While expensive, travelling internationally is also an incredibly thrilling affair that many will no doubt be looking forward to, what with the prospect of venturing out into new horizons to explore new parts of the world yet unseen. And picking a good flight carrier to get you there can make a world of difference in what kind of an impression your vacation will leave you with.
M’sian traveller finds seat armrests held together with yellow tape
In the case of Malaysian netizen Mr Edward Yong, he was in for a rather unexpected surprise when he boarded his return flight home from Taiwan’s capital of Taipei, bound for Malaysia on Monday (February 20th, 2023) via AirAsia X’s flight D7 379.
Upon entering the aircraft and heading towards his seat in Economy, he was stunned to discover that a good number of the armrests on the seats in the cabin were being held together by conspicuously bright swaddles of yellow tape.
“I feel malu [ashamed]. Foreigners must be thinking they are going to a very backward country. Planes are held together with tape. WTF. International flight!” he wrote.
Speaking with WauPost on the matter, Edward adds that from what he remembers, many of the seats in Economy class in his section featured armrests held together with yellow tape and that only Business Class seats were spared from the shoddy makeover.
“I stood up and saw at least half the plane like that. Couldn’t see further down. I was seated at the front part.”
When asked if he had the chance to raise the matter to AirAsia staff at the time, he said no. However, other netizens who have read his post have shared that they have also experienced issues with the armrests on seats from AirAsia flights, with one showing how the armrest trim appears to have torn off partially.
AirAsia blames spare parts shortage
In response to the incident, AirAsia X has since released a statement by its head engineer, Alvin Tan, who reassured passengers that the use of vinyl tape was not due to any safety issues on-board the aircraft.
“Due to the shortage of spare parts affecting operators worldwide and taking into account that this is not a safety issue, the vinyl tape — which is commonly used to cosmetic cabin repairs — was used as a temporary measure to prevent flight disruptions and to prioritise getting our guests to their destinations safely and timely.” it read.
He adds that spare part orders that were made back in August 2022 have since arrived, and that they are in the process of fitting them onto the armrests. The statement adds that the current disruption in spare parts supply has also affected other carriers.
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