Air Asia Excess Baggage

[ZEAK]

Total speculation that they cancel flights because of not enough passengers. AirAsia is not the number one fastest growing airline because of a lack of flyers. I know FIRST HAND that their flights are almost always full, rarely falling below the 75% occupancy rate. Unlike Thai, where I have had many a flights with 4 seats at the back all to myself. To me it would make more sense for Thai to cancel a flight due to not enough passengers as they are the ones with the huge operating costs, NOT AirAsia.

I'm curious, what does the back of a plane look like? I always sit at the front, and those nice curtains block the view

If you always sit at the front, then why is a low cost airline any concern to you at all? Hmmm. And just for your info, statistically speaking, if a plane crashes, the most survivors are in the tail section.

Enjoy your champaign!

[thaimiller]

Some how my luggage became overweight by a divine miracle. It was fine going from Bangkok to Phuket, but packing the exact same stuff became overweight coming back.

Add to that their perpetual lateness I will never use them again

i know that feeling, we flew from madrid and our combined weight was 32kg, when we checked in at bkk to fly to CM it was suddenly 42kg, i was looking for the 10kg of added contraband but it never appeared. must be the luggage fairy's.

[Contractor]

Like some mentioned, you are not going to get much of a deal with them if you book last minute. Most people that fly with them know this. And even though I am a young strong oak, I can still not carry as much as I could put into a checked bag, and I think they know this, so yeah, the weight restriction does work.

I was questioning the logic of shifting the excess weight from checked baggage onto hand luggage (which was not weighed or measured). The total weight the plane carries is the same, therefore the same amount of fuel is burnt.

It is unfair to compare the pricing policies of two different companies, but on the day I flew the 'most-restricted' ticket on Thai was actually cheaper.

Yes, if every time a repair is needed on an aircraft, and they choose to delay the flight instead of flying with it, it tells me that they take safety very seriously. For you to make such a broad assumption about the standard of their routine maintenance without having first hand knowledge is well, silly? I heard that Thai airways just blew a tire out while landing in Cambodia, my gawd! They must never do any maintenance on their planes! So am I going to stop flying Thai? No. Planes break down, planes need up keep, thats a fact.

Again, not really my point. I don't think anybody has suggested that a plane should be allowed to fly if it has failed a safety inspection. My (general) point was that if one airline suffers more delays than others due to safety checks being failed before flight (and that was not my claim) then logic dictates it may be something to do with their maintenance or age of the fleet (although from what I see the age of the Air Asia fleet is quite good).

For four years I worked on and off as a contractor in the maintenance sheds of an airline based at LHR. Maintenance standards, unfortunately, do vary and some of the engineers I worked with would not fly on certain (overseas based) airlines. I have no personal knowledge of the maintenance standards of Air Asia, and if I thought they were below standard then I would not fly with them. However, there have been concerns widely reported in the industry that the phenomenal growth in (particularly Asian-based) low-cost carriers, has seen standards of maintenance squeezed by financial pressures.

And dude, its a bottle of water, not going to break the bank now is it? Human right? I would LOVE to see that argument live on a flight. You protesting against one of the sweet hostesses that you are not going to pay for the water as its your "human right" to have it. Would provide GREAT entertainment, but I would imagine that in the end, some stranger would just buy the bottle of water so that the loud complaining farung would shut their pie hole, as this type of attitude grows old very quickly here.

I have never witnessed nor been involved in any argument over water on an aircraft. Oh, I see, the alleged incident has been imagined by you.

Again, my point was that when passengers (especially those, for example, with small children) are stuck on the tarmac on a hot plane, it would be decent to make water available. I am not expecting food or soft/alcoholic drinks, just some water. I also think that charging for water, whatever the circumstances, is pretty mean, as it is "not going to break the bank" is it?

Many thanks.

[tigerbeer]

Again, my point was that when passengers (especially those, for example, with small children) are stuck on the tarmac on a hot plane, it would be decent to make water available. I am not expecting food or soft/alcoholic drinks, just some water. I also think that charging for water, whatever the circumstances, is pretty mean, as it is "not going to break the bank" is it?

most restaurants make you pay for water which according to you is a "human right".

except Dukes and a few other fine establishments.

[ZEAK]

Like some mentioned, you are not going to get much of a deal with them if you book last minute. Most people that fly with them know this. And even though I am a young strong oak, I can still not carry as much as I could put into a checked bag, and I think they know this, so yeah, the weight restriction does work.

I was questioning the logic of shifting the excess weight from checked baggage onto hand luggage (which was not weighed or measured). The total weight the plane carries is the same, therefore the same amount of fuel is burnt.

It is unfair to compare the pricing policies of two different companies, but on the day I flew the 'most-restricted' ticket on Thai was actually cheaper.

Yes, if every time a repair is needed on an aircraft, and they choose to delay the flight instead of flying with it, it tells me that they take safety very seriously. For you to make such a broad assumption about the standard of their routine maintenance without having first hand knowledge is well, silly? I heard that Thai airways just blew a tire out while landing in Cambodia, my gawd! They must never do any maintenance on their planes! So am I going to stop flying Thai? No. Planes break down, planes need up keep, thats a fact.

Again, not really my point. I don't think anybody has suggested that a plane should be allowed to fly if it has failed a safety inspection. My (general) point was that if one airline suffers more delays than others due to safety checks being failed before flight (and that was not my claim) then logic dictates it may be something to do with their maintenance or age of the fleet (although from what I see the age of the Air Asia fleet is quite good).

For four years I worked on and off as a contractor in the maintenance sheds of an airline based at LHR. Maintenance standards, unfortunately, do vary and some of the engineers I worked with would not fly on certain (overseas based) airlines. I have no personal knowledge of the maintenance standards of Air Asia, and if I thought they were below standard then I would not fly with them. However, there have been concerns widely reported in the industry that the phenomenal growth in (particularly Asian-based) low-cost carriers, has seen standards of maintenance squeezed by financial pressures.

And dude, its a bottle of water, not going to break the bank now is it? Human right? I would LOVE to see that argument live on a flight. You protesting against one of the sweet hostesses that you are not going to pay for the water as its your "human right" to have it. Would provide GREAT entertainment, but I would imagine that in the end, some stranger would just buy the bottle of water so that the loud complaining farung would shut their pie hole, as this type of attitude grows old very quickly here.

I have never witnessed nor been involved in any argument over water on an aircraft. Oh, I see, the alleged incident has been imagined by you.

Again, my point was that when passengers (especially those, for example, with small children) are stuck on the tarmac on a hot plane, it would be decent to make water available. I am not expecting food or soft/alcoholic drinks, just some water. I also think that charging for water, whatever the circumstances, is pretty mean, as it is "not going to break the bank" is it?

Many thanks.

I think, that the weight restriction does work, as even though we shift some of the heaver items to the carry on, the passenger is still restricted to how much he can carry. And just the fact that people who fly with AirAsia know that there is a weight restriction, they prepare for it by either traveling light, of forwarding on their excess baggage. I think that out of two planes, one with a 15kg weight restriction, and the other with a 30kg restriction, the first WILL be lighter even if people fill up their back packs, because who is to say that the people on the second plane also do not fill up their carry ons? A lighter plane will go farther and faster on less fuel, once again, keeping the operating costs down. To me this logic makes sense, not sure of its validity though.

Thai has been offering more and more "special" fares, where a trip to CM was the same price of AirAsia. I guess they have to if they want to try to capture some of AirAsia's customers. But the deals usually only last for a week or two. Of course, I will always fly with Thai, if given the choice between the two when they are priced the same.

Dude, your paragraph about what you claim and do not claim regarding maintence of aircraft is one of the most confusing bits of writing I have read in a long time. The last was a letter about some tax descrepency from my federal govenment, your little bit almost tops it. So...you do think there is a problem with the maintence of their planes? Oh wait, you say that is not your claim. What? But you like the age of the fleet? What? Are you sure you did not also work as a laywer, cause me thinks you got what it takes. What?

I agree that some of the standards are different, depending on the airline. I also know that a certain other low cost carrier has sub standard mainance and I choose not to fly with them the because of it. When you hear first hand accounts of staff that are afraid to fly because of the quality of repairs made, its real. AirAsia does a very good job to ensure that a certain level of quality is maintained regarding their repairs. Like I said ealier, I would rather be late and alive then on time and dead. People moaning about delayed flights to not think about the implications if that delay was not to occur.

So.....how long IS is meant to take to change a tire/tyre?

Yes, I did imagine some farung causing a scene cause they did not want to cough up the few baht for a bottle of water. It was just SO easy to conjour up when you mentioned it is you "human right". I hope you understand. I do not see the difference between passengers with small children, and all the rest. Thirst is thirst, no? Are small kids somehow MORE thirsty than adults? "Stuck on a tarmac in a hot plane" Hmmm. Nope, its been rejected. The last flight I was on with AA was in the new Airbus. We were stuck on a HOT TARMAC in A COLD PLANE. That I can say is true. There air con was so good, even with all the vents closed. It was a VERY pleasant flight. And water IS available. Just ask the pretty lady, "Pom kor nahm plao krub", and she will give you a bottle, then you give her the few baht that it is. What do you mean not availabe? Oh, you mean free? Well, in the toilets the taps were spewing water! Once again, they charge for water because they are a no frills airline. I do not know why this is so difficult for some to understand. Its all part of their business plane and enables them to offer cheaper flights. I once read an article about how much one airline saved by giving only 2 grapes instead of 3 in the salads that they served, I forget the exact amount, but I do remember it was a hel_l of a lot.

Hey, maybe you could use some of your fancy wording and......write them a letter! I am sure they would be thrilled to hear your view on how their airline should be run. Make sure to include the part about "human rights" and all.

Or, just choose to fly an airline that offers water, if that is your largest factor in determining who to fly with.

Cheers

[Paagai]

Just ask the pretty lady, "Pom kor nahm plao krub", and she will give you a bottle, then you give her the few baht that it is.

I've never flown Air Asia; I never realised they were SO cheap they can't afford to hire cabin crew who speak English .