Air Asia Baggage

[eliz1130]

My husband and I flew back to the states. We had 2 checked bags per person. We did not realize that the flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok would cost so much more than the ticket itself. Air Asia allows only 30 lbs of baggage per suitcase. International flights range from 50 to 60 lbs. We were charged over 5,000THB for our extra baggage allowance. Not only that Air Asia does not have a baggage aggreement with any other airlines. That means picking up your bags in Bangkok and carrying them on to the International Carrier. They are only point to point.

When we checked with a travel agency prior to departure they warned us that Air Asia is frequently delayed. We were concerned as we only had a 2 hour connection in Bangkok. Arriving in Chiang Mai our flight was delayed by 2 1/2 hours. Thank God that the flight prior that was due to depart Chiang Mai at 12noon was also delayed 2 hours. We were thankful that we could change our flights. We had only 1/2 hour to do this. While on board we both ordered a chicken sandwich from their menu. The menu showed a beautiful picture of this sandwich. When paid a good price for it, it was horrible and did not look anything like the photo showed.

To top off this experience, arriving in Bangkok to collect our bags, Air Asia did not have the baggage at the baggage pickup for over 40 minutes. Other flights arrived after ours and people were picking up their bags and already gone while our flight waited. Many passengers were upset and also connecting to International flights. I will never fly this carrier again. I took the time to post this as I did not want others to go through what we did. I suggest opening your pocket and fly Thai Air. With all the monkeying around and final cost through Air Asia, it was cheaper buying a ticket with Thai Air and not worrying about delays, picking up luggage, etc.

[kash]

Well, you get exactly what you pay for - did that surprise you?

[Royale]

The last time i flew with Asia Air i knew exactly what to expect, it's well known that they are often delayed,and the luggage allowance is clear on the terms and conditions attached to the tickets , the only thing that really pi55ed me off was that they lost our luggage containing our wedding outfits! The compensation was 500B as they found it on our return. They couldn't have cared less, hence the reason why we'll never fly with Air Asia again.Getting married in shorts and t shirts was the last thing we'd expected, thanks to Air Asia - they ruined our day!

[Mahout Angrit]

This is what Air Asia sent to me (amongst other terms & conditions) when I booked my ticket.

o AirAsia is strictly a point-to-point carrier and shall not be responsible for any connecting flight arrangements which you choose to make.

o You may transport free of charge checked baggage up to a maximum weight of 15Kg. In any event each checked in baggage shall not exceed 32Kg

o Passengers are not allowed to consume any outside food on board. No smoking is permitted on any flight.

You would have been sent the same.

Air Asia is a budget carrier and fares compete with a bus journey (today you can book to fly CNX - BKK for B750 inclusive) so you must expect the service to also compare.

Best to stick to the national carrier if you want convenience and punctuality but you will pay more. Pity your agent didn't advise you better.

[game4shame]

I recently flew BKK-SIN & SIN-HKT with airasia.

I knew about the 15kg limit but thought I'd risk my 21kgs (I'd heard of them waiving the excess on occasions). Anyway, I got stung at su-wanna-poom for about B900.

when leaving SIN for HKT I dumped some unwanted items and stuffed all my footwear in my hand luggage. I noticed the bag was approx 18kgs at check-in but I wasn't charged.

nice to see they're consistent.

[Jingthing]

Yeah, the trick is to pile a bunch of heavy stuff in your hand luggage. Worked for me from Chiang Mai. It was comical.

[briley]

I did that, only to find the scales in Chaing Mai were broken and I didn't have to carry 100Kg on board.

Darnnation!

[peter991]

Be careful with the weight of hand luggage when you transit through the LCC terminal at Kuala Lumpur flying Air Asia. The other night, all hand luggage was weighed and the 7kg limit was strictly enforced.

No - they were not charged extra to take it on the plane - they were told they could only take 7kg of hand luggage on the plane. They had to dispose of the excess!

Peter

[jonniebkk]

I don't know what your beef is...

Like others have posted already...AA is a LOW-COST carrier. Their baggage weight limits are well posted both on the internet and at the airport. In addition, they point out the fact that they (like just about all LLCs) are a point to point carrier and that they do not do any baggage transfers to their own connecting flights or those of other carriers.

If you want full-service, pay full price on a full-service carrier.

It boggles the mind that people expect airline food to be something out of Gourmet magazine!! It's all crap...even in many business classes (just barely edible). Eat before or take your own onboard!

Any experienced traveler would know to allow much more than 2 hours to make a connection from an internal domestic flight to an international one...even if there was inter-line baggage transfers on offer. At least 3 hours minimum...as anything can happen.

[ovenman]

Be careful with the weight of hand luggage when you transit through the LCC terminal at Kuala Lumpur flying Air Asia. The other night, all hand luggage was weighed and the 7kg limit was strictly enforced.

Nothing new there. My own cautionary tale from just over a year back: overweight at the LCC-T

I flew AirAsia from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on Tuesday afternoon of this week. My checked bag was 17 kg. My experience with AirAsia is that they usually let you slide with a couple kilograms over the 15 kg limit, but not on that day. I got charged for two kgs overweight. Win a few, lose a few...

[torrenova]

I think people use them because they are cheaper so it is fair that they know the restrictions. If you are really flying half way around the world then changing to fly north, I would have taken the add on with say Thai Airways which may have even been free.

[Zpete]

It really amazes me that people buy cheap LCC fares and expect to have all the full service goodies.

AND THEN COMPLAIN........... sheeeeeesh.

Most LCC airlines have similar conditions.

Some person suggested take your own tukka, noway, not allowed.

One-2-Go will give you a drink and a snack, bag of peanuts ......LOL.

Air Asia has a menu, if ya hungry, buy. Only time I have bought was on Bali ... KL flite.

As far as i know, only Air Asia is so stingy, with baggage allowances.

Neva care, I use Air Asia all the time when tripping from Swampypool, have for as long as.

MOST people carry far more junk in their bags than needed, their own fault if charged.

Wear a jacket with big inside pockets, to carry any heavy allowable items.

Not sure about laptops, I rarely travel with mine. Some airlines allow them free, as extra in the hand baggage allowance..

I have lost count on the numbers of flites with Air Asia, never a problem with baggage.

Edited February 23, 2008 by Zpete

[ChangMaiSausage]

Does anyone know what the current charge is for excess baggage, per kilo?

QUOTE 8.6Excess Checked Baggage: You are not entitled to transport Baggage in excess of

the free baggage allowance. If, in our absolute discretion, Baggage in excess of the free

baggage allowance is accepted for carriage, you shall pay a charge for the carriage of

that excess Baggage at the rates provided for in the fee schedule (which rates may be

changed or varied at any time and from time to time and will be available from us upon

request and are available at our check-in counters).

[siam2007]

My husband and I flew back to the states. We had 2 checked bags per person. We did not realize that the flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok would cost so much more than the ticket itself. Air Asia allows only 30 lbs of baggage per suitcase. International flights range from 50 to 60 lbs. We were charged over 5,000THB for our extra baggage allowance. Not only that Air Asia does not have a baggage aggreement with any other airlines. That means picking up your bags in Bangkok and carrying them on to the International Carrier. They are only point to point.

When we checked with a travel agency prior to departure they warned us that Air Asia is frequently delayed. We were concerned as we only had a 2 hour connection in Bangkok. Arriving in Chiang Mai our flight was delayed by 2 1/2 hours. Thank God that the flight prior that was due to depart Chiang Mai at 12noon was also delayed 2 hours. We were thankful that we could change our flights. We had only 1/2 hour to do this. While on board we both ordered a chicken sandwich from their menu. The menu showed a beautiful picture of this sandwich. When paid a good price for it, it was horrible and did not look anything like the photo showed.

To top off this experience, arriving in Bangkok to collect our bags, Air Asia did not have the baggage at the baggage pickup for over 40 minutes. Other flights arrived after ours and people were picking up their bags and already gone while our flight waited. Many passengers were upset and also connecting to International flights. I will never fly this carrier again. I took the time to post this as I did not want others to go through what we did. I suggest opening your pocket and fly Thai Air. With all the monkeying around and final cost through Air Asia, it was cheaper buying a ticket with Thai Air and not worrying about delays, picking up luggage, etc.

I only can say that you are extremely naive..... why didnt u check all that before ? dont blame others for your own ignorance....

ALL budget airlines are point-to-pint, and almost ALL budget airlines in Asia offer only 15 KG free luggage.... already since starting operations in 2003, AirAsia had only 15 Kg allowance and was charging for overweight luggage. oh, and in Europe, some no-frills-carrier charge extra for EVERY suitcase or Bag u wanna check-in, no matter how heavy it is.... ( they even charge up to 350 baht extra for credit-card-payment processing, lovely isnt it ?)

millions of people are very happy about the convent of all those budget airlines in Asia, and why u think AirAsia has ordered 180 new Airbus 320 ? because people like it as they get value for (little) money.

as for me: I now fly 30 times a year instead of 6-8 times a year I did before..... spending the same amount of money as I did before of course.....

oh, and I NEVER use a budget carrier when connecting to an overseas-flight.....

Edited March 2, 2008 by siam2007

[Shrubbery]

"With all the monkeying around"

You sum it up yourself.

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys !!!

It's a budget airline.

Your agent warned you that Air Asia often have delays.

Your ticket states the permissable baggage allowance.

Since when has a picture on a menu looked liked the same thing you buy. Be it a restaurant, shop, airline or greasy spoon.

Do Macdonalds burgers ever look anything like the picture on the menu.

Did you complain to Air Asia ?

[rimbung]

Who needs a meal on a short flight like that? Not me. I travels a lot on the BKK Khon Kaen Thai Airways service and cannot believe the ridiculous routine of serving boxed snacks and coffee. Most of the Thai's just ask for a plastic bag to carry the unopened box off the flight. So what you say. Well the meal service plus an extra 5kg of luggage cost money which is reflected in the ticket price.

Local cost carriers are great and cheap. If you don't like them then get your money out and pay for a better service.

On the luggage front can someone please explain why travellers from the USA need 30kgs or more each for a two or three week stay in a hot country?

[Shrubbery]

On the luggage front can someone please explain why travellers from the USA need 30kgs or more each for a two or three week stay in a hot country?

Spare Silicone Implants and/or expanded waist lines. Possibly !!!!