Multiple flight disruptions, significant financial losses and extremely poor customer service
Our experience with AirAsia has been extremely disappointing and resulted in significant financial loss and disruption to our holiday. Our journey from Vientiane to Da Nang was delayed by approximately 24 hours, forcing us to pay £108.28 for an additional hotel night in Vientiane. We had already prepaid £213.41 for a three-night stay in Hoi An, meaning the delay caused us to lose valuable time from what was already a short stay. Unfortunately, the problems didn’t end there. Our direct AirAsia flight from Da Nang to Bali was then cancelled at a late stage, forcing us to purchase replacement VietJet flights for £278.18. The replacement journey required us to leave Da Nang almost a full day earlier, travel via Ho Chi Minh City and endure an overnight layover of nearly seven hours. This caused us to lose even more time from our prepaid stay in Hoi An. To make matters worse, we were charged an additional US$235 for approximately 8 kg of excess baggage in total. Our original allowance was 20 kg each and our bags weighed approximately 24 kg each. We had tried to increase our baggage allowance online in advance, but the option was not available to us, leaving us with no choice but to pay the significantly higher airport rate. Despite travelling as a married couple on the same booking, we were also refused seats together. The cumulative impact was unacceptable: a 24-hour delay, an additional hotel cost, lost prepaid accommodation, a late flight cancellation, £278.18 spent on replacement flights, US$235 in baggage charges and significant disruption to our entire itinerary. What is particularly disappointing is the lack of flexibility and support shown despite the scale of the disruption we had already experienced. We are now seeking reimbursement and a fair resolution from AirAsia. Based on our experience, I would be extremely cautious about booking with AirAsia again, particularly for a multi-destination itinerary where a delay or cancellation can have serious knock-on effects on other prepaid travel arrangements.