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.

I will say that Thai pilots are some of the worst Ive ever flown with.

SFtravlr - In brief what got you so upset with AA. Was it all the extra charges for baggage, ect or flights being late. I hesitate to believe such general criticisms unless they are explained.

Yes, I'd like to know the details. After the absolute zoo trying to check in for Vietnam Airlines at Hanoi I'm even more inclined to fly Air Asia next time. (It took 80 minutes...)

I made a reservation online with Air Asia for a flight in Borneo. They never sent me an email with the receipt/confirmation, but I checked my credit card and they did charge me. I have tried everything on their website to get access to my booking to no avail. I have tried signing in, using the booking number they sent me, trying live chat - it keeps kicking me off and denying access. Any suggestions? I guess I will have to call Malaysia as there is no US phone number for them. Anyone have success with them on the phone?

If they didn't send you a confirmation email, how did they send you a booking number? Have you checked your spam filters?

I had to go to a special link and request an email copy of my reservation be sent to me. From that time on, i have had no problem and many more meails.I just kept playing with the website until it worked.

susncrg, I had called the customer service in BKK because Air Asia was not taking my credit card and she did resolve my problem. I was in BKK then. I don't think there is a number you can call in the USA, but Malaysia yes.

Thursday-they never sent me an email. I got the booking number when I put in my credit card info online to book the flight and it generated that number. There was no confirming email like I get when I book Southwest for example.

Checked spam and nothing there. I guess I will have to call Malaysia and hope that works.

There's a link to your booking page as this has happened to me when I am booking through the net with slow connection. You can then pull up the eticket and print it.

Rediculous, AA is fine, as is Vietnam Air. Usually you can buy a cheap upgrade ($10-$20) and get better seats, higher baggage allowance, and a meal (typical rice/chicken).

Hanuman- that is what I have tried to to about 10 times. Never get anything but an error message when I put in the number they gave me.

I don't know if you have tried this. First login then go to the "Manage my booking" page. You should be able to pull up all the etickets you have with Air Asia.

If you have tried the above and it doesn't work then I am at a loss too!

All sorted out. It was as I suspected. The email they sent out went out to the wrong place because I accidentally hit an extra key. When they finally answered my enquiry to them, I could see the mistake and then was able to access my booking.