'Now Everyone Can Fly' - Albeit Not On Time....

If all of you are not already aware, AirAsia services are sucks to the maximum. Of course I don't expect 5-star services from AirAsia but lowering cost should not imply lowering standards. I could write a book on those horrible experiences I had flying with AirAsia.

At the moment, I am really annoyed with AirAsia. Not once, but several instances of my flights with AirAsia had been delayed. From my experience, rarely do the planes take off on time. AirAsia is definitely not reliable - if you are travelling for business meeting, be ready to apologise to your clients.

It is not fair that AirAsia has the right to delay/cancel flights at short notice or without notice but passengers are not refunded. What about the other costs incurred by the passengers as a result of AirAsia’s inefficiency? Is this not a case of unethical operating procedures? If you want to change your travel itinerary less than 48 hours, too bad - you buy a new ticket. But sometimes it's not our fault that we need to revise our trip because AirAsia reschedules its flights less than 48 hours. Can AirAsia say that if their passengers are unhappy over their flight cancellation/delays, their airfares can be refunded? There must also be a liability factor for a service provider that change its flight schedules to its whim and fancy.

As a customer, I feel cheated and I think that we must exercise our legal rights against such unfair business practises. I will call upon the regulatory bodies/consumer associations to check the rampant abuse of customers by AirAsia. They seem to be trampling on consumer rights and are taking everyone for a ride.

No doubt that since AirAsia started its operations, it has been giving MAS serious competition. This kind of competition is healthy for Malaysians as we get better rates. With cheaper air travel, more budget travellers like me can get the opportunity to explore a lot of exotic places which are previously limited by expensive air travel.

However, Tony Fernandez is so engrossed with his plans to capture the world that he forgets to tell his team to do the basics right - get the passengers to their destinations on time - every time!! Oh!! Another area which Tony has overlooked is the communications skills of his employees. Some of the flight & ground crew can't even speak English correctly, which is very embarrassing for a global player like AirAsia.

I am just a poor passenger writing this after my flight to Bangkok was rescheduled 2 days ago. I have no option but will still be travelling with AirAsia until March 2010.