Guest MonkeySee Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 Air Asia has a new service where you can pay an extra fee and choose your seat. More information at http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/page.jsp...rence=pickaseat Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 It seems you can pick a preferred seat like an emergency exit row for 7 USD or any old seat for $1.50. These would be well worth it for a long international flight but for a one hour flight I'll even take a middle seat. In the email they sent me about this service they also sent info about a sale that starts today. Since most of the flights are to KL I put it in the Gy Asias section. But there are some great prices from Perth and London to KL. Also Bali to Bangkok. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 Air France and Continental started doing this last year. What they don't do is tell you who else picked seats. I'm not willing to pay money just to be by the emergency exit, but I would be willing to pay to assure myself I'm far away from screaming babies. Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 Air France and Continental started doing this last year. What they don't do is tell you who else picked seats. I'm not willing to pay money just to be by the emergency exit, but I would be willing to pay to assure myself I'm far away from screaming babies. Or next to a doe eyed 21 year Thai boy with a nice package! Seriously though, even if you don't know who picked seats it's useful to know if a seat has been picked. On a empty flight you could pick an empty row and perhaps get 4 seats to yourself winning the Connect 4 game. When checking in, I generally try for an empty row and these are much more likely to be in the rear of the plane. Quote
Guest GaySacGuy Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 Or next to a doe eyed 21 year Thai boy with a nice package! Seriously though, even if you don't know who picked seats it's useful to know if a seat has been picked. On a empty flight you could pick an empty row and perhaps get 4 seats to yourself winning the Connect 4 game. When checking in, I generally try for an empty row and these are much more likely to be in the rear of the plane. I don't think you will find four accross on most Air Asia flights. The ones I have flown have been set up three & three...but even three accross is pretty good. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 I would be willing to pay to assure myself I'm far away from screaming babies So would I - a lot! And I'd pay a surcharge for being as far as possible from kids of any age up to around 10. I find many Asian kids are less disciplined on aircraft than their western counterparts. The worst are those who run up and down the aisles totally out of control on overnight flights with parents/guardians perfectly happy to let them disturb the rest of the passengers. What always pisses me off is that the cabin crews rarely step in to get those rampant kids back onto their seats. Another annoyance is if I am flying in business class alongside parents whose young kids are back in economy with the amah/nanny. Inevitably, the kids find their way in to business class and run amok. I think Singapore Airlines has the right idea with a business class only flight between Singapore and New York. How about a childless flight? Indeed, instead of babies and kids paying less, I think their tickets should attract a child disturbance surcharge. Quote
Guest shebavon Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 How about a childless flight? Indeed, instead of babies and kids paying less, I think their tickets should attract a child disturbance surcharge. Mr. Scrooge, why do you not just rent a whole plane for yourself. That way his eminence is sure not to be disturbed by screaming kids who might remind you of what you once were. Quote
Gaybutton Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 I'm more with fountainhall on this one. I realize that there is no way small children can be kept quietly confined to their seats on a long haul flight, but I also think the parents should be responsible for keeping them from disturbing other passengers. I don't think it's right or fair for the parents to remain complacently in their seats and just let the kids run up and down the aisles disturbing a plane load of people. Parents have a responsibility to control and supervise their children. They're on a plane, not a playground. I can't see any reason why parents can't bring along toys and games to keep the kids occupied as much as possible without disturbing everyone else. Quote
Guest shebavon Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 Perhaps an IV of Valium would work? I share your pain, but I don't believe I was an angel when I was young either. However, I do remember a few smacks I took when I got out of line or threw temper tantrums. Of course, today, that would be called child abuse. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 I'd pay extra for a long haul flight where children were banned and smoking was allowed. Even more if the plane was filled with cute gay men who smoked. Maybe I should start up up ChildFreeGaySmokerAirline.com. Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 IMO some of the best seats are the bulkheads, but that's where you're most likely to find kids. I'll put up with the kids in order to get extra legroom. When checking in, you might be able to find where the kids are. I think airlines may track them. One of my biggest peeves are pilots who descend too rapidly, hurting my ears. Now maybe there's a legit reason for the rapid decent, i really don't know. But this sure gets the babies crying. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 Not on Air Asia yet, but just read this article about US Airways charging $7 US for a pillow and blanket. What is next? TEMPE, Ariz. – If you want a pillow and blanket in coach on US Airways, it's going to cost you $7. US Airways said Thursday it will begin charging for its "Power-Nap Sack" on Feb. 16. It's following the lead of JetBlue Airways, which announced a similar policy last summer. Airlines are adding fees on checked luggage and now pillows and blankets to raise more money as they battle a downturn in travel caused by the recession. US Airways reported that January traffic fell 6.2 percent. Kevin Jackson, a marketing official for Tempe-based US Airways, said selling the pillows and blankets "is a natural extension of our 'pay for what you choose and use' model we began rolling out last year." Jackson said the sleep kit was an affordable way for passengers to increase their comfort while flying. The kits include a 34-by-60-inch fleece blanket, a neck pillow, eye shades, foam ear plugs and a $10-off coupon for items in the SkyMall catalog. They come in a fleece drawstring bag embroidered with the airline's logo. The airline said it will stop handing out free pillows and blankets in coach on domestic flights. Customers in first class and in Envoy and Economy class on trans-Atlantic flights will continue getting complimentary pillows and blankets. The kits won't be available on US Airways Express. For customers who can't wait until Feb. 16 for their own US Airways-embroidered nap kit, the company said they went on sale Thursday at the airline's Web site. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 JetStar has a comfort pack for purchase. It contains a fleece blanket, neck pillow, eye shades and I don't remember what else. As with all budget airlines, you get what you pay for. Now that I have a JetStar comfort pack, I use it whenever I travel, no matter which airline. Quote
Guest shebavon Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 I knew when the food on a NY to FL flight was downgraded from a meal to peanuts, that we were all in trouble. Next they will be charging us for our girth. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 Wait til they charge for air. The airlines aren't doing that, but the government is. Isn't that what carbon exchange and carbon credits are all about? Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 That way his eminence is sure not to be disturbed by screaming kids who might remind you of what you once were Well I may have been a screaming brat for all I know. but I certainly did not bother other people on planes at that age. I did not take my first flight till I was 18 Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 Air Asia has a new service where you can pay an extra fee and choose your seat Read in the Bangkok Post today that all airlines have been informed by the international airline authorities they must allocate seats to passengers in advance as a new safety feature. So Air Asia has turned this into positive cash flow for the airline. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 Next they'll be charging us for the security checks. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 Next they'll be charging us for the security checks. In the US, they already do that. It is included in the price of your ticket. If you read the fine print on the Southwest Airline booking, I think they say $5.00 per stop goes for the federal security check. Here is a quote from the website, "A flight segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing. Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFC) of up to $9 and government-imposed September 11th Security Fee of up to $5 one-way." Quote
Guest slackersam Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 So, if I don't pay can I skip security? Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 In the US, they already do that. It is included in the price of your ticket. They do it everywhere - usually hidden in "fuel surcharges and taxes". Come to think of it, now that gasoline is back where it was well over a year ago, shouldn't fuel surcharges be a thing of the past? I know that Air Asia has dumped them, but not many of the full service carriers that I know of. Quote
Guest slackersam Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 You'd think that given the depression the airlines would be lowering the cost of everything - but they aren't. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 Some are and seem to be benefitting. Cathay Pacific has substantially lowered its business class fares between Bangkok and Hong Kong. Returning last night the cabin was about 75% full - compared to less than 20% a few weeks ago. And I saw in Hong Kong that Finnair was advertising an economy round trip fare of Bt. 15,500 to almost anywhere in Europe - valid throughout the whole of 2009. Quote
