beware of Air Asia X when 'transiting' ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

beware of Air Asia X when 'transiting' thru KL

Replies: 52 - Last Post: 11-Apr-2008 01:40 Last Post By: worldwiseguy

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Posted
20-Nov-2007 00:26
by: wokonbi

Posts: 7
Registered: 19/11/07

beware of Air Asia X when 'transiting' thru KL

I am writing to warn any prospective users of the new airline Air Asia X from the Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Many of would now be aware of and tempted by the low advertised fares to use Air Asia X to get firstly to KL and then connect to elsewhere in Asia.
Our experience last week should serve as a warning to anyone contemplating saving a few dollars en route to Thailand etc.
The fact we were on a an old plane with overhead locker covers missing, taps in the toilets that didn't work, no soap etc. paled into insignificance when we arrived (phew) into KL for our connecting flight to Bangkok.
The really major problem we experienced with Air Asia X was the complete indifference of the ground staff to honouring the 'obligation' to travellers on connecting flights with the same airline.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur from the Gold Coast having allowed one and a half hours to spare for a connecting flight to Thailand.
The plane was half on hour late into KL but by the time we cleared customs and arrived a the check-in for the next Air Asia flight to Bangkok we were told that as we were outside the 45 minutes cut off for boarding we would have to purchase new tickets.
These tickets were offered at almost twice the price we had originally booked on the net. As we were at a low cost terminal well away from the main KL International Terminal we were trapped and had to buy the overpriced tickets.
When we wisely decided that we would also change our booking on the return journey so as to allow more than one and a half hours we were told that this would incur a fee of nearly $80 each just to change the booking! Once again we were at their mercy and had to pay up or risk losing our KL to the Gold coast sector.

All this in the first " promotional" week of the airline. Another friend had a similar though worse experience this week when his Air Asia X plane was 3 hours late into KL and he consequently missed the connecting flight . Air Asia X made him purchase another ticket.
In each case the supervisor pointed out that as they are " a point to point carrier" only they had no obligation to help us.
This airline needs to learn some sense of moral obligation and should be avoided at all costs until they have learned this lesson.
I have certainly learned mine.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 01:11
by: Commissioner

Posts: 370
Registered: 16/09/02

1

Bollocks. You just didn't read the terms and conditions closely enough when you booked.

Time and time again, people who get caught out through their own ignorance will whinge and complain about the airline. It is not the airline's fault. It's yours and yours alone.

If you choose to book a cheap flight with a low cost carrier, you must accept that they do not do things as the so-called "legacy carriers" (Qantas, Singapore Air, Thai Air etc) do. They do not offer 20kg baggage allowances (ok, some do); they are strict about overweight baggage; they don't have complimentary alcohol, and they generally speaking, dont offer connecting flights.

Should you book a flight with only 1.5 hour between landing and departure; it's a risk you take. If you miss the flight (as you did), Air Asia do not have to rebook you, even if it was their fault you were late. There is no obligation, moral or legal.

Take Jetstar. Except in a very few circumstances, they only offer point-to-point ticketing. Virgin Blue offer some connecting flights (eg, Melbourne to Townsville via Brisbane), but only if you book it as per their booking engine (as one ticket). If you book two seperate flights, you'd be fresh out of luck if you missed the second one. Qantas may rebook you; but they're under no obligation to do it.

The bottom line is, you didn't do your homework well enough. As a rule, a minimum of 3 hours between flights for international-to-domestic transfers would be expected.

As for the elderly plane...it's a 13 year old aircraft that was once owned by Aer Lingus. Part of keepings costs low is NOT undertaking massive and costly refurbishment of aircraft. Air Asia are buying new aircraft from Airbus in the next 12 months. Faulty taps and no soap? Did you tell anyone this?

Anyway, my major point is just to point out that Air Asia, in this case, are not at fault.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 01:36
by: octa8

Posts: 1,324
Registered: 01/01/06

2

You should at least allocate 6 hours between your transfer flights.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 01:43
by: aTallMan

Posts: 2,294
Registered: 15/12/04

3

From Air Asia's website in the FAQ section about "does Air Asia offer connecting flights?

Quote
AirAsia operates on a point-to-point basis and does not encourage connecting flights. Onward flights are considered as separate journeys or sectors and AirAsia flights operate on a per sector basis. Therefore, you need to claim your baggage from your first sector flight and re-check them in for the subsequent flight. You will have to go through immigration check (if arriving from an international sector) and must check in again at check-in counter to obtain your boarding pass. AirAsia will not be held responsible for the consequence of any delays experienced while flying AirAsia.

I agree with #1, if you are going to do a connection using air asia allow 3 hours minimum even then it is still not Air Asia's fault if you mis the next flight.

Your grounds for complaint are unfounded I'm sorry to say. A little reseach would have saved you a lot of stress and time.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 01:45
by: HenningWessel

Posts: 11,307
Registered: 20/10/03

4

Especially if on a long haul. Comes as no surprise at all. They can't even keep to their schedule on inner SEA flights.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 04:00
by: Nic66

Posts: 809
Registered: 02/06/07

5

#4 I totally agree.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 04:37
by: Sybille47

Posts: 359
Registered: 15/08/07

6

an old saying: "you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear" . When flying with budget airlines, you can't expect, and you will not get the service and convenience you get when paying premium fares on premium carriers. Checking luggage through, sorry point-to-point only, international transit, sorry point-to point, collect your luggage, clear customs and immigration, then check in for the "connecting" flight, and clear customs and immigration again. They market themselves as low cost carriers for a reason, and it's quite obivous that the low cost can only be achieved by saving somewhere else. The lack of on-board service, like free drinks and meals are by now public knowledge, however the biggest savings are achieved by the lack of infrastructure provided by budget airlines.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 07:54
by: Nic66

Posts: 809
Registered: 02/06/07

7

the bigger problem is that they are always delayed and you just can't fix a schedule.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 10:56
by: dave2222001

Posts: 792
Registered: 11/12/02

8

7# rubbish been on many flights and only a tiny proportion have had significant delay (1 hr dont count) the service is excellent for what you pay its not there fault OP cant read the rules its all very clear.

If you must make a connection allow 3 hours if I remeber right and there is still no guarentee theystill wont sort you out if you miss it just the same as all the European budget carriers. Same company plan.

Dislexic dave Travelblog Info on Banda, Banda Ache, Derawan, Sumatra etc.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 13:54
by: MetalTraveler

Posts: 21
Registered: 20/08/07

9

Air Asia is a Low Cost Airline and don't provide any connecting flights. The have no 'obligation' to honour for travellers on connecting flights with the same airline...because simply it is NOT a connecting flight : The "connection" you booked is actually 2 separate bookings.

www.thelowcostairlinesblog.com

Posted
20-Nov-2007 15:51
by: neilm

Posts: 390
Registered: 03/05/01

10

You're complaining because an 8-hour flight arrived half an hour late and you missed your connection? Get real.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 18:48
by: HenningWessel

Posts: 11,307
Registered: 20/10/03

11

Quote
7# rubbish been on many flights and only a tiny proportion have had significant delay (1 hr dont count) the service is excellent for what you pay its not there fault OP cant read the rules its all very clear.

Rubbish, 80% of the flights I've been on were delayed by at least 1 hour. On a recent trip to Indonesia not one out of 5 flights left on time. That week all flights between Siem Reap and KL were delayed per schedule by one hour (relayed by SMS, great service I'll admit). Sorry, I meant of course retimed. Nobody is complaining about the service, it's, as most have mentioned, a low budget airline. I'm surprised nobody has said you get what you pay for. That must be the lousiest explanation of all. As if anybody in their right mind would pay for a flight on an airline that's colloquially called Air Delaysia. If they's stop publishing time tables they don't stick to, I guess it would be a great airline.

Posted
20-Nov-2007 22:19
by: rot775yon

Posts: 3
Registered: 20/11/07

12

Posted
20-Nov-2007 23:02
by: rot775yon

Posts: 3
Registered: 20/11/07

13

I too went on the airasiax flight from the gold coast to Kuala Lumpur to bangkok as wokonbi.. It was a disaster. I dont know who the commissioner is but you are wrong. As well as the missing over head locker door and the toilet without soap or taps there was another toilet on continuous vacuum flush, waiting to eviscerate any one who sat down. I don't know what it did to cabin pressure. As for reporting these things, shouldnt the plane staff do that. I have a pilots licence and if I found a plane with so many faults I would wonder if the carburettor was the same (joke}.. I wasn't worried about the lack of free beer etc but on the Bangkok leg there was No beer at all, even to be paid for. The flight I missed in Kuala Lumpur, well, I bought another more expensive ticket to Bangkok and when I was coming back I thought I had better change my flight from Bangkok to an earlier one so I wouldn't miss the flight to Australia from KL. The cost for changing the flight?? the cost of a new fare. This is not low cost travel, its rip off travel. As for the rest of it, who cares, I expected to pay for meals blankets food pillows luggage etc and and I knew the plane would be a long way from the terminal. I didn't realise it was an extra 3 dollars for a lady to get a wheel chair in KL. Only 2 things are needed for low cost travel. 1. a well maintained plane and not being ripped off. the rest is immaterial. Yeah and one other thing the staff on the plane were really nice and did a great job, thanks to them. robert

Posted
20-Nov-2007 23:39
by: Commissioner

Posts: 370
Registered: 16/09/02

14

Let me explain.

For an aircraft to be deemed "airworthy" on any given day (as opposed to it's safety checks that occurr after a set amount of flying hours), it must meet a minimum equipment list. The number of things that need not be working vary from aircraft to aircraft, and from airline to airline. Some airlines have less minimum equipment to operate than others; and you'd be surprised (possibly shocked) to learn what doesn't need to be operational for an aircraft to fly. As a pilot, #13 should be aware of it.

Missing overhead locker doors, faulty taps and no soap are hardly issues for which to ground an aircraft. In fact, if they had decided to ground the aircraft because of this, you'd lose your mind: "sorry, today's flight is cancelled because there's a faulty tap in a toilet". The toilet that had a continuous flush- anything is possible. It may have developed a fault on the outbound leg from KL to the Gold Coast that couldn't be rectified for the return leg (which you were on).

I'm not wrong here #13; you are. If you read the terms and conditions before you purchased (and I mean read the carefully), you'd know that changing your flight would cost extra (900 Baht according to the fee schedule). However, this is only applicable 48 hours prior to the scheduled flight, less than 48 hours you can't do it. The fee schedule also discusses the cost of a wheelchair. These are not surprise charges; you just didn't look closely enough.

You'd also note Article 4.1: "We are strictly a point-to-point carrier and shall not be responsible to you for any connecting flights. We shall not be liable to you for your failure to meet any connecting flights." See the terms and conditions for details.

I'll assume you are also an Aussie. We've been spoiled by the quality of Low Cost Carriers in Aus. Virgin Blue started life nominally as a LCC, now is arguably a full service carrier. Jetstar is a LCC in name only; and I'll wait and pass judgement on Tiger for another day (when I have flown them). AirAsia follows the Ryanair-Easyjet model. It's a tough no-holds-barred cost cutting machine, where user really does pay. You just have to be more aware of your rights, and certainly more aware of the carriers responsibility; which as far as this goes is to get you safely from point A to point B within 48 hours of the original schedule. Anything other than that...is a bonus.

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