AirAsia anyone?

I can talk about Asiana but not Air Asia…

I flew with them this spring from Vietnam to Thailand( Bangkok,to Krabi and back. Never experienced a problem carrying my photo gear( several cameras,lenses,laptop etc) on their planes.I wouldn’t hesitate to say they are a good outfit to fly with.

Carry-ons is my biggest problem with them. Check the allowance for your flight and it’s probably something paltry like 1 piece with a 7kg limit. They are more prone to enforce it than others it seems, so that means you will have to check in anything over that amount. Since there is no check-in allowance with them, you might find you will be paying a lot of money if you travel with a lot of gear like I do. I paid something like $85 for a flight from BKK to Phuket, only to find I had to pay another $80 for my ~40kg of check in luggage. It still may be the cheapest option, but watch out for those fees.

What Tommy said.
I’ve flown with them literally dozens of times, all over SE Asia. Basic fares are cheap – baggage fees are outrageous. It’s often cheaper to fly Thai if you are checking bags.
Generally, they don’t say peep about carry on bags. But that is, of course, completely up to the people at the gate.
Caveat Emptor.

Ditto what Tommy said. but if you are flying with minimal gear, then its a very good deal. Fleet seems safe, and they seem pretty good with being on time. there’s an amazing sale going on right now for their flights, but you have to book by tomorrow, 28 june, for flights between oct 2009 and april 2010. check their website.

I fly a lot with Air Asia out of Bangkok. I typically travel with a Think Tank Airport roller (loaded to the brim), as carry on. No problems so far. I check a smaller bag with clothes etc.. in at the counter. Solid airline. Good service.

Thanks!
jack

especially regarding carry ons…….what do you intend to do, have a durrie in the dunny after a sexual experience ……..Carry ons…… like that will get you the boot or a prize

Between Hanoi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur I pretty much only fly Air Asia. Some flight times back home can be ridiculously early in the morning, but otherwise I’ve never had a problem with them, and would recommend the company to anyone traveling around the region. Great prices too, though I don’t know all that much about their baggage fees past what I carry on (not much).

I fly with Air Asia on a regular basis all around South East Asia, Never had a single problem with carry on, even when i travel with video gear. In any case, if you pre-buy your check in luggage online when you buy your ticket, then it’s not so expensive.

The only time the check-in staff gave me some crap, I open my gear bag and showed it to them, and explained that my little bag is worth over 15,000$ so if it’s going into the plane’s belly, I’m going with it. After a couple of minutes of debate and calling the supervisor, they let me on with a smile.

When I flew with them we had to land to take on wood….

I fly with Air Asia often and have never had a problem.

A couple quick hints:
Buy the meal online when you make your reservation. You can buy when you fly, but you’ll have to settle for leftovers.

If your luggage is over 15 Kilos, pay for extra weight when you make your reservation. Cheaper and easier by far.

I fly to Malaysia on Friday with Air Asia. A rock climbing-photography trip.

I just flew Air Asia from Bangkok to Yangon and back. On both segments I carried two small carry-ons, a Tamrac backpack for my camera gear and a Patagonia backpack for my laptop, etc. On neither flight was I questioned about carrying two bags on. Good airline from my experience.

Six months ago I flew from Sydney to KL Malaysia with Air Asia, they were the worst airline I have ever flown with in my life. It was an overnight trip, the air-con in the cabin was set at about -5 degrees celcius, and for the 7hr or so trip the lights were off for about 2hrs. I heard many passengers complaining. But everyone here seems to think they are fantastic. That said, compared to many domestic airlines in the US, I guess they are not that bad.

I use them for short hops around Asia all the time. Great for that.
I don’t think I would consider for long haul.

Quote: Ian Taylor. “I don’t think I would consider for long haul.”
………………………….

Longhaul operations is operated by its subsidiary AirAsia X.

pretty solid Airline, flew internal flights in Thailand with them and flew Kl to London with them, cheap and cheerful

I’ve flown with Air Asia a few times throughout SE Asia and typically carry-on 12-15kg with no issues. I believe they have a checked luggage option when you book which will be cheaper than running the risk at check-in? …the KL Air Asia terminal is horrendous though and reason enough to avoid them if possible. Aside from the terminal I have no problems with them though.

Personally, I fly more often with Tiger – they may be a little more for the fare but baggage options are more flexible… and it seems to be a more professional outfit.

Also consider Jetstar – another worthy budget operator.

I flew with them several times this summer throughout SE Asia, always with two carry-ons and they never blinked an eye.

In Malaysia, Air Asia are well known for its delayness (1-2 hours delay.. not funny). When they just started their business there’s lots of problem happen with the plane. Im not sure thou, my last flight with them was early 2008 from my hometown Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur.

After that Malaysia Airlines started to sell some reasonable airfares for domestic flight within Malaysia. RM100+ (USD31+) expensive but you get free drinks and meal.

I love air Asia. I’ve had no problem carrying bags so big they should have been checked on the plane. The staff is friendly and helpful and the planes are great. You can purchase hot seats for only a few dollars extra.

I flew them Taipei – KL return earlier this year. No problem with carryon ( lowepro computrekker aw) that was very full. Food on board wasn’t great so took our own in the return leg and they didn’t seem to mind .

i flew with them many times with no problem, camera bag weights about 20kg and they have never said anything to me about carrying it on, great airline for moving around asia