AirAsia Check-in
Web and Mobile check-in are available upon booking confirmation up to one hour before scheduled departure for AirAsia flights or four hours before take off for AirAsiaX flights. It's not available for guests travelling to Australia (needs Pre-immigration Clearance). Airport check-in desks close about one hour before scheduled departure.
AirAsia baggage allowance
Cabin baggage: Passengers may bring one piece of baggage with dimensions of 56cm X 36cm X 23cm and weighing up to 7kg and one smaller item such as a laptop or handbag.
Checked baggage allowance: Passengers purchase their baggage allowance. The options, for flights departing Australia, are: Supersize Regular (15kg - $17), Supersize Medium (20kg - $25), Supersize Large (25kg - $30) and Supersize Extra Large (30kg - $33). If you leave it until you get to the airport the cost of purchasing Supersize Regular (15kg) rises to $25.
For ex-Kuala Lumpur flights the baggage costs are as follows: Supersize Regular (up to 15kg - RM 55), Supersize Medium (up to 20kg - RM 65), Supersize Large (up to 25kg - RM 100) and Supersize Xtra Large (up to 30kg - RM 110). The cost of purchasing a baggage allowance (of 15kg) at KL airport is RM 65.
Prams/strollers/buggies, wheelchairs, mobility devices and walking frames may be checked-in free of charge.
Excess luggage rates: Excess baggage charges (also apply to excess sports equipment) and cost $17 per kg for ex-Australia flights and RM 40 per kg if leaving Kuala Lumpur.
AirAsia legroom
About 79cm (31in). Hot Seats - with extra legroom - are available for a fee. They're located near exit doors, lavatories, and some have baby bassinets. On the Airbus 330 and 340, there are standard seats, Hot Seats and Premium Flat Bed Seats (AirAsia's version of Business Class).
Pre-arranged seating
Select seats at the airport an hour before the scheduled flight time or pre-book online to snag the seats you want. For flights departing Australia, passengers pay for a Standard Seat, which costs $15, or a Hot Seat, which costs $46. From KL the Standard Seat costs RM 35, the Hot Seat RM 110.
Passenger change details
Changing the date or time of a flight or cancelling it costs $50. On flights departing KL, flight changes or cancellations cost RM 140 (per sector). The name change option is only available for flights to/from Japan and Korea.
Child fares
The infant fee for ex-Australia flights is $45. Ex-Kuala Lumpur the fee for the under twos costs RM 125.
Senior fares
AirAsia doesn't offer discounts for older travellers.
Pets
AirAsia does not accept animals on board flights, including guide/assistance dogs.
Carrying musical instruments
A small musical instrument (a violin/guitar/saxophone or trumpet) may be carried on board flights. The usual cabin-baggage routes apply: it should be 56cm x 36cm x 23cm and weigh no more than 7kg. For larger pieces, passengers purchase the baggage allowance that they need.
In-flight service
There is a buy-on-board food service. In accordance with Shariah law AirAsia does not serve alcohol or pork on regional flights. However, wine and beers are available for purchase on AirAsiaX flights. The menus vary by route. From Perth, Melbourne or Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur, Nasi Lemak, chicken and pasta dishes are available along with the Aussie chicken pie and lighter snacks and drinks.
Air miles
BIG is AirAsia's loyalty program. Passengers earn points (or BIGGIES) with every transaction and may redeem their points for flights. Earn one BIGGIE with every RM2 spent.
Airline food link
See what meals and snacks fellow passengers purchased on their AirAsia flights on airlinemeals.net.
In-flight magazine
Airline alliances
AirAsia has an alliance with Qantas subsidiary Jetstar.
Airline overview
The AirAsia group (slogan: Now Everyone Can Fly) consists of AirAsia (regional carrier), AirAsiaX (long-haul low-cost airline) and several subsidiaries (Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, VietJet AirAsia, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Japan). It is south-east Asia's biggest airline group flying to more than 400 destinations. AirAsia flies from Perth, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney airports to Kuala Lumpur's Low-Cost Carrier Terminal. From there, passengers may connect to AirAsiaX and fly to destinations such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Chengdu and Beijing.
Its main hub is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and it has secondary hubs at Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Penang International Airport and Kuching International Airport
AirAsia was bought in 2001, for the princely sum of one ringgit, by Tony Fernandes's company Tune Air Sdn Bhd. Fernandes also bought AirAsia's debts - all RM 40 million worth of them. Now, it has the lowest operating costs of any airline in the world ($0.035/seat-kilometre in 2010).
One of the reasons for this is the "unbundled" fares. Passengers pay for anything they may want such as a baggage allowance, meal or in-flight entertainment. Despite the lack of frills, AirAsia has won the Skytrax World's best low-cost airline award in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The carrier is growing fast. In June 2011 it bought 200 A320neo jets from Airbus, a deal worth about $18bn and the largest single order of commercial aircraft in history.