AirAsia Screwed Us - Reimbursement Possibility?

CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 19:16
Last edited 18/09/2018 - 17:03 by 2 other users

I went to great pains to book a connecting flight for my friend from Bangkok to Phuket that would arrive in time to get the new Smart Bus and avoid the notorious Taxi Mafia there.

Friend goes to the gate on time, waits patiently and then finds out later that Air Asia moved the gate all the way to the other end of the terminal. No one came to get them. They didn't hear any announcement and apparently the only clue was some tiny cardboard sign that was extremely easy to miss, as was the flight.

They go to the desk and are told that they can pay for the next flight at their own expense and, after objecting, are offered some p1ssy 10% discount.

This means they were made to wait hours longer, missed out on the last bus in Phuket and got gouged on the taxi there plus the extra fare. All because Air Asia switched gates at the last minute (again, to the furthest possible alternative) and did a p1ss poor job of notifying them. They make you give them a phone number during the booking process and yet there was no call and no text notifying them of the change.

This sucks.

Has anyone had any luck wringing fiscal justice out of scummy LCCs like Air Asia who seem to pull this BS all the time?

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  • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 19:19
    +70

    Did the other 200 people miss the flight or just your maaaaate?

    Just personally, I've flown AirAsia a few times a month for the past 3 years and never have issues like this.

    • RyanMK on 15/09/2018 - 19:26
      +6

      This. I usually have my headphones on while waiting for a flight. As such, I don't really pay attention to the announcements. But if there's a gate change, it is easy to spot that something is amiss as the gate would be pretty empty even close to boarding time.

      With that being said, try travel insurance if your friend bought some.

        • Emli on 16/09/2018 - 02:43
          +10

          But if your flight is at 10am and they haven’t started to board at a certain time, you ask questions. There are no text messages for gate changes. It pays to be vigilant.

          No travel insurance shows a lack of preparation. Tired of people using go fund me as their travel insurance.

        • Donaldhump on 16/09/2018 - 19:25
          +1

          You can generally see it has chnges when all of a sudden every other person gets up walks to the new gate.

          Seems the flight didn’t change last minute but several minutes earlier and your friend just didn’t check at all

        • DarkOz on 17/09/2018 - 08:25

          Boarding is usually about an hour before the scheduled flight time and it's very easy to see when something is wrong.

          It's strange that your friend wasn't concerned when boarding hadn't commenced 30, 20 and 10 minutes before the flight time. Especially strange that your friend thought a crowd of people waiting for the same flight were not concerned also.

        • John on 18/09/2018 - 12:24

          Yep unfortunately your friend was being ignorant and lazy. The cardboard is just one sign.. there's plenty others that could've indicate to them that gate has changed, if only they look and ask around

    • jowu15 on 17/09/2018 - 09:13

      I had personal experienced the last minutes change of gate and you definitely notice something is not right. The original gate has people around but no line up and then you will notice the notice of change date. I am sure his mate maybe just sit there and forgot about the time, so did not look around, i do not think he can get any compensation, a lesson for the future.

  • CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 19:21

    I don't know. Might have been a near empty flight. Was the first to leave exactly on time in my experience. 2nd last minute gate change for the trip though.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 19:29
      +17

      There is a reply feature.

    • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 20:30
      +6

      The flight would not be empty. Having travelled extensively on AA for 10 years I have never been on an empty flight. They would cancel a flight rather than fly a single person. Common sense should have kicked in and they should have checked the gate allocations on numerous screens scattered throughout the airport.

      Thailand is a 3rd world country. If you put your faith on things operating efficiently as Japan you'll be soon disabused of that notion lol.

      The cost of these flights is cheap. Why waste ones time and effort arguing pointlessly with some lowly paid functionary who doesn't give a faaark.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 20:57

        Thailand is not a third world country. The facilities in Bangkok and its airlines are equal to any nation. OUTSIDE of the capital, in rural areas, things can get more rustic and can rightly be described as developing. Overall to put down the country as 3rd world is insulting and inaccurate.

        [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 20:57 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
        • whooah1979 on 15/09/2018 - 21:13
          +1

          Thailand is not a third world country

          thailand is a developing country which is only one step up from being an underdeveloped country.
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_country#Developing_…

        • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:17
          -2

          @whooah1979: So not third world then? Since there is nothing in that link that disagrees with my own post perhaps you should have made it to another user.

        • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 21:22
          -2

          Bangkok does have adult entertainment areas superior to many western countries. In that you are correct. Everything else you are wrong about.

        • whooah1979 on 15/09/2018 - 21:35

          @lghulm:

          thailand share the list with other countries like afghanistan, myanmar, syria, etc. it's not a good place to be living in.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:43
          +3

          @Icecold5000: Ok, interesting in that I am an anglo Australian living in Perth but spent much of the last few years there including living & working there. I guess you know better than me and and the various measures linked in the wiki attached:

          Thailand HDI - High (2nd highest rating from 4), Newly industrialised (according to IMF, not developing as per their assessment/chart), not in the UN list provided of least or developing countries (specifically excluded)…

          So basically looking across metrics in the next rung of countries below the first world, but well above the third world typified by the nations of Africa & poorer South East Asian countries surrounding it.

          Have you had family in surgery at a major Bangkok Hospital? Blows anything in Australia out of the water..
          Have you been in Suvarnabhumi Airport? Better than any in Australia.
          Used the MRT/Skytrain in Bangkok? Better than public transport in Australia.
          Been to a Bangkok Shopping Mall? Higher grade than any in Australia.

          Bangkok is highly industrialised & very much a mirror of any other major global city (oh there are people living rough there? Also in San Francisco & Sydney).

          If any part of Thailand can be described as developing it is out in the rural provinces, it is not a proper descriptor for the nation as a whole, & specifically Bangkok where the OP incident took place, which is why it is no longer referred to as third world by any body that assigns such ratings.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:49

          @whooah1979: The metrics listed for Thailand do not come anywhere near those countries and in most cases very closely match the first world: http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/THA

          E.g. 100% rural access to electricity, 98+% access to improved water facilities, 95+% to improved sanitation, 37+% of labor force considered skilled, life expectancy 75+ years, literacy rate 93%, a diversified economy including services, manufacturing & primary resources, highly urbanised…

        • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 22:14
          -1

          @lghulm:

          Have you been in Suvarnabhumi Airport? Better than any in Australia.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_the_Suvarnabhumi…

          http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2016/02/sinking-spots-as-suvar…

          Awesome quote: "“Aircraft should be able to taxi freely and park freely without sinking in,” he added. “This is a basic requirement.”

          Have you had family in surgery at a major Bangkok Hospital? Blows anything in Australia out of the water..

          Try being poor in Thailand and see how far that gets you.

          Been to a Bangkok Shopping Mall? Higher grade than any in Australia.

          I shop online. Irrelevant and laughably desperate if you want to compare how well a countries people are by the quality of their LV outlets

          Bangkok is highly industrialised

          Which is used as a manufacturing hub by foreign MNC because of cheap labor costs. Name one critical technology that has originated from Thailand or been invented by the thais.

          In summary Thailand is a 3rd world feudal-military-monarchical dictatorship which drapes itself in the trappings of hypocritical religious delusion engaged in a civil war.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 22:42
          +2

          @Icecold5000: Dude, no one has argued that Thailand is equivalently first world to Australia.

          Bangkok is in an area that is sinking and near sea level. Australia also has an issue with sinking infrastructure (see how many times out of 10 you are forced onto a bus between Melbourne & Albury due to sinking rail tracks.

          Thailand is not considered a third world country by the bodies that grade such things, such as the UN.
          I addressed shopping, health care & infrastructure as examples of where Bangkok is on par with the developed world. To that you can add education in the form of the private colleges in the area & the fact that they an entry in the global top 500 universities ranked as highly as many of Australia's own.

          You mention these are not all accessible to the poor as if this makes the nation third world. By that metric neither is the US.

          The fact is there is significant graduation between a nation being third world and being first, the fact the population has access to schooling from primary to secondary & beyond, a global top 500 university, equivalent to first world infrastructure (in Bangkok), quality hospitals, advanced manufacturing, high urbanisation, almost universal sanitation, high life expectancy, a functioning judicial system etc all separate a nation from being categorised as third world.

          Bangkok isn't by any stretch of the imagination a third world city. Parts of impoverished rural areas get closer, but even there you will find decent schools, sanitation, 24 hr reliable electricity, high speed internet access (mobile) etc.

          Spend time in Sydney, then visit Bangkok, Tokyo & Shanghai, then the capital of Laos, & Cambodia & Kathmandu, & venture to some capitals in Sub Saharan Africa other than in South Africa. Looking objectively Bangkok will be far closure to the first group than the second. The second group can rightfully be described as third world, Bangkok can't. And I wonder what gets your nose so out of joint about this?

          Is there something offensive about other countries, particularly Asian ones being able to help themselves out of poverty over the last two decades?

        • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 22:55
          -1

          @lghulm:

          And I wonder what gets your nose so out of joint about this?

          Mostly people who think Siam Paragon makes Thailand a country equal to Australia while ignoring its a corrupt military dictatorship.

          I find Thailand quite agreeable only because I have money to burn but I don't have any illusions about what life is like for people there.

          You can point to all the LV shops and private hospitals which cater for the wealthy you want. It doesn't represent the lived reality of most Thais.

          Is there something offensive about other countries, particularly Asian ones being able to help themselves out of poverty over the last two decades?

          Why would there be? Acknowledging people are poor isn't hating them. Claiming they live in a country equal or better to Australia with a generous social safety net and free health care whose hourly minimum wage is more than the average thai earns in a day is more offensive because it betrays the reality of their economic situation.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 23:23
          +1

          @Icecold5000: Claiming they live in a country equal to or better than Australia? Never happened.

          I have family in Thailand, have been back and forth for a decade including working there, working in Bangkok but spending plenty of time in rural villages at other times (not just on the typical tourist route).

          Poor is relative as are working conditions. A poor Thai server in a restaurant still can go to the hospital and receive virtually free health care if she gets sick, subsidised (& so affordable) medicine if she has a medical condition, can send her kids to school where they will be taught to read & write and all the usual stuff with ability to progress to decent universities if intelligent and diligent, including to globally ranked universities like I stated.

          In the meantime this worker can get to and from work using a world class public transport system, & has access to an abundance of cheap & healthy food, and can afford to send a little money back to her village to help with her family's welfare there.

          Where does she lose out? If she becomes unable to work the safety net for her is more limited, Thailand is not a first world country.
          In her village she will not have access to all of the kind of things she has in Bangkok, for instance the roads will be more poorly kept, there may not be full sanitation depending on distance from the nearest town, and she might have to travel 30 minted to get to a suitable hospital.

          Where else does she lose out? Like for most highly populated global cities, desirable housing comes at a premium, especially if it is near the better infrastructure. it will not be uncommon for a small family to be limited to a 1 bedroom apartment and have fairly basic facilities & furnishings within although still including full bathroom facilities, fridge, television, internet access, reliable electricity etc But this is true of Hong-Kong, Singapore, Tokyo.. and actually most global cities around the world.

          My experience in Thailand comes from staying with a small business owner, in a shared apartment with a couple of (legitimate) massage staff, at a local policeman's home, and on a rural farm.

          The small business owner (owner of a small shop) earns enough to drive a late model Fortuner, send her kids to university and live in a two story townhouse near enough a match to the kind of quality you'd get here. Ditto for the policeman and his family, and as for the massage girls (x3) they had a 150sqm apartment walking distance to the Skytrain, earned enough to have iPhones, computers, cable tv, holidays to tourist destinations, eat at decent restaurants as well as send money to their rural elders.. they were not living glamorously, were working 6x12hour days (with additional monthly days off), but shared costs & housing like young Aussies do so that they could have enough for the fun things… (so here we are looking at a range of social classes that do not fall far different to what the equivalent police man, shop owner or shop worker would get here, not in terms of income, but what they can get with that income).

          ..out on the farm, many farmers had late model vehicles (purchased from their own labour not from farang gifts), all had rustic but comfortable accommodation, and earn enough to keep themselves healthy, educated & happy like you'd find any other in the world.

          I have stayed with the working poor in Nepal, in Cambodia, in Laos, they are nothing alike Thailand unless you are dealing with people with obvious mental health or drug issues or disabilities, but the conditions for those people can be very bad no matter the country they are in including Australia.

          You may claim that Thai people are poor, but there is a significant and growing middle class there with plenty of people (many millions) living first world lifestyles and for those further down the chain Thailand provides a safety net and lifestyle far above genuine third world nations.

        • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 23:46
          -1

          @lghulm:

          poor Thai server in a restaurant still can go to the hospital and receive virtually free health care if she gets sick, subsidised (& so affordable) medicine if she has a medical condition,

          Which is limited in coverage.

          can send her kids to school where they will be taught to read & write and all the usual stuff

          They have schools in Ethipoia as well. So what.

          In the meantime this worker can get to and from work using a world class public transport system

          Around 30,000 Thais die on the road every year. About the same number killed at the height of Mexican drug wars. Try taking one of those red buses around Bangkok, the ones with the wooden floors which are put together with sticky tape lol.

          The small business owner (owner of a small shop) earns enough to drive a late model Fortuner, send her kids to university and live in a two story townhouse near enough a match to the kind of quality you'd get here

          https://www.thailand-business-news.com/economics/68930-thai-…

          Yes I know how Thais are obsessed with face and showing 'big action' to get it.

          Ditto for the policeman and his family

          https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/th…
          https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1430694/corruption-…

        • whooah1979 on 16/09/2018 - 00:09

          @lghulm:

          bkk international airport is nice. it's not so nice when one steps outside.

          i can still remember the boy with his amputated legs using two blocks of timber to drag himself forward while sitting on a dolly. this was in a busy bk market.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 00:18
          +1

          @Icecold5000: Mate if you want to introduce debt into the equation Australians are far more in it than Thais. Don't get on your high horse that they are following a similar path but less further along it.

          "limited in coverage" if you need health care you get it, they do not turn people away at their public hospitals. I have been there for births, motorbike accidents etc

          "Schools in Ethiopia" I have taught in Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal, I'll take Nepal as indicative of Ethiopia, Thailand is nothing like it, you do not know what you are talking about.

          Road deaths, here perhaps we get an indication of what you fail to realise. Thailand is NEWLY industrialised, & newly aquatinted with access to credit, consumer lifestyle, universal education etc. So what you get are some hangovers from a previous time that are still being ironed out. E.g. their youth literacy is high, overall it is less because universal education has been a last two decade thing, not a last 6 decade thing. Ditto with access to cars & highways etc.
          This does not make a nation third world. In effect Thailand has spent decades losing its third world status… but it will take time for all BEHAVIOURS to resemble the first world.

          Was Australia in 1960 still a first world nation even though it had lots of road deaths? Yes. The fact there is so many road deaths (from so many vehicles on the road) should be indicative that income levels have risen above what would designate a third world country.

          As for your insinuation about this particular policeman & corruption, this is offensive, & if you knew the guy would be misplaced. Like any families the ones in Thailand I know have their share of ratbags and others that are very straight and narrow. The people I know doing well in Thailand are much more of the straight and narrow kind, which is why perhaps they have been able to get places. Thailand is more corrupt than Australia, but again nowhere near third world status. Its judicial system IS largely functional, and most Thais (that really work at it) can get ahead without needing to engage in anything corrupt.

          And you hang sh*t on the buses but when I was in primary school in the 80's in Australia in a rural area I can tell you our buses were pretty rustic too. A third world nation won't have them period. But also if we are comparing buses, lets contrast the kind of bus many Thais will take back to the farm, vs an Aussie rural bus.. pretty similar except many of the Thai buses you'll catch in Mochit have food service, tv's etc.

          I've been on more scratched, damaged and graffitied and altogether filthy trains in Australia than I have on metro trains in Bangkok.

          Again I'll lay it out to you: while there is a gap between Sydney & Bangkok, there is equally a gap (at least as big) between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Kathmandu or Lagos or Kinshasa. Your categorisation of Bangkok being closer to those latter places is wrong.

          For middle class & above, there will be very little qualitative difference between the experience of living in Bangkok or Sydney (political enfranchisement aside), for those poorer the gap has narrowed significantly over the last two decades (there are the beginnings of a social welfare system in Thailand, and as I said already free healthcare & education for those that need it).. beyond that even for those on lower incomes, like young adults working in a shop, because of relative pricing between the economies not drastic differences in day to day what each can afford.

          Where there is a big difference is between the purchasing ability of a person who has no private income. Yes, being unemployed in Sydney for 10 years on the trot vs doing the same in Bangkok will provide a much different experience. This however is not the measure that designated a nation as third world, with only a very small percentage of people in the world having such a luxury.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 00:30

          @whooah1979: I will never forget seeing the filthy mentally handicapped beggars lining every Australian city pavement. (Or all the people I saw sleeping rough & begging in highly developed Tokyo).

          But again, there has been no claim that Australia and Bangkok are at equivalent levels of development. The truth is, for much of their citizenry they are, and a lot of their infrastructure is becoming comparable.

          The point is that it is not correct to state that the economy, infrastructure or lifestyles of Thais are third world.
          Thailand ranks in the top half, for all countries globally according to the Human Development Index.
          If measured exclusively by Bangkok, it would shoot up much, much, higher again.

          There is a huge gap in Asia between rural lifestyles & city lifestyles, much more so than in the developed West. E.g. While the average city income in Australia may be 2x as high as the average rural income the highly global cities in Asia (Shanghai, Bangkok, Beijing) have average earnings 10x higher than their rural country counterparts. The wealth of these cities significantly closes the gap in their development between them and the equivalent Western cities. Separate them from their nations and their developmental attributes skyrocket. Do the same in the developed West and you'll only get a very small increase. Ergo, the gap between the global Asian cities and Western cities in terms of development is much smaller than the gap between the nations overall.

          Even looking at the nations overall, Thailand is not placed with the third world nations. This is not just my saying it, but available in the links provided from the bodies that judge such things.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 01:23

          @Icecold5000: Average GPP at PPP (effectively GDP per capita at PPP) for Bangkok $37,832 in 2013 (now it would be higher). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thai_provinces_by_GPP

          Want to take a bet how far off Hobart or Geelong such a figure would be for per capita earnings at PPP? E.g. (average earnings in Australia would be factored down from their nominal value to account for price differences between the economies).

          Yeah Australian distribution will be a little more equal, but still the median per capita earnings between tertiary Australian cities & Bangkok will be getting pretty close when price differences factored.

          Want to argue Hobart is third world too?

          "Thailand now an UPPER MIDDLE income economy" - World Bank
          http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2011/08/02/th…

          Note this is the same designation given to Poland.. I guess it is 3rd world too? http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00978/WEB/OTHER/7916…
          Perhaps your knowledge is outdated or too anecdotal & does not match reality as it is.

        • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 08:06
          -1

          @lghulm:

          Average GPP at PPP (effectively GDP per capita at PPP) for Bangkok $37,832 in 2013 (now it would be higher).

          See this is where you lose credibility through misusing statistics. Trying to tell me that people long in Bangkok have a income per capita of over Usd$37,0000 is funny. Does that include the street vendors as well lol. Any informed person would take note if prices for food staples and the minimum wage and then conclude that the average Bangkok dweller doesn’t make anything near that.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 14:27
          +1

          @Icecold5000: Dude it is you that apparently do not understand. Do you realise what PPP means? Purchase Price Parity?

          It means the values have been equalised to international dollars to reflect the different prices available to ENABLE comparisons of the relative wealth & prosperity of nations and their people.

          E.g. if wages in a country are 10x lower, but prices are 10x lower, the amount the average worker can buy for their money is relatively the same.

          Now the WORLD BANK statistics say that for Bangkok (not Thailand as a whole) and a place like Hobart (not Sydney!) the relative relationship described above is getting close to being true.

          They are not as you imagine in your head, lightyears apart, yes if the PPP aspect is ignored the average GPP per person in US dollars, measured in Hobart compared to Bangkok would be 2~3 times larger (not 10x like I bet you guess!).

          But because prices in many cases are far more than 3x lower (and in others similar ~ like the cost to purchase a car or an iPhone), it averages out to them being fairly similar IN TERMS OF PURCHASING POWER EXACTLY AS I SAID.

          A police man in Bangkok, in terms of what he can afford with his pay check is not vastly dissimilar to what a policeman will afford in Australia. WHEN THEY LEAVE their countries a big difference will become apparent but not while they are in them. (e.g both will afford a suitable family home, both a car, both to raise a family, have tv, broadband, smartphones, plenty of food, holidays, eating out…). Ditto for the small shop owner, and even similar for service workers, although the hours worked will be more in the case of the Thai worker (but at a more relaxed pace).

          I know it is hard to let go of preconceptions but you are talking to someone with plenty of Thai experience, Thai family members, has worked inThailand, has a qualification that involved economics study, that has supplied you links to world bank data to back up my statements, outlined arguments and evidence and you still insist that I am a simpleton and wrong.

        • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 15:30

          @lghulm:

          A police man in Bangkok, in terms of what he can afford with his pay check is not vastly dissimilar to what a policeman will afford in Australia.

          Here is a link from Christopher Moore an author who has lived in Thailand for years.

          http://cgmoore.com/blog/view.asp?id=784

          Thai cop who entered the police department with a high school education you are paid after four years on the job (assuming no additional step increase beyond the usual annual increase). a salary of Baht 5,580 per month or US$177.42 a month. That works out to be 183 baht or just under $6 bucks a day…..The minimum wage in Thailand is 300 baht a day, which is closer to $10.00 a day.

          A large bottle of Chang beer costs around 52 baht in a 7/11 so a Thai police officer would be able to afford 3 of those a day. Are you telling me that NSW police officer on $77,0000 pa or after tax around $150-$200 per day enjoys a similar life style when they can buy 27 bottles of 750 mil VBs?

          http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/recruitment/the_career/general_…

        • sobes on 16/09/2018 - 23:13

          @Icecold5000:
          The blog post you cited is pretty flimsy evidence for what you're arguing. There are also several logic flaws with the point you're trying to make:

          1) You're assuming that police are paid the same relative rate in all countries, otherwise why else would you be using it as a comparison? Police in both countries have different entry requirements, numbers of total police, specific duties, etc. They're so different that any comparison is loose at best.

          2) You're comparing outdated Thai numbers (if they ever were correct, that blog post is almost 5 years old) with current NSW numbers.

          3) You're comparing entry level Thai police salary with non-entry level NSW police salary. The blog post you copied from actually says "Unless you're a Thai cop joining with a high school education, you're paid___". Can you even join the NSW police without a high school education?

        • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 23:52

          @sobes:

          Double it then. They can buy 6 big changs and some prawn chips. Their salaries wouldn't have doubled since 2014 anyway. so its pointless to discuss if the figure are are so low anyway. Their purchasing power is so much lower still than someone from Sydney working the same job that to claim they are not dissimilar is ludicrous.

          What many people unfamilar with Thailand don't seem to realise is that you have to pay your superiors to get a position in a specific area. They are wholly corrupt. I'm not surprised that lghulm didn't mention it but they seem to be operating on an agenda to promote the view that the sunshines out of Thailand's ass. I have no doubt that a thai police officer could adequately provide for their family - just not on their official salaries and certainly not on 200-300 baht a day. Try paying for your uniform, firearm, motorbike and household, medical, education out of that without taking bribes and shakedown cash.

          My point is that in general the vast majority of Thais don't live anything near a developed country style life because they simply cannot afford it and they are living in a 3rd world country. Thailand is popular with cheapass tourists is because its cost structure assumes salaries at around 10-15,000 baht a month economy while the average Ozzie probably earns around 90-120,000 a month.

          I suggest that lghulm simply has a psychological defence mechanism operating which causes them not to see what the country is really like. If you have family there then you need to have some kind of committment to help you through the sheer crap or else you'd hate it after a while. I don't live there so really don't care. If someone thinks that having the skytrain makes Thailand awesomer than Australia then one the the cognitive dissonance will make their head explode when reality kicks in.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 00:49
        +3

        According to Top Airport Rankings Bangkok Suvarnabhumi is in the top 40 airports globally for quality & efficiency, ahead of Paris CDG, Athens, Barcelona, Madrid, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, Perth, Oslo, LAX… http://www.worldairportawards.com/awards/world_airport_ratin…

        …so perhaps signalling the issue occurred because of Thailand being "a third world country" and incapable of being as efficient as a first world nation is erroneous despite all the crap commenters have spit out here. (it also outranks Fukuoka & most airports in Japan).

        (And yes I acknowledge flight may have been out of a secondary airport, not Suvarnabhumi but the point stands that the Thais can manage a great airport).

        Air Asia also happens to be a MALAYSIAN Airline (yes for accounting purposes it has international divisions), & is a budget carrier, not known for the highest quality service.
        Equivalent might as well be Tiger Airways in Australia which is (was) far, far, worse.

        Had OP been flying Thai Airways odds are on the issue it would not have occurred (perhaps staff would have stayed at the gate, or they are less likely to have their gates re-arranged) & certainly OP would have been treated courteously and more likely received a free subsequent flight.

        Anyway, more to do with a budget airline carrier not known for service than anything to do with Thai level of development or quality of their airports.

        • CrankyCarrot on 16/09/2018 - 03:15
          -3

          There were two Thai Air Asia employees at the old gate, "playing on their phones," according to my friend.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 03:59
          +5

          @crankycarrot: Perhaps they thought all the passengers had left. It increasingly sounds to me like your friend may have arrived at the gate fairly close to the final boarding time? I know such a thing shouldn't create an issue but may have here.

          I have had woeful experiences with Air Asia. Once I turned up at the ticket counter mere minutes before cutoff with passports in hand (for the family) but with the booking on my phone (on email) rather than printed. There was one set of passengers behind me and then they were going to close the counter.

          The person at the counter refused to issue tickets despite the fact they had the booking reference number, could see the booking, had it on their computer in front of them and all names/ID's matched. The fact that I did not have the email printed they said (which they didn't want to keep, just to check), made me ineligible to fly.

          They insisted that I go find an internet cafe at the airport or somewhere that would allow me to print the email and come back. When I pointed out that they were closing the counters and that we were down to minutes to head to security or we would miss the flight altogether they would give no ground.

          I asked for a manger, they refused, but when they saw I would not budge called a manger over who still would not issue tickets.
          They asked me to get out of the line so they could book in the last passengers and I refused. They said they would call security and I still didn't budge and said they could either cancel my seats on the spot and I would take up the cancellation with their head office or issue the tickets I had paid for. Now after 15 minutes of this dispute going on, he hit a button on the computer, printed the tickets and we were done 30 seconds later.

          So now why did they make such a fuss when all they needed to do was hit print themselves? This is why one shouldn't fly Air Asia. The chance of getting good service out of them, let alone refunds, is pretty low.

        • CrankyCarrot on 16/09/2018 - 04:11

          @lghulm: I don't see this as a reason not to fly with them (in the absence of a competitor with similar flight times/prices) so much as a reason to expose their sub-par behaviour, make fun of it and shame them into not screwing people over.

          Some of the other posters here act as if they hold stock or something. I mean, you expect some degree of pointless belligerence on the internet but damn. Fortunately their opinions don't matter.

          Good on you for standing your ground. The whole ticket printing thing is an unnecessary and cumbersome step anyway. The more people push the principle of the thing, the better things will get for the consumer.

          PS My "friend" was there at the gate over an hour before boarding, which is why they didn't see anything amiss with the boards on the way to the gate.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 05:05
          +3

          @crankycarrot: Just seems odd to be there that early and not have witnessed other people being turned away from the gate. There must have been others that just looked at their tickets and went to the same gate.. presuming other people were checking in around the same time as him.

          I've had multiple incidents with Air Asia beyond the one so that is why I will not fly with them any more. For most of the routes I take Jetstar or Thai Airways make good alternatives for usually the same ballpark fee or up to $100 more but with better service included.

        • R4 on 17/09/2018 - 16:00

          We transitted through BKK a few weeks ago on the way back from Japan. It's a dump. Dark and poorly lit and not that clean. Food and beverage prices are eyewateringly expensive and duty free is a joke. Saying that, Thai Air were good with reasonable ticket prices - all on brand new planes

        • osh89g on 17/09/2018 - 21:33

          @lghulm: Sounds like they were waiting for a bribe.
          I once had a transfer in thailand, the air aisa plane landed late so when got in we had about 20 mins to transfer to bankok air flight. Got stuck at border control with a massive line with one counter which was not moving. I walked around the side and there was an express lane for elderly, disabled etc. Tried explain my situation and they said no worries. Called my wife over and they guided us through an area with full size barriers which noone could see in or out of. One of the officer pulled out some US money and stated pointing to it, asking for a bride to let us through. I told him I have no money only credit cards (I did have some AUD), after a couple mins they gave up and let us through and we made it to our flight with about 10 mins to spare.

  • ShortyX on 15/09/2018 - 19:26
    +2

    Did your friend check the TV screens? Could you claim via travel insurance?

    • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 19:29
      +12

      $20 says didn't get insurance.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 20:14
        +2

        Actually, there are plenty of screens at the waiting area by the gates at Don Mueang

        • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 20:34

          This is true. Have they finished redeveloping the waiting area yet? Some decent food options would be great.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 20:47

          @Icecold5000:

          Honestly, not sure.
          I was there a few weeks ago but paid absolutely zero attention.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:46
        +8

        Stop lying.

        • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 22:41
          +2

          Exactly.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGYj-6C8TXs

          Here is a video of the domestic departure area with the departure board clearly visible at 0.42.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 05:09
          +9

          @crankycarrot:

          Every gate has flight info screens.
          Every gate, no exception.

          Just admit it your friend is telling you porkie pies.

        • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 09:05
          +6

          @crankycarrot:

          There were people waiting at 33

          lol how would you even know as you weren’t there right?

        • bazza1980 on 16/09/2018 - 13:41
          +12

          @crankycarrot:

          For someone posting on behalf of a "friend" you seem to have the intricate details of what happened? Was it actually you or your "friend" who missed the flight…

        • Kangal on 16/09/2018 - 13:46
          +6

          @Icecold5000:

          This narrative about "the friend" seems to be crumbling too…..

      • spoonmugen on 17/09/2018 - 21:47

        if your friend can afford to fly they can afford insurance … or get a credit card with complimentary insurance…

    • hawkeye on 16/09/2018 - 11:28

      Most insurance excess would be $200-500 to make a claim. Sort of defies the purpose if the tickets only worth $60.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 19:31
      +12

      Yeah, that is what insurance is for.
      Also great if you get hospitalized in far away places.

      • CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 19:34
        -7

        Hospital bills are a separate issue.

        This is the airline messing around the customer and having no accountability for it.

      • JetBombat on 15/09/2018 - 20:07
        +1

        Moot point on what happened, but the insurance is for extraordinary events, not poor business practices or if you screw up semi-intentionally, whatever is the case here.

      • Thrawn on 15/09/2018 - 23:52
        +6

        Insurance wouldn't pay anyway.. they don't pay out if its your mistake.

        • josho9 on 16/09/2018 - 21:05
          +1

          Agree, not sure why everyone is suggesting travel insurance - agree OP's friend should have had it but it would not have helped them in this situation.

    • ShortyX on 15/09/2018 - 19:34
      +3

      Did everyone else go to the correct gate?

      • CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 19:36
        -4

        I don't know. I'm not friends with them. Could have been an empty or near empty flight. Could very well be others in the same situation.

        Why don't they make more of an effort to find the people who have already checked in? ie Call the goddamn number you give them or radio for someone to get straglers from the other gate?

        • ShortyX on 15/09/2018 - 19:38

          I don’t know.

          Maybe ask your friend?

        • CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 19:39

          @Stix: He's not friends with them either.

        • ShortyX on 15/09/2018 - 19:45
          +15

          @crankycarrot:

          Username checks out.

        • Icecold5000 on 15/09/2018 - 20:40

          @crankycarrot:

          From the description of events it seems like the empty waiting area indicated that everyone else made it to be correct gate and did not miss their flight.

        • ravonda on 15/09/2018 - 20:44
          +1

          @Stix: Whoa! A talking carrot??!

        • CrankyCarrot on 16/09/2018 - 03:26
          -1

          @Icecold5000: Never described it as empty, did I?

        • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 08:10
          +2

          @crankycarrot:

          Could have been an empty or near empty flight.

          Lol

    • whooah1979 on 15/09/2018 - 20:17
      +5

      How about they don't change the friggin' gate at the last minute?

      air asia didn't change the departure gate on a whim.
      https://www.quora.com/How-do-airports-assign-flights-to-gate…

      your friend should've paid more attention to their flight.

    • ronnknee on 16/09/2018 - 14:05

      There is a reply feature.

    • Nousernamehere on 16/09/2018 - 20:59

      How about they don't change the friggin' gate at the last minute?

      So which one was it, a last minute change or over an hour earlier?

      My friend was at gate 33 waiting an hour before boarding was to take place

  • Zedsdeadbabyzedsdead on 15/09/2018 - 19:36
    +4

    I've been screwed lots of times in Asia, always made it through the gate though.

    • CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 20:28
      +3

      Just don't do it on the tray tables. Those things are riddled with disease.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:45
        +4

        Maybe that's why they moved your your friend's flight…

      • bringbring on 17/09/2018 - 20:00
        -1

        Username checks out

  • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 19:41
    +21

    Your friend seems to be very selective in the information they've disclosed to you.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 20:06
        +23

        And yet, everyone else seemed to get on the flight just fine.

        • whooah1979 on 15/09/2018 - 20:28
          +16

          @crankycarrot:

          emergency contact phone numbers are used for emergencies. a change of gates aren't an emergency.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 20:47
          +8

          @crankycarrot:

          But, you weren't there, were you?

        • payton on 15/09/2018 - 21:02
          +1

          @Drew22:
          he's got you there, OP

        • CrankyCarrot on 16/09/2018 - 03:28
          -5

          @payton: Not really.

        • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 08:29
          +4

          @whooah1979:

          I had AA call me once when they had to cancel a flight. Maybe they assume that if people turn up to an unstaffed empty gate with no flight details on the screen that something is amiss. I can’t even comprehend the degree of stupidity not to understand such a situation.

      • Bnjam3 on 17/09/2018 - 21:59

        Define insufficient notice and last minute. Would you consider 50 min notice insufficient? If you check in too early then gate can change very easily(its your responsibility to confirm the gate number), if you checkin one hour before the flight then gate number will most likely be correct.

  • WreckTangle on 15/09/2018 - 20:07
    +5

    Wasn’t the gate change caused by don muang airport and not air asia?

    • CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 20:27
      -6

      Good question. But as long as we're betting, I'd say the budget airline customers get shunted around way more than those of the other airlines'.

      • bazza1980 on 16/09/2018 - 13:43
        +1

        Given it is the airport who controls gate allocations, your beef is with the airport not the airline…

        • Mitch889 on 16/09/2018 - 14:14

          Exactly this. The airlines aren't allocating gates, and gates change at the last minute for many reasons.

        • josho9 on 17/09/2018 - 11:53

          @Mitch889: To be fair, often the gate change is because the flight is late, which is more common with LCCs. Airports don't want to keep changing gates on people.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 14:20

        All carriers that fly out of DM are budget carriers (AA, JC, New Gen, Nok, Scoot, Lion etc).

        Also, each arm of Air Asia (Indonesia AA, Phillipines AA, Thai AA etc) operate out of particular sets of gates at DM. So it would be highly unusual for a flight scheduled for one part of the terminal to be moved to the completely other side of the airport. If this did in fact happen, it was likely at the direction of the airport (not the carrier).

        I think you or your friend might be giving us the run around.

  • holdenmg on 15/09/2018 - 20:14
    +1

    If you download a free trial of Tripit Pro https://www.tripit.com/pro/upgrade
    you get Real Time Flight Alerts.

    I actually found this saved me a missed flight when they did the gate switch after I had checked in Luggage. By the Time I got through a Security and had a Coffee I was just walking to the "wrong" Gate.

    I got an alert on the Tripit Pro App with a completely different revised Gate yet same departure time.

    • CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 20:36
      -3

      We have the Air Asia app, but it seems buggy and slow as all hell. Maybe this 3rd party one works better. Might try.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:43
        +24

        We have the Air Asia app

        Good for you to have the app.

        Why didn't your friend do the same?

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