Last week, The Angry Consumer flew with AirAsia from Vietnam to Bali. It was one of his worst flying experiences ever, with the possible exception of a childhood flying attempt by The Angry Consumer, which involved jumping from the roof of a garage using a parasol. That didn't end well. But this time was almost as bad.
AirAsia rips you off with your luggage wherever they can. With all normal, grown-up airlines, included in your ticket is a normal amount of hand luggage, usually up to 10 kg, and one check-in bag, usually up to 12 - 20 kg. If the check-in bag is not included, they will give you very clear warnings about it.
Not so with AirAsia. They let you buy a ticket, letting you believe you have bought a regular ticket for a decent price, with a normal amount of luggage. Then, when you arrive at the airport, they charge you enormous additional fees to transport your luggage. In our case, a ticket from Hanoi to Bali was bought for 130 US Dollar. But at the airport we were charged for checking in a 10 kg backpack for 80 additional US Dollar, ripping us off by a 62,5% price increase.
If your hand luggage happens to be over 7 kg, where all decent airlines allow 10 kg, you will pay even more. Thankfully, our bags were under. Incidentally, Air Asia explains this unique-in-the-world 7 kg hand luggage policy as a way to prevent the stewardesses from breaking their back. So, instead of honestly confessing that they try to make as much money on your luggage as legally is possible, they lie.
That was only part 1 of the scam. The worst part of the journey was that we were put in a seat that was not designed for human use, with the possible exception of Asian ladies with a growing disorder. There was absolutely no leg space. The chairs in front of us could be pushed backwards, while our chairs were rigid, eliminating our space even further. There was no space to read or work on a laptop. When The Angry Consumer moved his legs into the central aisle in order to be able to read an incredibly boring in-flight magazine, the stewardesses pushed their trolleys over his feet without ado. Although the airplane was half empty, The Angry Consumer was not allowed to move to another seat.
Air Asia extends their misleading practices to cleaning the cabin; when they come around to pick up your garbage, they pretend its part of a sustainability program. Cleaning up the garbage inside a plane by putting it into a waste bag contributes absolutely nothing to the environment. If they took their greenwashing serious for 1 second, they wouldn't put so much plastic around the food and drinks they sell.
That was not all. Before landing in Malaysia, the cabin was sprayed with insecticide, which was the most annoying, humiliating and disgusting procedure I ever underwent in an airplane. I know that the spraying is a result of sickening and pointless WHO regulations. But any decent airline would find a way to follow the law while avoiding an attack on the passengers with poison. I have never been sprayed before in my life and I have flown a lot.
Needless to say that we didn't get any refreshments during the flight, not even a glass of water.
Lat but not least, small but significant: when we left the airplane, there was no steward or purser standing at the exit to thank the passengers or say goodbye. You will never realise how charming such a gesture is, which all airlines do, until an airline doesn't do it. The message is clear: we got your money, now get lost. For AirAsia, passengers are nothing but wallets.
