AirAsia - Dropping Phuket Penang flights

[RandG]

Looks like Air Asia are dropping flights between Phuket and Penang later this month. Wife and I have used it a couple of times and it was pretty full. 

[cornishcarlos]

Think they have stopped Krabi to Singapore too !!

[BritManToo]

They also dropped their daily Chiang Mai to Saigon at the end of the year.

Was talking to an AirAsia stewardess over dinner in Hanoi this weekend, and she said they're not only dropping routes but cancelling flights at short notice if not enough passengers. My 2nd Oct flight to Hanoi was dropped at the last minute and changed to 3rd Oct. The flight back was more than half empty.

 

Like many airlines, they appear to be in trouble.

Or maybe it's just good business sense.

[marin]

They have simply priced themselves out of the market. Low cost means low cost and they no longer are. Plus trying to get rid of baggage, seats, priority boarding and insurance is a pain in the ass on their site. I gave up 3 years ago and know many who feel the same...

[NanLaew]

25 minutes ago, marin said:

I gave up 3 years ago and know many who feel the same...

You "gave up" 3 years ago?

 

Let it go...

[BritManToo]

26 minutes ago, marin said:

They have simply priced themselves out of the market. Low cost means low cost and they no longer are. Plus trying to get rid of baggage, seats, priority boarding and insurance is a pain in the ass on their site. I gave up 3 years ago and know many who feel the same...

Another bit of  .......

I asked to sit as near to the front as possible when I checked in, girl at the desk says they aren't allowed to assign seats any more, unless I pay extra it's decided by the computer. So the back 1/3 of the plane is packed, and there's only 5 people sitting in the front 18 rows. Madness! 

[NanLaew]

33 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Another bit of  .......

I asked to sit as near to the front as possible when I checked in, girl at the desk says they aren't allowed to assign seats any more, unless I pay extra it's decided by the computer. So the back 1/3 of the plane is packed, and there's only 5 people sitting in the front 18 rows. Madness! 

You need to read "The dynamics of passenger weight and baggage weight distribution and their influence on flight economics in the LCC environment 101."

 

Michael O'Leary wrote the book.

[madmen]

Air Asia flights to the gold coast oz in peak season Nov December are 4k right now including taxes. Never seen that before, I guess Ozzie's are holidaying in oz this year, can't blame them and nothing to do with jet ski scams or Prayuth..its the <deleted> oz dollar, 20 baht!

[ThaiFelix]

This correlates with TAT's claim that tourists numbers are up ????

[ChasingTheSun]

Firefly still has direct phuket/penang flights.

[GSec]

Malaysians have to pay a staggering 40% more for the same amount of baht in the last 3 years.

I'm surprised they didn't bolt earlier.

[owenm]

2 hours ago, madmen said:

Air Asia flights to the gold coast oz in peak season Nov December are 4k right now including taxes. Never seen that before, I guess Ozzie's are holidaying in oz this year, can't blame them and nothing to do with jet ski scams or Prayuth..its the <deleted> oz dollar, 20 baht!

So 4k incl taxes to the Gold Coast is only AUD 200.. Isn't that dirt cheap if flight from BKK?? 

[madmen]

10 minutes ago, owenm said:

So 4k incl taxes to the Gold Coast is only AUD 200.. Isn't that dirt cheap if flight from BKK?? 

Yes and plenty seats 

[andy72]

Malaysia's departure taxes were increased this year.

many moons ago when AA first started you booked the flight and that was it
none of this baggage insurance etc <deleted>

then they took the ryan air template

 

and whats with the stupid adverts on the overhead lockers

i used to think they had nice planes but once you start with the tat forget it

just cheap and tacky fernandes has no class 
 

[Bangkok Barry]

It's clear to me that Air Asia are getting desperate for passengers. I receive emails from them almost daily offering deals, some up to 70% off. I for one gave up flying them when I have luggage because of their absurd check-in procedure where you have to queue once to print out a baggage tag and then queue a second time to hand the bag in at the check-in desk. What the hell is that all about?

[sead]

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

They also dropped their daily Chiang Mai to Saigon at the end of the year.

Was talking to an AirAsia stewardess over dinner in Hanoi this weekend, and she said they're not only dropping routes but cancelling flights at short notice if not enough passengers. My 2nd Oct flight to Hanoi was dropped at the last minute and changed to 3rd Oct. The flight back was more than half empty.

 

Like many airlines, they appear to be in trouble.

Or maybe it's just good business sense.

Air India was only a third full from bkk to Delhi 1 week ago

[geisha]

Not counting  Air Asia, who else can you fly with safely on low cost ?

[Lacessit]

Air Asia is losing money. They used to run a good service from Chiang Mai to Melbourne, with a layover of a couple of hours in KL. The layover became 10 hours, the airfare went up, and they started landing at Avalon instead of Tullamarine. Jetstar is a better option now.

 

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, geisha said:

Not counting  Air Asia, who else can you fly with safely on low cost ?

 

Thai Lion is a very decent airline. I've never had a bad experience with them. And Thai Smile is good too. They might sometimes charge a little more but a luggage allowance and snack is included. Avoid Nok at all costs. It is run on a shoestring and often cancels flights - due to pilot shortage as they are so poorly paid, so I've read.

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, geisha said:

Not counting  Air Asia, who else can you fly with safely on low cost ?

 Vietjet.

[sanuk711]

22 hours ago, madmen said:

Air Asia flights to the gold coast oz in peak season Nov December are 4k right now including taxes.

I don't think AirAsia fly's direct from Gold Coast any more---their main airport is now Brisbane, Gold Coast is a 13 hour 1 stopover KL flight......I think

[madmen]

24 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

I don't think AirAsia fly's direct from Gold Coast any more---their main airport is now Brisbane, Gold Coast is a 13 hour 1 stopover KL flight......I think

They don't do any direct flights from oz

[ICECOOL]

On 10/12/2019 at 5:16 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

It's clear to me that Air Asia are getting desperate for passengers. I receive emails from them almost daily offering deals, some up to 70% off. I for one gave up flying them when I have luggage because of their absurd check-in procedure where you have to queue once to print out a baggage tag and then queue a second time to hand the bag in at the check-in desk. What the hell is that all about?

I don't bother queuing twice. Just check in and they print it for you. Like the old days ????

[dimitriv]

On 10/12/2019 at 8:55 AM, BritManToo said:

Another bit of  .......

I asked to sit as near to the front as possible when I checked in, girl at the desk says they aren't allowed to assign seats any more, unless I pay extra it's decided by the computer. So the back 1/3 of the plane is packed, and there's only 5 people sitting in the front 18 rows. Madness! 

 

It is even more bad.

 

I bought tickets for me and my girlfriend. ALL airlines I know give you seats next to each other if you buy the tickets together at the same time. Air Asia does not. They randomly give you 2 seats in the airplane, far away from each other. If you want to sit together you have to pay extra.

 

I NEVER saw that with any airline before.

 

And another thing...  The seats at the row with the emergency exits are premium seats. If nobody pays for this the seats will be empty.  All airlines I know invite some people to sit there. And explain to them the procedure to open the emergency exit. Air Asia does not. There is nobody sitting there knowing how to open the door, if nobody paid the extra money to sit there.

 

 

[LivinginKata]

19 minutes ago, dimitriv said:

 

It is even more bad.

 

I bought tickets for me and my girlfriend. ALL airlines I know give you seats next to each other if you buy the tickets together at the same time. Air Asia does not. They randomly give you 2 seats in the airplane, far away from each other. If you want to sit together you have to pay extra.

 

I NEVER saw that with any airline before.

 

And another thing...  The seats at the row with the emergency exits are premium seats. If nobody pays for this the seats will be empty.  All airlines I know invite some people to sit there. And explain to them the procedure to open the emergency exit. Air Asia does not. There is nobody sitting there knowing how to open the door, if nobody paid the extra money to sit there.

 

 

 

Yes, I notice that when I book with my wife in the past. But this past year we end up seated next to each other. 

[sanuk711]

On 10/13/2019 at 1:20 PM, madmen said:

They don't do any direct flights from oz

Yes Brisbane is direct madmen....have a booking next week...

[madmen]

4 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

Yes Brisbane is direct madmen....have a booking next week...

wow you are correct. great news

[madmitch]

On 10/12/2019 at 5:16 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

It's clear to me that Air Asia are getting desperate for passengers. I receive emails from them almost daily offering deals, some up to 70% off. I for one gave up flying them when I have luggage because of their absurd check-in procedure where you have to queue once to print out a baggage tag and then queue a second time to hand the bag in at the check-in desk. What the hell is that all about?

That "absurd" practice is now common for many airlines all over the world. The first time I came across this was United Airlines a few years back and it surprised me but I flew Easyjet and BA last time in London and both airlines do this, along with many others.