Complaint Review: AirAsia airlines

I don’t wish what I’ve been through even to my worst enemy.

I traveled with my family during July, thru Asia for almost 30 days. Our first destination was India and the last one, Bali. We did the indian visa before our trip to save time and we had all the right documents.

We were at the Bali airport with a scheduled flight to New Delhi, in India, by Air Asia, which there would be a connection in Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia. From there, in a few hours, we would take a flight by Ethiopian Airlines with our final destination to Brazil and connection in Ethiopia.

At the time of check-in, to dispatch our luggages, the Air Asia attendant asked if we had a visa to enter India. We said we had been there only a while ago so that we did have the visa, but we explained to her that we wouldn’t even leave the indian airport, as it was only a connection flight.

The employee then called to her supervisor, who insisted we needed a new visa. We showed that, in the Indian Federal Police website, the visas could be, then, acquired as soon as we got in India (“Visa on arrival”). This way, in doubt, the attendant said that she needed to speak to her supervisor in person.

Ogi Sabto Hardianto was the manager of that shift. Immediately at first, he said that we could not board. Nonconformist, we showed to him the website mentioned before. He kept denning our check-in. We used all possible proofs that we did not need the visa and that, if it was really necessary, we could get it when we arrived in India. He insisted, however, without proving to us in anyway that the visa was necessary or that it could not be done on arrival. He also didn’t give any explanation, he simply denied our boarding.

This manager didn’t help us or give us ANY support. He looked at us with superiority and contempt. All the time, he was sat, staring at us and saying “no”, and that without his authorization, we wouldn’t leave there. Hours have passed.

I tried to enter the website to, then, do an anticipated visa, but it was necessary to wait for four days for the approval of the document.

Worried to lose our flight and consequently our way back to Brazil (with another company), my mother and I went to the Customer Services balcony. The employees were attentive and understood our situation, and they also did not find anything that proved against what we were saying. They tried to call the Brazilian Embassy in Indonesia, but the office hour was over. They ended up saying that they could not interfere in the company’s services, but that we could ask to board to Malaysia and then, there, we could purchase another airplane ticket, without going thru India.




We were back at the Air Asia booth and we saw Ogi Sabto Hardianto with another attendant. We tried to explain the situation that was given to us, and both of them were laughing in their language while they were looking at us and kept on denying for their own pleasure.

I ask to speak to somebody with higher authority, he said he was the boss, that if we wanted to, we should write a complain in the company’s website.

We left the airport and went to a police station. There was no one else to turn. Back to the booth, Ogi Sabto Hardianto wasn’t there anymore. The police officer said that he could not interfere in this situation, but he talked to an attendant who said it was “company rules” which we should follow. The lady was extremely rude, even making my sister cry, saying that it was our obligation to know all the politics and rules (What place do we need a visa to remain at the airport?). Anyway, we were not previously advised about this query at any moment, not even during the booking or by email.

When they realized we lost our flight, they said that they couldn’t do anything and that we should purchase another ticket if we wanted to leave the country.

Air Asia did not offer us any kind of support, on the contrary, acted without professionalism, insulted us as clients and human beings, generating embarrassment, irritation, emotional exhaustion and material losses.

And it was as they wished, besides losing everything we paid for because they don’t offer refund, neither reschedule. We lost our connection flight with another enterprise and we had to buy 3 new airplane tickets in the act (with another enterprise, of course) to leave the country. Nevertheless, it was already nighttime and the flight was only in the next morning. We had to sleep in the airport chairs.

The next day, we boarded with Thai Airways and made our way back home.

Air Asia answered the email 45 days later, only apologizing by the occurred, and that’s it.