AirAsia move to axe Phuket-Bali, Ubon flights sparks ire from 'stranded' travellers

Phuket Gazette

Now everyone can fly, but not from Phuket to Bali or Ubon Ratchthani. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- Low cost carrier AirAsia’s decision to cease operations from Phuket to Bali and Ubon Ratchthani has sparked a storm of angry comments directed at AirAsia’s call center by passengers feeling that they have been left stranded.

Staff at the AirAsia office at Phuket International Airport told the Phuket Gazette that they had fielded many queries, mainly asking what can the travellers do now.

AirAsia announced on its Thai Facebook page, “Due to the 34 per cent increase in Chinese passengers over last year to Chongqing and Wuhan, we have decided to ‘move forward’ and open a third route to Xi’an.”

It goes onto say that due the high demand of the Chinese market, AirAsia found it necessary to adjust its flight routes to focus on the primary market.

AirAsia had no other option than to cancel some routes. The final flight from Phuket to Ubon Ratchathani will be today (September 29) and last flight to Bali tomorrow (September 30), the official Facebook page said.

In addition to their Phuket flights, the company is also to cease the Bangkok to Colombo, Sri Lanka, route on October 10.

However, many passengers who had already flown to those destinations complained that they were informed of the decision only after they had arrived.

AirAsia gave passengers who had already booked flights three options; adjust their travel plans to meet the last flight times; have the price of their tickets put in credit against their next AirAsia trip, or receive a full refund.

Travellers with questions for AirAsia staff can call the helpline number: 02-515-9999

In one piece of positive news, the daily service from Phuket to Udon Thani, which had been suspended, will be reinstated from Monday, departing Phuket at 3:45pm.

The major rescheduling of AirAsia services in Thailand comes as the low fare carrier moves its operations in Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Mueang Airport, effective from Monday (October 1).

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...lers-18031.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-09-29

I don't understand why this is such a major deal - can't Air Asia offer a free rerouting Phuket-KL-Bali and Phuket-Bangkok Ubon. Sure, it is a longer trip time - but people can still get where they are going. I'm no fan of many of Air Asia's business model - and they should have given more notice - but this is not life threatening.

yep, full refund, the ladies in Lotus told me about this option, yesterday.

Unlucky, a friend of mine, in Europe, has booked for December, and the ladies from Air Asia only gave out the telephone number, too.

But via the contact form, he got a (auto?) reply from 'noreply@'.

"

This is just a quick note to let you know that we have received your feedback (Case Number : xxx-xxxxxx-xxxxx).

We’ll get back to you within 5 working days. We appreciate your patience as we continue to respond to every email we receive.

We'll see..

But: anyone is knowing a working and accepted mail address? Only in case?

Thanks!

I don't understand why this is such a major deal - can't Air Asia offer a free rerouting Phuket-KL-Bali and Phuket-Bangkok Ubon. Sure, it is a longer trip time - but people can still get where they are going. I'm no fan of many of Air Asia's business model - and they should have given more notice - but this is not life threatening.

Thai Air Asia (FD-flights) will not be happy, to pay Air Asia for rerouting via KL (AK-flights)!

Flights via KL are twice the price!

It's all about the money, me think!

Good luck to anyone trying to get a refund from Air {expletive} Asia! You'll need it!

Good luck to anyone trying to get a refund from Air {expletive} Asia! You'll need it!

Not as much, as you think.

Most payments are done with credit card. minimum for the Bali route, don't you think? If they don't pay back, .....!

Also they offered it, so it's an official option. But will need some weeks (aproximately 8?) to get the refund back to the credit card.

the pain in the a.. is only, that customer service emails aren't working, so that using the form is the only chance, besides calling 'em.

It's not always useful, to call Thai call centers, without some Thai(way) knowledge.

So the CXL with 12 hrs notice but take 8 weeks for a refund. Mungrals.

People did not need yet another reason to not go to Phuket, but good work Air Asia.

Good luck to anyone trying to get a refund from Air {expletive} Asia! You'll need it!

Same thing happened when the yellows grabbed Swampy - Air Asia flat cancelled and would not refund. <deleted>. I have never flown with this poorly seated flying bus since and believe me, they have lost a LOT of money from my pocket to their competitors.

Good luck to anyone trying to get a refund from Air {expletive} Asia! You'll need it!

Same thing happened when the yellows grabbed Swampy - Air Asia flat cancelled and would not refund. <deleted>. I have never flown with this poorly seated flying bus since and believe me, they have lost a LOT of money from my pocket to their competitors.

That is exactly what happened to me, I kicked-up such a stink that they issued me a letter which said I should get a refund, but when I tried to redeem it, it was flatly refused... <deleted>?!

So the CXL with 12 hrs notice but take 8 weeks for a refund. Mungrals.

'They' (Air Asia) will see the money in a couple of weeks, Who will cancel a transaction,

Good luck to anyone trying to get a refund from Air {expletive} Asia! You'll need it!

Same thing happened when the yellows grabbed Swampy - Air Asia flat cancelled and would not refund. <deleted>. I have never flown with this poorly seated flying bus since and believe me, they have lost a LOT of money from my pocket to their competitors.

That is exactly what happened to me, I kicked-up such a stink that they issued me a letter which said I should get a refund, but when I tried to redeem it, it was flatly refused... <deleted>?!

Me see a difference:

You kicked up

Here they mention it by there own staff, at the next available Counter.

Maybe only i see a difference, between someone, trying to p...., eh, get his money back, or thousands of people, pre booked for month, to a now canceled destination!

but its probably only me.

And : only time will tell!

I agree, it will need time. But even there, I think, the payment from Visa and other card Co's to Air Asia can be part of the delay. Would you return money, before you got it? With the risk, that the card holder is canceling the payment in the same time? "There was no flight"?

This is one of those times when travel insurance comes pretty handy. Innit?

Contact credit card company, get refund.

Contact travel insurance, get refund, allowances, etc.

Contact AirAsia and you might even get a friendly e-mail: "Tough luck, now P**S off, Khap"

Might even be a better deal then flying with them

I know this is a stretch - but are there any consumer protection laws in Thailand about such cancellations of service and full refunds or acceptable rerouting? Even if the laws are not in place - how can a company fail to provide service and then fail to offer a full refund - insane.

Despite another example of FD's heavy handed style, I doubt this will have much of a long term impact. Passengers that purchase solely on price will still choose FD. Most PAX are unaware of events like this or think it won't happen to them. I don't know why people still complain. FD's operational style is no secret. PAX have oher options, but those that choose the FD option must accept that the "low prices" come with a cost: Service.

Air Asia is the worst airlines... When are the rest of the people realize it and stop using them... I have.. To many bad experiences with them.... NEVER again...

Despite another example of FD's heavy handed style, I doubt this will have much of a long term impact. Passengers that purchase solely on price will still choose FD. Most PAX are unaware of events like this or think it won't happen to them. I don't know why people still complain. FD's operational style is no secret. PAX have oher options, but those that choose the FD option must accept that the "low prices" come with a cost: Service.

That's it:

FD

Air Asia is the worst airlines... When are the rest of the people realize it and stop using them... I have.. To many bad experiences with them.... NEVER again...

Did you fly FD, with the bad experience, mostly? And maybe AK with the 'not so bad experience?

Nothing wrong with Air Asia. Flown them dozens of times, though, I usually pay a little extra for the better seat which gives you a meal, too.

They must be doing something right as they are the most profitable budget airline in the region.

Too many people want the cheap price, but, expect the same service as a non-budget airline.

Nothing wrong with Air Asia. Flown them dozens of times, though, I usually pay a little extra for the better seat which gives you a meal, too.

They must be doing something right as they are the most profitable budget airline in the region.

Too many people want the cheap price, but, expect the same service as a non-budget airline.

Sure business is business but any company should show some standard of repect or honesty for their customers, especially cancellations without reasonable notice and the difficulity of getting a refund. IMHO I would'nt be suprised if they went the way of Stragetic / Air Australia who protested their innocence to the end whilst robbing people to the last miniute.

A couple of interesting local related articles here that do the company no favours.

http://www.thephuketnews.com/airasia-cancels-phuket-bali-flights-33419.php

http://www.thephuketnews.com/air-asia-dumps-phuket-ubon-service-33484.php

It's a bit of a gamble booking an FD flight before October 1st to fly after that date as that's when they always have their schedule changes. Other budget airlines are similar. Tiger cancelled many flights a couple of years back only giving notice a few days beforehand.

Surely they must make these decisions well in advance of that October date as getting slots at other airports isn't something that happens overnight. I would guess they have been negotiating for these Chinese routes for some time, got the go-ahead fairly recently and chopped two of the less profitable routes to move the aircraft elsewhere.

Where does the customer fit into these plans? A bit of an annoyance probably.

I almost booked to go to Bali from Phuket in October and am happy I didn't.

I feel sorry for all those booked on these flights but you should at least get your refunds (unlike my BKK/LHR cancelled flight with Kingfisher where I am still several hundred pounds out of pocket after nearly six months).

Got news, today:

A friend of mine, who wanted to travel Phuket Bali in the end of this month got a mail, that they refund the money to his credit card, one week ago!

Trying to ask for another friend of mine, coming in Dez. to Phuket, and wanted to fly to Bali, short after,I got confusing news, today

On telephone:

Air Asia will offer, without extra cost, this trip from Phuket via KL to Bali.

I called the Bangkok call center (+66 2 515 9999), and they told me, they only need the information, which flights you wanna chose, to change the booking and to confirm it.

And they are on the way, to mail everyone, for this options.

And indeed, my friend got a message, today:

Dear Valued Guest,

Air Asia flight FD2971, scheduled to depart from Denpasar to Phuket at 12.35 PM (12.35 hours) local time on 1-31 December 2012, has unfortunately been canceled due to a route suspension starting from 1 October 2012 onward.

We apologize for any inconveniences caused.

In the event of such a flight cancellation, you may choose from the following options:

(a) Credit shell: You may retain the value of your fare in a credit account for your future travel with AirAsia. The credit shell is valid for 90 days after it has been issued.

( Obtain a full refund within 30 working days.

For further information please visit Ask AirAsia at http://www.airasia.com/ask/

Or contact your AirAsia local call centers

[...]

Thank you and apologies for any inconveniences caused.

AirAsia

For this telephone call, I had a native Thai speaker, to deal with it.

Sometimes, it is still very irritating, here!

And finally:

Thank you for emailing Airasia.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused regarding flight services between Phuket(HKT) to Denpasar (DPS) withdraw from 30^th Sep 2012 onwards. However, we would consider offer full refund for your requested.

Guest who holds bookings and affected by this suspension may choose the following options:-

Option 1: Reroute, only Phuket - Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur - Denpasar and Denpasar- Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur- Phuket. Travel dates are subject to seat availability.

Option 2: Credit shell which you can utilize on a later date. However, please refer to the

Credit shell condition as below.

The balance left will be the amount for you to utilize on the following options:

Make new bookings, pre-booked meals and baggage

Make changes to an existing bookings, pre-booked meals and baggage

Lastly, kindly take note of the following:

It is valid for 90 days

Once expired, it will be locked by the system and it is not extendable

It is applicable for D7, AK, FD and QZ flights

It is transferable to any family members or friends

Option 3: Full refund

I only found out about this today when I called to book an extra ticket for a person joining us for our already reserved Phuket vacation in December. 16 days later and they still hadn't told me it was cancelled. They offered to refund but refused to route me through Bangkok instead.

Air Asia is the worst airlines... When are the rest of the people realize it and stop using them... I have.. To many bad experiences with them.... NEVER again...

Same with me,I flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai,they charged me 3,000 baht for the ticket and 6,000 in excess luggage!

Joke airline supposedly in dire financial straits,the sooner they go bust the better!

I guarantee the refunds will NOT be honoured by Air Asia.Eight weeks to return monies to credit cards,utter joke,just to pass as much time as possible so you forget about it!

Let's return here in 8 weeks time,shall we?

I called the English call center in Thailand twice trying to get them to re-route and finally just took the refund. My wife called the Thai call center after I had already agreed to the refund and yelled at them and they are now re-routing us through Bangkok instead for free. Get a tough Thai woman to call and be persistent I guess...

Air Asia is the worst airlines... When are the rest of the people realize it and stop using them... I have.. To many bad experiences with them.... NEVER again...

Same with me,I flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai,they charged me 3,000 baht for the ticket and 6,000 in excess luggage!

Joke airline supposedly in dire financial straits,the sooner they go bust the better!

Where did you read AirAsia is going bust? I think you mean Thai Airways are in "dire financial straits" and have had to create the "Thai Smile Airline" to compete with AirAsia.

To my knowledge, AirAsia are in a strong financial position with increasing market share. I think they will lose some business with the move/push to Don Muang Airport, but nowhere near enough to threaten the viability of the company.

Thai Airways are in "dire financial straits" and have had to create the "Thai Smile Airline" to compete with AirAsia.

Last I checked a couple weeks ago. The Thai Smile price was no different from Thai Airways.

they charged me 3,000 baht for the ticket and 6,000 in excess luggage!

The excess luggage fee is easy to avoid. Annoying the way they try to get you with insurance, seat fees and luggage but avoidable.

Joke airline supposedly in dire financial straits,the sooner they go bust the better!

Be careful what you wish for.

Less airlines = less competition = higher fares.

You are miffed because you got charged for excess baggage?

Are you not familiar with the way all budget airlines work?

Cheap fare and then charge like a wounded bull on extras.

Thai Airways are in "dire financial straits" and have had to create the "Thai Smile Airline" to compete with AirAsia.

Last I checked a couple weeks ago. The Thai Smile price was no different from Thai Airways.

That's why I said AirAsia may have been "pushed" to Don Muang.

I would not be surprised if the Thai Smile ticket prices are equal, or slightly cheaper, than the cost of the journey across the city from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Muang, thus, everyone just flying with Thai Smile out of Suvarnabhumi Airport, rather than having a choice of budget airlines, out of the same airport, for a connecting flight to a holiday destination.

Thai business as usual - make it harder for your competition rather than actually compete with them on product and/or service.