That should take some of the tension away from the pre-flight preparation, from those will-it-or-won’t-it-be-a-pair-of-shoes-too-far moments.

Yet I suspect there is a law that covers this, probably a derivative of Parkinson’s Law – “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. The Packing Law probably goes something like “amount of luggage packed increases according to the free allowance available”.

The good news is that air travellers have a real and distinctive choice between the low-cost airlines and a full-service carrier. Which do you prefer?

Low-cost carrier, Air Asia has made its inaugural flight to London today and I am wondering how it will affect the UK’s flight market to Asia in the coming months.

Although the airline is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur it has an ever-growing network around the region (see their route map here and click on View All Destinations) and could potentially impact on any or all of the other Asian carriers, not just the obvious one, i.e. Malaysia Airlines.

The new service is being operated by the carrier’s longhaul affiliate Air Asia X using the Airbus A340-300 with a capacity of 286 guests down the back and 30 Premium Seats (XL) at the front.

It will operate 5 times per week between KL’s Low Cost Carrier Terminal at Sepang and Stansted Airport, near London. See schedule.

Headline prices are from £199 one way but of course the actual fare will vary according to demand; and remember to add on the extras.

Naturally other airlines are not going to let the new kid have it all its own way and currently you can buy a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur from London with Emirates for £442 inclusive taxes (book by 16 March). And you can now book your onward Air Asia flights on the Emirates system: for example the current Air Asia fare from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi starts at around £6.

I wish Air Asia X well with the new London service. I think that what they have achieved in Asia in a relatively short time is admirable and it will be interesting to see if the low-cost model can make it in longhaul.

For example, I was just reading that in Thailand they do not have a systematic process of identifying and supporting the poor. That means that those who are losing jobs are not necessarily showing up on any one’s radar. “The poor, defined as those who earn less than $2 a day, may currently stand at 8% of the population.” If there is no way to track the poor then I guess that figure could be absolutely anything.

Still more worrying is the story in The Nation that states that “Women are facing harder times than men in the current labour market….with some working for as little as Bt15 a day.” That’s around 29 pence or 40 cents US. OK, the cost of living is lower there than it is here but even so!

Many people are losing there jobs in Thailand, and pretty much everywhere in Asia, because we in the West are not importing as much; and that of course applies to invisible imports (like tourism) as much as anything else.

The UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is calling for the world economies not to become Protectionist so that we can help each other spend our way out of this mess.

Now, I am just a humble ex-tour operator but that makes a lot of sense to me.

I no longer have any commercial interest in whether anyone travels to Asia or not. However, because of my affinity with the region and especially those within and allied to the travel industry, I do want to see tourists and travellers continue to visit and enjoy the region. If we can travel and help others in the process, then that seems a pretty good proposition to me.

Currently there are special ‘package’ deals to Thailand available from the likes of Funway Holidays and Kuoni Travel and, anyone wanting to go it alone, can get to Bangkok this month from £446 return with Emirates and bag a discount at somewhere like the Dusit Laguna Phuket (See Financial Protection & The Traveller)

What a great time to be a traveller hooked on Asia!