I'm making a trip to Thailand at the beginning of March. I've booked tickets from Bangkok to Phuket on AirAsia. However, after reading recent articles around AirAsia recent airline crash, I was sceptical of the airline choice.
Should I arrange for a different airline? Is airline safety something I should be worried about? I've never flown in an Asian airline before so I don't have much confidence in non EU airlines.
Air Asia is quite a large airline with a few more operating names. Basically if you plan to visit south east Asia, there is a very good chance that the cheapest flight you find would be an Air Asia one.
AirAsia is, unfortunately considered a dangerous airline considering the number of crashes they had (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2908531/Ranking-world-s-dangerous-airlines-includes-troubled-AirAsia-Malaysia-Airlines-scores-highly-safety.html), but they are somewhat exaggerated in my personal opinion.
However, keep in mind that air travel is one of the safest methods of transport. I have flown with Air Asia X several times, and never noticed anything different in terms of security precautions they have compared to other airlines. They use standard A320 mostly, and is a recognized international airline. Their prices are so low because you'd be charged even for the water onboard (they cut costs a lot), not because of any less security or safety.
Lastly, if your flight is Bangkok to Phuket, you will find some other flights relatively cheaper too. You can even transport by road if you are too concerned. If you would like to fly with them anyway (I think you should), don't forget to try out the Nasi Lemak. It's the best food I've tasted at 33,000 ft so far.
The Daily Mail is a rag, I wouldn't put a lot of weight on it. Air Asia X have (relatively) recently completed the IATA Operational Safety Audit which proves it is as safe as any other airline. As mentioned here, AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines, AirAsia India, AirAsia X Thailand and AirAsia X Indonesia are about to complete the same audit. Until they are in the registry, however, I would not fly them. I would most especially avoid AirAsia Indonesia (AWQ) which until 2010 was EU banned and they crashed a plane into the sea in 2014.
Note the IATA OSA is just one indicator, it's expensive so many airlines don't have them. The respective authorities of Australia (CASA), USA (FAA), EU (EASA) do not allow unsafe airlines landing in their airports so if an airline goes to either of those, that's also fine.
There are other things to worry about e.g. road safety. It's often said that the trip to or from the airport is more likely to kill you than the flight, last year John Nash and his wife died this way. You should also focus on potential health problems; make sure you get the recommended vaccinations and stick to food safety guidelines.
Most airline safety rating reports that have come out from outside ranking services use concepts that do not fairly compare airlines. A couple of primary safety ranking items are approval by the FAA and EU for landing in the USA or Europe. For regional Asian airlines who have no plans to ever fly long hauls there is zero reason for the expense and work involved. This lack of FAA or EU paperwork does not make them any more or any less dangerous.
Likewise for AirAsia Indonesia's "ban from flying to the EU", they don't fly there anyway and were caught in a blanket ban of Indonesian airlines due to the EU's perceived shortcomings in maintenance and training in the country as a whole.
Same applies to the recent "yellow cards" issued against Thailand over air safety. They were not issued to the airlines, rather they are warnings to the government, as they feel the government doesn't have enough staff and checks in place. But the major airlines like Thai Airways and AirAsia X all meet the EU rules and have their landing rights (Thai also has FAA clearance, I believe AirAsia X may as well but not sure).
In the long run Asian based airlines are just as safe as European based airlines. AirAsia lost the plane in Indonesia due to pilot error, German Wings lost one recently due to pilot mental issues.
I have flown Air Asia quite a bit within Thailand, as well as Bangkok Air and Thai Airways. I feel just as safe sitting on their aircraft as I do flying with KLM or Delta.
