A baby boy who made a surprise arrival on board an AirAsia flight this week will be given free flights for life with the budget carrier, as will his mother, the airline said Friday.
AirAsia said 31-year-old passenger Liew Siaw Hsia went into labour on Wednesday’s flight from the northern island of Penang to Kuching on Borneo island.
The aircraft made an emergency diversion to the Malaysian capital but the baby arrived just before landing, delivered by a doctor who was on board and who was assisted by the airline’s flight attendants.
“The baby was safely delivered when flight AK 6506 was approaching Kuala Lumpur for landing at 2,000 feet,” the airline said in a statement, adding that mother and baby were taken to a nearby hospital following touchdown.
“To celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to present both mother and child with free flights for life,” said AirAsia’s director of operations Moses Devanayagam after visiting them in hospital.
By: abutcher1985 - 28th October 2009 at 21:28
All of which will be swiped from your card quicker than you can say “I’m a parent”
And charged the £5 credit card transaction fee, of course!
By: J Boyle - 28th October 2009 at 21:13
Notice AirAsia isn’t giving free flights to children conceived on their aircraft…:D
Now I wonder what Ryanair would do with that situation?
Claim the children as lifelong serfs? 😀
By: Bmused55 - 28th October 2009 at 12:28
Interesting that you land with more passengers than you took off with! Now what would Ryanair do with that conundrum?;)
1. Charge a delivery fee
2. Charge for the blankets, towels and toiletries used for sanitation
3. Charge taxes for the extra passenger
All of which will be swiped from your card quicker than you can say “I’m a parent”
By: Arabella-Cox - 28th October 2009 at 10:34
Interesting that you land with more passengers than you took off with! Now what would Ryanair do with that conundrum?;)
Charge the mother and the baby lots of money, of course.
Aren’t they going to charge people to use the loos, where, presumably, she’d have to put a nappy on him after he was born?
By: Newforest - 27th October 2009 at 18:03
Interesting that you land with more passengers than you took off with! Now what would Ryanair do with that conundrum?;)
By: cloud_9 - 27th October 2009 at 16:09
So here’s a question…. If a airline policy states you can only fly upto 35th week of pregnancy, would you be liable for some costs or fined if you were 39 weeks gone and the plane had to divert due to an “Early Arrival” ??
Rick
According to some quick research I done…
Most airlines are happy to carry pregnant women up to 26 or 27 weeks pregnant. After that, when the risk of going into labour increases, they may require a letter from your doctor stating you are fit to travel and confirming your due date.
Each airline has its own set of rules and a cut off point, so it’s important you tell your booking agent that you are pregnant and how far along you are. They will be able to make sure your chosen airline will allow you to fly.
If you are booking online, check the airline’s website, as most mention pregnancy. Read more about flying when you’re pregnant.
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/travel/airlinerulestravelinsurance/
I also discovered that although airlines have these rules/procedures in place, they have been known to simply take the word of the passenger at the time they check-in (some passengers don’t even tell the airline at all!).
So, if a passenger is beyond the stated date that she is able to safely fly and ends up going into labour and having the baby during the flight, then I cannot see a reason why the airline could/should not at least ask her to pay for the costs incurred of diverting the aircraft, as she in theory should not be travelling but made the conscious decision to get onboard, however, that is just my opinion.
Nice to get free flights for life though.;)
By: Rickt - 27th October 2009 at 15:26
I thought most airlines only allow you to fly upto around the 35th week of pregnancy ??
(however… taking into account the above does not mention if the baby was early etc…)
So here’s a question…. If a airline policy states you can only fly upto 35th week of pregnancy, would you be liable for some costs or fined if you were 39 weeks gone and the plane had to divert due to an “Early Arrival” ??
Rick
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October 27, 2009 at 1:39 am