Problems booking on Air Asia

Never had that problem with Air Asia. Don't they have a toll free number in the UK now that they fly there? You can always ask Bob for his CC numbers and use that instead.

Here you go Smeagol - 0845 605 3333
Operates 24 Hours, Daily

for nikki or hanuman, my cards are always available, but most know me, so just charge it to my tab....

someone else recently reported a similar situation... maybe they could chime in...

is it possible that the pound is now worthless??

Thanks Hanuman i will give that a try.
Bob, its does seem that my pounds at least don't go very far...well not far past a shoe shop with the words SALE above the door
I'll let you know Bob if your card is required.

I actually had that problem trying to book my hotels via AtSiam.com. my visa card didnt go through for an entire day for no apparent reason. eventually it went through..so I think it was an issue with the Thai bank.

personally, I dont recommend Air Asia. I just spent a few more baht to fly Bangkok Air.
Last time we flew Air Asia - domestically in Thailand - I had pre-booked online, and when a couple days after I booked I tried to change the flight dates they charged me almost as much as the entire ticket cost just to change the date on one of the ways! I felt that was completely un-fair. (BKK airways charge 500bht for a change - thats reasonable...!)

Also - we felt that AirAsia seeks ways to charge you extra at the airport.. they will take extra measured to weigh your luggage and charge a lot for even one pound overweight. - Budget Airline - but theres always a catch!!!

my advice - stay away.

FiredragonII,

Clearly you didn't read the small prints. They are an OK airline IMO and the discount is quite substantial. Your issues stemmed from you not understanding or not bothering to read their conditions when you purchased your tickets. Advise you be more careful the next time.

Hanuman, when seeking flights this time, I see that the airlines offer different prices for different types of tickets - i.e. more flexible ones etc..
however, my booking with Air Asia was well over a year ago and they didnt have that option at the time. Of course I would always prefer to have a more flexible option if available - even at higher cost.
true - maybe I didnt read the fine print. however, since there was no flexi ticket available... I still think it was audacious to charge me almost the fee of an entire new ticket just to change a date on one of the ways...
we requested teh date change at least 2 weeks before the flight and we were 4 ppl traveling - that was a lot of money!

I'd rather pay a bit more up front and have better service.

When I book Air Asia I am aware of their conditions and in case I want to change dates or flight time I throw away my old ticket. You can't fault them for charging you extra when you want changes and you can't expect the same kind of service as the regular airlines.

I guess it was a lesson learned!
Happy travels all!

Just so that you don't make the same kind of mistakes, Thai Airways plus several full fair airlines are now offering very competitive rates and they call them "W" or "V" class tickets with similar conditions to Air Asia. This mean no changes or cancellation.

Thanks everyone, problem i have is i can only get flights to Hanoi with AA or TA and the AA flight (including extra baggage allowance and prebooking exit seats) is around £90 TA is £340! (and thats one way) hence my desire to go with AA. I am comfortable that if i need to change there will be a penalty (i expect it) will give them a call on the number Hanuman suggested and see if that works. (i really hate it though when this happens i just want to book it.....)

Air Asia is a budget airline. Expect that if you need to change for any reason you will pay for a whole new ticket. No refunds - even if the reason you miss your flight is because of Air Asia. A real deal if things go well... not so much if there is a glitch.

I am flying on air asia from Krabi to KL then have a 2 hour layover in KL before my Air Asia flight to Bali. If my flight from Krabi runs late and I happen to miss the connecting flight to Bali, are you saying that I will have to buy a new ticket on Air Asia for Bali? If Air Asia causes me to miss my Air Asia flight, I buy a new ticket?

Yes.

kind of a weird policy. let's hope my flight doesn't get delayed for too long. I have never flown through Asia before, this is my first trip (going for our honeymoon). Will we have to go through customs when we arrive in KL or will we just remain in the terminal waiting for the flight to Bali? Not sure what other time delays could present problems making the Bali leg....any insight would be helpful!

May be this will give you some comfort regarding Air Asia. Lately all my Air Asia flights, domestic in Thailand, have been ahead of schedule! As soon as the last passenger have board the plane they will take off even if it's 1/2 hour early.

Air Asia is a point to point carrier. As such, they do not offer any connection services. Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur from Krabi, you will need to deplane, go through immigration, collect your luggage, clear customs, and get to the check in counter before the 45 minute prior to flight departure time to check in for your flight to Bali. Even if everything goes perfectly, 2 hours will be tight. In the FAQ on the AirAsia website, they recommend at least 3 hours between connections. Still that is no guarantee. You might make it, or you might not and you will need to purchase a ticket to get to Bali on Air Asia or another airline (in another terminal 20 minutes taxi away).

This sort of dilemma is part of flying a connecting route on a low cost carrier. You always end up paying, whether it is in time or money is the difference.

THANKS! That is super helpful because we were booking our tickets tonight and actually had the same problem with using a credit card on the website, so we didn't yet book the Bali leg, only the Krabi portion. There is a later flight at 7pm- we almost bought the 5pm, but the site was messed up, so we couldn't. Glad I got on here and read this tonight!! So, the recommendation is to buy the 7pm flight, to be on the safe side- that allows 4 hours?

Laurenanne,

If it's not too late - you can book a direct flight from Bangkok to Bali on Air Asia. FD 3677 fly direct to Denpasar departing at 06.15 arriving at 11.30.

Laurrenanne. can i ask how you got round the CC issue?
I have spoken with Mastercard and they say there are no restrictions on my card....

I have experienced the exact same problem concluding a reservation, and have tried different credit cards. Tried communicating with the airline via their blog messaging route (since they don't seem to have a way of directly communicating with the airline), but no response. Any solution would be appreciated.

try a telephone call directly to them in bangkok???

Apparently they don't take American credit cards... this happened to me when I was trying to purchase a flight from Singapore to Jakarta and I had to pay full price in cash at the ticket counter at the airport. That's when a manager (?) told me that they were trying to fix that problem...

And right now Im trying to organize a flight to China and STILL not be able to use my card. I wonder how much business they have lost because of this???

I'm FRUSTRATED beyond belief!

Oh and just to clarify... calling them will not work either. It got denied over the phone as well (not to mention my cards (multiple cards!) were denied even in the Singapore airport counter!!

Bob just bought 3 segments on AA using an american Mastercard for their sale and had no problems. The tickets are for June 2010. In the past we have ahd some issues, but today it all went thru fine. No rhym nor reason.

Finally i have managed to book these flights!!! used exactly the same credit card and it went through this time... who knows why but the delay booking has costs me about £30... oh well am just glad i was able to book at last.

hi!!

i'm having issues trying to book with air asia online. i've called my credit card company and they have put an authorization on my card to accept charges made on the website, but my card gets getting "regrettably declined". i noticed that you can't put a united state in the dropdown menu for the billing information. i'm wondering if that's the problem? has anyone been able to book online with an american credit card? and if so, how did you do it?

I booked air asia with my visa card with no problem. It went through the first time. I am in the US so are some people on this forum. Try again.

I just booked three tickets on airasia using my visa usa issued credit card without problems. I live in newyork.