Flying is nowhere as simple or painless as it used to be, as one Singapore TikToker found out recently.
What was meant to be a lovely vacation to Bali with her two-year-old son had a rocky start thanks to AirAsia’s own mistakes.
“AirAsia, you absolutely suck!” said Ms Tina A, who goes by @tinadestruit on TikTok.
https://www.tiktok.com/@tinadestruit/video/7142505024852102401?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7108688882145134086
Moreover, she wrote in her Sept 13 post that it’s her “last time ever on an airasia flight.”
In her caption, she talked about “The emotional rollercoaster I went through today from 11am to 10pm!!”
https://www.tiktok.com/@tinadestruit/video/7142805533462957314?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7108688882145134086
First, when she tried to board her flight to Bali, she discovered that her passport no longer had six months’ validity, which she admitted was her fault.
She then rushed to ICA, and to its credit, she was able to get a new passport within a few hours.
This meant, however, that she would miss her original flight scheduled for 1:40 pm on Monday (Sept 12), but the Air Asia staff told her that she could make the 5 pm one.
Ms Tina had a prior concern, though. Her son, who was 23 months old at the time of her initial booking, had turned 24 months by the day of their flight, and she was wondering if he needed an extra seat or could just sit on the lap of the accompanying parent or guardian, which the company’s site says is allowable up to 24 months.
https://www.tiktok.com/@tinadestruit/video/7142821041511894274?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7108688882145134086
She was told by AirAsia staff when checking in that her son did not need a seat, but needed to pay a $50 infant flight fare.
However, when she tried to check in for the 5 pm flight, the staff told her that there was no such flight scheduled for that day, but that they could rebook her for a 10:50 pm flight.
“And your staff is so incompetent they told me they would move me to a 5pm flight but guess what, the next flight was at 1050pm! The 5pm flight doesnt exist!” she wrote.
While this was disappointing to Ms Tina, she agreed, as the bookings in Bali were already set.
She was asked to pay $169 in additional fees for rebooking and for the processing of her son’s fare.
And then when she and her son arrived to check in later that night, they were told that the staff who had advised them about Ms Tina’s son were also wrong, as the boy needed a separate seat because he was “not actually considered an infant.”
Therefore, he needed to pay the full fare.
She was further told that if she wanted her son to be on the same flight, she needed to pay $778.
“So at this point I’m like, what the hell’s going on? You guys—did my booking in the afternoon. There were three of you AirAsia staff attending to me, and now you’re telling me that all three of them made a mistake. And how is their mistake now my fault?”
And while the woman she spoke to admitted it was an oversight on their part, she said she would only refund Ms Tina $50 but that she still needed to pay $778.
Exhausted and overwhelmed, The TikToker said she was “literally in tears” at this point.
“Can I say I will never ever go through this again… never-ever fly AirAsia again.”
She later thanked commenters for their concern.
https://www.tiktok.com/@tinadestruit/video/7143525647766392066?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7108688882145134086
Ms Tina, who returned on Thursday (Sept 15) said the incident with AirAsia did not ruin her trip.
She added that the flight company offered her $50 credit toward her next flight.
She had also posted a TikTok of her and her son, obviously enjoying their time in Bali.
@tinadestruit Thought it was gonna be tough but seeing him enjoy every bit of it made my entire trip so much better!
/TISG
https://theindependent.sg/airasia-ceo-tony-fernandes-edited-ig-post-to-say-his-tesla-is-rented-after-drawing-flak-from-netizens/