Tiger Airways should not be in our country!

[PineappleSkip]

Personally theres's nothing I enjoy more on a Friday night than a good Tiger bagging thread! Anyone had any horrible TT experiemces lately?

Cheers skip

 

[thewinchester]

Personally theres's nothing I enjoy more on a Friday night than a good Tiger bagging thread! Anyone had any horrible TT experiemces lately?

I'm sure someone has flown them, but doesn't wish/can't afford to pay the dignity tax twice by admitting same here

 

[burmans]

Personally theres's nothing I enjoy more on a Friday night than a good Tiger bagging thread! Anyone had any horrible TT experiemces lately?

Cheers skip

Actually quite happy with my Tiger experience but then again I don't go to McDonalds expecting to get gourmet meals.
This is to me the crux of the matter, clearly as a cut-price airline Tiger also cut some corners on service, meals and even baggage, lets face it how do you think they can regularly offer a $29.95 flight to Melbourne on routes that Qantas and Vigin are selling for $110 plus (real example, have been looking for just for a weekend trip to Melbourne and plenty of flights at just this price on TT vs min $109 to 200+ on either DJ or QF, $79 on Jetstar). Would appear to me a bit of a no-brainer that at that price it won't be quite as good a product at TT.
What's so special about air travel, if we got offered a car, house, electrical goods, food, groceries at 30% of the price most of us would be asking "what's the catch" and frankly not expecting it would be of the same quality.
Some of us would say, no "I want quality" and pay extra and clearly many people who post here feel that way about TT but how is this different about all the other things we do in life, I don't expect the same service from a bus as I do a tax, from MacDonalds as I do in a smart restaurant. Just appears to me that we have this over-inflated expectation of air travel and as my freind (pilot) says to me, we're just glorified bus drivers. And I for one have to agree.
Want to pay extra for a great service, then fine go for it. But don't pay peanuts and expect great service, it aint gunna happen. And I for one don't really understand why people expect it to.

 

[Undercover Brother]

I have no issue with flying Tiger every now and then, as long as you are prepared for a possible delay, usually aren't dissapointed. You get what you pay for.

 

[Taezar]

Friend of mine swears by TT. Mind you he factors in delays and sitting next to people who have never flown before and don't understand flying etiquette. I have never flown and don't really ever expect to.
That AA ad "I Fly for Business" is exactly why I pick QF.

 

[pauly7]

So in the end, the two 'horror' stories were not really any fault of Tiger's,

Yes, it will rarely be their fault as Airways is a controlled advertising medium for them. Love the people who think it is a 'documentary/reality' show!

(not implying you think this)

 

[JetLagged]

Flew with Tiger for the first time last weekend. Purchased the ticket on price which was $100 return Brisbane to Sydney with 15kg luggage. In the last 12 months have flown with Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar.

Can not compalin about my flight with Tiger. Cabin Crew were far more obliging than cabin crew on Qantas and announcements by pilot was easy to understand and he came back on during the flight to point out various sights. Had genuine enthusiasm.

Depending on price and flight times would fly with Tiger again.

Yes moffat, when I was a fairly fresh flyer, I too appreciated and enjoyed points of interest being pointed out en-route. Of course, only if you were on the ide of the plane where one could see such things. BUT, after the 3rd flight and the same points, I was wishing he'd shut up and just let me sit back for the hour without the interruptions (perky tone or not).

In an hours flight, how much attention can FAs give, or how much does one want them to give. Efficient service of the hot drink and biscuit (oops, sorry, extra on LCCs) or ensuring your seat belt is done up - that's about it, isn't it?

LCC do have a place in the system - keeping the 'dross' out of the planes (someone on another thread said that they are historically called 'gate lice') that others prefer to fly on! The bare feet on the back of the seat, or the multiple bags for a weekend away, types .... others can add their own ideas!

 

[AaronBradford]

Personally theres's nothing I enjoy more on a Friday night than a good Tiger bagging thread! Anyone had any horrible TT experiemces lately?

Cheers skip

I've only had the one flight with TT, back from MEL to SYD last month on VH-VNH. It wasn't too bad, but the 'Tiger' experience was hilarious. The pathetic guy in the orange jacket at security was my favourite. He reminded me of a washed-up game show host. Yelling at people that absolutely everything must go in your bag and the only things allowed in the trays were laptops and aerosols, and when a lady asked him to clarify he sighed angrily and said he'd only been saying that the last two hours. At one point he muttered under his breath "probably don't understand English anyway". Even for a LCC I find it deplorable. The little terminal down in MEL is a sad, sad little thing. One of the FA's missed a button on her shirt which was exciting, especially when she stood on people's seats to reach up into the baggage compartment.

Booked return flights SYD-BNE for mid next month - looking forward to my next 'Tiger experience'.

 

[dk4]

I'm sure someone has flown them, but doesn't wish/can't afford to pay the dignity tax twice by admitting same here

I too have flown with Tiger on quite a number of occasions. It is simply not possible to walk away from $10 or $20 fares (when Jetstar doesn't have a comparable flight time).

Yes I am concerned with their on-time performance, and haven't chosen to fly with them for quite some time because of this.


But for flights under 2 hours, when I don't need checked luggage, then all I need is -

• a seat,
• online check-in
• 10kg carry-on allowance
• an OTA +/-10 mins
• & an airline that meets CASA safety requirements.

I will & do pay more for ancillary stuff, either ala carte or bundled, but only when I see "value" in the additional offer. Be that more elbow room (e.g. works deluxe on NZ), leg room (e.g. upfront on JQ), food (e.g. B.O.B. many airlines), lounges (e.g. the lounge DJ), status/points (e.g. FrequentFlyer on QF)...

Thousands of other people (uneventfully) fly TT everyday in Australia, some even wearing suits and carrying brief cases :shock:

 

[2353]

Those Airways shows aren't documentaries. Without knowing, I reckon it a fare bet that Tiger (or Easyjet or US Air) have some sort of editorial control so that images that display their staff/contractors doing the wrong thing never see the inside of a TV screen.

There are two positives for the airline -
1) everybody watching the show (which must rate well enough for the network to keep showing it) gets the name of the airline shoved down their throat every couple of minutes.
2) if someone does complain about just missing a cut off time or having 500gms too much weight the obvious response is don't you watch the show - we're strict with our terms and conditions.

Lots of people fly them every day (although I admit I haven't). They have to get some repeat business therefore some must reckon they do the job which is get you from A to B relatively quickly.

 

[Saab34]

All content is run by Tiger Management before it hits out screens.

There is a new aircraft awaiting clearance from CASA, VH-FNJ with nice new leather seats, although the current cloth seats are not that bad.

There are three older aircraft flying around, VNB, VNJ and VNP, all ex Tiger Singapore with the old interior, looking pretty shabby!

 

[zeiron]

U get what u pay for. Jetstar much the same, ...dont follow any of their rules, no flexibility. Budget airlines have their role.

"Don't follow their rules, no flexibility" is a fine concept, but when they cancel a flight on you at the last minute and then offer to reimburse your $39 that you paid 6 months ago and now you need to buy a $300+ last minute fare on another airline is not in any way acceptable. On top of that, they take 6 months to refund your money and dont provide you with any contact details apart from some random email or mailing address. You can never talk to an actual person. They should be forced to re-accommodate you onto another airline, like every other airline does, and wear the cost themselves.
TT are a law unto themselves. They can do to you what they please, but if you are 1 second late, its all over and you see what happens on the TV show. I'm not a violent person, but my god, some of those TT agents deserve a good ol slapping!
There really needs to be some sort of consumer charter when it comes to air travel, as i could imagine nothing worse than being stranded far from home and then being held to ransom to get home. Its just NOT fair!

 

[2353]

I'd suspect that all of the above "wrongs" are in the T&C's for ticket purchase. If you're not prepared to take the risk, pay the extra and fly VA or QF

 

[737NG]

There is a new aircraft awaiting clearance from CASA, VH-FNJ with nice new leather seats, although the current cloth seats are not that bad.

CASA will not let this aircraft onto Tiger's AOC untill they sort all their safety issues out, its been placed in storage at the John Holland hangars in MEL, been there for about 2 weeks!

 

[kevrosmith]

As some people have pointed out, local ground crew (checkin, baggage etc) are contracted Ground Handling companies (Aerocare, Oceania et al) and often the contracts provide for commissions to the local port staff for revenue raised through adherence to Airline policies etc.

While not trying to cast dispersions on the character of all Ground Handling staff in regard to the quantity or quality of compassion and empathy shown, it's interesting to note that LCCs involve a personal profit incentive-based approach to ensure guidelines are met and enforced. (TT aren't the only airline in Oz to do this, and nor is it limited to Ground Handling staff!)

I certainly appreciate when staff overlook my slightly heavier-looking carry-on case, knowing that ultimately, they are making a personal sacrifice (albeit a small one in the grand scheme of things!)

 

[LiamR]

IIRC, DJ Cabin Crew recieve commission on products sold inflight...

 

[kevrosmith]

I know JQ crew do. I think it's a clever concept: provide a personal incentive which appeals to our internal sense of profit motive (as Adam Smith would have us believe) to encourage improved service (keep that trolley moving!) and ultimately leads to increased overall revenue for the company!

Though, chatting with some FAs one time and it was apparent that it wasn't something that made the difference between them buying bread for the table at home each week or not!

 

[medhead]

Yes, it will rarely be their fault as Airways is a controlled advertising medium for them. Love the people who think it is a 'documentary/reality' show!

Actually, it is more of an educational program. As a reality show the target audience is also the target customer. The educational bit is showing the potential customers that they are strict on the rules - educating them how to fly with TT and not get caught. So in some ways it is also a customer service.

Anyway, for the record I've flown them once, and found the crew, ground and cabin, to be fine. Not sure I would use them again, however.

 

[pauly7]

Actually, it is more of an educational program. As a reality show the target audience is also the target customer. The educational bit is showing the potential customers that they are strict on the rules - educating them how to fly with TT and not get caught. So in some ways it is also a customer service.

Yep, so it is advertising their service. End game = more awareness of everything Tiger = more sales.

It's a tried and tested advertising method.

 

[medhead]

Yep, so it is advertising their service. End game = more awareness of everything Tiger = more sales.

It's a tried and tested advertising method.

It may be advertising but as I said, it is more about education. It does 2 things and the bigger part is getting people ready for how they operate. The boss basically said this when the show started. BTW awareness of tiger from the show gets them less sales, IMO.