Trouble w/ one-way ticket from Aus to BKK w/ Emirates or Malaysia Airlines?

If recent experiences are anything to go by then he'll be denied boarding. But who knows. He COULD go to a Thai consulate in person on Monday and explain his situation. They can and will do a tourist visa on the spot, and even if there's an admin charge for fast visa, it will still be cheaper than any ticket he may need to buy. Or he MAY just get boarded without problem. Malaysian use contract staff at check-in in Australia and they are not known for flexibility.

"If he needs onward travel, would a cheap flight from southern Thailand to Kuala Lumpur suffice for the check-in staff?" Yes, any ticket at all that takes him out of Thailand within 30 days.

Good advice. Thank you. I will suggest he gets down to the consulate!

Sometimes on rare occaisons airline staff might grumble that the onward ticket should be out of the region not just to the next country , but a regional ticket will probably suffice.
Its not so much which airline is used , it depends on the attitude of the check in staff supervisor . In some cases the person may be aware of the real situation regarding how its unlikely that rules will be enforced on arrival and thus let you go . But in most cases Australian staff follow the rules literally .
You could try contacting the airline , insist on speaking to someone with some authority on these matters and ask if you can sign disclaimer/waiver form . But chances are that you will just get the runaround.

If he is flying in to KL first and doing KL-Bangkok he won't have any problems with boarding for BKK in KL. He would just have to meet visa requirements for Malaysia, which would be no problem.

If he is flying through any other country to Bangkok he will be fine. Because the flight from Australia is to country X in which they already can prove they are leaving by going to country Y removing the liability of the Australian airline to country X if they get denied entry. Once you are in Asia I have never been asked to prove onward travel boarding a flight. But yes they can be very strict leaving Australia. I nearly got stuck going Vaustralia one way to the states as I was leaving on a bus ticket out but not booked yet. Checkin person called her manager and I was able to talk my way out of it, but letter of the law they could have denied me.

That's a good point. I'll find out if he is changing in Malaysia. He's flying from Melbourne originally so I guess that could make sense.

Thanks!

If its just a changeover at the airport and the person is booked thru to Thailand on the same ticket then the checkin staff will want to see either onward ticket or visa for Thailand .

If in fact that person is having stop over in Malaysia leaving the airport andthen going onto Thailand later then he would have to show ticket out of Malaysia if he didn't already have the KL- Bkok leg pre booked.
One way tickets from Australia to Malaysia can be problematic as Malaysia also has air ticket out requirement and getting a visa for malaysia may not be practical . On the other hand probably more chance of being able to ask the airline to allow one to fly one way to Malaysia then there would be with Thailand.

What you have said is correct davelliot. If you fly in to Malaysia though it can be very easy to keep an eye on airasia.com sales, and even if you don't want to go there just buy a ticket for $5 out of Malaysia which provides proof you are leaving, you can then travel overland if you wish. I have travelled various parts of the world over the past 2 years all only on one way tickets. There are always relatively cheap ways around the rules for a return ticket to your home country and I have never actually got stuck. You can also buy a fully refundable ticket onwards from whichever country on your credit card and then just get a refund once you are inside the country.

Thats right , but Air Asia doesn't always sell tickets at a loss , there may be times when the prices are more expensive during busy season . If they always had cheap tickets they would go bankrupt. And some people don't like having to buy tickets on the net and may not have a credit card , altho I suppose they could also do it thru travel agents .
I would still recommend trying to conatct the airline first and try and seek exemption , even though its about 70 or 80 per cent chance the airline staff will refer you back to the consulate.