Air Asia (AirAsia)

Member Name: llamass

Product:	AirAsia
Date:	25/07/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean, cheap, punctual

Disadvantages: They are low cost-no fancy entertainment.

Air Asia are a no frills airline based in South East Asia with connections locally around that region as well as up to China. There are also now flights between Kuala Lumpur and London plus 3 destinations in Australia (The Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth). I have only flown with Air Asia around the South East Asia region and so cannot comment on their long haul services.

The range of destinations within Asia is very broad with hundreds of connections, including many to different islands of Indonesia and into Burma (Myanmar). Kuala Lumpur is the hub with Bangkok a secondary so these have the broadest connections.

In terms of prices Air Aisia certainly live up to their name of being a cheap airline-one way prices for most short routes are around £20 taxes included and you can check on luggage up to 15kg without paying extra. It is also unnecessary to pay extra for checking in at the airport unlike with a certain European no frills airline.

If you want a meal then you do have to pay for it but most of the short flights are a couple of hours maximum so it is easy enough not to eat on the place. If meals are booked in advance online when you book the ticket then thre is a discount on the price. the cost of food is quite high but no higher than on any other plane I have been in. With all my flights seats were also unallocated but could be reserved for a small fee in advance if for some reason a certain seat was needed-I have read that within the past 6 months they have moved towards allocated seating on all flights.

The staff on all flights I have taken with Air Asia have been friendly and accommodating. They have never been rude or seemed hassled and are also very professional in their dealings with customers without being standoffish. Whilst they do have duty free to sell on the plane they were never pushy and I have never felt disturbed by them. Usually if I am distracted then I wouldn't even notice them coming round. They also provide English language newspapers and a magazine.

The planes always appeared clean with no litter left over from previous flights and no dubious broken bits around the seats. In fact they have all looked quite new and free from grubbiness or any appearance of over-use.

I have also had good experience with the airline regards timekeeping. All my flights have taken off and landed within minutes of their scheduled times so I have no complaints.

Air Asia has the usual features allowing web check in so you don't have to queue at the airport and the option of self checking in at a kiosk at the airport (I don't think this is installed on all routes yet though).

The long haul flights are relatively new and as I said I haven't travelled on any of them yet but I would certainly be looking into it next time I fly out. One way prices from London can be less than £100 and to Australia from Asia for around £40. They are also a stable company that would seem to stand a much better chance of sustaining no frills long haul flights than the other companies who have gone bankrupt inthe past year or so-in fact a few of the routes have been running successfully for a while already.

Just as a small bonus, Air Asia have been voted best low cost airline in the world!

Summary: A good option for cheap connections around Asia.