There must be a lot of disappointed OzBargainers today, Air Asia X sent through notification yesterday that they are terminating their flight route to Mauritius effective from March. Five months of planning and excitement down the drain.
To add insult to injury they request 30 days to process a refund! I've gone through PayPal and they are going to get it done in <10.
Hope everyone else is able to snag an alternative deal and to Air Asia X - bloody poor effort.
Yep, it was around 24hrs travel. I'm hitting the Pacific Islands instead, less exotic but also a lot less painful.
Just came back from Mauritius on Air Asia X; we booked a day-room in the airside hotel at KLIA2 for a shower and some kip during the stop and the journey was great. I suspect that Air Asia terminating the route is driven by local interests protecting state-owned (and much more expensive) Air Mauritius. It’s not the first time airlines have come and suddenly gone from the Mauritius route but I’d hoped Air Asia had sufficient clout to keep that at bay. Bugger.
Didn't Air Asia also have problems with Bali?
http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/indonesia-airasia-x-…
Maybe not just Air Mauritius issues.
How full were the to/from Mauritius legs of the trip?
Our planes were completely full both ways. My optimistic OptionTown empty-seat bookings turned out to be a waste of time!
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/287416
I've posted my updates in there. Didn't want to throw several months worth of research down the drain so went with different route instead of cancelling the whole thing. Still extremely annoyed at it all.
I don't think that AirAsia is good at their research of market demand before launching new routes. They seem to have a 'Suck it and See' approach. And so, if you book any 'newish' routes with AirAsia be prepared for them to 'pull the plug'.
Hopefully people used their credit card for any deposits/payment, so they can just claim a charge-back and not have to wait 30 days for a possible random outcome via paypal / etc…..
Just found this Post.I've booked non-refundable Hilton hotel there. Airasia has plenty of "form" at the ACCC.
21 April 2015
AirAsia X has provided a commitment to address significant consumer concerns in relation to a number of services being cancelled or re-routed, following action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission…….
AirAsia X is committed to process any future requests for alternative flights, credits and refunds within 14 days ;
AirAsia X will expeditiously process valid claims for reasonable out of pocket expenses for affected passengers in a fair and reasonable manner;
http://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/airasia-x-commits-to-pr…
Airasia treat their own previous commitments (regarding "any future requests") to the ACCC with contempt. ed
Hi Brissy1,
Re: "non-refundable Hilton hotel"
I may be stating the obvious, but travel insurance should cover this situation.
The 1st thing I checked was my insurance pds. It covers loss due airline cancellations due unforeseen mechanical/riots/blah/blah, but not due withdrawn service (which is covered by the airline itself under EU and even US law). I phoned them (insurance) and acted ignorant, but they read back the same to me.
That Really Sucks!
Which insurer is this? I triple checked mine and there was nothing in there that said it wouldn't be covered. (1cover)
@lainey13:
Citi bank complementary insurance (Zurich underwriter). I've checked other "paid" policies to check if citi is uniquie, unfortunately many others have exactly the same phrasing. But not all, I hope you're lucky.
I also checked the insurance policy you can buy from Airasia ….
SECTION 3 - Loss of Deposits and Cancellation Charges
We will not pay under Section 3:
"For loss caused by or arising from:
1. Transport Provider delays, cancellation or rescheduling (unless it is as a result of a strike of which there had been no warning prior to the Issue Date);"
No suprise there, but the morality of it!
@Brissy1: That is the insurance that I use. So almost nothing due to transport will be covered! Damn!
Citibank no longer use Zurich for insurance. if you lodge your claim on or after 1 May 2016, Allianz will be responsible for the claim.
I see that AirAsiaX is launching a new service Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu from 28 June 2017!
ok I'm in!
$300 from KL to Hawaii, wouldn't it make more sense to just fly jetstar direct from Aus?
Yes
Refund transcript yesterday from Airasia X…..
Me:I was hopeing to get an undertaking for a refund within 14 days, to attach to the eform
Anwar: our standard refund process is within 30-60 working days as we do case by case
(note Airasia X uses WORKING days = 6-12 weeks)
Interesting to compare Transcript I had with Netflix today….
Netflix:I have just applied the refund and cancelled the other account, you will be getting this amount back in no more than 5 business days.
You:thank you
Please note that it takes some banks up to five business days to make an account credit.
So Airasia X has had over $2,000 of mine for months already and will take up to 3 months to refund flights THEY cancelled! At every point when dealing with Airasia X they achieve a new low.
The EU has legislated protection specifically including airline cancellations. USA similar legislation. Australians deserve the same consumer protection.
Usually I wait a week or so and then post on their facebook. This often expedites things. Include any reference etc. that you have.
Great idea. Will do
1 day after I opened a refund request with Air Asia I opened up a dispute with Paypal requesting a refund. Paypal have now closed the dispute in my favour for a full refund. Air Asia have still not bothered to respond to my refund request. Thanks Paypal!
Similar to me except the idiots at AirAsia actually rejected my claim. Fortunately PayPal refunded regardless.
Happy to report that 1cover have covered the extra cost I had to fork out for new replacements flights with MAS/Air Mauritius :) Thank you 1cover!
Wow, that is a good result!
I was considering this but you seemed to take some ludicrous amount of time to get there, from memory. My condolences to all the people missing out. Mauritius is a great place to visit, hopefully you can find another way there.