Find cheap Thai AirAsia flights

Thai AirAsia (FD) is a low-cost airline with its main hub at Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) in Bangkok, Thailand.

A joint venture between Thailand’s Asia Aviation PCL and Malaysia-based AirAsia, the airline operates an extensive domestic network plus short-haul international flights to other Southeast Asian countries. Over the years, I’ve found Thai AirAsia to be a reliable airline for exploring Southeast Asia.

Pre-flight experience

Here’s what you need to know about the airport experience when flying with Thai AirAsia.

Baggage policy and fees

Like most low-cost carriers, Thai AirAsia requires passengers to pay for checked baggage, whether à la carte or as part of a bundle. I’ve found the airline is lenient about carry-on baggage size and weight compared to many counterparts, particularly when flying in a Hot Seat with priority boarding.

Baggage bundles

If you think you’ll need to check a bag, it may make sense to purchase one of Thai AirAsia’s bundles. Branded as Value Pack and Premium Flex, these bundles combine several add-ons at a discount compared to paying for features individually. 

Value Pack is cheaper and includes 20 kg checked baggage, a complimentary Standard Seat selection, plus an inflight meal. Premium Flex costs more and includes complimentary seat selection with unlimited date and time changes up to 2 hours before departure (subject to fare difference).

Check-in

Thai AirAsia has greatly improved its website and mobile app functionality over the years, practically eliminating the need for airport check-in. This is a big change from when I first started flying them and almost always needed to stop by an airport counter due to some bug.

Notable exceptions are when you need to check a bag (though where available, you can print bag tags at self-service kiosks and use designated bag-drop counters after online check-in if you’ve paid in advance) or if your final destination requires certain visas.

Thanks to AirAsia’s Auto Visa Check feature, you can now complete online check-in for visa-required routes by uploading e-visas or sticker visas, though single and double-entry visas still require manual counter verification.

Cabin class, seats & legroom

Thai AirAsia operates its fleet of Airbus A320ceo, A320neo and A321neo aircraft in an all-economy configuration, though you can pre-purchase seats with extra legroom.

Hot Seats

When I fly Thai AirAsia, I usually spring for one of the so-called Hot Seats. These are located in the first few rows of the plane, as well as the emergency exit rows. They feature extra legroom and also entitle you to priority boarding.

My favorite seats are in Row 2. You’re near the front of the plane and can get off early, but unlike in Row 1, you have underseat storage.

Although I typically sit in aisle seats when I fly economy, I usually choose a window seat on Thai AirAsia. This is first and foremost because of how good views out the window are in Thailand. Secondly, however, entire Hot Seat rows often go unsold, which means that you may not have to climb over anyone else to go to the bathroom.

Standard Seats

If you don’t want to pay to book a Hot Seat in advance, you’ll need to sit in a Standard Seat. Standard seat selection is available for a fee on Low Fare tickets. If you don’t pre-select, you’ll be assigned a Standard Seat during check-in, which is why I often don’t find it worthwhile to pay the fee to book one in advance.

Thai AirAsia at BKK vs DMK

The main hub for Thai AirAsia is at Don Mueang Airport (DMK), the older and smaller of the two Bangkok airports located in the northern part of the city. However, the airline also operates domestic and international flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).

Make sure to take note of which Bangkok airport you’re using well in advance of travel - these facilities are separated by significant distance, with the official shuttle bus taking 50-60 minutes in ideal conditions, though this can stretch to two hours during heavy traffic. If you arrive at one but are meant to fly from the other, you’re almost certain to miss your flight.

Onboard experience

Here’s what you can expect onboard a Thai AirAsia flight.

Wi-Fi & entertainment

airasia wifi is available on selected Thai AirAsia flights, though I’ve found the service isn’t always reliable and the pricing doesn’t always match the quality.

Given the short length of most FD flights, I usually opt against purchasing Wi-Fi. That said, I do find connecting to the free onboard portal (wifi.airasia.com) valuable for accessing complimentary entertainment, while paid data plans allow use of chat and social apps.

Amenities

Thai AirAsia doesn’t provide complimentary amenity kits to passengers, though you can order comfort items through AirAsia Duty Free, either through online pre-ordering in the app or during the flight. I only find this useful on longer international segments and rarely when flying domestically within Thailand.

Food

Thai AirAsia doesn’t offer complimentary meals on Low Fare tickets, which isn’t surprising; no low-cost airline does. However, I do recommend pre-purchasing one (they’re branded as Santan) in advance. Whether you choose Thai-style stir-fried basil chicken with rice or Malaysian-style “Uncle Chin’s Chicken Rice,” these meals are delicious, affordable and authentic.

Thai AirAsia Fly-Thru

Thai AirAsia, like many low-cost carriers, is a point-to-point airline. This means that by default, it sells direct itineraries and not connecting ones.

However, in some cases, you may be able to purchase a connecting flight. During the booking process, you’ll see the phrase “Fly-Thru,” which indicates that your baggage will be checked through to your final destination. On international-to-international connections, you won’t need to clear immigration at transit hubs like Kuala Lumpur (KUL) or Don Mueang (DMK).

This service is offered both on domestic Thai trips (for example, if you’re flying from Chiang Rai to Phuket via Bangkok, or Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat), as well as a wide network of international routes connecting through hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

Thai AirAsia vs other AirAsia subsidiaries

Sometimes, when booking an international AirAsia flight to or from Bangkok, you’ll notice that the code is not “FD.” This reflects that another AirAsia subsidiary operates the flight. For example, flights to and from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) may be operated by AirAsia (AK).

While this distinction won’t have a major impact on your inflight experience, the different code can trip people up sometimes, so be mindful of it.

Thai AirAsia X

AirAsia operates long-haul flights from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK), under the brand Thai AirAsia X (XJ). While these journeys are bookable via the main AirAsia website and AirAsia MOVE app (and can connect with domestic FD flights through the Fly-Thru service), there are some important distinctions.

First, these flights (which operate to cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Sydney and Shanghai) use long-haul Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which feature a greater variety of seating options. This includes Premium Flat Bed seats on select aircraft.

The aircraft also feature “quiet zones” in rows 7-14, which are exclusively for guests aged 10 and above and strictly enforce limits on conversation and other noise. On these flights, I personally find it makes more sense to pay in advance to select seats and meals and also to purchase amenities like blankets and pillows.

Loyalty programs, miles & credit cards

Thai AirAsia uses airasia rewards, the frequent flyer program of the AirAsia Group. While this isn’t especially lucrative if you only earn points from flying, there are ways to make it worth your while.

airasia rewards

As is the case for most other airlines, passengers who’ve signed up for airasia rewards will earn AirAsia points on all flights, with earning rates of up to 10-12 points per currency unit spent. However, I’ve found earnings rather meager across the board, and even after being a member for over a decade have not earned enough for a single free flight.

Local friends in Thailand and Southeast Asia suggest that the key to maximizing airasia rewards is to earn points through a range of purchases beyond just flights.

However, this strategy may have limited appeal for tourists who are only visiting the region.

Credit cards

Bangkok Bank offers an AirAsia credit card, which provides AirAsia-related perks including instant airasia rewards Platinum status, priority services in Thailand, and complimentary vouchers for Thai AirAsia (FD) and Thai AirAsia X (XJ), as well as the opportunity to earn AirAsia points on everyday purchases.

However, these cards have eligibility restrictions that limit their usefulness for international visitors. Additionally, since airasia rewards is not a transfer partner of any major credit card currency, earning and using miles and points for traveling on FD flights tends to be ineffective.

Lounges

Thai AirAsia does not operate its own lounges, though passengers who purchase its Red Carpet service can access lounge facilities at select airports including Bangkok (DMK), where The Coral Executive Lounge is the partner lounge.

I find this to be a questionable add-on. When flying domestically, you typically won’t arrive at the airport early enough to make visiting the lounge a worthwhile use of time.

When traveling internationally, you can purchase access to The Coral Executive Lounge à la carte for a reasonable fee, presuming you aren’t simply able to access it via Priority Pass (available at both DMK Terminal 1 and Terminal 2) or a similar lounge access program.