AirAsia, one of the more popular budget airlines in Asia, has a few hits and misses (including painful add-on fees from everything from seats to insurance). However, two services that I like are the chat support and the free e-magazine you can download from their site.
I've written about my love for airline magazines previously and suggested that airlines could cut cost by using mobile devices as a medium rather than publishing glossy magazines. AirAsia still has glossies onboard their craft but their 3Sixty magazine has a small warning indicating you aren't allowed to remove the magazine from the aircraft. You can, however, download a PDF version from the AirAsia 3Sixty website.
For a budget carrier, AirAsia's 3Sixty magazine is very, very good. The publication is definitely more substantial than Dragonair, JetStar, Philippine Airlines and the cheap Cebu Pacific Air inflight magazines. The articles in 3Sixty are intelligent, informative and well-researched with none of the snob and arrogance typically found in travel magazines. Both the e-magazine and the published version were produced by a quality team using Adobe InDesign CS5.5 and it's clear they knew what they were doing.
As a technical writer, I certainly appreciate their traditional layout and emphasis on content. The 3Sixty magazine, thankfully, doesn't have the confusing interactivity of British Airways' gorgeous free First Life magazine and isn't limited to the Apple Newstand app. While First Life caters only to a select wealthy clientele who can actually afford the luxury lifestyle and items featured in the articles, 3Sixty provides a more broad range of topics.
Chat Support
Making online reservations may be the norm today, but it's still good practice to check with the airline to confirm payment and that everything is hunky-dory. There are a few different contact points passengers can use for assistance though I found AskAirAsia unimpressive and Twitter of course is blocked in Shanghai. However, I found their chat support helpful - within four minutes I was able to confirm my credit card payment with a representative named Selina.
Having worked in customer service a decade ago, I had my confirmation number and to her credit, Selina was pretty fast and the experience was painless. It was a far cry from calling banks like HSBC or undergoing an IQ-draining automated system. In addition, AirAsia's chat service didn't require passengers to log on/sign up to the AirAsia website.
Cost and Services
AirAsia is similar to most carriers, budget or otherwise. At the end of the day, you have to decide between cost and services. According to CNN and BBC, more and more budget airlines will be popping up soon and prices will be even more competitive as cost measures are introduced and planes such as the Airbus A380 become more and more common. The e-magazine and chat support may seem insignificant in the larger scheme of the industry but passengers like me do notice and will remember the next time we book a flight.
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