Terribly disrespectful and uncaring.
If only one could give them 0 stars. Very disappointing experience travelling with AirAsia as part of a group of seven musicians carrying their instruments. Our group had purchased additional seats for our instruments and had already completed our inbound journey under the exact same arrangement without any issues. However, before departure from Hanoi, Captain Viknesh ruled that only four cellos could remain in the cabin and that three would need to be checked into cargo. This decision directly contradicted our previous travel experience and caused significant confusion. A policy was cited to justify the restriction, yet this limitation had never been clearly communicated during booking, check-in, or our inbound flight. Had we been informed beforehand, we could have made alternative arrangements. The situation resulted in a delay of more than 30 minutes, affecting not only our group but many other passengers as well. What was particularly frustrating was the lack of a clear explanation for the inconsistency. Our group leader had invested considerable time and money arranging the bookings and purchasing additional seats in good faith. Given the seriousness of the situation and its impact on multiple passengers, he requested clarification directly regarding why arrangements previously accepted by AirAsia were suddenly no longer permitted. Unfortunately, no satisfactory face-to-face explanation was provided by the Captain. Instead, our group leader was left to deal with confusion, frustration, and criticism from other passengers for a problem that arose from inconsistent application of airline policy. This experience caused unnecessary stress, inconvenience, and disruption to our travel plans. If AirAsia has restrictions regarding musical instruments in the cabin, they should be clearly communicated at the time of booking and applied consistently across all flights. Passengers who make arrangements in good faith should not face unexpected policy changes immediately before departure. We hope AirAsia reviews both its communication and operational procedures to ensure that future passengers do not experience the same confusion and disruption.