One of the biggest travel stories of 2014, and one of the more unfortunate tragedies of the year, was the crash of Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501. The December 28th, 2014 flight headed to Singapore crashed due to an aircraft malfunction, taking the lives of all 155 passengers and seven crew members. It was the first fatal accident in the history of the AirAsia Group’s eighteen years of operation. The company looks to gain redemption and to get past the trauma of that situation with a bold new plan for travelers in that region.
In a press conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, the group announced the debut of the AirAsia Asean Pass and the AirAsia Asean Pass +. Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia Group, stated: ‘As a truly ASEAN airline, we are extremely proud to introduce the AirAsia ASEAN pass, which is a product specifically designed to further liberalize and encourage travel among the ASEAN community.” The ASEAN designation refers to the political and economic organization of Southeast Asian nations formed in 1967.The new passes were first announced in November of last year.
The AirAsia Asean Pass and Pass + work on a credit-based system. The air carrier has become highly popular due to their low cost fares. For US$160, a traveler can get the Asean Pass complete with 10 credits. The credits can then be redeemed for travel within the ASEAN network of countries including Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Myanmar. The Asean Pass +, which costs US$290, gets you 20 credits. The credit application comes into play when you log into their site to book a flight using the passes. The associated countries are broken up into flight zones that correspond to the amount of credits one can put towards the flight; for instance, a one-way flight from Bangkok to Phuket would use up one of your credits. AirAsia has a complete breakdown of routes on their website. The credits are slated to be valid for 30 days on the regular Asean Pass, while the Pass + credits are valid for up to 60 days. Furthermore, there are no processing fees for redemption through the program, but travelers should expect to pay the requisite airport taxes. The passes themselves are valid for one full year.
