Beware of Tiger Airlines (Singapore)!!

[Mattg]

Did you end up rebooking with Tiger and flying the next day or did you take your money elsewhere?

 

[jetlagger]

What really sh|ts me about some LCC is they are lumped together as one bunch of mugs.
AirAsia/X, JetStar I've had painless experiences but I've never flown more than 4hrs with them. As long as you realise the service level and the service is provided.
The tiger method of cancelling a flight and thinking that a refund (at their leisure) is sufficent coverage for their lack of professionalism isn't acceptable. Last minute flight purchases aren't low cost.

I have had a similar scenarios a number of times with LCCs in Philippines.. Which comprise about 60% of flights there these days.. 1 - 5 hours 'delays" are common due to many BS 'operational excuses".. no warnings given, when realistically somebody knows, & especially when the airline has my emails & local contact numbers as per booking procedures it is a real let down, but in this case when a scheduled flight departs 2 hrs earlier.. WTF?
Just really wondering if other passengers were in the same email excuse loop?
I would certainly dig deeper with this one..

 

[djm1965]

Yes we did unfortunately - as we still had the original return flight with them on the original booking - so we opted to purchase 2 separate tickets for the new day/time for the Sin>HKong leg.
In response to the other posts - we did look at other carriers - but surprisingly Air Asia doesnto fly from Singapre>Hong Kong at all, and we had missed the jetstar asia flights for the day as well.

On a positive note we were impressed with the train from Hong Kong to Kowloon station - and even happier when we could check in at Kowloon station and get our boarding passes prior to arriving at the airport. The trains, the stations
and the service and frequency in both Singapore & Hong Kong are absolutely amazing. It makes QR Rail and City Rail (sydney) infrastructure look like something out of the 1800's.

 

[ashleyn]

LCC's not for me. Pay a bit more and get a lot more.

 

[Alanslegal]

On a positive note we were impressed with the train from Hong Kong to Kowloon station - and even happier when we could check in at Kowloon station and get our boarding passes prior to arriving at the airport. The trains, the stations
and the service and frequency in both Singapore & Hong Kong are absolutely amazing. It makes QR Rail and City Rail (sydney) infrastructure look like something out of the 1800's.

That's the way Alot of our asian neighbours do things sooooo much better than we have here. For example, if you experienced the wonders of an Octopus Card in Hong Kong, introduced in 1997, you would realise how convenient and easy to use they are. Here in Sydney we are finally .... coming around in 2012 .... to introduce something similar (but probably cost twice as much, for half the quality). Our to be Opal Card will be only for use on public transportation where the Hong Kong version, wow, as well as transportation, also usable at vending machines, shops, convenient stores, even your local McDonalds.

 

[Deleted member]

Yes we did unfortunately - as we still had the original return flight with them on the original booking - so we opted to purchase 2 separate tickets for the new day/time for the Sin>HKong leg.
In response to the other posts - we did look at other carriers - but surprisingly Air Asia doesnto fly from Singapre>Hong Kong at all, and we had missed the jetstar asia flights for the day as well.

On a positive note we were impressed with the train from Hong Kong to Kowloon station - and even happier when we could check in at Kowloon station and get our boarding passes prior to arriving at the airport. The trains, the stations
and the service and frequency in both Singapore & Hong Kong are absolutely amazing. It makes QR Rail and City Rail (sydney) infrastructure look like something out of the 1800's.

Yes I like the trains too. However it is a little easier to run and operate a TINY system with a BIG population to sustain it. I am sure it's not so flash in the rest of china , having said that our rail networks could learn a lot from these guys !

 

[Deleted member]

LCC's are there because there is demand, which is price driven. I don't , and am unlikely to use one since my unfortunate experience with easy jet a few years ago flying LOndon - niece.
I don stay in backpackers either. What I am saying is , if you position yourself on price there will be a trade off in quality.
Mind you a broken airplane in Brisbane last onto meant 7 hours in QP waiting for another to fly up from Sydney then to SIN , so not everything works every time even on QF.

 

[jetlagger]

Yes I like the trains too. However it is a little easier to run and operate a TINY system with a BIG population to sustain it. I am sure it's not so flash in the rest of china , having said that our rail networks could learn a lot from these guys !

Most of China's major cities train systems are brilliant.. Unlike, unfortunately, Australia's major cities rail networks are... Yes, very antiquated.. Annoyingly so.. Just off thread here a little!

 

[Austman]

On a positive note we were impressed with the train from Hong Kong to Kowloon station - and even happier when we could check in at Kowloon station and get our boarding passes prior to arriving at the airport. The trains, the stations
and the service and frequency in both Singapore & Hong Kong are absolutely amazing. It makes QR Rail and City Rail (sydney) infrastructure look like something out of the 1800's.

I suppose so... But in HKG I get the Cityflyer bus these days. Citybus & NWFB - Members of Chow Tai cough Enterprises and NWS Holdings - Cityflyer Route. Usually faster (if a trip to/from the 2 city train station is needed), usually more door-to-door (if your hotel isn't on the MTR connecting shuttle list) and a lot cheaper. No check-in facility but HKIA is a pretty easy check-in.

 

[dajop]

I am not going to defend Tiger, as this seems totally unreasonable. However with any LCC carrier, and sometimes even the not so low cost carriers it is always advisable the day before travel, to check your booking online, or do a dummy booking online to ensure schedules haven't changed. Otherwise it can be an expensive to learn. This may be sounder advice than to avoid LCCs at all costs.

I am going to get on my high horse for a moment, but the usual advice (repeated in this thread) is to never fly LCCs. Obviously not everyone is in the financial position to follow this model - so the alternative is to use LCCs cautiously or not fly at all. Even with the occasional costly stuff-up and need to completely rebook a ticket, if travelling often enough the savings may make LCCs worthwhile. Also important to remember the rest of the world don't necessarily operate on the same model as Australia domestic and Trans Tasman where non-LCCs (QF and perhaps now DJ) sell one way fares that are often only at small premiums to comparable fares on LCCs (Jetstar and Tiger). In some markets, the full service carriers only have full fare one way pricing, only discounting return fares. I don't necessarily like LCCs, but in Europe recently flew a sector on Easyjet for around 90 Euros, including luggage. Fare on a non-LCC was something like 500 Euros. If I had a principle of never flying on LCCs I would have just poured over $500AUD down the drain.

 

[browski]

I've learnt to love the LCCs and long may they reign.

It only requires a small mental adjustment in your expectation levels and you might see the appeal. There are a few tips which are worth following as well:

1. Try to avoid the use of a LCC if you have a onward connecting flight.
2. Try to use the LCC only if it the first flight of the day for that aircraft; anything departing before 10.30am as a general rule.
3. Expect the worst.

Just flew MEL-OOL on Tiger for $47.00; painless, perfect. Even "upgraded" to an exit row.
Arrived at check-in 50min before flight - no problem
Purchased gourmet sushi/sashimi pack for $9.00 in terminal for on-board dining requirements - no problem.
Purchased beer (cheaper on flight than in terminal) - no problem.
Watched 2 episodes of Game of Thrones on tablet - no problem
Paid $74 for taxi from OOL to hotel - ouch.

To the OP, I know it is small consolation, but if a cancellation/disaster was to occur, then there is possibly no better international route for this to occur. SIN-HKG has many daily, alternative, direct flight options: CX, SQ, 3K, HX.........even UA.

 

[djm1965]

I have the emails with relevant time/date stamps and am writing a letter to the CEO - as my father has alwayts said "you'll never know until you ask son"... so who knows if I'll even get a response!

 

[Austman]

I have the emails with relevant time/date stamps and am writing a letter to the CEO - as my father has alwayts said "you'll never know until you ask son"... so who knows if I'll even get a response!

The time you received the email is not the same as when the email was sent. Delays can be quite significant! To find out you need to decode the full email headers. First you need to work out how to see the full headers (sometimes called View Message Source or All Headers...): try the help topic on your email browser. Then you need to decode the headers: an on-line tool like this can help: Email Header Analyzer, RFC822 Parser - MxToolbox

My Qantas "Beat the Budget Sale" email that I received at 12:10 today took 1,161 seconds to deliver!

Good luck. At least the above should establish if Tiger was telling the truth about when they sent the email.

Oh and don't forget to check if the claimed email might have gone into the junk folder.

 

[serfty]

Nice link - now I know why my JQ Friday fare frenzy emails don't show up until Saturday morning but are dated Friday!!!

16,156 seconds anyone????

 

[medhead]

I was thinking of my jetstar 2 for 1 email that I received at 1600 yesterday but appears in the inbox after the 2042 email from qantas.


Sent from the Throne

 

[11sjw]

Can travel insurance help here?

 

[drivatruk]

I love Tiger here and in Singapore. Flown with them about 10 times and never had an issue other than a 30 mins delay. Its especially good in Asia as i book row 1 for a bit extra and i get to customs and immigration 1st.

 

[jetlagger]

I love Tiger here and in Singapore. Flown with them about 10 times and never had an issue other than a 30 mins delay. Its especially good in Asia as i book row 1 for a bit extra and i get to customs and immigration 1st.

Are you from Tiger??? Sounds too good to be true...

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Are you from Tiger??? Sounds too good to be true...

That may not be quite fair - I have posted below that I have flown Tiger a dozen times ex SIN, HKG, CRK etc - never an issue - would fly them again in a heart beat.

 

[eastwest101]

I love Tiger here and in Singapore. Flown with them about 10 times and never had an issue other than a 30 mins delay. Its especially good in Asia as i book row 1 for a bit extra and i get to customs and immigration 1st.

Welcome to AFF drivatruk. It was just an intruiging choice of first post subject. We look forward to hearing opinions and comparisons of Tiger Singapore vs Tiger Australia if you do happen to be flying them both frequently.