KUALA LUMPUR – While most social media managers go to great lengths to create conversations with their audiences, the administrators of the @airasia Twitter account might have gotten more than they had bargained for today.
Just after 8am this morning, the account tweeted: “What advice will you give a first-time flyer?” followed by the cloud and aeroplane emojis.
What advice will you give a first time flyer? ?✈️
— airasia Super App (@airasia) June 11, 2022
While such a tweet from the average user wouldn’t raise any eyebrows, it definitely piqued the interest of at least a few of the brand’s 3.2 million Twitter followers, who took the opportunity to blast the company over its allegedly poor track record of customer service.
A common theme among the complainants was that one should only fly AirAsia if there was absolutely no alternative.
One user with the handle @bongkersz tweeted: “Don’t fly AirAsia unless you really have no f***ing choice. Like really no f***ing choice.”
A user with the handle @injang_nation issued a similar warning but on a more humorous note, saying that if AirAsia were one’s last choice, one should still consider taking a “train, ship, or submarine instead”.
Dont fly with air asia. If air asia is your last choice, use train, ship or submarine instead. https://t.co/aXJedOUaFU
— Injang (@Injang_Nation) June 11, 2022
Another user blasted the company for allegedly rescheduling his flights with no notice.
“They’ve rescheduled my flights 2 times without notice. I was lucky they weren’t for urgent matters,” tweeted @az_hanza.
If you can, avoid flying with AirAsia at all costs.
— Hanza Art ?? (@az_hanza) June 11, 2022
They've rescheduled my flights 2 times without notice. I was lucky they weren't for urgent matters.
But yeah, I've been using MAS airlines since. https://t.co/sYIHff7mxP
Besides that, some users panned the airline for a troublesome refund process for cancelled flights.
One such voice was local actress Lim Mei-Fen who questioned where the balance in her credit account had gone.
“I remembered clearly that there’s still a balance on my credit account but when I checked again now, it’s all gone!” Lim tweeted.
The co-star of local film Prebet Sapu also said that her attempts to reach out to AirAsia through the airline’s virtual chat assistant (AVA) were futile and she was “getting nowhere”.
Hi @airasia few of my flights were cancelled and rebooked and reschedule during pandemic time. I remembered clearly that there's still balance on my credit account but when I checked again now,it's all gone! I tried spoken to ur virtual assistant but it's getting nowhere. ?
— Lim Mei Fen (@LimMeiFen1) June 11, 2022
This frustration towards the whole cancellation-refund process was shared by user @Shades_Salvator who said “Cancel your tickets with AirAsia. Wait, that cannot be. Claim back your money… wait cannot also. Ask for a refund.. aahh c*****”, ending the tweet with a simple warning: “Just don’t buy from Airasia.”
This is not the first time the low-cost airline has been on the receiving end of brickbats for what some customers claim to be bad service.
Last week, a doctor who intended to fly from Kuching to Johor Baru and back on the same day was shocked to discover that his flight heading to JB had been rescheduled to 9.50pm after his flight home was supposed to be.
On May 9, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said his ministry had initiated an investigation into public complaints.
He had said the initial probe found that the issues had occurred since late April and have persisted since, with Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau among those to have fallen victim. – The Vibes, June 11, 2022
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