Air Asia vs Thai airways

[horizon]

I think Thai Air will see many people now being more appreciative of their better service/benefits and willing to pay the relatively small extra cost for it, rather than fly with Air Asia.

Firstly, from reports I have heard, Thai Air were far more helpful and available during the recent airport occupation & resulting chaos. (It was close to impossible to reach Air Asia by phone and they did not even bother to post much useful info/updates on their website.)

Secondly, after all the consequent messing around and uncertainty in getting/changing and confirming bookings, Air Asia were this week refusing people 5 to 10 minutes late for check in on domestic flights. These people were told to buy new tickets (not to rebook -- to buy new tickets) for the next flight. The ticket states you should check in 45 minutes before the flight. In my experience, most airlines usually allow a little flexibility with this (things do happen -- exceptionally bad traffic, connecting flight delays and so on). Indeed, from my observation, some passengers habitually come very late, even for international flights, and effort is usually made to process them quickly and get them boarded.

There were plenty of vacancies on the Air Asia flights, too. It looked to me very much as if they were deliberately enforcing the check-in time policy as a way of bringing some extra funds in to recoup recent losses. (I may be wrong --- has anyone seen this happen before ??). No other sales counter had a queue of a few dozen people buying new tickets -- only Air Asia. All the other airlines had no more than one person making a quick enquiry.

Thirdly, I was aware that you cannot get a drink or snack without paying for it on Air Asia flights; no big deal on a one hour flight and many of us don't eat the unhealthy snack foods anyway (admit that a cup of tea/coffee or just water can be nice but none are essential). However, you cannot even request a blanket to help warm up after the freezing air-con at Suvarnabhumi as well as the freezing air-con on the flight (the latter perhaps due to the lower than usual number of passengers). You have to buy a "comfort pack". Oh, dear. It's just not worth it to me.

Fourthly, I don't know how well (or badly) the Air Asia employees are paid but some really don't seem to know they are supposed to be there to help you. It simply does not seem to occur to the young guys standing at the check in counters, for example, to help people lift their suitcases onto the scales/roller track -- older, frail-looking people with heavy or awkward luggage included .

Fifthly, and this comes back to paying a little more for far better service, there's the huge benefit of the freedom to change flight times/dates with Thai Air. If you need to make any change with Air Asia, you are "fined" 1,000 baht or so (forget the details).

All in all, I'd say forget Air Asia unless it suits your needs very specifically.

Edited December 11, 2008 by horizon

[horizon]

name='ozfarang81' date='2008-12-11 12:25:43' post='2397969']

lol horizon, plenty of low cost airlines enforce the check-in time. tiger do it, jetstar do it, easyjet do, ... etc etc. this has been going on for years now with LCC's and if people dont get it by now, then they deserve to have to pay for the flight again. LCC's have less staff working for them, so when the flight closes they finalise the paperwork for the trip, including load/fuel calculations and once its done its done. Latecomers will change all those calculations and require more work! If you arrive 35 mins before a domestic flight at BKK, then you didnt give yourself enough time, too bad!

Air Asia are currently charging 1000 baht for flights in January BKK-HKT, compared to 2670 for thai airways. that fare on thai airways does not allow date changes either! if u want to pay 2970 u can have the ticket that allows date changes on Thai (but it will cost you 500 baht!) so if u pay 2970, then 500 baht to change it your up to 3500 baht already. 3.5x the current Air Asia cheapest ticket prices on the route! and both of those fares no longer earn you frequent flier miles ! (they used to earn 500 miles minimum per domestic sector)

The cost of onboard snacks on Air Asia are actually very reasonable (compared to other LCC's) also. Why don't you just carry a jacket with you when you know you are going to be cold in the airport?

All in all, I'd say Air Asia are a great option for thai domestic flights, save a few thousand baht and spend more at your destination:)

.....

Ozfarang, thanks for your comments and thanks for explaining the rationale.

I was completely unaware that this policy enforcement happened with Air Asia and other "LCC" 's (and clearly quite a few other people were, too). As I said, it has not been my experience/observation with any airline in the past.

Please note that I would have been late for a flight no more than 2 or 3 times in my entire life and then only a little late; mostly due to late arrival of connecting flight. Personally, I prefer to leave plenty of extra time and am usually very early (tediously so).

I don't care about the snacks. I have not often been extremely cold on a plane and, again, it simply never occurred to me that I'd need to buy a "comfort pack" to keep warm or carry a jacket. I am posting so that others will know, too.

The "service" of the Air Asia staff was really pretty poor, too. Perhaps it was because they have had a bad time recently, but most were barely concentrating on the clients and some were borderline rude. I don't like or expect obsequiousness but I do expect staff to be somewhat alert for at least half the time . That doesn't cost anything. Nor would a few messages on their website to give people some idea of what was going on.

In coming months particularly, further disruptions are quite possible, so keep flexibility in mind when you choose your airline.

[ozfarang81]

I have kept that in mind and booked tickets BKK-HKT in Janaury for 2000 baht return on Air Asia. I used to fly Thai when there was the (very slight) incentive of earning 500 miles on my FF account but now that they dont offer any mileage on W or V booking codes it isnt worth it anymore. The prices are way up on a year ago also. I still like to fly Thai on flights to Australia though.

The blanket thing is normal with low cost carriers too, if you book a Jetstar flight from BKK to Melbourne (9 hours overnight) you will not get a blanket, unless you buy one of course.

Im sorry to hear you got bad service, I have always found Air Asia staff to be quite friendly, perhaps they were having a bad day

[horizon]

The blanket "surcharge" really did surprise me. I have travelled on some pretty rough and ready, and very cheap, buses & trains in Asia who either gave out blankets and/or small pillow plus bottle of water to every passenger or just supplied (& resupplied, in the case of water) when asked.

I didn't dare ask for a cup of water on the Air Asia flight. (Not because of the cost -- just too absurd ! It's traditional to offer water in Thailand, or at least Northern Thailand).

As a side note, I see that Suvarnabhumi continues to "confiscate" your sealed, bottled water before you enter the departure lounge area but you can buy some within for 70 baht for a small bottle of the usual local brands (normally sell for 7 or 8 baht) or 100 baht for imported mineral waters like Evian. Some tourists were buying -- you'd have to if on a long wait. I am sure these very special bottles of water are carefully checked for contamination of any kind .

The Air Asia service really was very shabby, I am sorry to say. I observed some Air Asia staff openly sneering and giggling behind the backs of other passengers ( & mine, too, very likely) of a variety of nationalities and ethnicities, no effort made whatsoever to assist some slightly overwhelmed and unassertive older folk with heavy bags, some impatience displayed when these older people were a little slow getting passports/tickets out/etc. at check in and often a general lack of interest in or complete oblivion to, what was going on around them so far as their "clients" were concerned.

I clearly have much to learn about the cheap air flights. I see your point about costs compared with Thai Air for your BKK-HKT trip. For a long haul trip, I think budget flights would be "false economy", for a variety of reasons. Does anyone know much about the comparative safety history of Thai Air and Air Asia, btw ?

I still don't know why someone (unintentionally & unavoidably) late to check in could not simply be rebooked on the next flight. It would not disturb the paperwork you mentioned, Ozfarang, but on the contrary, would help to create good will, or at least help neutralize some of the bad impressions. The next flight certainly had plenty of free seats. It would not have cost Air Asia more than a few baht to simply rebook rather than force me to buy a new ticket. Other airlines have rebooked for the next flight, just as a matter of course, on the times I have been caught out in the past.

[ozfarang81]

you could argue all day about airline rules and regulations but it wouldn't achieve much. The water/security thing is actually an international standard and not a Thailand thing.

unfortunately if you simply allowed everyone who shows up late for a flight to grab the next one then nobody will be making any effort to get to the airport on time putting a strain on the system. There must be some incentive to arrive on time. Besides that LCC's have to make up the money somehow! Some airlines will of course be more flexible on this but when you book a discount flight you need to be aware of the conditions associated with it. for 1600 baht difference on a thai domestic sector i can more than pay for a small snack and water which is about all the difference you get with Thai Airways.

as for safety, well Thai Airways last crashed one 10 years ago in Surat Thani killing about 100 people. They crashed one into a mountain in the early 90s in Kathmandu also, killing all on board. In 2001 one of their 737s caught on fire at the gate in Bangkok and was completely burnt out killing one flight attendant. Thai Air Asia has been flying only for about 5 yrs and so far no accidents.

[samiinjapan]

Air Asia is better as you pay very cheap prize and No service

[khunandy]

I dont mind Air Asia for short hops under 3 hrs and due to them being a LCC I can accept the lack of freebies onboard.

I find their inflexible attitude abhorent in regard to a genuine late comer at check in, even if it is due to another Air Asia flight being late. I understand their insurance isnt expensive and covers these sorts of problems though.

I would not use them if I was connecting to another flight if the gap between flights is less than 3 hours, although this has bitten me before as well.

I always pay the extra to Express Board but lately that has become a cattle muster as well.

I prefer Thai Air to tell the truth but if the savings are there by using a LCC its money (hopefully) better spent on other persuits.

[tartempion]

I think Thai Air will see many people now being more appreciative of their better service/benefits and willing to pay the relatively small extra cost for it, rather than fly with Air Asia.

Really???

What better service/benefits???

Small extra cost at 300%???

I flew them 15x in 2008, often BKK-UTH for less than 800B one way, I wouldn't take the bus for 500B would I?

I took a Thai Airways flight two months ago because of the better timing to catch an international flight out, paid 2400B or 3x the Air Asia price and had to deal with a transfer from DM to Swampy, the only difference being allowed 20kgs iso 15, which I did not need.

You better bet I will continue to prefer Air Asia over Thai

[horizon]

I find their inflexible attitude abhorent in regard to a genuine late comer at check in, even if it is due to another Air Asia flight being late.

Yes; that's my real complaint, particularly considering the almost total lack of information/service available to passengers needing to book/rebook/confirm flights during the PAD occupation & aftermath. They couldn't even manage to place some useful information on their website.

That, together with the (lack of) service from and behaviour of (some ... well, unfortunately I have to say many of the) Air Asia staff left me deeply unimpressed. It costs nothing to be polite and at least somewhat professional. People in jobs in places such as airports should really know better than to snigger behind the backs of perfectly well-behaved people of all colours and clothing types (very "polite" clothing types, in Thai terms, I might add) .

Air Asia is better as you pay very cheap prize and No service.

No kidding, No service !

I know the water thing is international; that comment was just an aside.

I understand their insurance isnt expensive and covers these sorts of problems though.

Oh ? Perhaps I should look into this ... I paid for the GoInsurance, I think it was called.

Edited December 12, 2008 by horizon

[ozfarang81]

I saw the Air Asia website updated quite regularly during the downtime with updates on the flights they were operating.

Surprised you havent already looked at the Goinsurance you purchased...

Horizon, nothing will change your mind now about Air Asia, you have it in your mind that they are terrible. Perhaps you should stick with Thai since you feel they are worth the triple cost.

Ill stick with air asia for my intra-asia hops, without them I wouldnt have travelled around asia as many times as I have with my thai partner this year. They have great frequency, great prices, now brand new Airbus A320's and a HUGE range of destinations in Asia.

[peter991]

I have flown with both airlines - Thai Airways from PER (Perth, Australia) to BKK direct and from BKK to BNE (Brisbane, Australia, via SYD) and Air Asia on their OOL-KUL-BKK (Gold coast-Kuala Lumpur-BKK run).

The majority of times, Thai used old planes that has more rattles than a rich 2yo. Air Asia's planes are new, clean and the staff pleasant.

Because the cost of flying with Air Asia was at least 45% LESS than Thai Airways (for an economy flight), I travelled Air Asia where possible - and spent the difference in Thailand. Air Asia also run on time (mostly) on their international flights. Their domestic flights are also much cheaper than Thai Airways.

Peter

[horizon]

I saw the Air Asia website updated quite regularly during the downtime with updates on the flights they were operating.

Air Asia were posting information about cancelled flights 24 hours in advance during the PAD occupation of the airport.

Once the PAD left, there were no postings on the website, though flights were still being affected (I am not sure if/when normal scheduling resumed).

During the PAD occupation, it was close to impossible to reach Air Asia by phone to book/rebook/confirm anything. My small hotel was calling various airlines to check/confirm/rearrange bookings for its customers. To try to reach Air Asia, the hotel had a phone on constant redial from long periods from early morning to late at night. They eventually made contact the evening before my flight. During this time, there were no updates on the website and there was no response to email.

Yes, Air Asia left me with a very bad impression that's probably irreparable. I know I was not not alone in this. The apathetic "service" staff plus the behind-the-back sniggering and face-to-face borderline rudeness to visiting foreigners really irked me, as did the money-spinner of making unintentionally slightly late check-in passengers pay for new new tickets rather than rebook on flights that were far from filled.

Considering all the inconvenience travellers had and were still experiencing during those weeks, I might have thought some effort or gestures could made to offset those bad memories. I'd consider that good practice, if nothing else.

I am happy that what Air Asia suits some of you. If you are elderly or have physical difficulties of some kind, service and the ability to get on your scheduled flight despite being 5-10 minutes late may be more important than cost.

Why don't we discuss other options for domestic travel in this thread ?

Edited December 13, 2008 by horizon

[horizon]

I'd consider that good practice, if nothing else.

I am happy that what Air Asia suits some of you.

Sorry -- that should read, "I'd consider that good business practice, if nothing else.

I am happy that what Air Asia offers does suit some of you."

[ozfarang81]

other options: you could fly OneTwoGo, but they dont exactly have a good reputation but they do give you free drinks, or try Nokair, but both offer very few frequencies on their routes.

I dont mind taking overnight trains in thailand, can be quite relaxing if you have a sleeper.

AirAsia was the second most hardest hit airline in this unprecedented event, being a LCC they have limited call centre staff (as most stuff is done online) so Im not surprised you couldnt get through. I personally think its understandable, who could have predicted that they would be unable to operate the airline for over a week. this is my last post in this thread, as we both have our minds made up

[horizon]

AirAsia was the second most hardest hit airline in this unprecedented event, being a LCC they have limited call centre staff (as most stuff is done online) so Im not surprised you couldnt get through. I personally think its understandable

I believe I said earlier that the difficulty in reaching Air Asia by phone was understandable under the circumstances. That's why I thought that they might have taken the trouble to keep the website updated -- that requires little time/manpower but would have provided much-needed information to many stranded and incommunicado people !

Trains can be a great option, I agree, so long as time is not an issue. You can see the areas you travel through (in daylight, of course) and stretch out on a sleeper bed. People tend to relax more on trains and you may find interesting people will chat with you. At the same time, a sleeper bed usually allows you some privacy if you just want to read or relax quietly.

[PattayaParent]

Im sorry to hear you got bad service, I have always found Air Asia staff to be quite friendly, perhaps they were having a bad day

Me too, never had any problems with Air Asia ground or cabin staff, maybe they were just dealing with an awkward customer.

The requirement to buy snacks / meals / blankets / luggage allowance etc. is well detailed on the Air Asia Website where you can purchase it in advance at a saving.

Also when you buy the comfort pack it belongs to you, no need to give it back when you deplane, so you can use it on future Air Asia flights.

In my experience airlines will only allow you a late check in if you have hand luggage only. Remember they have to check your bags in security and then get them to the 'plane and it's much more efficient to do this for a trolley load for the same flight than have to deliver only 1 bag to a 'plane.

In addition YOU also have to clear immigration which may take time and who's to say you won't dawdle in Duty Free while everyone else who arrived on time is kept waiting on the 'plane for you. And then have you complain that the flight was late!!

[torrenova]

I think that at the end of the day, you get what you pay for. I would not pay Bt8k return to Singapore with Air Asia (a route I use a lot) but when Air Asia is 3.5k return and Thai is Bt7-10k return then there is no comparison.

I would not use a LCC for long haul and have no interest (other than passing) in Air Asia X from KL to Stansted. However, for short haul they are fine.

The trick is to not just believe that the LCC is always better value. Sometimes the difference is so slight as to make the full service airline far better value.

[martin81]

AirAsia is sometimes more expensive than Thai air. Not always low-cost.

I would be flying bkk-udorn saturday 20dec.

Airasia ow 3500 THB 16:45

Thai Air ow 2300 THB 18:45

Now I am not so sure that I will not rather take the bus as I my flight from EU may be late and Airasia gives no refund even at this inflated price if I dont get there in time. For me the convenience of AirAsia is that it operates at the international airport so I dont need 1 hour in taxi.

Well maybe I will go with thai even without FF miles.

[wileycoyote]

I have been forced into taking Air Asia ,as they operate more frquently than TG to Chiang Rai.

The are not perfect ,but on balance they are OK !

(Fingers Crossed)

[ozfarang81]

0 baht flights (just airport tax and admin charge to pay) available now in January February and March on AirAsia. Cant beat taking the other half to phuket for the weekend at 800 baht all in return for 2 people. hmmm, same on Thai is about 9000 baht, gee, not a lot of thought needs to go into that decision!

[samgrowth]

Stop complaining about bad service in AirAsia. No AirAsia passengers should not expect any services. You don't pay for service, and you don't get service. If you want service, go TG or something else.

Stop complaining that you are not allowed to check in when you are 5 mins late. You are 5 mins late. What do you expect them to do? Allow you once only? What if you are 8 min late? Allow you onec only? What is you are 17 min late? Allow you onec only? What if you are 36 min late? Allow you onec only? I think their booking website state it very clearly. Counter close promtly 45 before schedule departure. Clear and easy to follow. If you miss, you miss. Clear and easy.

What I hate is normal airlines. They tell you to be at the airport 2 hours before schedule departure time. Why 2 hours? Isn't it a bit too far out?

The low cost terminal in KL is like a bus terminal. What do you expect. Pay 3rd class and expect 1st class.

I hear so many people say: NEVER AGAIN WILL I FLY AIRASIA. They are terrible. No service. Pay for water. pay for food. Like a bus terminal. No blanket. Always late. No free baggage. No refund. No changes. Narrow seats. Small aircraft. Old 737. etc, the list goes on. But when a good promotion comes out, they are the once who stay up untill mid night to be the first to grab cheap seats. Well, my coming BKK-Krabi-BKK cost only 400 Baht (and thet for return, not one way). Cheaper than my one way taxi ride from Nonthaburi home to Swampy.

So please. Go fly your TG (I lose count how many time it crashed already: Nepal, Surat, etc). Please do not fly AirAsia if you don't want to be treated like a dirtbag. AirAsia will survive long after TG goes belly up.

Edited December 18, 2008 by samgrowth

[samgrowth]

Secondly, after all the consequent messing around and uncertainty in getting/changing and confirming bookings, Air Asia were this week refusing people 5 to 10 minutes late for check in on domestic flights. These people were told to buy new tickets (not to rebook -- to buy new tickets) for the next flight. The ticket states you should check in 45 minutes before the flight. In my experience, most airlines usually allow a little flexibility with this (things do happen -- exceptionally bad traffic, connecting flight delays and so on). Indeed, from my observation, some passengers habitually come very late, even for international flights, and effort is usually made to process them quickly and get them boarded.

Horizon,

Would it make you feel better if AirAsia change their check in policy to:

"Counter close 1 hr before schedule departure. However we will wait up to another 15 mins for those who might be running a little late."

Question is. What do you do if you arrive at the airport 20 mins late (i.e. 40 min before departure)? Would you admit that you are 20 mins late, or are you only 5 mins late, and the airline should close one eye to allow you through?

Normal airlines does not mind if you are 5 to 10 mins late, because you need to be at the airport 2hr (or international) or 1hr (for domestic) before the flight.

Edited December 18, 2008 by samgrowth