Horrific Air Asia Experience: Please Beware

[ClaytonSeymour]

I suggest you provide facts to substantiate such a serious & potentially damaging allegation.

This is a web forum. Like any web forum, anyone can post any crap they like. Are you really sure about that? Just read any one of the posts in this thread as proof. Air Asia is hardly going to be quaking in their boots or seeking legal recompense over it.

Next.

Complaints regarding service are one thing - accusations of not following correct maintenance procedures are much more serious. Seeing as he hasn't returned with facts, I suggest he hasn't got any, so in that sense yes, it is crap.

Edited March 30, 2008 by ClaytonSeymour

[arco27]

I must have made well over 100 flights with AA over the past 5 years and NEVER had an unpleasant experiance. Some flight delays, but not more so then with regular airlines. The trick is to follow their rules and always give yourself plenty of time. The pr-paid food between Australia and KL is crap, but who cares if it costs 200 Bath. The planes between Australia and KL are nearly new and imaculate and also KL to BKK are always nice and never look neglected, as are the ones on Thai routes and to other Asian destinations. Most of the staff are friendly, I guess they sometimes have to handle difficult and upset passengers and in typical Asian fashion, they just switch off if they get agrivation (so would I), a smile and a nice quiet chat gets you much further than yelling. TG found it necessary to move their Brisbane flight to impossibe hour (5am starts in BKK, plane leaves at 8am) and via Sydney to Brisbane while AA leaves for an overnight flight to the Gold coast and a day flight back to KL. So for shear conveniance I stick with AA, plus th 15kg baggage allowance is great, everytime my partner decides to go shopping I can remind him of the baggage allowance, saving even more money.

[stuandchris]

Personally I have no sympathy, it is a budget carrier that has tight rules to turn a profit, just the same as Easy Jet and Ryan Air in Europe.

If you are still turning up at airports with no time to spare with excess baggage then either you don't fly much don't read your conditions or expect people to bend over backwatds to accomadate you.

Flying economy is like catching a bus, if you are late you missed it, it doesn't matter that the plane is in sight to you, think about the other two hundred passengers who got there on time and want to go.

[mark lamai]

they left me behind at Suva last year.

i posted about it and some folks called me a liar.

reason was extremely long immigration queues.

security guy also said i should walk faster,

thats so incredibly rude for a start.

they dont do announcements airport wide coz it costs money to do them.

they made no attempt to locate the late passenger.

i missed by minutes as well, the plane was still attached to the airwalk thing.

cheap yes and nasty.

[ClaytonSeymour]

they left me behind at Suva last year.

i posted about it and some folks called me a liar. I guess some will stand by their original comments.

reason was extremely long immigration queues. They must have been.

security guy also said i should walk faster, Perhaps he was right? In the past I've had to sprint through airports (Don Muang several times) to catch my flight, I hold my hands up and admit it was my own fault for not allowing more time.

thats so incredibly rude for a start. Why?

they dont do announcements airport wide coz it costs money to do them.

they made no attempt to locate the late passenger. How do you know?

i missed by minutes as well, the plane was still attached to the airwalk thing. I've seen this happen on full service carriers too - usually the passengers are to blame.

cheap yes and nasty. Then pay for a fulll service carrier.

I've had some interesting experiences with low cost carriers too - whilst I wasn't exactly happy at the time, I'd read the terms & conditions, therefore didn't see the point in telling all and sundry. It doesn't matter which country they operate (perhaps with the exception of the US) they follow a set business model & you pay your money and take the chance. I never use them when time is critical.

[Zpete]

Air Asia uses crap surplus fleet planes that are poorly maintained , avoid them if you value your safety.

Care to tell us what evidence you base that pretty damming statement on?

Air Asia fleet is as modern as, all A320s or A330s.... more (20) on order.

Get a life.

Go by the rules and Air Asia as good as any other carrier if yer a cheapskate like me.

Umpteen flites, neva problem.

Once I slept in, an hour late at airport, well aware I would have to pay again. Lo and behold, they were later than me, saved by the bell.

I feel OP is blaming everyone else except his self for HIS shortcomings.

Get a life , Mate.

KL, LCCT is Ok, comletely no frills, but as they say, ya gets wot ya pays for.

BKK, Swampy, is OK, but be aware of long distance hikes to gates.

[Martian]

Air Asia can be a very horrific rip off! Please BEWARE

I recently booked a return flight to Kuala Lumpur Suvanahbumi airport at the Air Asia boothe, thinking I was saving about 3,000 baht compared to the Thai Airways price, however, I was about to start a horrific experience. The girl sold me a ticket for a delayed 18.45 departure at 18:50, assuring me that there was enought time to meet the flight, expected to leave at 19:35.

I made my way through the immigration, and as I had worked in Thailand for five years without leaving the country, the police were suspicous of my visas and I was led to the overstay desk for a further check. Luckily, I brought my work permit with me, which made it easy to see that I had been working continuously and that there wasn't a problem. However, the whole procedure of waiting for the immigration in the evening as well as the additional passport check took up about 15-20 minutes. I then made my way down to the gate, probably stopping off at a toilet on the way, and arrived at the gate at 19:26, apparently ONE minute too late. Although it was stamped in a smudged red ink on the ticket that the gate closed 10minutes before expected take-off, the significance of this wasn't pointed out to me at the ticked boothe.

I begged the girl to contact the plane, which I could see just outside the window (this was a walk on airplane) but she seemed to take a delight in saying that I was one minute too late and that I should have ran or walked a bit faster and asked my if I am "so unfit?". However, nobody informed me when I bought the ticket that I would need to "run" and anyhow what kind of response is that?

Expecting to be placed on the next flight for free which was due to depart some 50minutes later, I was obviously very distressed to be told that I must pay again, and not the same price but a full fair of 6,200 baht for a one-way ticket and I would lose all the 2,800 baht that I just paid for the current ticket. I objected and the girl said she would have to take me back to the immigration desk and cancel by exit stamp. We walked back and I pointed out that her speed of walking back again took a full 20 minutes to which she really didn't care. When we got to the desk, somewhat shockingly, she was the one that stamped cancel on my passport and not the police man. She also wrote my name in the cancellation book, and I could see a huge page of cancelled visas on Air Asia flights so there's obviously a rip off going on. I asked the police officer why he wasn't staping the passport and then he took an interest and looked at my passport and gave a telling off to the girl, but not because she was doing his job, but because my previous visa had no more days left so he said there's no point to cancel it as he couldn't let me back into the airport to buy another ticket.

The policeman said I had two choices, buy the ticket from the Air Asia girl paying cash, or be taken down to the police cells on the ground floor where I would have to wait until a friend came and bought a ticket for me. I might also be deported if I couldn't leave the country before midnight. So, with no choice in reality, I handed over the 6,200 baht and wasn't given any receipt because there was no time left.

I ran down to the gate with a security guard to catch this next flight, and just like before we arrived some 5 minutes minutes into the 10 minute deadline. But unlike the previous flight, there wasn't a problem in boarding the aircraft and the security guard was busy on his walkie talkie ensuring that I would be left in. So, if they could allow me on this flight "late" then why not the previous flight. Again, smells of rip-off to me but at leat they didn't pull the same trick twice.

On the return trip from Kuala Lumpur, I had just as many problems, but of a different nature. After the harrowing nature of the departure, and accidently arriving a day before a Malaysian public holiday disenabling me to get a new visa, I decided to return two days early. Now, I had been told at the Air Asia desk that I must pay 850 baht more to change a flight if 48 hours before departure. However, this is not correct. The Low Cost Airline airport at Kuala Lumpr (that's the name of it), is nothing more than corregated iron warehouse, with no fans and no air-condition. It also lacks any information counter, and I had to ask security to find where the Air Asia counter was. For these budget airlines, you're apparently expected to make all ticket changes on-line, and the counter at the LCA airport had for most of the time one staff. I counted 48 people waiting, and it took me two and a half hours to get to the counter girl. She really didn't know what she was doing, and everyone in the queue were angry and shouting at her, which was probably worsening her performance. For almost every click of the computer, she seemed to have to call someone to ask what to do. Anyhow, she told me that I would have to pay 6,200 baht equivelent because I had changed the flight time, and the fee of 900 baht but they would subtract the original 2,800 baht. There was no print out of the bill as the printer was broken and once again I was paying money without a receipt. I gave my credit card hoping I can settle this later, and thankfully this time there was no credit card print out to sign either (I hope that this will make it easier to argue the fee with the visa company).

My total flight cost then was 13,300 baht for a return ticket which is about 5,000 baht more than the Thai Airways return ticket to KL. Needless to say, Air Asia uses old aircraft, fit 6 people to the same row that Thai fits 4 people, and there's no free refreshments. Water also cost 50 baht at the airport for a small bottle, and no internet service is provided. I also was distrought from the heat and humidity within the airport, and the very loud noise of music and shouting bursting from a speaker continuously.

I will never fly budget airlines again. There is also no option on the Air Asia site for complaining. If I can edit this a bit, I'll write something to the Bangkok Post also.

You were late for your plane, why are you blaming someone else? Air Asia is a hit or miss proposition but this a typical someone else is responsible for my misfortune attitude from someone who doesn't understand what personal accountability is about.

Sorry to be so "cold" about it but people like you get no sympathy from me.

Regards,

Nanu-Nanu

[bigbadthaijohn]

I agree with quite a few of the previous posts. What exactly do you expect when you show up to the airport less than an hour before you want to fly out? Why couldn't you wait to use the lavatory on the plane? I understand that you had a terrible experience and that the service may not have been what you expected, but the fact remains that you put yourself in a bad situation because of poor planning and short-sightedness. Maybe next time you'll think about getting things sorted out ahead of time.

I have flown Air Asia maybe 25 times in the last 6 years. I have never had any problem with them, whatsoever. They have always been couteous and friendly. I've never had a flight delayed more than 15 minutes, and that was made up during the flight so that we landed early. Thai immigration, now that's another story. But I always give myself plenty of time to get through before the flight.

If you haven't flown Air Asia before, don't let the OP's post put you off. Try it for yourself and find out how it is.

BBTJ

[Junglejumbo]

My main point is why they sold me the ticket with too little or at least questionable time to reach the gate, and why i couldn't have just gone on the next flight which is actually the one I asked to buy before being told that I had enought time for the delayed flight. I admit that AA is the only budget airline i've flown on, which is somewhat part of the problem but it doesn't mean that these people can just take advantage of that even if only from a human point of view (she did look at my passport and I told her I hadn't left the country for 5 yrs). I know that I wouldn't have done the same as her-the ticket selling girl- had I been in her position.

Secondly, I was not yelling at anyone even when they wouldn't let me on the place but still her immediate attitute was of a smart ass, and very defensive rather than explanatory. Rather than pointing out their rules, she simply said she would have to call security and send me to the police. Again not nice. Why can't they be nice?

The lack of receipts is also an issue. They had time to scrawl out a boarding card, but not write a receipt. Now, the flight I was on had several empy seats. In fact the middle seat in each row of three were vacant. That's two empty seats on each full row. So why the price difference between the earlier flight and this flight (2,800 versus 6,200 baht). I thought the idea of the biz model was pricing based on availability.

[britmaveric]

every seat on AA isn't the same price - they sell at diff prices. Normally only cheap if you buy them on sale, if no sale can get quite expensive and that sounds like what you experienced.

[torrenova]

Whilst I think the OP was treated shabbily, it realy is the OP's fault that this chain of events happened. If you can find the TV forum to complain, you can find the Air Asia website to book a ticket and read the rules !

[dickie58]

Before I start can I say that i have gone a number of Flight/holidaypackages with Air Asia & generally they have been ok, apart from there late departing flights

I made a package booking back in early Dec to go to KL for the third year running to see the F1 in March 2008, on arival at my hotel in a taxi, same place as last year, i found out it was closed & has been since before Xmas, note on door saying " we are closed for 4 months for renovations, happy Xmas & Happy new year: dated 18th Dec, i made my booking on 8th Dec, surely they knew it was going to be closed.

To cut a long story short I checked into another hotel & paid for this, even that i had already paid for my other hotel with air asia. I tried to call air asia but got no reply

On Saturday morning before going to the F1, i went into the Air asia office in KL central, the girl said in there we have emailed & sms all clients in this hotel to inform them it was closed & to tell them another hotel was booked for them, I told her i never received anything, if I had why would I have gone there?

She then phoned her head office to tell them the situation, but they said they would make a note of this, but as the holiday dept was closed over the weekend could i come back on Monday morning & bring the recepit for the new hotel & they would refund the money to me, I explained that i would be back in Thailand on Monday, so I was advised to email them my receipt & problem & refrence number when i got back to Thailand, which i did.

This is now almost two weeks since i sent this email, not heard a word, I caled Thai air asia this week, but they told me to phone KL who handle hotel bookings, i did this & eventualy got through, only to be told to ring another number, this hapened three times & all they were doing was passing me from one office to another, clearly not intrested.

I know if you make a booking with a budget airline you get what you pay for, but surely they should honour there bookings?

On top of that after going back to the LCCT terminal after the F1 race on Sunday, expecting to get the 20.35 flight to Bangkok, that flight no longer exists now flies at 22.05, although all the people i spoke to had 20.35 times written on there ticket, including one guy based in Bkk who only booked the flight one week before, as there was a huge tropical storm the flight did not arrive until 22.50 & we did not leave KL until 1.05am the folowing day

Quite frankly Air asia made a mess of my whole weekend 'thanks a bunch"!!!

[siam2007]

Air Asia can be a very horrific rip off! Please BEWARE

INeedless to say, Air Asia uses old aircraft, fit 6 people to the same row that Thai fits 4 people

now thats complete nonsense..... both AirAsia and THAI have 6 seats in a row in any B-737 or A-320, except u book BUSINESS CLASS on Thai.

and all AirAsiaMalaysia-aircraft (AK-flights) are BRAND NEW, unlike the ageing THAI fleet. The ThaiAirAsia (FD-flights), to be fair, still use some of the older B-737-300....