When I received newsletter from Airasia this morning, I thought it was another promo going on. I only caught the saved 40% from the picture.

For bookings made from 21 April 2008 onwards, a fee will be apply for every checked baggage.

Well instead of giving discount or cheaper deals, Airasia the low-cost flight, is asking the passengers to pay for their checked baggage. It is RM3 for pre-book online, or IDR9.000. RM5 if we pay at the airport counters or IDR15.000 if pay in less than 24 hours. This fee will not be applicable for bookings made before 21 April 2008.

By Checked Baggage Handling Fee, they mean every item/bag that is accepted by them for carriage in the hold of the aircraft.

This is the answers to the WHY questions:

Why is AirAsia introducing the fee?
AirAsia believes that guests should be given the option to choose the services they require and pay only for those services. This approach helps keep AirAsia’s basic fares low, which is our main priority.
Previously, the cost of checked baggage was automatically included in every fare; meaning those traveling with only hand luggage were subsidizing those traveling with heavier, check-in bags.
Now, each guest will pay only for the bags they wish to travel with, enabling us to keep our basic fares low for all.
Fewer checked bags improve airport efficiency and will eventually lead to shorter check-in queues.

More.

It sounds quite fair. To keep the price low. What to do. Bring less luggage next time.