AirAsia Urged to Stop It's Drama And Pay Up The Compensation

QUICK TAKE: Worse than a nightmare has begun for Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and AirAsia. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has reportedly ordered insurance be paid out to the Indonesia AirAsia crash victims' next of kin, regardless of the flight's legal status.

The Jakarta Post reported on Jan 9 that Indonesian Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, on behalf of Widodo, reminded AirAsia that the country's regulation stipulates a Rp1.25 billion (RM349,000) payout for each passenger by the airline.

The Jakarta Post had earlier reported that Indonesia AirAsia only distributed forms to be filled by QZ8501 passengers’ next of kin for the initial compensation of Rp300 million per victim.

It was also reported that the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has urged insurance companies covering AirAsia to complete claim payments for the 155 passengers on board the flight.

Surabaya mayor Tri Rismaharini told The Jakarta Post that her administration was ready to sue AirAsia if it failed to adequately compensate families of QZ8501 passengers.

The Surabaya municipal administration is now collecting data on the victims, including their valuables, which will later be used for insurance purposes and matters related to the beneficiary rights of the affected families, said the paper.

Indonesia AirAsia president director Sunu Widyatmoko was quoted as saying the airline had ensured each victim would receive Rp1.25 billion in compensation, which would be disbursed when the recovery and identification process had been completed.

Jonan also said the findings from an inquiry on whether other airlines had flown outside their designated schedules would be made public.

Flight QZ8501 vanished from radar screens on Dec 28, less than halfway into a two-hour flight from Indonesia's second-biggest city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Indonesia AirAsia, 49 per cent owned by the Malaysia-based AirAsia budget group, has come under pressure from the authorities in Jakarta since the crash.

The Indonesian transport ministry has suspended the carrier's Surabaya-Singapore license, saying it only had permission to fly the route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Flight QZ8501 took off on a Sunday, though the ministry said this had no bearing on the accident.

While the cause of the crash is not known, Reuters reported the national weather bureau as saying that seasonal tropical storms common in the area were likely to be a factor.

As for big shot-big talking Fernandes and AirAsia, stop the gabbing and public relations "crocodile tears" stunts.

The time has come for Fernandes and AirAsia to show that "Now everyone can fly" with the world's best budget airline minus the cheapskate treatment.

Don't go cheap on the compensation. Just pay what is due to the grieving families. That will at least salvage some goodwill and reputation for AirAsia.

Fernandes and AirAsia, till today, have yet to explain why they allegedly breached the flying conditions of the license issued by the Indonesian aviation authority.

To quote Theantdaily reader, IT Shiess: "That is the penalty of hyping oneself up so much, since when one falls, one falls that much harder."

The AirAsia hype is definitely now in ruins. Now all can hype? - TheAntDaily