10 Things Your Airline Won't Tell You

Hi there! The article this time is not from me. I'm took it from Yahoo Travel and Yahoo updated and adapted it from the book "1001 Things They Won't Tell You: An Insider's Guide to Spending, and Living Wisely," by Jonathan Dahl and the editors of SmartMoney. Reading it make me remember all my experiences back while i was study in S. Alam. I don't travel a lot, 2 times per year but all the experiences is much the same. I dont mean to complaint or gives a bad names to the company i'm talked about here but it just my opinion.
You can read the original and full article by clicking here. I do give some comment about some points and some are not bcoz i dont really have opinion on that points. Anyway, i just want to share my experiences, and feel free to give feedback.. Enjoy!!

1. "Welcome to our crowded plane."

My comment; that's right, back in 2006, i bought a ticket from Kuching to KLIA from our famous airline and the flight was supposed to depart at 9pm. I managed to get at KIA about 2 hours earlier and when i was about to check in, their staff said there is an empty seat on their next flight. He put my name on the passenger list and the flight is about to take off in 20 minutes. Huh! i have to run like hell so that i dont miss that flight and luckily, i didnt. I know my situations here is different from the article says but do they know how troublesome for me if i didnt make it? i know its good to be early, but its better if the just follow the ordinary rules. dont just add people name just to save a little cost. i did get on the flight but i have to run about 500 meters to get to the gate. not to mention my heavy luggage, already full compartment, and bcoz of my early flight, i have to wait for my brother at the klia for 2 hours.

2. “Your hard-won air miles are probably worth less.”

3. “We’ll give you a good deal — if we can get something out of it.” 4. “We love adding fees.”

My comment; its very intriguing when you saw the fare's promotion on tv where you can buy a ticket to KL with just rm10. BUT you can only get that price when you book your ticket like 3,4 month before the flight. not including the luggage fare, extra luggage, priced seat, insurances, or whatsoever fare. i know that we cannot expect a very low price when traveling with flight but
please dont be so secretive about the hidden charges. The in-flight food? very costly, the dont allow passenger to bring outside food bcoz its their regulations. A small bottle of mineral water cost you rm1 at the airport but when it get in the plane, it became rm4! Wth? its okay for the people with very well known with the regulations of the airline but what about the people who doesnt? what about the people/family who bought a lots of things/souvenir and their luggage are full? i remember 4,5 year back the luggage limit is about 15-20kg per person but now its only 15kg/person. not to mention the cost for extra luggage is rm15 per KG. That is so blood-sucking. i also heard even now they have an inspector at the boarding hall to monitor passenger where they only allow to bring not more than 2 bag for hand luggage or otherwise you had to pay for additional luggage.

5. “Customer service isn’t always our top priority . . .”

My comment; this part is compulsory. ask anyone who ever travel with flight, "Have u experienced flight delayed before?" Who hasnt? In my experiences, i had many flight delay. The worst one happened in Ramadhan 2009 where the flight delayed for 2 hours. For some people, its normal but for me its not especially when u got nothing for berbuka puasa. Actually,
i planned to bukak posa in the flight where they they sell variety of foods in-flight but when the flight delayed and since i got nothing to eat, i asked their staff the permission to go outside to buy some food at the restaurant located few meters away and they dont allow me! they just keep the passengers waiting in the boarding room for 2 hours. Lucky for me, i bought a mineral water before and there's one family who gave me some dates and slices of cakes for bukak posa maybe bcoz i said their childs are cute. hehe.. i really really hope that please improve the customer service bcoz you getting more and more passenger doesnt means your service is good enough.

6. “. . . but it might be if you have a lot of miles.”

7. “Our planes can make travel uncomfortable – and costlier.”

My comment; i dont really know about this but is there any differences between Air Asia and MAS planes? Coz i thinks the passenger seat in Air Asia plane is quite narrow than MAS. Besides, you cannot really use the lean-back seat function coz it might lead uncomfortable to passengers at the back. Its really hurt your back when you have to keep your position in a small places for a long time. Not to mention about the useless air-cond especially when u travel during the day. Its good bcoz i never experienced log-hour journey, yet. Hmm.. i know its a new plane but u dont really have to do that to make much profit.

8. “Even we don’t understand our pricing.”

My comment; Air Asia and MAS are very much different, Air Asia dont have class for passenger and meals but MAS have. But they have big different in price. Both are quite same during holiday season, or end / early year - expensive. MAS are better in services except for their schedule (sometimes) but its a bit pricey. While Air Asia have a big gap in their prices, sometimes its cheaper, sometimes its not. You cannot predict the ticket prices according to season except you booked early-cheaper, booked late-costly.

9. “We’re at the mercy of old technology.” 10. “You’ll wait because the system’s broken.”

My comment; This one, you cannot change. No matter how regular you travel, this problem will always arises - DELAY. Its not about the technology or human skills but the act of nature. The wind changes, weather or anything that beyond our control. Since this problem always arise, why not improving the airport? This problem become worst especially during holiday season. Lots of people travelling, flight delayed and crowded. Try improving the facilities by adding more bench for rest, wifi facilities, TV for entertainment and etc. People will forget their upset about the flight delay by doing some leisure activities.