Tiger Airways,, anyone flown with them yet??

XW_GS · 26-03-2008, 08:40 PM

Has anyone flown with Tiger Airways yet?

Ive booked my flight back to Melbourne (from Adelaide) with them but im a bit nervous.
I hear that their pilots are good but they always have delays (maybe in the early days teething probs??)

In their web site they ask you where you want to sit, then they charge you for the privilege. Well i wanted the family to sit together...

Any good or bad experieces so far??

Cheers

Paul

g220ba · 26-03-2008, 09:11 PM

my brother and i have flown with them between melbourne and mackay several times and have never had a problem. just make sure you check-in at least 1 hour before the time of the flight or you will be left behind.

XW_GS · 26-03-2008, 09:23 PM

thanks for the reply,bit less nervous now hehehe

g220ba · 26-03-2008, 09:35 PM

its just another flight. no different to any other airline only less frills.

XA Coupsta · 26-03-2008, 10:45 PM

XWGS please post up your experience after your flight - id be interested in hearing about how it all went.

MYT · 26-03-2008, 11:03 PM

They're no different to Jetstar, if anything the cabin crew are better on Tiger! Make sure you check in an hour before as they give you 45 mins before takeoff to check in.

rodderz · 26-03-2008, 11:56 PM

My mother in law came down from Rocky over easter, she said it was excellent, no dramas, great service and no delays.

Was less than half the price of the other airlines, and is a straight through flight from rocky-melb with no Brissy stopover like the others.

The terminal at Tullamarine is great too, easy access for pick up and drop off

Geez Louise · 26-03-2008, 11:58 PM

Friends of mine just flew with them to Tassie. They paid $25 a ticket...return. Was some special deal from when they first started operating and they said it was great!

How come I can never get airline bargins online

:

MNM96 · 27-03-2008, 10:50 AM

They Rock! A group of 6 of us travelled from Rocky to Tulla for the Phillip Island round of the V8's last year. Took off about an hour late, and that was the only complaint for the trip. Direct flights, no issues at arrivals or departures, staff were great, food and grog was good. Price was awesome!

I checked all websites for flights. The cheapest was Tiger, at $124 each return, inc taxes. The next was Virgin, at $169 ea down, and $129 ea return! Stop in Brissy south, and Sydney north.

Score for Tiger, 9.5/10

Pedro · 27-03-2008, 11:28 AM

We flew Tiger Perth - Singapore for $68 pp up and $135 back!
Flight was same as any other ... leg-room was a bit less than others as they cram in as many seat rows as possible to get as much revenue as possible. But for that price ... who's complaining? The pilots were Aussies.

blueoval · 27-03-2008, 11:51 AM

I'll have to keep an eye out for special from this airline in future.

So when they get to Melbourne do they go to Tulla or Avalon?

uranium_death · 27-03-2008, 02:01 PM

From what I heard, they're terrible...but that is only from two people.

I find Virgin tightarse enough as it is...Qantas are so much nicer, but expensive.

You kind of get what you pay for, although I question the value in paying twice as much for "better seats" and a meal.

MNM96 · 27-03-2008, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueoval

I'll have to keep an eye out for special from this airline in future.

So when they get to Melbourne do they go to Tulla or Avalon?

Into Tulla!

MNM96 · 27-03-2008, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uranium_death

From what I heard, they're terrible...but that is only from two people.

I find Virgin tightarse enough as it is...Qantas are so much nicer, but expensive.

You kind of get what you pay for, although I question the value in paying twice as much for "better seats" and a meal.

Never let reallity stand in the way of a load of crap! Thats not like you UD!

Tiger have the same number of seats on the same model planes as Virgin and Jetstar.

They do not offer Meals on Domestic, only snacks or sandwiches.

You can, for a small fee, select your seats. A family traveling together will always be seated together. There are no "better seats" although the seats at the emergency exits offer more leg room.

The only complaints I have heard have been from people turned away from their flights due to not turning up for check in on time.

The discounts they offer are passed on from savings relating to ground staff, and rent on expensive terminal facilities.

They don't cram in more seats, they don't use foreign staff for the cost savings, they don't use cheaper fuel.

If I could afford to continually fly with Qantas, I would! But I will never select one of the other budget airlines over Tiger!

Well priced, excellent service! No more, No less!

Mike

blueoval · 27-03-2008, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNM96

Into Tulla!

oh thats a releif. im not a fan of avalon. :P

Pedro · 27-03-2008, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNM96

....They don't cram in more seats ....
Mike

They may not, intra Australia, but the flight I was on to Singapore had more rows than an OZ domestic plane.

XW_GS · 27-03-2008, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XA Coupsta

XWGS please post up your experience after your flight - id be interested in hearing about how it all went.

Will Do XA Coupsta

Looks like there are more positives than i expected, thats great!!

Luckily the Adelaide airpost is close to my inlaws place only about 10 minutes away.

Thanks All

Dark Horse · 27-03-2008, 10:11 PM

Tiger, which SIA (Singapore Airlines) have a stake in are not to be taken too lightly. They have the yield management base which allows them to price seats as cheap as they are.

Delays would be moreso a result of air traffic management flow patterns (with all the increased airline activity down this way that has been stimulated by cheaper fares with the introduction of low cost carriers like Virgin Blue etc) than the reliability of their A320's - they are Australian registered and thus have to meet the same safety requirements as the VB's, J*'s and QF's.

Pedro, the Tiger and Jetstar A320's have the same 30" seat pitch. You might have been in a 737 which has 32" pitch and is common to both VB and QF cattle class.

uranium_death · 28-03-2008, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNM96

Never let reallity stand in the way of a load of crap! Thats not like you UD!

Full of crap, proud of it :P

But when I said "Paying twice as much for nicer seats and a hot meal", I was referring to Qantas. Think you might have misunderstood me possibly...but that's ok.
People I spoke to said that the hosts/hostesses were rude, seats sucked etc.

But I am only going by what I heard from people who had used Tiger's services.

Hearing so many positive endorsements has made me more receptive for sure though.

Flown Virgin and not a fan, though it is still better value than Qantas.

Will give Tiger a go sometime if it is heading to my route.

bob 351 · 28-03-2008, 01:22 AM

well this is good news i am planing on going to mackay in august for a wedding ang was looking at my options and found tiger to be dam cheap about $400 return for 3 of us

:

: big fishing trip coming up offshore in mackay

:

AU-MUSTD · 28-03-2008, 07:04 AM

My only reservations for flying with them were the planes are mostly old, old planes from airlines that have moved on to newer aircraft. So god only knows the amount of trips they have done and who knows what short cuts could be taken with up keep. Might just be paranoid but check there planes against virgins next time at the airport and youll see what l mean. Worth the extra 20 dollars for a decent plane for my family.

SSVPom · 28-03-2008, 08:43 AM

The in-laws just flew to Tassie and back with Tiger, and will never be using them again.

They encountered rude check-in staff at Tulla, lower than normal baggage allowances for both carry-on and hold luggage (which were barely publicised and resulted in them having to repack bags at the counter) no decent snacks available, long walks across open tarmac to and from the plane both ends, and had to collect their luggage from a warehouse type building at Tulla, from basically a metal cage with no luggage carousel in sight.

Probably not worth the cost saving when your flights are meant to be the start of your holidays and should at least be relatively enjoyable !

rodderz · 28-03-2008, 08:45 AM

yes baggage limit weights are 15kg aren't they?

I think qantas and virgin are over 20kg

SSVPom · 28-03-2008, 08:48 AM

Correct - 20kgs Domestic and International with the others, from memory.

(although we were allowed 40kgs with Singapore when we emigrated, one of the few airlines that offer that service!)

boo81 · 28-03-2008, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XWGS351

Has anyone flown with Tiger Airways yet?

Ive booked my flight back to Melbourne (from Adelaide) with them but im a bit nervous.
I hear that their pilots are good but they always have delays (maybe in the early days teething probs??)

In their web site they ask you where you want to sit, then they charge you for the privilege. Well i wanted the family to sit together...

Any good or bad experieces so far??

Cheers

Paul

Mate - all I can say is you get what you pay for... I got to the air port 40mins before the flight left for Melbourne (from Adelaide) to be told that they wont check me in because I have to do it at least 45mins before the flight leaves!!! the plane hadn't even landed from Melbourne yet and they still wouldn't take us... So we had to buy tickets with Virgin on the spot which cost an arm n leg.

Then on the return from Melbourne the flight was delayed 3 hours because of storms. But this isn't there fault, but just added to the experience of it all...

I have flown quite a lot with work on Qantas, Virgin and now Tiger, I would easily say that Virgin are your best bang for buck... of course IMO

XW_GS · 28-04-2008, 08:56 PM

OK Just got back from Adelaide..........

Yes we got there 50 minutes (only just) before takeoff.
There was a hefty que leading to 3 check in counters.
5 minutes later one shut shop so there are only 2 counters.

One of the counters had a blonde European lady serving a Family of about 6 to 7.
They had heaps of very small cases and hand luggage.
The other girl a brunette Pommy sounding girl, was faster and processing a lot more passengers. She served us thank god.

Joanne (my Mrs) asked the girl, whats the story with the 45 minute rule?
She said, all the people in the que will be looked after, and no one after that.
I said well fair enough.
At this stage, basically with only her processing passengers,(as the blonde was so slow with that family) the flight was to leave in 20 minutes, we went through but the blonde decided that the cut off was 5 or so people from the front of the que, now this was so unfair cause she was so slow in the first place.

I said to Jo, this is when the action starts. I heard a bit of heated arguing etc but i couldnt hang around as the departure time was now only about 15 minutes.

Whilst at the departure lounge, we where waiting at least 30 minutes,when i saw the pommy girl in a fluorescent vest, now looking after us passengers and directing us to the plane. "I joked with my Mrs, saying wouldnt surprise me if she will be a hostess also!"

After entering the plane, we found the plane to be clean, quiet and a very smooth flight to Melbourne.

In Melbourne we went down the stairs to the tarmac, and after a very long walk to a covered bit of carpark, there was a makeshift baggage claim area with portable toilets, the type you see on building sites. Thank god that the busses used for the long term car park also passed in front of the baggage claim.

Yes a few corners have been cut at the airports, but seriously, if they looked after their passengers during check in, i think they can become a great airline in Oz,
If I was refused entry and my Tickets and Dollars where lost cause of their staff being slow or lacking in numbers, there would be no way id fly with them again.

There was 2 girls and i guy working in the terminal, to look after Check In and Departure, thats it.

Even REX airlines next door had a decent lounge.

Tigers was enclosed in cyclone fencing LOL im serious.

A few photos to come soon

Paul

XW_GS · 28-04-2008, 09:07 PM

Turbot · 28-04-2008, 10:47 PM

Parents wanted to drive up from Newcastle to Brissy, convinced em to take a Virgin flight only takes an hour or so, ah yeah didn't quite work out that way.
They took off at 2:30pm but a bird wet thru an engine on take off, but the pilot didnt say anything much just returning to Newcastle with some lame excuse basiclly kept in the dark about the return then after they landed they found out why BUT HOW'S THIS Virgin would not send another plane, rather they stripped the bent vanes out of the engine right in front of full view of the terminal windows, Dad said a guy was inside the engine pulling bits out. Then once the engine was supposedly repaired they took it to a hanger and ran up the engine to supposedly test it then came back and asked everyone to board again, after everyone just watched them pulling bent bits out of the engine.
Needless to say it was now some 8 hours later and after having just re-boarded one of the passengers was panicking and wanted off the plane, ok a small delay again, nope they had to unload all the baggage before they'd let the plane fly.
Needless to say they could have driven here quicker. We also lived at the time about 1hr+ south so 2 trips and tolls to Brissy airport.
Anyways yeah it could have happended to any other airline company too but the way Virgin handled it was lets say not the best.

eed-250 · 28-04-2008, 11:39 PM

Airlines run on tight schedules so don't be a galah and get to check-in EARLY. It's not hard. I flew Tiger PER-MEL-PER for the Melb GP this year. Overall, I would fly with them again. $320ish return to MEL from PER is unbeleiveable value. We arrived to check-in early(about 1hr and a half) at PER and had no dramas checking in. On first impressions the aircraft where almost brand new and very clean. The best seats to get are in the front rows or the emergency exits. The rest have very little leg room and for a 3.5hour flight I was feeling pretty uncomfortable half way through. As all the PER-MEL Tiger flights are red-eyes, I tried to get some sleep but failed miserably. The hosties where older and where quite grumpy. I found this on both flights. Had a chat to the tech crew when we landed at MEL and they where Aussies. The arrivals in MEL are pathetic, we waited almost an hour for our bags, with no seating and freezing cold.

The prices Tiger charge for seats can't be matched with good/new equipment and experienced tech crew, I wouldn't hesitate to fly Tiger again.

blueoval · 29-04-2008, 11:22 AM

Those pictures remind me of Avalon airport, and also when Virgin first started out in Adelaide prior to the new airport being built.

Give it time, Tiger will upgrade their equipment when the popularity increases.

Sure they suck now, but in the end you get what you pay for. Pay cheap fares, expect mediocre amenities and service. It sucks, but what else can you do apart from pay an extra 50% on fares and go with another airline.