Air Asia?
 

I am looking at a flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok for October and Air Asia popped up along with Thai Air., $65. USD vs 180 USD. Has anyone flown on Air Asia?
It appears to a budget airline but sometimes with their added costs it doesn't end being a bargain . Any help from Fodor's Asia posters is appreciated.

tigerairways.com of Singapore also has good fares to VN.

I have flown on Air Asia many times. It's a bargain but it's always good to do comparatively shopping. What I know is that different price pops up everytime, so get comfortable with the website and watch for awhile before you buy. The added cost is not that much. Forget about the food. Eat in the airport before you board instead.

i did the air asia flt last fall and it was fine...

There are many, many, many reports here about Air Asia. Yes, it is a budget airline. And you are quite right that after you buy the extras like extra baggage allowance and early seating, you will often pay as much as a full-servcie airline.

For a point to point flight, it may make sense to choose the cheapest. For a connecting flight there are additional considerations. such as Air Asia will not transfer your luggage to your next flight, so you have to pick up your baggage, go to the check-in counter and check it for your next flight. Also, if you miss your flight for any reason, Air Asia will not put you on the next flight or refund your ticket.

Tiger Airways flys to VN from SIngapore, but not from Bangkok.

You can search for people's comments by typing AIr Asia into the search box above.

Usually the earlier you buy your ticket the cheaper it is. For a 1 hour flight, and if you don't need to connect to another flight in Bangkok as Kathie has said, they are quite a good bargain especially if you're buying a one way ticket.

I've flown them internationally and all around Thailand and found them to be good value for your money. If you're lucky your travel date fall within one of their promotional period and you end up paying almost nothing.

I just made several flights on AA and they were always late - so if you have connections, you need a lot of extra time. They are not, that is NOT customer service oriented and if you have any problem, it is all yours. But having said that, they got me there these times and the previous times I have used them

I flew Air Asia BKK to Penang the end of February. No problems, and more room than the Vietnam Airlies flight I just took to Hanoi. Check-in opened early and moved faster than VA, too.

We,ve just done several air Asia flights - Sing to Bali, KL to KK, Yogy to Kk?, KL to PhnomPenh? All were on timeandjust fine.

If you have any problems with AA forget it - their CS is next to nothing. THey hide behind the minimal CS laws of the countries they are based in - they have several "branches" so it's often quite difficult to work out who you are supposed to be dealing with.
Never take a last flight out - if there is a delay you will be sitting there all night until the next flight in the morning.

don't expect to be told what is going on either.

our AA flights have always been timely and often arrive early...

the baggage is no problem at all unless you are overweight... including your carryon which they check only occasionally....in probably 15 flts with them in the last 3 years they have checked my carryon only once...

they are my asia carrier of choice within asia

Thanks everyone. It sounds like it will work for us.

We flew three flight with Air Asia in October. Siem Reap- Kuala Lumpur, KL-Singapore, Singapore-Bangkok. All were on time. and planes were modern and clean. I don't remember the details on price, but I do know they were quite a bit cheaper than the alternatives.

flown many times with AA, never had an issue flights always on time. They do like to charge for everything but if the price and schedule work for you then i would go for it.

Hi
My family of 4 flew on Air Asia - Jakarta - Bali - Jakarta
in January 2011 and we had absolutely no issues.
The flight prices are reasonable as well.
Good luck

www.airasia.com is great for me in the past

BUT like all econos low initial cost

but they add on for everything.

Do well with them as a flashpacker just have www.onebag.com

do not buy seats take assigments do my best to pay for

nothing extra to save the most.

If you can travel like that you will be happy...

If you want more frills pay more for one of the majors

Singapore generally my fav in that area.

I flew with Air Asia a couple times in November and I recommend them. They did lose my lugage on my KL-Siem Reap flight but I got it back within 2 days. I guess I can't complain that much lol.

We'll carry on our international flight from the US to Asia as we always do domestically in the US. Does AA allow you to carry on a 21" rolling suitcase plus a small carry-on bag?
They are having a big sale this week and thetotal cost is $30. one way SGN-BKK.

Just returned from Thailand and used Asia Air 3 times. Let me just note that they SUCK!!! I'd pay twice the amount to almost any other airline to avoid the frustration and humiliation they caused me on every leg. They truly don't care about customer service. It would take me too long to explain the number of ridiculous events with Asia Air that causes me to write such a scathing report, but I can't stand operations that get away with such low regard for customers. Don't do it!!!!

I flew AA for many times from BKK to KL, and Hanoi. Never got any problem.