of the time on the plane anyway, it was convenient to have the whole daytime available after arriving.

Something strange happened on the return flight.

At Haneda, or any other Japanese airport, you are required to check in at the counter again even if you have already checked in online (because they only handle paper tickets, I don't know if it's a system or legal issue).

I had no choice but to check in at the counter around 8PM, but at that time, the AirAsia flight I was planning to take announced a two-hour delay (according to the monitor display and the explanation from the counter staff).

I heard a group of three Japanese women talking nearby.

"It was a blessing in disguise that they delayed it by two hours. If they make small announcements at a time, there's a chance that they won't take off at the end, but it'll probably be fine," said one of the people who seemed to be used to traveling with LCCs.

I headed to the boarding gate area, thinking that the flight would depart at 1am, two hours late, just before 11pm.

However, after buying souvenirs, I had nothing to do.

I was having a beer at a bar with a view of the boarding gate early, and to my surprise, boarding began at the original departure time (11am).

After the delay was announced, I didn't (at least not by me) hear any announcement to correct the delay.

Was the malfunction fixed sooner than expected? Or was the plane that was said to be delayed actually arriving early?

The reason is unknown, but I must call the airline 'AirAsia the unexpected' from now.