With life slowly returning to normalcy after two years of total standstill, many Malaysians are taking the opportunity to take to the skies again.
In light of increased air travel, low-cost airline AirAsia recently revealed its latest promotion, where it’s giving out 5 million free seats.
5 million free seats up for grabs
According to a press release on its website, the promotion was to mark a milestone in AirAsia being “Asia’s low fare leader”.
Booking period starts from Sept 19 to Sept 25, 2022, while travel period is from Jan 1 to Oct 28, 2023.
The free seats are available for both local and overseas locations with Penang, Langkawi, Krabi, and Singapore.
Travelers can also fly with AirAsia X to Seoul, Sydney, New Delhi, Perth, Melbourne, and Auckland from only RM499.
They can also opt for more comfort with AirAsia X’s premium flatbed seats starting from RM1,449.
However, it’s important to note that the free seats are not inclusive of fees and surcharges, where travelers need to pay an all-in-fare of RM23 for domestic flights and RM54 for international flights.
Netizen unimpressed
As attractive as the deal was, one netizen named @penatbttrcp expressed her skepticism on Twitter by simply writing: “5,000,000 delayed trips!”
5,000,000 DELAYED TRIPS! 😱 https://t.co/Qs9L73Ssly
— oops (@penatbttrcp) September 18, 2022
She then doubled down on her roast, writing that “buying AA tickets should be haram now cause it’s basically gambling.” *sizzle*
Buying AA tickets should be haram now bcs it’s basically gambling 😭
— oops (@penatbttrcp) September 19, 2022
And it seems like @penatbttrcp isn’t alone as many Malaysians have flooded AirAsia’s tweet about the promotion with angry complaints.
：AVOID AIRASIA AT ALL COST , the flight cancelled most of all time , worst customer service , stop wasting time on chatBOT
— Charles (@Charles37144141) September 18, 2022
we don’t want free seats. we want refund
— SETOROHBERI 🍓🇲🇾 (@kimshoex) September 18, 2022
Had the most complaints in first half of 2022
According to a report by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), AirAsia recorded the highest number of complaints between January and June, where a total of 527 complaints (42.1%) were lodged, reported The Vibes.
Malaysia Airlines came in second with 509 complaint (40.7%) while Batik Air, formerly known as Malindo Air had 99 complaints (7.9%).
The report also said that 1,251 complaints were made within the first six months of 2022 — an eight fold increase compared to last year’s 157 complaints.
Mavcom executive chairman Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim called upon airline companies to take heed of the findings.
“Malaysia’s aviation service providers should prepare by taking heed of the complaints breakdown observed in the consumer report as guidance to further improve service levels as well as address the root cause of prevailing issues,” he said in a statement.
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