Low-cost airline warns public vs. shady social media pages

CEBU, Philippines — Budget airline AirAsia Philippines has warned the public against suspicious social media pages offering cheap domestic and international fares bundled with hotel accommodation, tours, and other activities.

AirAsia Philippines made this warning, following various reports regarding dubious Facebook pages bearing AirAsia’s brand name, which started to appear especially now that travelers are looking forward to the summer season.

“While social media pages and communities serve as an information-sharing platform for travelers, we strongly recommend visiting only AirAsia’s legitimate social media platforms such as Fly AirAsia where information on flight schedules and promos are posted. While we sincerely empathize with those victimized by scammers, we only honor transactions made through authorized AirAsia travel agent partners or via www.airasia.com and airasia move,” AirAsia Head of Communications and Public Affairs and First Officer Steve Dailisan said in a statement.

Oftentimes, those victimized by online scams who fell for rock-bottom deals end up holding fake bookings that cannot be retrieved during check-in procedures.

According to Dailisan, a victim who reached AirAsia claimed to have been enticed by a P1,999 all-in deal which eventually was a scam after the alleged agent went offline after their transaction. Another victim said the offering seemed legit because of the testimonies from previous customers.

Recent statistics from the Asia Scam Report revealed that 24.8percent of Filipinos respond too quickly to scammers’ demands, while 21.1 percent choose to take a risk despite uncertainties about the online offering.  While some pretend to be a legitimate travel agent representing the airline, other bogus social media accounts contain more dangerous clickbait posts, which lead to malicious websites that often result in hacking.

“Think twice before closing an online transaction. Transact only from verified profiles and brand accounts. Double check with other legit online sources and always have reservations if the offer is too good to be true,” Dailisan warned.

AirAsia is one of the country’s top low-cost airlines. It flies to a total of 13 domestic destinations and 13 international destinations as of July 2023.

It was officially launched as the fourth Airline Operations Center (AOC) of the AirAsia group in 2012. Under the AirAsia Aviation Group Limited, it offers all its flight and ancillary products on the fully-integrated platform airasia Super App. Through this, guests can enjoy seamless booking of flights and hotels, and other features such as delivery, ride hailing, and online shopping.