Tiger Cancels Flight

[Bogieman]

It is dissapointing for us here in the West with so little competition that when competition does come in we have to risk this happening to plans. Even for a low coast air line this should not happen.

Low-cost Tiger leaves hundreds stranded : thewest.com.au

 

[Evan]

One could argue it should not happen but lets be honest LCC's are LCC's because of thie things the do not offer.... eg standby crews, hotel accomodation in case of cancelled flights etc.

You know 20 other people will say the same thing. But the old saying is nearly always true, you get what you pay for.

E

 

[FL360]

More than a week ago on my return leg from SIN=>DRW=>MEL the tiger fight was delayed for one day because of cyclone activity in DRW, it is definitely not tiger's fault but tiger was able to provide coach transfer to/from airport + hotel accomodation for the night (4 star), + buffet dinner, all free, (in Singapore), as a result of the delay we have to wait for the next DRW=>MEL flight, and they gave us free dinner in DRW as well.... not bad at all !

I guess Perth is just too expensive for them to provide anything ! It obviously have something to do with the mining bloom..

When people book discount airline and a connecting flight with another airline and leave NO margin it's their fault. They are even more stupid if they have no travel insurance. Cancellations / delays do happen and sometime it has nothing to do with Airline at all !

 

[Yada Yada]

One could argue it should not happen but lets be honest LCC's are LCC's because of thie things the do not offer.... eg standby crews, hotel accomodation in case of cancelled flights etc.

You know 20 other people will say the same thing. But the old saying is nearly always true, you get what you pay for.

LCC's tend to have better OTP and less cancellations than do legacy airlines.

I've experienced a similar situation to the above with AA waiting to fly ATL-ORD. It was a complete debacle, lost a stack of hours at the airport and eventually had to stay the night with no help at all from the airline and also missed my subsequent ORD-LAS flight on UA.

It can happen to any airline. Sometimes circumstances just overcome their ability to recover.

 

[alien]

I think Today Tonight or A Current Affair (I was watching one of them) ran a story similar to this earlier this month. Not sure if it was the same one of not.

I think there will always be teething problems with new services but you would think being linked to SQ that they would have that sort of thing covered:?: :?: :?: :?:

 

[straitman]

I think Today Tonight or A Current Affair (I was watching one of them) ran a story similar to this earlier this month. Not sure if it was the same one of not.

I think there will always be teething problems with new services but you would think being linked to SQ that they would have that sort of thing covered:?: :?: :?: :?:

ACA ran a story, that said nothing of value, within the last week.

 

[Evan]

LCC's tend to have better OTP and less cancellations than do legacy airlines.

I've experienced a similar situation to the above with AA waiting to fly ATL-ORD. It was a complete debacle, lost a stack of hours at the airport and eventually had to stay the night with no help at all from the airline and also missed my subsequent ORD-LAS flight on UA.

It can happen to any airline. Sometimes circumstances just overcome their ability to recover.

I don't disagree about legacy airlines cancelling more services, but they also usually run more and will accomdate you, they are better prepared (sometimes) to handle the situation.

I guess any airline can have a bad day. Just my expereince i have had less issues on legacy airlines than LCC. I have been a number of times put up in hotels etc when connections cannot be made or services cancelled.

E

 

[Happy Dude]

More than a week ago on my return leg from SIN=>DRW=>MEL the tiger fight was delayed for one day because of cyclone activity in DRW, it is definitely not tiger's fault but tiger was able to provide coach transfer to/from airport + hotel accomodation for the night (4 star), + buffet dinner, all free, (in Singapore), as a result of the delay we have to wait for the next DRW=>MEL flight, and they gave us free dinner in DRW as well.... not bad at all !

I guess Perth is just too expensive for them to provide anything ! It obviously have something to do with the mining bloom..

When people book discount airline and a connecting flight with another airline and leave NO margin it's their fault. They are even more stupid if they have no travel insurance. Cancellations / delays do happen and sometime it has nothing to do with Airline at all !

Great post.

So when the LCC you book cancels (because of a cyclone) and then accommodates/feeds everyone, that's "not bad at all!", but when the same LCC cancels (because of a staff shortage) and shafts the passengers, they are all stupid and at fault. And, you conclude that "Cancellations / delays do happen and sometime it has nothing to do with Airline at all !".

I don't mean to be rude, but you, sir, are an idiot.

 

[Yada Yada]

I was flicking through the Foxtel channels a few nights ago and saw a story about Tiger Air on the Today Tonight repeat they play in the evenings.

It was one of those nasty airline stores... tickets purchased, understood they could take wheelchair-bound granny on a flight, then found out she could not be accommodated, ask for a refund, airline refuses, money lost, etc etc.

Of course, once the journo at TT phoned Tiger, the money was duly refunded. But the story still went to air with all of the accompanying drama.

Having seen the boarding system at MEL, I can't see how they can possibly get anyone who can't walk on-board.

 

[NM]

Having seen the boarding system at MEL, I can't see how they can possibly get anyone who can't walk on-board.

I have seen QF load wheelchair passengers via door 1R using a cabin service vehicle or forklift. So it can be done without an aerobridge. but whether or not all airlines have the capability to load an wheelchair passenger in such a manner I have no idea.

 

[Petch]

Having seen the boarding system at MEL, I can't see how they can possibly get anyone who can't walk on-board.

I haven't used Tiger yet, but from your pics the stairs look similar to what Jetstar & Virgin Blue use in some ports (i.e. the non-covered non-motorised stairs). Next time you climb them, look to the left on the landing at the top, the platform often extends further to the side than necessary, with what appears like a gate. This enables wheel bound passenger access, via a vehicularised lift (imagine a "Covered Forklift") which elevates them up to this side gate, and thus onto the aeroplane.

 

[straitman]

I haven't used Tiger yet, but from your pics the stairs look similar to what Jetstar & Virgin Blue use in some ports (i.e. the non-covered non-motorised stairs). Next time you climb them, look to the left on the landing at the top, the platform often extends further to the side than necessary, with what appears like a gate. This enables wheel bound passenger access, via a vehicularised lift (imagine a "Covered Forklift") which elevates them up to this side gate, and thus onto the aeroplane.

We watched Air NZ use a forklift with a wheelchair in a cage in ZQN last November. Worked a treat and only took 2-3 minutes.

 

[ColinP]

We watched Air NZ use a forklift with a wheelchair in a cage in ZQN last November. Worked a treat and only took 2-3 minutes.

This was an everyday ocurrence at ADL until the opening of the new terminal in 2006.

 

[straitman]

This was an everyday ocurrence at ADL until the opening of the new terminal in 2006.

Probably just highlights my sheltered upbringing :!:

 

[FL360]

Great post.

So when the LCC you book cancels (because of a cyclone) and then accommodates/feeds everyone, that's "not bad at all!", but when the same LCC cancels (because of a staff shortage) and shafts the passengers, they are all stupid and at fault. And, you conclude that "Cancellations / delays do happen and sometime it has nothing to do with Airline at all !".

I don't mean to be rude, but you, sir, are an idiot.

:shock:
I am not here to argue but I simply state that people should have travel insurance even when they are travelling with LCCs. Also I refer to delays / cancellations due to weather which is my case and it has nothing to do with the airline.

For the case here if passengers have travel insurance they can claims against the cost of a replacement flight, or any out of pocket expenses.

Simply, if they can't afford travel insurance they can't afford to travel, this is the old saying....

 

[N860CR]

However... remember insurance doesn't cover anything. If you book, for instance, a PER-SIN with tiger, then a SIN-BKK with Air Asia and the Tiger flight is late and you miss the connection, insurance co says "if you read the policy section 10506 part A, you'd see you're not covered for this"

 

[FL360]

However... remember insurance doesn't cover anything. If you book, for instance, a PER-SIN with tiger, then a SIN-BKK with Air Asia and the Tiger flight is late and you miss the connection, insurance co says "if you read the policy section 10506 part A, you'd see you're not covered for this"

Agree, some of their fine print is world-class... just like flood cover for home insurance....

 

[justinbrett]

I think in this situation people are being too hard on Tiger. This happens with all airlines, including the big ones. They are more likely to happen in ports that only have one or two flights a day.

I think the only difference between LCC and the Full Service carriers is the way they compensate you in this situation. LCC may give you a refund, Qantas on the otherhand will put you up in a hotel, change your flights, give you meal vouchers etc.

Not the same situation but last year I flew from Washington DC to LAX (connecting to SYD) but the AA flight was 4 hours late and we missed the connection. There were about 20 Australians onboard connecting to the QF flight, and the next flight wasn't for 24 hours.

This kind of thing happens all the time, it is not limited to LCC.

Things are not always going to go to plan when you are travelling, you just need to have a contigency.

 

[JohnK]

It is this type of experience that could ruin a holiday. OK I can understand that a flight may need to be cancelled but when there is only 1 flight a day and then to be left stranded without assistance is just not good enough.

And the bad thing is we have been having a discussion on travel insurance and this type of incident most likely would not be covered. What about connections from SIN the next day? What about any accommodation pre-booked for destination? What about any tours that are going to be missed?

A Tiger Airways spokesman said all passengers would be given a refund.

Wow! That is a great gesture. NOT! Refund the cost of the ticket, which was probably purchased months ago, and leave people stranded to purchase last minute tickets and re-organise onward connections and accommodation or cancel their trip.

Tiger, surely you must be kidding!

 

[straitman]

I think in this situation people are being too hard on Tiger. This happens with all airlines, including the big ones. They are more likely to happen in ports that only have one or two flights a day.

I think the only difference between LCC and the Full Service carriers is the way they compensate you in this situation. LCC may give you a refund, Qantas on the otherhand will put you up in a hotel, change your flights, give you meal vouchers etc.

This kind of thing happens all the time, it is not limited to LCC.

Things are not always going to go to plan when you are travelling, you just need to have a contigency.

justinbrett,

Agreed however you can't have a contingency for everything and Tiger must surely understand the damage this type of publicity does to their already battered reputation. They don't even seem to be worried about trying to get an appropriate balance.