AirAsia pays $2.1B in pandemic refunds

LOW-COST CARRIER AirAsia has paid $2.1 billion or 98.4% of the refund claims it received since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.

“Efforts to settle the remaining balances are ongoing as the airline strives to rebuild its operations back to normalcy,” the company said in a statement on Sunday.

The carrier has launched a new refund tracking feature on its Super App and website, which will allow guests to get the detailed status on their refunds. These will be available once guests input the case number of their refunds under the “My Case” tab.

The airline has also rolled out a new live call feature in its application for real-time call assistance, allowing guests to speak directly with a human agent during their Ask Bo Live Chat interaction for immediate resolution of their concerns.

Ask Bo is an AI-powered concierge launched in February this year for all guests within the Capital A lines of businesses. Capital A Bhd, formerly known as AirAsia Group, is an investment holding company with a portfolio of travel and lifestyle businesses.

“The enhancements introduced are part of an exciting line of features, tools, and applications AirAsia plans to release over time,” said Kesavan Sivanandam, chief airport and customer experience officer of AirAsia Aviation Group.

“As for the refund tracking feature, we have made the process easier and more transparent for our guests. We acknowledge that there are guests who are frustrated with the lack of visibility in our refund process. We aim to put our guests at ease and give them peace of mind,” he added.

AirAsia said the service will be available in English, Bahasa Melayu, Chinese, Thai, and Bahasa Indonesia with more languages eyed to be added in the future, including Tagalog. — J.I.D. Tabile