Originally Posted by iahphx

I'm taking my first Air Asia flight later this month. There will be 5 of us, all on the same itinerary. I'm looking at the Air Asia carry-on (cabin) and checked baggage rules and -- as noted above -- they seem a little vague.

http://www.airasia.com/ot/en/baggage...d-baggage.page

First, regarding the carry-on rules. We generally try to avoid checking bags. Air Asia's rules largely mirror that of the USA airlines: you get a roller-board and an additional item (they say laptop bag or handbag). But there's a catch: they limit carry-ons to a lightweight 7 kg.

I don't have a luggage scale at home, but I'm guessing that a large carry-on packed for a 2-week Asia trip is probably going to be over 7 kg, right? Do they actually weigh these, or will a normal carry-on escape scrutiny?

If they're going to weigh it, we'll probably need at least some checked baggage. But it looks like we won't need much, since multiple pax on the same PNR can share the purchased weight. We could also put lightweight stuff in some of the bags and carry them on for free, moving the heavier stuff to a checked bag. It is materially cheaper to buy the checked luggage allotment in advance? In general, I get the impression the checked bag fees are pretty modest on AirAsia, although I obviously don't want to pay for what I don't need.

I also see they sell hot meals on board -- and they're cheap (like $3). At that price, I'm inclined to eat (if for no other reason than curiosity and something to do on board). The website suggests you MIGHT get a discount if you pre-pay your food. Is there a real material discount? If not, I'd rather wait until the flight to see if anyone is actually hungry.

Finally, any other quirky things I should know about flying Air Asia? I see I can can check-in 14 days in advance. Is that when I can get seat assignments?