AK Going After 5 Star Market

[mokhzani 0]

A LOW cost carrier with a 5 star service what is wrong with that? A HIGH cost carrier with a so call 5 star service that i'm worried about.

[leon t 0]

I think if you rank AK in terms of the number of flight delays, they will certainly be 5 stars for sure.

 

air asia have come some ways to improving itself and it can be clearly seen - as their flight delays are less and in fact on few occassions which i took their flights, they were even early for departures by 5 mins to 15 mins - yes 15 mins!. Their A320 aircrafts are very new against MAS 14 year-old 737s and for their value esp when booked early - its a fair bit of savings. The only no improvement so far is the LCCT terminal which is over-crowded and ocer0used esp during peak times - which is not wholly the fault of AA but that of MAB.

 

[Rozhan 0]

On the early morning 1st of June, I was at the LCC-T to catch the inaugural KUL-KUA flight. By the time it was 2 hours before scheduled departure, I was ready to check in and looked at the flight info display. There was no indication as to which counter I was to proceed to. 15 minutes later, there was still no info displayed and I went to the airport Information Counter next to McD.

 

The folks there also did not know which, but suggested that I go to counter R11 or R12 to enquire. I had to brave through a sea of people checking in for their respective flights along the way, only to find a queue of people at the said counter, also wanting to do enquiries or other matters. By the time I got to speak to the person in charge, it was almost 1 hour 15 minutes to departure, and I was asked to proceed to counter R54 or thereabouts, again having to brave through a sea of passengers!

 

I finally managed to check in for the flight, and it was my first experience of the 'horrors' of LCC-T. If there is some room for improvement, someone from AK should be stationed near the airport info counter so that pax can make enquiries more conviniently instead of having to walk from one corner to the other, and walk yet to another corner for check-in proper.

[tsentsan 0]

The 'kid' is probably competent and good at his work. But nothing beats constant cross checking and monitoring, even at a preparatory stage. Its not unknown for even two experienced pilots to get into a situation in flight that was triggered by a minor oversight at preparation stage.

 

 

2 people cross checking each other's work also poses problem sometimes.. ala SQ285 from AKL some years back. I mean, with so much experience, I'm still intrigued that they accepted such a low Vr speed.

 

[Nik H. 3]

2 people cross checking each other's work also poses problem sometimes.. ala SQ285 from AKL some years back. I mean, with so much experience, I'm still intrigued that they accepted such a low Vr speed.

 

So do you man that the incident was caused by X Checking? And if not for the X-Checking it would not have taken place? Don't understand your argument. I don't know the facts of SQ 285 so can't really comment.

 

So occasionally despite X-Checking, something still slips through. This means for this one incident to occur, for sure more were averted on other flights by X-Checking. BTW, this is getting seriously OffTopic.

 

Whatever you may want to argue in the context of this topic, I am happy to say that MH Safety Policy is still 5 Star.

Edited June 20, 2008 by Nik H.

[Alan B. 5]

I have flown AK more than I can remember and have had horrible delays and also early arrivals. Their in-flight service is consistently good, the crew have been generally friendly and efficient (you get the bad one once in a while like all other airlines) but for sure they are not a 5 star airline.

 

When one says 5 star, it means a certain standard of "luxury". A budget hotel maybe as clean and run as efficiently as a Hilton but it cannot be consided a 5 star establishment because The Hilton has better and more facilities.

 

While AK may have new planes, hot meals and arrive on time, it still does not provide the "luxury" associated with a "5 star" airline.

 

Yes AK can go for the business traveler (who is on a budget) with frequency, express boarding, web check-in etc. but it lacks a frequent flyer program, the option to travel in a premium class (a way from the kids and noisy holiday makers) a lounge access and other frills many business travelers welcome as part of their travel experience. 5 star is more than a hot meal and on-time departures and arrivals. It is a stress free and pleasant travel experience that one sure does not get on a budget airline.

Edited June 22, 2008 by Alan B.

[mokay87 0]

I wonder how Air Asia turn into 5 star when we still need to pay for food, baggage and etc... I found this article in Flickr, quite funny..