Tiger Airways: Is it the right airline for you?

29Sep

Tiger Airways: Is it the right airline for you?

Posted by roshodgekiss in Airfare Advice, Travel Advice, Travel Opinion

Tiger Airways - The verdict is out.

Recently I had the pleasure of flying Tiger Airways between Sydney and Melbourne, on my own coin, of course. Prior to the flights, I had been inundated with both positive and negative stories regarding Tiger flights, ranging from, “Oh, you have to walk on the tarmac, ooooh!”, to “Well, it’s $28 a pop”, not to mention exposure to Channel 7’s controversial show, ‘Airways’. Combining these tales with my own experience, I realised that, for all its merits, perhaps Tiger Airways isn’t really for everyone. The following is my breakdown of what to expect on a Tiger flight; hopefully it will help you decide whether Tiger should be your carrier of choice, or if you should invest that extra few dollars to avoid the mobile stairs.

On the Ground

Most of the criticism towards Tiger Airways’ operations have been directed at activities on the ground, such as check-in procedures and crowded boarding areas. I collaborate with these points, as it can’t be denied that Tiger Airways’ check-in queues appear to be consistently long (one of the results of having no web- or self service- check in facilities) and while in queue, the thought persists that you may not make it for their ‘45-minutes prior to departure’ cut-off. On the flight to Melbourne (departing Sydney’s domestic airport), there were two check-in agents who were working diligently enough, however one seemed to be engaged for over ten minutes in processing a five-man metal band and their shabby assortment of guitar cases. Fifteen minutes into the wait, people in queue were starting to shift their weight uneasily, looking at watches, perhaps anticipating that an ‘Airways’ cameraman would turn up any moment now…

Which leads me to the return leg, via the legendary Melbourne (Tullamarine) Terminal 4 corral. This time, the ‘Airways’ crew were already standing in wait, like bored vultures with boom mikes. Yes, we had been warned – a placard on the door declared that we were to be filmed – but the fact that the crew were making themselves so obvious, so close to check-in cutoff and in such an enclosed space made for a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Were they really waiting out for the cutoff so they could pounce upon the hysterics of some suburban mum, all in the name of ‘good television’? I willed the queue to hurry – it wasn’t my intention to personally kick-off ‘Airways’ Season 2.

Security screening at Sydney and Melbourne was stock-standard, as security should be. The gates at each respective terminal, however, were miles apart in terms of comfort to passengers. So, lets talk about terminals. Sydney domestic T2 is shared with all the other domestic carriers – Qantas, Virgin Blue, Rex, Jetstar – meaning that you enjoy facilities of a standard befitting premium-fare passengers. This is not the case with Melbourne’s Tiger-exclusive Tullamarine Terminal 4, which resembles, well, a busy weekend at Bunnings Warehouse. Look, I won’t knock it too hard – it keeps out the weather and is of the same construction as the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Kuala Lumpur (LCCT). But that said, it is a budget commission – the plastic seats are hard, there aren’t enough of them (especially when people sleep across four abreast), people crouch/lie/pray on the dense carpet and the arcade machines have come to die (if they haven’t already).

People sit so closely in Terminal 4 – back to back – that you can catch snippets of low-cost conversation:

“I spent nine years in boarding school… Think of all that family time I missed… nine years…”

“Ya couldn’t have said it any louder, luv!”

A girl sits in the shadow of her Henleys-jock boyfriend, so blue it makes her spray-tan look a less than complimentary grey. A ground staffer announces delays to Tiger flights bound for Sydney and Canberra. He wavers, sounds uncertain.

Moving onto boarding the aircraft, it’ll break it to you gently – boarding is via the front and rear stairs. If you have a problem with climbing stairs for reasons other than age or disability, then honestly, discount travel is not for you. In fact, I recommend staying in bed.

That said, mobile stairs do pose an interesting problem in Melbourne, which is as famous for its volatile weather as it is for its Chapel St ragtrade. Both on arrival and departure, we were met on the naked tarmac with bone-chilling gusts of wind. I pulled my coat around me in a stranglehold.

Melbourne’s T4 baggage carousel is sheltered, but not from the wind. I met a cockatoo once, who lived in a similar enclosure.

In the Sky

Well, this is what you pay for – the romance of flying, skirting the elements for the price of a DVD. And at this task, Tiger Airways is perfectly adept. However, in the spirit of discount, there are a few caveats – snacks have to be paid for, the seat pitch is not for basketballers and when the seat in front of you reclines, it momentarily seems like you’re going to be cradling the seatback in your lap. But for an hour of cheaply-priced flight (or in my case, 47c per minute), it’s completely acceptable.

I picked up a well-worn copy of Tiger Tales, their inflight magazine. It’s one of Ink Publishing’s better in-flight magazines. I wanted to tear out the destination guides and an interesting article on Mt Kinabalu. Someone had already beaten me to a third of the cover, after all.

The flight attendants are all amiable and confident. They all looked full of Spring, unlike the Jetstar insomniacs I had met when trans-Tasman last month. One gives a fellow a stern, but fair rap for using his phone while the plane is refuelling. I’d want that FA on my raft if we were ever to ditch into Lake Burley Griffin.

On the Phone

Important Note (29/09/09): Tiger Airways’ call centre is based in the Philippines. Due to the recent catastrophic events following Typhoon Ondoy, telecommunications’ services have been thrown out of whack, as well as the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. If you are trying to contact Tiger Airways, visit their Call Centre Update page for details.

I love talking to the Tiger Airways’ call centre staff. I don’t really like waiting 10-15 minutes for the pleasure of it. And I wish they could do something more for me. But there’s one rule on a $28 fare and that’s that it will cost you another $28 to book a new ticket. Want to change your flight time/date/name on ticket? Too bad – that will cost you $50 per person, per sector. A new ticket will generally cost you less than that. And that’s what the call centre will tell you – more politely, of course.

In Conclusion…

I may really like to knock around what is a very competitive new airline on the Australian travel scene, but Tiger Airways met my optimistic expectations. Yes, Melbourne’s Terminal 4 is a bit droll and having the ‘Airways’ film crew on the wings sure makes one reach for the antiperspirant, but in the air, they’re fine. So, here’s the wrap:

Why you should fly Tiger Airways:

Flights are consistently cheap, starting from $28 between Sydney and Melbourne;
They have a great in-flight magazine (hah!);
They fly to Tullamarine, not Avalon;
They fly. As in, they stay in the air. Singapore Airlines’ 49% stake ensures this.

Why you shouldn’t fly Tiger Airways:

No web- or self service- check-in; queues can be long and worrisome;
Boarding and disembarking involves walking on stairs and tarmac (potentially into Melbourne weather);
You have agoraphobia – Melbourne (Tullamarine) Terminal 4 can get pretty crowded;
You’re a tall person and the seat-pitch is saying, ‘no’.

Make sure you share your Tiger Airways’ experiences – good and bad – on this blog, as I’d love to hear from you. Happy flying!

10 Responses to “Tiger Airways: Is it the right airline for you?”

timmy Says:
September 30th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Great review… when I arrived in Melb recently on a Tiger flight, I was stunned at the arrivals area… it’s like a hay barn with razor wire. The departures lounge is luxury by comparison!

Tip for taller people: arrive the full two hours before your flight and check in as early as possible and you may get an exit row seat. The ordinary seat pitch is *very* tight.
roshodgekiss Says:
September 30th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Yes, I was pretty surprised about Melbourne, too. After the long walk from the aircraft, I thought we were going to the main terminal building. But alas.

The unenclosed Arrivals space would have been fine if it were good weather. But this is Melbourne, after all.

I think I would pretty much rule out Tiger for taller people – cheers for your comment on that!
Surm Says:
October 1st, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Isn’t Tiger renowned for frequently cancelling flights leaving passengers stranded because next Tiger flight could be days apart.
This forces passengers to buy expensive last minute tickets from other airlines or find accommodation for next 1,2,3 days etc.
I’ve also heard that Tiger Australia has limited planes(6), therefore, bad weather/delay in Melbourne can result in a cancellation of ADL-SYD flight and when this happens, this becomes an “operation reason” and travel insurances do not offer any protection.
roshodgekiss Says:
October 1st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Well, it can’t be said that they’re intentionally stranding passengers. However, it is true that when you have a small fleet, problems on one aircraft can have a roll-on effect across the network.

Tiger Airways had a fleet size of 7 aircraft as of March 2009.

Delays can happen regardless of carrier – if in doubt, consider purchasing travel insurance. Comprehensive travel insurance should cover you against any delay, for any sensible reason (except things like military action and terrorism, of course), however the delay has either jeopardise you arriving on time to an event (eg. meeting), or be significant (eg. more than 6 hours). Check the product disclosure statement for details.

Yes, it is slightly more likely that you may incur an issue when flying Tiger, however this has to be weighed against the price of the fare. If you’re purchasing a lazy weekend away for $56 return, Tiger is pretty hard to pass up on. Happy travels!
Surm Says:
October 1st, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Hi Roshodgekiss,

I checked with heaps of Travel Insurances companies and none of them cover if an airline cancels or reschedules a flight due to operational or technical reasons.

On the contrary, most of them DO cover against weather or unforseen actions like strikes or terrorism.
Surm Says:
October 1st, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Roshodgekiss, to clarify, some Travel Insurances cover the alternative expenses if the delay jeopardises an event. Otherwise, there is no cover, regardless of the delay, if it is caused by rescheduling or cancellation by the airline due to operational reasons.

I am glad if you could let me know of a travel insurance company that covers for the 2nd case above.

This is not much of an issue if they can give a alternative flight with a reasonable amount of time. With Tiger, unfortunately, this could be days. The whole reason for flying with a “No Frills” airline is to save money. With Tiger, however, there is a considerable risk that we could end up in situation that is not covered by travel insurances and have to fork out a lot of money to buy last minute tickets from other airlines.
roshodgekiss Says:
October 1st, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Hi again, my simple reading of, say, iTrek’s PDS doesn’t make a distinction between operational reasons for a flight being delayed and otherwise. However, I do not profess to being an expert in travel insurance, so I would like to read further into this exception.

Thank you for your insight into this situation, I’m not sure if this scenario would be exclusive to Tiger’s operations, however I would like to write a future post on travel insurance if it generally does not cover operational delays as you state above. interesting!
Surm Says:
October 1st, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Thanks roshodgekiss for the reply. I had a look at iTrek and they appear to cover for operational delays albeit the inadequate daily allowance ($400 for families) considering prices of last minute tickets.

I am glad that you going to write a post about Travel Insurances. I look forward to reading it.
Surm Says:
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I am appending email responses I have received from three travel insurance providers. The question I asked them was:

“In case a flight is cancelled and the airline is unable to offer another flight within a reasonable time, do you offer your insurance policies that cover expenses for flying with another airline?”

———————————————-
Worldcare

4 ADDITIONAL EXPENSES
WE WILL ALSO PAY FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

We will reimburse your reasonable additional travel and accommodation expenses if a disruption to your journey arises from the following reasons.

a] Your scheduled or connecting transport is cancelled, delayed, shortened or diverted because of a strike, riot, hijack, civil commotion, weather or natural disaster.

4.2 WE WILL NOT PAY

e] We will not pay for delays or rescheduling by a bus line, airline, shipping line or rail authority.
———————————————-
Travel Insurance Direct

There is no provision to claim under this policy if the airline has caused the delay through rescheduling, maintenance/repairs/faults industrial action other than a strike or corporate takeover.
———————————————-
1Cover

This depends on the reason the flight was cancelled. If it is cancelled or delayed because of strikes, riots, hijack, civil commotion, natural disaster or weather conditions then we will cover your alternative transport costs. However the cancellation is the fault of the airline, for example mechanical breakdown, or other booking issues, you will not be covered.

———————————————-
Columbus Direct Travel Insurance

Unfortunately we do not have a cover for cancelled flights under our policies.

We do cover cancellation; however you would need to be cancelling the entire trip, rather than just a flight.
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