I want to let my fellow Fodorites know about an experience my husband and I had with
Air Asia a little over 2 weeks ago.

Several months ago, I booked flights on Air Asia from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur to Penang. You must always connect through KL when flying Air Asia in Malaysia and collect your luggage and then check in for your next flight. In other words, all of their flights are point to point, and always to or from KL.

We got to KL about an hour late but still had over 2 hours before our flight to Penang. We got our luggage and went to the Air Asia check in and put our bags up on the scale. The agent then informed us that the flight was changed, about 6 weeks before, and would be departing 11 hours later than originally scheduled. We were never notified of this change. This was not a delay, this was a planned change by Air Asia and they never thought to let me know about it. We only had 2 nights in Penang and this flight would now get us in at 10pm instead of 11am. I told the agent that was not acceptable and asked to be put on another flight. I was told there were no other flights. I then asked for a refund and was told there were no refunds. I told him this delay was no different than cancelling the flight but he still smiled and said no refund. After some back and forth, I finally got fed up and lost it and made a scene. He got a supervisor who did issue a refund. I found out from the supervisor that our return flight several days later was also changed and would be departing Penang several hours later than originally scheduled. I demanded, and received, a refund for that one as well. We then went over to the Malaysia Airlines office and booked flights with them.

When we went to the Malaysia Airlines check in and put our luggage on their scale, lo and behold, out luggage lost several kilos! We did nothing to the luggage. It then hit us that Air Asia's scales are set to make your luggage seem like it weighs more than it really does. Air Asia has a checked luggage weight limit of 15 kilos, (33 pounds), and they charge you for each kilo it is over. This cost us about $32 on each previous flight. We paid nothing for our luggage on Malaysia Airlines.

Air Asia is cheap to be sure. But they think nothing of changing flight times, by many many hours, and do not even bother to notify you of the change. They scam you on luggage weight to make a few extra bucks off you.

I will NEVER fly them again. The savings are not worth the aggravation they cause. Unless they have a lot of flights per day going where you want to fly to, and even then I would be very hesitant to trust them, think twice about whether you want to take the chance. Vacation time is too valuable to waste.

Just thought you should all know.

laurieco-did you post this before? I read something recently but not sure if it was here. I'm panic-stricken now as we are flying them Hat Yai to Bangers then connecting with our Cathay flight Bangers to Colombo in Dec 2005. I think I might change our Air Asia flight to another date. Sorry about your experience with them. It really is a shame that budget airlines have to be so unreliable and resort to shonky practices like overcharging for lugage weight.

Even the heavyweights like Singapore Airlines lack integrity!

Air Asia and Thai Air Asia although basically the same are also separate operations, Thai Air Asia having their own Bangkok based aircraft.

Lyndie, I posted this experience in my trip report so you may have read it there. I just thought it deserved a serparate thread so people can make an informed decision as to whether to fly them. I've heard that they do this, change flights to suit their needs and customers be damned. I didn't really think it would happen to me, but it did and now I know better. I agree that the big airlines aren't that much better, but at least they DO either put you on another flight or give a refund, without a huge fight. Their "contract of carriage" say they have to and they abide by it. Air Asia does not. The only reason I was able to get a refund is because I went ballistic and screamed at them. If Malaysia Airlines didn't have flights with open seats, we would have lost an entire day, 1 of 2 days, in Penang. The refund was secondary but I was so angry, I refused to let them get away with it.

I don't know if Thai Air Asia is any different, but you may want to check out other airlines and have a back up plan if you need to make a connecting flight. Good luck.

thanks laurie for sharring this with fodorites...i always cringe when i see people scheduling things so closely when budget airlines are envolved...its a good lesson to all of us...

Thanks for making a separate pot on this Laurie, as it should come up when people saerch on Air Asia. We made all of our reservations on Malaysian Air for our flights within Asia, and I'm so glad we did!

Kathie, the extra money for Malaysia Airlines is worth it in my opinion. I guess we should all heed the old adage, "you get what you pay for."

Hi laurieco-we've got a 6 hr layover in Bangers before we fly to Colombo but nevertheless I've changed our ticket date and paid the penalty. I have learnt a little about budget airlines after flying Southern Winds in Argentina & Air Deccan in India. I positively thought 6 hours might be enough time between flights but obviously not the case after your awful experience.

In fact we've just found a cheap fare from Sydney to Singapore so have cancelled out Thai flight Syd/Bangers and will come up into Thailand via Penang, Langkawi & Koh Turatao. Have a great week!

Lyndie, I'm glad you were able to change the flights. Better safe than sorry, right? Your trip sounds wonderful. I'm jealous!

Lyndie, check with SQ and compare the SIN fare with what they would charge for a PEN fare with stopover ( if you wanted a s/over in SIN ), you may find that it is a nominal difference to the SIN fare, I know that from here SQ are 'highly flexible' on their fares going down so you might be able to get up to PEN for altogether not much more than the SIN fare, certainly worth asking!

Hi JamesA. We're not flying SQ until they make amends to us for our lost luggage! We're flying Gulf! I have a very short memory! They were good compared to SQ, as I recall! Otherwise it's only 7 hours so we'll take legal drugs and drink wine (and water!) & generally bomb out. Thanks for the tip! Booked the Hotel Noble in Penang-do you know it? Sounds delicious! Its a stunning old Chinese building. Found it on www.talesofasia.com. That Gorshar is a legend I reckon! And I've told him so. Have fun!

And let me provide the contrary view to this post:

Simply because ONE poster has a negative experience ONE time with a budget carrier, does NOT mean that the airline should be avoided, for goodness sakes! Quite the contrary, I can give an ENTHUSIASTIC review of Air Asia concerning my flight from Macau this past January 4, 2005 to BKK.

First of all, I did not call Air Asia to re-confirm, check it on the internet, or otherwise contact them-I just showed up at the Macau airport at the appointed time. Not only did my flight leave right on time, but I was very impressed with the flight attendants command of English and their attention to safety practices (I have seen FAR worse on American carriers, btw!) We got a drink, and then if we wanted to pay for a sandwich, we could. We then landed, right on time, and I SWEAR, from the time we landed, and I got off the airplane, it was no more than 15-20 minutes to go through immigration, and here's the kicker-pick up my bag, which was right there waiting for me at baggage claim, and I was out the door and into the Mercedes waiting to whisk me off to the Marriott!

In other words, I could NOT have had a better flight, and I will ALWAYS choose Air Asia (am thinking of a quick jaunt to Hanoi while in BKK this upcoming trip).

As to cost: My Air Asia flight one way Macau-BKK cost US38.00. Had I flown Dragonair or Emirates from HKG, one way to BKK would have been, on that date, something like US250.00! Uh, no thanks!

And because my bag was over the weight limit, they did charge me something like US33.00 for excess baggage-BUT I KNEW THAT GOING IN. You can do the math, even with the excess baggage charge, I still came out way ahead!

And as far as Air Asia over-weighing -don't know about that, and don't believe they could get away with that, either, (sounds like a cheap swipe by the OP at the airline-which is why overly negative reviews about a one-time experience have to be taken with a grain of salt).

I can tell you for a fact that did NOT happen to me-my bag was VERY heavy-and I paid pretty much what I expected to pay. All in all, I could not have anticipated a smoother flight, with any carrier-and am pleased to recommend Air Asia whenever I can.

But if anyone wants more in-depth reviews/opinions of Air Asia, they can go to www.airlinequality.com-where there will be a variety of opinions, as one would expect for any carrier-neither all bad nor all good.

Hi Spygirl. How the devil are you? Recovered from the tar and feathering!

Just for your info, www.airlinequality would not accept my post regarding Singapore Airlines and our lost luggage. I certainly would not rely on that website for unbiased views.

May I jump in for some neutral observations? I have never flown Air Asia or deal with them, and I really have no opinion one way or another.

Now, laurieco has several problems with Air Asia in her original post - I believe three.

1. Change of schedule, and no notifications. Changing of schedule and cancelling of flights are very common among low-cost airlines, and happen even with the majors. NO AIRLINE I know of will actively track down each passenger to inform them. It happens all the time, and one need to keep track of their flight, especially with low cost.

2. Will not initially refund the ticket. Well, that's not right, and I'm glad that laurieco screamed at them at get her money back.

3. Low luggage limit. This is very common among low-cost airlines. We've all heard about Ryanair's policy, so one should really inquire about luggage policy and weigh their own luggage beforehand. As for Air Asia rigging their scales, well, that's fraud.

So, some of laurieco's complains are very valid, some not quite. That's my opinion.

As for Spygirl - I suggest she check her flight schedule next time. One should simply do it as a good habit. Maybe next time, her Macau flight will have been changed or delayed. Who knows. And I assume the Mercedes hotel transfer doesn't come with the US$38 fare, right?

Lyndie...Whatever happened to the Singapore Air situation with your baggage? Did they settle with you? Happy Travels!

Biy, did I need a good laugh this morning...and all of this drama ought to get an Emmy....lights,camera,action...Happy Travels!

Hi Spygirl-I KNOW you've recovered from the tar & feathering! It was a joke after you got a caning about Bali. Let's not go there as plenty here, including me, feel very strongly about travel there.

Anyway, yes, I was a little surprised that my post was rejected on airline quality. They obviously do not value my journalistic abilities. Stuff 'em, I say!

Guenmai-gday! I received an email 2 days ago from Singapore Airlines saying they had finalised their "investigation" and would be responding to my complaints in the next few days! I wait in anticipation of a favourable outcome!!!!Tks for asking.

Regarding Air Asia. I've booked several flights with them for travel Nov/Dec so I'm hoping they are reliable. I've allowed a day, at least, leeway for connections, just to be sure. I think you get what you pay for but if they stuff me up, I'll be one angry lassie! Let's face it- airlines don't really give a hoot about anything else but the bottom line!

Hey ladies and gentlemen. I am going to start a hopefully lighthearted thread in the airline forum about people NOT FLYING a particular airline in the future. I'll start with laurieco and Lyndie, and will add any other that I come by on fodors.com.

Feel free to add comments to it!

Excellent idea, rkkwan! What website's forum are we talking about?

The airline forum on Fodors, Lyndie. You access it from the dropdown menu on the upper left of your that says "change forum".