Dreaded the thought of making an Air Asia booking but ...

[jko]

I recently had to make a return CNX-HKT group reservation and anticipated another add-on nightmare booking with Air Asia.

I smiled to discover Thai Smile offered an almost identical fare with NO add-ons

The Thai Smile fare included:

• 20 kg baggage allowance
• Free Seat selection
• No credit card 'administration' fee

It was a pleasure to book with Thai Smile - done in minutes - but the nicest feeling was depriving Air Asia of a fairly large sum.
I just wish The Smile had more routes.

Edited June 21, 2016 by jko

[CNXBKKMAN]

I have booked many TG and Thai Smile airfares at about 1300 baht to BKK and Bangkok Airways can be competitive with the low cost airlines. Just assuming Air Asia and Thai Lion are always the cheapest is a mistake.

[true blue]

rip of airline that air asia,conned me big style once, Never forgot,

[sharktooth]

Air Rage Asia are one of the worst airlines I have ever flown with.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

AA seat config on the A320 is the worst I have ever seen...but for 16 usd roundtrip to BKK...I will suffer...but it is clearly Asian shoot yourself in the foot style business all the way. A Thai man who was about 180 cm tall told me he flies Lion for more legroom because he finds the legroom problem on AA unbearable.

[anto]

AA are fine ,but always check out other options .

[richard_smith237]

I just booked flights to KL and onwards to Kota Bharu.

Malaysia Airlines have removed one of their afternoon flights which up until now made the timing very convenient.

AirAisa has reasonably timed flights, so I was taking that route, but then had to start jumping through hoops... Airasia would not put baggage through to the connecting flight *(no idea why) and they need 3 hrs for transfer at KL... BKK-KLIA2-KBR could not be booked in one ticket.

Back to Malaysia Airlines for a flight which gets me to my destination at midnight... not ideal... but a better option than AirAsia with their practices.

[jobin]

I've never had a problem with AA. Mostly fly CNX to/fro HKG. I would not know about AA domestic but do know they fly into Don Muang airport, in Bangkok.

[LawrenceChee]

I honestly prefer lion air as their planes are newer and snacks edible and they have the 15kg free checked bags

A great deal for the Chiang Mai to DM route

Edited June 21, 2016 by LawrenceChee

[Paul Catton]

Have never found problem with Air Asia and is consistently the cheapest of the Asian budget airlines.

Return tickets for two, Auckland to Chiang Mai for February 2017, total $1,066 NZD (26,176 THB) inclusive of card charges.

We can put up with being more cramped and the lack of fully inclusive service for the duration of flights as the savings represent about 14,000 THB from the next cheapest option.

Opals purse benefits immensely from the savings and allows for better accommodations at destination.

[TheSiemReaper]

Absolutely loathe Air Asia happy to celebrate someone taking their business elsewhere. It's the leg room - it's beyond cattle class and into battery chicken class.

[evenstevens]

Absolutely loathe Air Asia . It's the leg room - it's beyond cattle class and into battery chicken class.

great sense of humour 55555 always nice to see

and on the money,but E/S always flys Air Asia to my land down under,simply because its El Cheapo

my return trip saves me approx 18,000 baht or approx 720 AUD

this loot that E/S saves, gives me a nice bank, for my punting on the horses,( just luv a punt,) with a nice bott of Aussie red, prefer Penfolds

yes a bit rough as guts, but as long as you take off and land is my main priorty

besides swallowing a pack of sleeping pills, gets me through it

its a ripa of a good morning to all ,and its so nice waking up alive and having a beer or two, for another day

[stament]

Have never found problem with Air Asia and is consistently the cheapest of the Asian budget airlines.

Return tickets for two, Auckland to Chiang Mai for February 2017, total $1,066 NZD (26,176 THB) inclusive of card charges.

We can put up with being more cramped and the lack of fully inclusive service for the duration of flights as the savings represent about 14,000 THB from the next cheapest option.

Opals purse benefits immensely from the savings and allows for better accommodations at destination.

Each to their own. For me Air Asia is fine and I sometimes go with them on domestic thai flights if they offer a direct route which nobody else offers. Normally though I am flying between CM and Swampy and then onwards so I prefer Bkk Airways, Thai Smile or Thai depending on price and times. Bkk Airways is my preference as lounge access and they offer 10kg free for members making it 30kg. Thai also offer 30 but I noticed Thai Smile has recently changed so now 20 is the minimum.

From DMK I prefer Thai Lion generally to AA as they give you 15kg free, although again this is only when I dont have to connect either end with an international flight as changing airport is a hassle for the sake of a couple of hundred baht and the downtime. 95% of the time I have luggage weighing between 15 and 30kg which means AA is never a consideration.

NZ to Thailand seems like a good few hours and personally good IFE is something I like as I never sleep so for me paying the premium is worth it. However, I have often flown indirect to save some money so I can splurge on something else. Flew indirect to Vegas once and spent the money saved on the flight at The Bellagio ?

My own regular route is Dubai to Cnx. I see Qatar offer it end to end for something like 7000 cheaper than emirates/bkk. However, the timings and extra 4 hours make Qatar an unattractive option. Plus Emirates has far better IFE in my opinion.

Sorry to digress, back to the original topic, AA are a true budget airline and ok if tavel,ing with hand luggage and route is acceptable i.e. you accept the pain of transiting in BKK between airports for a lower fare. No free food on the plane isnt a killer as mostly short flights but they could do with offering a free drink, that wouldn't go amiss. ?. Their sale prices can be bargains but their normal flights I find aren't much cheaper than Thai, Bkk, etc if you book at the right time and sometimes more than Lion, hence an airline I very rarely use. Having said that I did fly Cnx to Krabi earlier this year as best option and no complaints.

You take your pick and pay the price. Always nice to have options.

[stament]

Have never found problem with Air Asia and is consistently the cheapest of the Asian budget airlines.

Return tickets for two, Auckland to Chiang Mai for February 2017, total $1,066 NZD (26,176 THB) inclusive of card charges.

We can put up with being more cramped and the lack of fully inclusive service for the duration of flights as the savings represent about 14,000 THB from the next cheapest option.

Opals purse benefits immensely from the savings and allows for better accommodations at destination.

Paul with no IFE and those savings made you can afford to buy Opal a tablet and download some movies for her so she doesn't get bored on the flight. You can even afford to splurge on a coffee on the flight ;-) Edited June 22, 2016 by stament

[Paul Catton]

Have never found problem with Air Asia and is consistently the cheapest of the Asian budget airlines.

Return tickets for two, Auckland to Chiang Mai for February 2017, total $1,066 NZD (26,176 THB) inclusive of card charges.

We can put up with being more cramped and the lack of fully inclusive service for the duration of flights as the savings represent about 14,000 THB from the next cheapest option.

Opals purse benefits immensely from the savings and allows for better accommodations at destination.

Paul with no IFE and those savings made you can afford to buy Opal a tablet and download some movies for her so she doesn't get bored on the flight. You can even afford to splurge on a coffee on the flight ;-)

She's got her IPad and other gizmos already, the real IFE comes when we sneak into a vacant Premium Flatbed for the mile high (subject to availability).

Champagne afterwards when back in the chicken coop.

[Thailand]

Some 40 plus flights with Air Asia over the years.

Never had a problem, usually the cheapest around,particularly with advance booking. Online booking works fine with no problems.

[Wallich]

Some 40 plus flights with Air Asia over the years.

Never had a problem, usually the cheapest around,particularly with advance booking. Online booking works fine with no problems.

++++1

[dotpoom]

Very interesting....thank you.

[stament]

Have never found problem with Air Asia and is consistently the cheapest of the Asian budget airlines.

Return tickets for two, Auckland to Chiang Mai for February 2017, total $1,066 NZD (26,176 THB) inclusive of card charges.

We can put up with being more cramped and the lack of fully inclusive service for the duration of flights as the savings represent about 14,000 THB from the next cheapest option.

Opals purse benefits immensely from the savings and allows for better accommodations at destination.

Paul with no IFE and those savings made you can afford to buy Opal a tablet and download some movies for her so she doesn't get bored on the flight. You can even afford to splurge on a coffee on the flight ;-)

She's got her IPad and other gizmos already, the real IFE comes when we sneak into a vacant Premium Flatbed for the mile high (subject to availability).

Champagne afterwards when back in the chicken coop.

Cool. Are you planning to sneak the champers on board as I don't recall seeing that on an AA menu ?

[dcnx]

Absolutely loathe Air Asia happy to celebrate someone taking their business elsewhere. It's the leg room - it's beyond cattle class and into battery chicken class.

I loath them too. However, you can always pay just a few hundred more baht for a "hot seat" with extra leg room or request an exit row when you check in, which costs money if you reserve online.

[dcnx]

By the way, some AA international flights have lay down first class seats.

[likeke]

I like AA. Never had a problem. I get my boarding pass on line and go directly go the gate. The new terminal for domestic flights (terminal 2) is nice as are the two buses that take you to Mo Chit BTS for only 30 baht.

[stament]

By the way, some AA international flights have lay down first class seats.

Does seem odd. I mean if you wanted real first class surely you wouldn't think of AA? Interested to know how there first class compares to a carrier such as Thai Airways lets say or BA.

[Jdiddy]

Riveting tale op

Patiently awaiting your next thread

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Absolutely loathe Air Asia happy to celebrate someone taking their business elsewhere. It's the leg room - it's beyond cattle class and into battery chicken class.

Exactly...not concerned about the pilots or the transvestite attendants or no water....they've really crossed the line on legroom. I will not say never, as it's almost free sometimes, but I will avoid, and would even go to less convenient Swampy for the same price....yes, T2 is fine at DMK, and the A1, A2 bus is great....but you won't have time for a smoke, it is so frequent. BTW, there is no food worth a <deleted> at Mo CHit...they obviously know people are trying to get a cheap meal in before being taken prisoner by airport concessions. 7-11 between T1 and T2 with narked up prices, especially on beer...but 20 for a 500ml Coke Zero is a lot better than inside...

[Mansell]

I honestly prefer lion air as their planes are newer and snacks edible and they have the 15kg free checked bags

A great deal for the Chiang Mai to DM route

Tried to book Lion, but they won't take American based credit cards, only Thai or Singapore cards.

Otherwise I would have used them.

[SooKee]

Interesting. Maybe Thai Smile is different with groups to AA then? I just booked a return with AA from CNX to HKT and AA worked out around 4,700 inc 20 kg checked baggage. TS wanted 6,160.

[LawrenceChee]

I honestly prefer lion air as their planes are newer and snacks edible and they have the 15kg free checked bags

A great deal for the Chiang Mai to DM route

Tried to book Lion, but they won't take American based credit cards, only Thai or Singapore cards.

Otherwise I would have used them.

Use the call centre mate ...

[Ricardo]

I honestly prefer lion air as their planes are newer and snacks edible and they have the 15kg free checked bags

A great deal for the Chiang Mai to DM route

Tried to book Lion, but they won't take American based credit cards, only Thai or Singapore cards.

Otherwise I would have used them.

I've used two UK-issued MasterCards to make bookings on Thai Lion without any problem.

[stament]

I honestly prefer lion air as their planes are newer and snacks edible and they have the 15kg free checked bags

A great deal for the Chiang Mai to DM route

Tried to book Lion, but they won't take American based credit cards, only Thai or Singapore cards.

Otherwise I would have used them.

I've used two UK-issued MasterCards to make bookings on Thai Lion without any problem.

me too, maybe an American thang! ?