AirAsia

AirAsia is built around low fares and dense short-haul flying, and that is exactly why people reach for it on routes across Southeast Asia. By our assessment, its real strength is the low-cost model done at scale: simple point-to-point flights, a big regional presence, and a brand that became closely associated with cheap air travel in the region. The trade-off is the usual one for budget airlines: extras add up, schedules are tighter, and the cabin experience is stripped down to what the fare buys. In practice it is a book-it-online, add-baggage, choose-your-seat sort of airline, which makes it efficient but not luxurious. It sits squarely among low-cost carriers rather than full-service airlines, and Astrina’s catalogue records Malaysia for it.