LIon Air vs Air Asia

[elgenon]

I travel twice a year between BKK and Chiang Mai, like to fly around 1PM and have a baggage allowance of 25 kg. How do you rate the two vs each other? Cost, comfort, attitude, reliability etc.

[VIPinthailand]

would you prefer to die with air Asia or lion air?

Edited March 22, 2015 by VIPinthailand

[NanLaew]

would you prefer to die with air Asia or lion air?

Have you flown with either? Ever?

[JimShortz]

I don't think either will give you the international style baggage allowance that you require. For that you willlneed to fly Thai or Bangkok Air.

[Ricardo]

Thai Lion will allow 15 kgs of hold-luggage, at no extra charge, while Thai Air Asia will charge you for all of it.

Both fly between the same airports, CNX & DMK.

TAA have more flights, but IME are more-likely to run late, purely a personal opinion.

[siam2007]

Thai Lion will allow 15 kgs of hold-luggage, at no extra charge, while Thai Air Asia will charge you for all of it.

Both fly between the same airports, CNX & DMK.

TAA have more flights, but IME are more-likely to run late, purely a personal opinion.

Very easy and relatively inexpensive to buy a 25 KG allowance when booking AirAsia, whereas there is NO SUCH OPTION when flying ThaiLion. So you will pay OVER THE ODDS for every KG that is above the 15 KG allowance on ThaiLion.

TAA is certainly not "running late", I would not be surprised if they are in the TOP 5 in Asia when it comes to punctuality since they moved to Don Mueang.

Before at Suvarnabhumi that was another story, but that was mostly due to the fact Swampy is overcrowded and budget Airlines are treated as a 2nd-class customer there. So TAA had problems to run according to their very tight schedule and turnaround times of just 25 Minutes.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I would rate Air Asia as being the better airline and you can select how much baggage you want when you book so 25kg no problem. Do Lionair air offer this much baggage? I am not impressed by Lionair safety record either. I have flown Lionair to Chiang Mai and it was ok. My first choice on this route is Nok Air but you have to be happy with a free 15kg of baggage allowance. Need 30kg book Bangkok Air, from BKK only, and join there frequent flyer scheme to get 30kg total. You have the free of charge lounge with Bangkok Air , orange juice, coffee , sandwiches, popcorn , wifi etc. Airfares can be as cheap as the low cost airlines too.

[Ricardo]

Thai Lion will allow 15 kgs of hold-luggage, at no extra charge, while Thai Air Asia will charge you for all of it.

Both fly between the same airports, CNX & DMK.

TAA have more flights, but IME are more-likely to run late, purely a personal opinion.

Very easy and relatively inexpensive to buy a 25 KG allowance when booking AirAsia, whereas there is NO SUCH OPTION when flying ThaiLion. So you will pay OVER THE ODDS for every KG that is above the 15 KG allowance on ThaiLion.

TAA is certainly not "running late", I would not be surprised if they are in the TOP 5 in Asia when it comes to punctuality since they moved to Don Mueang.

Before at Suvarnabhumi that was another story, but that was mostly due to the fact Swampy is overcrowded and budget Airlines are treated as a 2nd-class customer there. So TAA had problems to run according to their very tight schedule and turnaround times of just 25 Minutes.

"TAA is certainly not "running late"

You're welcome to your own opinion, but my own experience is clearly different than yours.

My first-ever flight on TAA (CNX-HDY) ran 4 hours late, with no prior-warning, they even gave us an B80-meal-voucher as compensation, which is exceptional IME for a LCC-airline.

Then last November, flying TAA CNX-DMK, we sat and waited ... and waited ... as our TAA flight ran 1-1/2 hours late, while two full Thai Lion flights, which were scheduled as operating later, landed & off-loaded & loaded-up & took-off like clockwork, while we continued to wait. This was especially aggravating, as I'd paid B300-each-way extra for luggage on TAA, whereas Thai Lion was already-included.

I still fly TAA sometimes, but those early experiences did happen, and do colour my impression of them !

Lastly I'd add that IMO most Thai airlines 'pad' their flight-times, to give the impression that their on-time performance is better than it really is, and I know from experience (meeting flights at CNX) that actual arrival-times are sometimes mis-reported as 'on-time'.

[elgenon]

Yes, I have noticed that TAA quotes a flight time much longer than needed so they are normally "on time".

I allow myself 20 kg for a 3 month trip but sometimes I get presents or buy presents so 25kg allowance is comfortable.

Does anyone know what Lion's additional charge for 25kg is? I checked their website and found nothing. That bothered me..

[CNXBKKMAN]

Thai Lion will allow 15 kgs of hold-luggage, at no extra charge, while Thai Air Asia will charge you for all of it.

Both fly between the same airports, CNX & DMK.

TAA have more flights, but IME are more-likely to run late, purely a personal opinion.

Very easy and relatively inexpensive to buy a 25 KG allowance when booking AirAsia, whereas there is NO SUCH OPTION when flying ThaiLion. So you will pay OVER THE ODDS for every KG that is above the 15 KG allowance on ThaiLion.

TAA is certainly not "running late", I would not be surprised if they are in the TOP 5 in Asia when it comes to punctuality since they moved to Don Mueang.

Before at Suvarnabhumi that was another story, but that was mostly due to the fact Swampy is overcrowded and budget Airlines are treated as a 2nd-class customer there. So TAA had problems to run according to their very tight schedule and turnaround times of just 25 Minutes.

"TAA is certainly not "running late"

You're welcome to your own opinion, but my own experience is clearly different than yours.

My first-ever flight on TAA (CNX-HDY) ran 4 hours late, with no prior-warning, they even gave us an B80-meal-voucher as compensation, which is exceptional IME for a LCC-airline.

Then last November, flying TAA CNX-DMK, we sat and waited ... and waited ... as our TAA flight ran 1-1/2 hours late, while two full Thai Lion flights, which were scheduled as operating later, landed & off-loaded & loaded-up & took-off like clockwork, while we continued to wait. This was especially aggravating, as I'd paid B300-each-way extra for luggage on TAA, whereas Thai Lion was already-included.

I still fly TAA sometimes, but those early experiences did happen, and do colour my impression of them !

Lastly I'd add that IMO most Thai airlines 'pad' their flight-times, to give the impression that their on-time performance is better than it really is, and I know from experience (meeting flights at CNX) that actual arrival-times are sometimes mis-reported as 'on-time'.

All airlines operate late sometimes, all airlines divert due to fog sometimes, all airlines have tech problems sometimes etc. If you are unlucky to fly one one of these affected flights loads of people will say "worst airline, never going to fly with them again blah blah" . In reality you have just been unlucky and the airline was doing the best it could.

[elgenon]

I don't think either will give you the international style baggage allowance that you require. For that you willlneed to fly Thai or Bangkok Air.

TAA charges about $5 for 25 kg baggage. Can't remember exact cost. And have never been hassled about my large backpack carry-on that has a laptop and iPad and all my electronics I don't want to lose.

[elgenon]

would you prefer to die with air Asia or lion air?

Not dead yet!!! I do miss the flight attendants' jeans. Now TAA attendants wear regular unis. Want to be seen as a "real" airline I guess.

[VIPinthailand]

would you prefer to die with air Asia or lion air?

Have you flown with either? Ever?

I meaned germanwing, sorry!

[sabanook]

Does anyone know what Lion's additional charge for 25kg is?

Thai Lion Air Exceeds Baggage Fee is 400฿ / kg, see 10.5 of terms and conditions:

Checking in baggage which exceeds from Baggage Allowance will be charged on a per kgs at the basis check-in counter

AirAsia allows baggage weight transfer from one guest to another if they are travelling on the same itinerary:

baggage weight is transferable from one guest to another if they are travelling on the same itinerary and check-in together

what about Thai Lion Air, any experience? can three people carry 2 luggages of 22,5kg each = 45kg instead of the allowed 3 x 15kg = 45kg without any surcharges?

[Asiantravel]

I would rate Air Asia as being the better airline and you can select how much baggage you want when you book so 25kg no problem. Do Lionair air offer this much baggage? I am not impressed by Lionair safety record either. I have flown Lionair to Chiang Mai and it was ok. My first choice on this route is Nok Air but you have to be happy with a free 15kg of baggage allowance. Need 30kg book Bangkok Air, from BKK only, and join there frequent flyer scheme to get 30kg total. You have the free of charge lounge with Bangkok Air , orange juice, coffee , sandwiches, popcorn , wifi etc. Airfares can be as cheap as the low cost airlines too.

" I am not impressed by Lionair safety record either"

Based on what incident/incidents?

[Macclad]

When he says not impressed by the Lion Air safety record he must mean Indonesia Lion Air which did have a pretty poor record but Thai Lion Air is a completely different company.

I have to say I prefer Thai Lion Air to Air Asia now.Air Asia used to be good but now there website has too many add ons.

For instance,Air Asia recently had a promotion 490 baht to Bangkok one way or 980 baht return.But then you have to add on 330 baht each way for 20kg of luggage plus an admin fee of around 100 baht,which soon takes the price up to 1740 baht......and then you have to delete the insurance and choosing your seat that they try to foist on you.

In contrast,Thai Lion Air quoted 1140 baht return(excluding insurance) for the same journey which includes all taxes.The only possible gripe is that you only get 15kg of luggage included in the price.

Nok Air charged 1780 baht for the same return journey,a similar price to Air Asia.That means Thai Lion Air is 600 baht cheaper than its competitors.....thats almost 30% !

Thai Lion Air also have some brand new 737's in service now.

Thai Smile and Bangkok Airways to Suvarnabhumi both quoted over 2800 baht for the same journey.Unless you have a connecting International flight I wouldnt consider either of them.

So it pays to shop around for the best deals,I reckon.

[KED]

I also travel between Bangkok and Chiang Mai 3-4 times per year; howver, I don't travel with as much baggage as you are. For me, Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi are equally convenient. My first choice is Bangkok Airways IF their fare is within 200 baht - because they have the free domestic lounges and free checked bag - but if they are more than 200 bath - I would choose Lion and then Air Asia. Of course, we all have different expectations and criteria for selecting flights.

If you want to prebook more than 15kgs of baggage - you might be better off choosing Air Asia,

I did an inquiry from Bangkok (both airports) to Chiang Mai for Sept 9 returning Sep 15 and got the following fares (all in THB)

AIr Asia 1561

Lion Air 1489

Bangkok Airways 2900

Thai 2523

I'm not sure why Smile and Nok Air do not show up for the inquiry on Skyscanner. But based on this info - I would book Lion Air because they allow 15 kgs of baggage without charge whereas AIr Asia would charge.

I did go to Nok AIr's website and their lowest fare that day was THB 2398 before baggage fees and on Smile's website their fare was THB 2176

Edited June 14, 2015 by KED

[KhunBENQ]

For domestic flights its better to go through the airline websites.

ThaiSmile and NokAir e.g. do not appear.

ThaiAirways appears but with the higher prices instead of booking at Thaismile which is now the operator of the flights.

KED:

AirAsia 1561, with 20 kg baggage allowance: 2040.

Thaismile from Suvarnabhumi with 20 kg allowance 2176 as you wrote.

NokAir from Don Mueang with 15 kg allowance 2398 as you wrote and with 20 kg it is 2748.

So NokAir is surely a no go.

With this and the fact that I prefer Suv. anytime it would be Thaismile.

Prices make me smile anyway.

I remember the times when a domestic oneway was rarely below 2000.

Edited June 14, 2015 by KhunBENQ