More Air Asia fee increases

[Azri M. 0]

Gosh, I knew this day would come!

 

Now AirAsia follows the footstep of it's LCC rival. They are charging "Convenience Fee" for any online booking that involves Credit and Debit card to all destinations. The amount is MYR5/IDR15000/AUD5 etc ONE WAY PER PAX. There is no other way to get around it unless if you have AirAsia voucher. Sigh, another way to make money.

[flee 5]

Looks like a new name for the Administration Fee...

[Ikman Ikreza 0]

Looks like a new name for the Administration Fee...

 

yup..new brand name to replace Administration Fee they lost before

[Waiping 12]

Same content, different packing.

[Azri M. 0]

Reply by AirAsia on fb:

 

This fee is being introduced to subsidize the cost of our online payment systems be it credit card, debit card and direct debits. The fee covers administration and processing work involved for online payment. AirAsia has been absorbing this cost during the past, however, now that the volume is increasing and we are entering into more countries, and adding more payment options the cost of implementing and maintaining these systems have increased significantly. Other airlines that are implementing this are: Tiger Airways, Mandala Airlines, Ryanair, and Easyjet

 

Justifiable? The thing is, the convenience fee is dependent on the originating destination. Let say, if ur originating from Malaysia, u pay RM5 per person one one (RM10 return), if from Singapore it will be S$5 one way ($10 return, which converts to become ~RM20), even worse if you are originating Australia its A$5 one way ($10 which roughly is ~RM30)!!!

 

I guess you better book each way separately.

[Hon Kit 3]

Total rubbish. If they were to charge Per Transaction im still ok. Now its per person , 1 way.

[Cheng Long 0]

Air Asia conveniently only reveals the extra fee just before you make the payment.. So the ticket price appears cheaper than what it is.. Guess other airlines also like that.. but I hate this kind of cheap tactics.

 

Now, Air Asia is often only marginally cheaper or more expensive than MAS.. This inconvenient fee won't help..

[Isaac 0]

Air Asia is often only marginally cheaper or more expensive than MAS

Couldn't agree more !

[flee 5]

This fee is sneaky - it is not shown in the fare calculation at all. It only appears when the time comes to pay. I remember they also increased their checked in luggage fee from RM 5 to RM 10 a few months ago, again without any notice.

[Dr Chuo Hock Tieng 0]

this makes me want to fly MH more... now every one still can fly MH. No wonder i've flown 6 sector on MH this month, 4 more next month. totally missed out AK in my itinerary.

Edited November 2, 2009 by Dr Chuo Hock Tieng

[Azri 0]

Reply by AirAsia on fb:

 

 

 

Justifiable? The thing is, the convenience fee is dependent on the originating destination. Let say, if ur originating from Malaysia, u pay RM5 per person one one (RM10 return), if from Singapore it will be S$5 one way ($10 return, which converts to become ~RM20), even worse if you are originating Australia its A$5 one way ($10 which roughly is ~RM30)!!!

 

I guess you better book each way separately.

 

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I was made to understand that it is wrong for merchants (in this case AK) to pass the cost of credit/debit card facilities provided by banks to consumers.

[Isaac 0]

Correct me if I am wrong but I was made to understand that it is wrong for merchants (in this case AK) to pass the cost of credit/debit card facilities provided by banks to consumers.

Indeed it is. But nobody seems to bother to lodge a complain at all. Not even in the West. And VISA/Mastercard Inc. all are aware of such practice but no action has been taken.

 

AK says that Ryanair and Easyjet are both charging a convenient fee when any passengers charge the tickets to their credit or debit card. What they did not mention is that both Ryanair and Easyjet will not be charging you the convenience fee if you choose to pay using VISA Electron.

 

By the way, both BA and QF also have convenience fee if i'm not mistaken.

Edited November 2, 2009 by Isaac

[Kenneth T 0]

Same content, different packing.

Simply the right definition

[flee 5]

Now, Air Asia is often only marginally cheaper or more expensive than MAS.. This inconvenient fee won't help..

Well, the problem is that we cannot generalise - the fare depends on a number of circumstances. So it depends on how far ahead you book and whether there are promotions going on for both carriers. If you compare the MH promo fare against the AK normal fare MH will probably be lower. But almost no one can match the AK/D7 fares during their sales periods where zero fares apply for many seats.

 

Moral of the story - if you fly with AK/D7, you are not really in control of the dates you can fly if you are seeking the lowest fares. The dates you can fly on (at those low, low fares) are dictated by AK/D7 because they want to sell the seats on flights that are not so convenient for pax to go on.

 

Indeed it is. But nobody seems to bother to lodge a complain at all. Not even in the West. And VISA/Mastercard Inc. all are aware of such practice but no action has been taken.

 

AK says that Ryanair and Easyjet are both charging a convenient fee when any passengers charge the tickets to their credit or debit card. What they did not mention is that both Ryanair and Easyjet will not be charging you the convenience fee if you choose to pay using VISA Electron.

 

By the way, both BA and QF also have convenience fee if i'm not mistaken.

I note that in other forums, most UK and Australian AirAsia and AirAsia X "fans" are not too bothered by this because other LCCs have all sorts of charges. Ryanair charges £5 for using the toilet, £40 for checking in at airports and £5 each way for checking in on line. So this kind of charge is "biasa" and AK/D7 are just "learning" how to impose creatively named fees on their customers.

Edited November 3, 2009 by flee

[KK Lee 5]

Believe non-optional fees like convenience, admin, fuel surcharge, etc should be included in the ticket price else is misleading consumers.

 

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

Gosh, I knew this day would come!

 

Now AirAsia follows the footstep of it's LCC rival. They are charging "Convenience Fee" for any online booking that involves Credit and Debit card to all destinations. The amount is MYR5/IDR15000/AUD5 etc ONE WAY PER PAX. There is no other way to get around it unless if you have AirAsia voucher. Sigh, another way to make money.

 

Does it include payment thru online banking? Or just the cards? Anyways, to avoid Convenience Fee, well you have to do it the inconvenient way thru the counter. I've experienced buying a ticket at their Sentral counter and I wasn't impressed. Their staff are surly, even in the morning!

[flee 5]

Believe non-optional fees like convenience, admin, fuel surcharge, etc should be included in the ticket price else is misleading consumers.

 

Agree 101%

 

The way they implemented this fee shows that they don't want you to know it exists... Very sneaky.

 

Does it include payment thru online banking? Or just the cards? Anyways, to avoid Convenience Fee, well you have to do it the inconvenient way thru the counter. I've experienced buying a ticket at their Sentral counter and I wasn't impressed. Their staff are surly, even in the morning!

Fee applies whether it is for debit or credit cards as well as for bank transfers. As long as the payment gateway is used, they will clobber you with the fee. Only eGift vouchers are exempt from the charge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These kinds of comments are typical of the Aussie AirAsia "fans". They are so deprived of low cost air travel out of Oz!

 

I am happy for a few fees here and there to be charged if it means Air Asia remains profitable and viable and keeps options available to travellers on a budget.

 

The last thing we want is for these airlines to go by the wayside - so that the old cartel of full service carriers can jack up there prices again.

 

Even those who travel full-service should thank the low cost carriers as they are bringing down the price of full service as well.

 

I want to start a petitiion to get Air Asia to do direct flights between Perth and Phuket!

 

Keep it in perspective - Air Asia have recently abolished fuel taxes and are consistently offering lots of fares for not much more than $100A each way to KL. I, for one want them to keep flying and expanding, so I hope they make something out of my fare. Just be savy and check everything before you click confirm payment.

 

It is still so far below any other fare out of Aus -I'm not complaining.

Edited November 3, 2009 by flee

[KK Lee 5]

Believe the best protection for consumer is competition. Hope FY and MH can be more business travelers friendly to keep pressure on AK from imposing more charges or price hike.

 

[Ikman Ikreza 0]

looks like better go for FY or MH soon..

[Waiping 12]

Looks like AK's MaHal remark is back to haunt them.

[Naim 6]

See the revolt at AirAsia Facebook on this subject:

 

http://www.facebook.com/AirAsia?ref=nf#/AirAsia?v=wall&ref=nf

 

Go there and rant, guys, more effective.

Edited November 3, 2009 by Naim

[Naim 6]

See the revolt at AirAsia Facebook on this subject:

 

http://www.facebook.com/AirAsia?ref=nf#/AirAsia?v=wall&ref=nf

 

Go there and rant, guys, more effective.

 

I think I have irked the AirAsia reply bot!

[Waiping 12]

From the look of things seems like a lot of complaint about NOT PICKING UP THE PHONE.

[Sri Ramani K. 0]

charging for credit card processing fee is FINE to me, but why direct debit too? lol! i don't get the logic though.

[Waiping 12]

charging for credit card processing fee is FINE to me, but why direct debit too? lol! i don't get the logic though.

 

Save it there is none to consider. Obviously queuing at the counter to pay for your ticket is not an option.