Free Plane Tickets To Thailand: AirAsia Offers 100,000 Of Them

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Southeast Asia's leading budget airline said Tuesday it will give away 100,000 plane tickets as part of a regional marketing campaign to woo tourists to Thailand after that nation's political turmoil.

AirAsia said it was working with Thailand's Tourism Authority to send the message "it is now safe to travel back to the Land of Smiles." The Thai tourist business has slumped because of months of anti-government protests that ended last month with the removal of the prime minister.

The airline said the free tickets would be good for travel to the Thai capital of Bangkok from Vietnam, Cambodia, Myammar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and China as well as for flights within Thailand.

Tickets can be obtained only through AirAsia's Web site from Wednesday through Friday and will be good for travel between Jan. 6 and March 31. Passengers will have to pay airport taxes and an administration fee.

"We hope that this campaign will instill the confidence among travelers and also help to boost tourism, which is vital at this juncture," Group Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in a statement.

AirAsia operates more than 400 international weekly flights that connect Thailand to the rest of Southeast Asia and China. Within Thailand, its affiliate, Thai AirAsia, operates 378 flights weekly.

Comments

[ohiomark]

That's one way to round up all the child molesters.

[harriettubman]

Right. Sexual trafficking of children in Thailand is horrendous. It's amazing how these countries advertise glossy, beautiful pictures for tourists yet pervs fly there for free will offerings of kids.

[NoSillyName]

Has the economic "cratering" led to a decline in s*x tourism?

[StephenJK]

Uhhh huh huh........you said Bangkok.

[KarateKid]

How about a one way ticket, and include a job in the package. I'd volunteer for Pattaya.

[wadenelson1]

Tickets are free but luggage is $300 a bag.

[CaptD]

Smart idea; tourists will spend $ and make Thailand great!

Look for other Countries to do the same thing starting with Mexico!

[JADE2002]

yeah this means I get to go to Indonesia

[booboo111]

Why not free tickets from the U.S. Westerners will spend more $$$ in Thailand than will the Cambodians! Oh, that's right I forgot, Cambodia, now has a greater G.D.P. than the U.S! But as far as a previous comment regarding child molesters, Thailand does have a bad reputation for sex tourism, but they have cleaned up, for the most part,children being involved.Thailand is in fact a fascinating country to visit for all kinds of reasons, and the Thais (being Buddhists) are probably the most civil people on earth.

[JackPrinya]

Sorry, we love Westerners to spend money here, but AirAsia is a regional airline.

I don't know if we are the most civil, but we are probably the most polite and smile the most. :)

[KarateKid]

I hope all the Puritans won't be put off by all the phallic shrines around Thailand.

[valkyrie607]

If they can handle the Washington Monument, I'm sure they'll be fine.

[rkimball]

the world tourist industry is devistated. everyone is now offering free airline tickets or hotel accomodations to travel & spend. the problem is not the airline or the hotel expense. who's got any money to throw away on anything but essentials to survive?

[BobsNotWorking]

And... you ain't seen nothin' yet.

[LEDON]

haha already in Bangkok how bout a ticket to the phillipines,.....

[Kiba]

I haven't been to Thailand in a few years. I've been thinking about visiting again. Right now I'm craving some Kanom Krok.

That's it, I need to hear some Endorphine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7JdhjPiQs0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKMbONA-BUE

[Twinkie]

AirAsia is a renown scammer and this offer is total B S. Sadly, another poor story from HuffPo. If you go to the site there are no free tickets, never were and never will be. AirAsia does this all the time just to get people to go to their site in the hope that at least some of them will buy a ticket anyway.

[loki]

Another thing to mention is that according to their own website, they dont even fly to the US. There are no US cities listed in their city of origin listings.

[netzwerg]

You have to fly to Europe first. From there free Tickets are available to Thailand.

[Hilodave]

I don't know what your experience was, but as a Southeast Asia business traveler I have used AirAsia often with little hassle and deals can be found.....My last trip to Thailand in Mid October I bought a BKK to Hanoi RT ticket online for $135 total cost (inc.VN departure tax).... an on time, great ride in a 737-400.

[SadButWiser]

I have use AirAsia few times, and so have my colleagues, where did you ever hear of them scamming anyone. As far as the budget airline is concerned in South East Asia, they are the BEST. In fact I know someone who only paid RM1 (30 Cent) to fly from Malaysia to Bangkok.

[Tropiholic]

how would you know about it twinkie when you have never left your own backwards county???

[BaileyWo]

Let me see if I got this right: you get a "free ticket," but you have to buy a ticket to China or Vietnam to pick it up. That's like announcing free flights to New York but you have to pay your way to Baltimore or Boston to board the flight. When we get to Thailand do we get free tickets to P.T. Barnum and Bailey Circus?

[Amalek]

There are cheap tickets to China now.

But when you get to Thailand, you don't want to waste your time on the circus. Go see the lady boys.

[NWBrunette]

News flash to Americans - the world does not revolve around you.

[bkbigfish]

Yes, it does. We rule.

[wonderingstar]

Maybe because the offer is part of a "regional" marketing campaign (as it clearly says in the first paragraph of the article), the offer is aimed at people in China and Vietnam?

[Chillinout]

But the tickets are only good from other parts of Asia. So flying from the United States it would cost you as much if you weren't getting a free ticket because first you would have to pay for your own way to Vietnam, Cambodia, Myammar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore or China.

Not much of a deal. Which also begs the question: Why is this article in a web site in the US?

[NWBrunette]

Why indeed, because after all, not a single soul who reads HuffPost lives in SE Asia. Hello! Besides, since when does a HuffPost news article have to be useful to Americans to be valid?

[RTIII]

It's called, "knowing your audience."
.

[emsique]

Lots of stupid comments about going to Thailand for sex . Obviously these people have never been to Thailand. It is a beautiful country with wonderful people. Just like us, they have a bad government. In the south they have Islamic extremists, just like our southern Christian right.
Seriously, there are some problems there, but to write it off as some sort of whorehouse for pedophiles is just plain ignorance. Get a passport and do some traveling. You might see that the rest of the world isn't so bad.

[BaileyWo]

It's what happens when you build a tourist trap called Phuket.

[Sharjawi]

The Southern Muslims used to be very peaceful until the central Thai government took away their rights. They were forced to use Thai names, etc. (Very similar to the time when the blacks and Native American were forced to assimilate; to use Anglo names and language). The central government in Thailand which is Buddhist, is pushing these people into a corner and they are fighting back. It's very unfortunate that violence is happening. But this is politics.

Please don't try to trivialize the issue by saying they are just like "our Southern Christian Right". You are making an ass out of yourself.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

Almost every religion is a destructive aspect of a civilized society.... even Buddhism as I see. Like the religions in Thailand, the "southern christian right" keeps up from evolving into an efficient productive society by attempting to force THEIR beliefs on us.

[lingonberry]

I second that! If people would just crawl out from underneath their rock that they have been hiding under, maybe we wouldn't have so much ignorance in the world. Plus if Americans traveled alittle more, maybe they would be more likely to find their home country on a map!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-shehori/poll-37-of-americans-unab_b_150933.html

The Thai are super nice people, and it is a beautiful country. I would love to go back.

Sharjawi... here is a question for you. In which country is an extreme religious group trying to insert their fundamentalist views on the government.. even though religion and state is supposed to be separate? Hmm..

[Sharjawi]

Hi Lingonberry,

It is the Thai government that is trying to assert its value on this minority group, not vice-versa. Thus, the issue.

Imagine a scenario where the US govt is telling the Amish to integrate; speak American English and change their way of life. Or the US govt telling the blacks they cannot have names like Barack Hussein Obama or Djimon Hounsou.

I come in peace:)