Indonesia forum

I only found this out when I tried to book a domestic flight in Indonesia today with Southeast Asian low cost carrier AirAsia that there is now a MANDATORY checked luggage fee of 40,000 rupiah per passenger. This fee is payable regardless of if you have to check bags or not.

When I quizzed AirAsia on Twitter about it, they said:


"@travelfish Hi,pls note mandatory 15kg checked baggage apply to all Indonesia domestic flights. Details http://www.airasia.com/ask/template.do?id=583"


MANDATORY


On that page it reads in part:

"Why is Indonesia AirAsia including checked baggageweight of 15kg for domestic flights?
We have realized that many guests end up paying for baggage at the airport at a higher rate than if they had prebooked it online. To save you cost and make travel cheaper than ever we have now made it a mandatory add-on feature for all domestic travel bookings."

So I guess this is a good deal if you were one who tended to check bags, but for the rest of us, and, dare I say, most of us, given the amount of carry on I see some people lugging on. this is a crappy deal.

AirAsia was recently fined A$200,000 in Australia for some pretty dodgy fare/marketing practises and I'm sure they're not trying this one on down under, but it's sad to see the airline taking advantage of lax consumer laws and enforcement where they can (in this case in Indonesia) to grab an extra $4 every flight.

If you want another 40,000 rupiah AirAsia, increase your airfare by 40,000 rupiah -- I wouldn't have even noticed that! But don't treat your passengers like morons to be ripped off at every opportunity.

If I want to check a bag, I'm happy to pay to check it, but charging me a mandatory fee for doing something I have no intention of doing leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

AirAsia was for years a major advertiser on Travelfish and despite them not renewing, I still fly them regularly and find them to be (generally) an excellent value low cost airline.

But this stinks more than an overhead locker full of durian.