Air Asia is the far eastern equivalent of Ryanair in Europe and South West Airlines in the US.
It is a budget point to point airline. It operates much like a bus in that it doesnt necessarily turn up on time and is sometimes rescheduled.
It was set up in 2001 in Malaysia after the owner saw the potential for low cost flights in the UK & the US. From operating on a small route schedule it now has over one hundred different routes covering Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Phillipines, Hong Kong, Burma, Macau.......
It is probably best known in the UK to be a sponsor of Manchester Utd football club. They are the clubs official low cost airline. I don't really see too many of the players flying on it though, they will be too busy flying around in private jets and the like with their wages! In case you are wondering, Air Asia don't do this for the British market but for Asia as the Premiership takes huge tv audiences every weekend. There are many "fans" who support a English team like Man Utd, Liverpool etc and that's why you see so many Asian brands advertising where they don't actually sell a product.
Like many other low cost airlines it operates on an eticket basis. No paper ticket is issued, you print off the booking confirmation page off the web site. You can book on the phone but this will cost extra. Also to keep costs down they used to have only one sort of aircraft - a Boeing 737 but they are now gradually changing over to the Airbus A320. There is also only one class - economy.
The web site at www.airasia.com is quite good although it could be improved. There is one home page for the whole group and you need to click the language you want to use - there are English, Baha Malaysian, Thai & Chinese. Once you are into the local country sight, the prices are normally shown in the local currency except for Cambodia & Vietnam which is US$.
Its then just a case of selecting the origin airport, the destination, return or one way and the date you want. But they don't include the taxes until the step before you pay so suddenly that bargain doesn't seem like quite the bargain. They also do that notorious "from" price. Which means there is a very limited availability at the lowest cost but the majority pay far more. BOOO HIIISSSSS!!!!!
To give you an idea of prices, I last flew with them on the Bangkok - Phnom Penh route and paid 1100Baht ( about 15 pounds ) one way - including taxes, ( An average would be around 2400 Baht - 35 pounds ) flying with Thai Airways was going to cost 15 times more!!!
No wonder why so many people - Thais and holiday makers are now choosing to fly for an hour instead of a 24 hour or more bus journey for that route, even if it still costs more than the bus.
I have flown with them a few times and only once have we taken off within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, the longest wait I have had was 2 hours, but at least I have never had a flight cancelled unlike some people I know. They do charge a fee as well as having to pay extra if you want to change your flight in advance but they don't really like to give out any compensation if you are the one delayed.
Their web site has an on time performance indicator and for October it is showing at 81% arriving with 15 minutes of schedule. British Midland shows 91% for the first six months of this year as comparison.
The checking in procedure is much the same as with every other check in - lat time to appear at the desk is 45 minutes before departure - until they tell you what gate to go to. What about my seat number? Oh dear, its one of those first come first served scramble aboard the aircraft deals. There are no allocated seats and the procedure for letting elderly or young families aboard first is entirely pot luck on the staff involved who control the boarding. It doesn't happen more often than it does.
Another slight snag is the baggage allowance isn't generous if you are slepping round Asia for 6 months, only 15 kg. But if you are just going for a week then this should be fine. If you are only a kg over they tend not to be strict about asking for the excess though.
But now you are on the plane itself - and that is probably not through an airbridge but from a bus to the far end of the airport which is another cost saving measure - and you will be pleasantly surprised. The seats are very comfortable for short haul journeys and the leg room is a nice surprise - the official measurement is 29" but it feels more than that. I've never felt cramped in the seats.
Once in the air another feature of low cost travel appears - you need to buy your food and snacks. Because of the nature of most of the flights, the available food is nuts, snack bars etc. Ah well, I think we can all survive for an hour or so without eating. Officially you aren't supposed to eat or drink anything that you haven't bought on the plane but a lot of people ignore that rule.
The standard of the attendants is pretty good, all the ones I have encountered have been pleasant and competent. But like all short haul services, they are pretty rushed to get through the post takeoff sales routine before the pre-landing checks take place.
So, to sum up, if you are wanting to pay a really cheap fare and take a 1 in 5 chance on being delayed more than 15 minutes then this is for you. If you absolutely need to get there on time for business or a connecting flight then this may not be the one for you.
