Tiger perpetually late - Who is responsible for inaccurate departure times?

[ethernet]

Melbourne Airport or ACCC should warn Tiger Airways to keep those departure signs accurate as a duty of care. And fine them for any >15 minute update delays. If Singapore has a 'Courtesy' campaign, the thickhead might be sleeping it out in Changi.

Is the plane leaving on time and not delayed?
Yes, says checkin staff at Tiger 1.20 before scheduled departure.:evil:

Well at 18:55, the CBR 18:45 people had not gone through the gates, and Gold Coast flight was also a shambles. None of the signs had updated or refreshed, still showing EDT 10 minutes in the past Not showing 'LATE' just 'Go to Gate'. I think they must savor the thought of elderly passengers standing up for blood clot mini-strokes.

Speaking to one source, she told me when things are bad, they often just switch off the departure board.

Last Sunday night, it must have been windy at Melbourne Airport.
After we boarded about 19:10 were told that only one runway at Melb airport was operational. And waited a long time - and got in late as it was windy and miserable in Canberra (as it always is).

I don't mind 5th rate facilities, the pigsty cramped lounge, and magpie picking counter staff on the take (commissions), but NOT advising passengers to make a call that they are late by updating the departure board in a timely manner is low act and cowardly.

I think the lass who told me things were on time must be following a rulebook - tell them whats on the board - do not think or deviate.
This is not an isolated event - they do it all the time.

As for the recent Tiger price and baggage hikes, Others are looking better.

I don't think the newspaper concession stand sells Aust.Post express delivery satchels. As I posted my 3kgs of excess, I thought what an opportunity for someone.

 

[NYCguy]

With all that we know about Tiger, the question is "why do it to yourself"?

 

[markis10]

I think you will find the departure "signs" are provided by Melbourne Airport and run by them.

 

[Leumas]

I don't think you can blame Tiger entirely for this. As mentioned, the boards aren't really managed by the airline but by the airport. The times and instructions on when they change seem to be pre-programmed based on their original scheduled times, e.g., D-20 mins, the boards will automatically switch to 'Boarding', even if there is no plane at the gate. Unless the airline has an official rescheduled time, I think they just leave the original times there - at least they know some passengers will turn up at the gate.

I've never flown Tiger, but I've noticed this with QF and DJ from MEL and SYD. I'm struggling to think whether it happens in BNE. I suspect it does, but I can't recall a big delay ex-BNE for me, knock on wood...

 

[whereishome]

I notice the OP also posted this in October last year :

http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...iger-perpetually-late-very-unhappy-19807.html

So the question remains - why would you bother flying Tiger at all?

 

[Harry G]

the full listing of OTP

Airline On Time Performance Monthly Reports

I believe there are very large fines in and out of Sydney if you miss your slot due to carrier delay.......

as for their delays etc.........
analyse the number of sectors Tiger do compared to the other carriers and you then ask yourself......
what in the $%^& is this lot doing and how they go about running an airline??
they have a handful of planes (9 is it?) and they are still constantly late and cancelling - and we know the reasons why Tiger cancels..........

 

[markis10]

What I find interesting is their record for really bad months of cancellations, they dont have any routes where cancellations were more than 10%, some of these have terrible stats:

 

[harvyk]

Like most LCC's TT are best effort only... They do not have the fleet or the number of staff spare to allow for anything to go wrong, thus when it does it puts their whole schedule out.

For $20 fares you can't really expect them to also have spare capacity in their fleet or extra staff hanging around just in case.

if you want more certainty then fly with a full service airline, as the spare capacity is one of the things you pay for.

 

[Harry G]

I guess does not answer who is responsible for board updates but TT's OTP......
9 now planes now, 7 before most recent arrivals.....
one plane goes tech and that is the end of their routes for the day, they have no spare
planes sitting at John Hollands!.......
the other is crew....... do not know numbers as at today but previous they had minimal crew....... unlike JQ/DJ/QF who have crew on airport standbys at the various ports, if a crew memebr wnet tech at say Hobart, as was of recent times, chaos reigns........ no crew to take the plane back home.......
the plane issue is of interest.......... especially the way they go into a port then desert it if numbers are down......darwin was a good example of this....... they left because charges where high they said........ in fact the number dwindle in the wet season so it is easier to can the flights than carry 1/4 full planes.....now, they are back is the big announcement on their web site......
9 planes covering all of australia????? work it out yourself........ there you have the cancellation factor and if at the start of the day you have a problem, by the end of the day it is a disaster..here you have the OTP - especially Sydney......miss a slot and you wait......... and pay for that privelege!

Crew......... this has been a huge issue....... no crew meant exisiting crew work loads increase which in turn mean fatigue which in turn means sickies which in turn means no crew which in turn means cancellations or alte waiting for crew to come from home to man the flight which has had a crew member tip over.......

their track record is abismal.......

 

[Groundfeeder]

I don't think you can blame Tiger entirely for this. As mentioned, the boards aren't really managed by the airline but by the airport.

I use Brisbane Translink buses to get to my office. They run on a 10 minute peak hour frequency which is the best you can get at the moment. If one bus misses this frequency it causes major backlogs due to pax demand.

Despite all the frequency info boards this organisation provides to pax in outer suburbs and city (showing the minute the bus will arrive) I take no notice due to experience.

I have no alternate bus/train to catch if delays occur - you have other airlines - please don't whinge.:evil:

 

[ethernet]

Previously I said who was responsible?
To say 'Managed by the airport' is simpleton talk - they provide a screen connected to a box - so if it is airport management - then it is gross mismanagement, and for whatever fee the airlines pay them for not providing a service is a disgrace. Sloth is a deadly sin, and whoever is not updating times deserves their destiny.

To answer why I am crazy to fly em - because I am a tight cough - and because I know I am always on time, and because I have options if I get stranded. The planes in question were fully PACKED (Football fever). Tiger
must think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also my contracts were $70 each way, not $20 cheapies.

I think the staff at the counter know pretty damn well when things fly off the rails and are late. But they have a conflict of interest when planes are delayed.

The point was made trains, and even Sydney Rail do a better job, so does RTA with times to Airport on the toll roads. Tiger out of Singapore even works well. It does or should not COST money to update these times.
But if the contracted 'hires' are saturated, then the local management
will find it harder if Virgin is squeezed.

I speculate Jetstar wants to expand. I speculate Tiger plans fare price ramp-up over and above the 25% one just in. For now, I think serious predatory tactics are off, but the Jetstar boss must be happy things, and customer momentum is being primed for another skirmish.

 

[markis10]

Tiger pay Melbourne airport a fee for their services and obviously they are not prepared to pay for a real time status display system, so they can pass the lower costs onto their clients, its a choice they made as flying tiger was a choice you made, 5 star service is rarely delivered at 1 star pricing in this user pays world.

 

[ethernet]

I hope the newspapers do some investigative reporting.
It is said Sydney airport is below par. And it is easy for overseas visitors to get upset with incorrect timetables - I don't seem to recall anything as bad in other (rest of world) airports. Damage Australian tourism - creating bad first impressions - way to go!

The weight of opinion is that the airport is responsible.
In which case signs should be affixed to the wall, stating that these signs are not updated and should not be relied upon. I've heard stories of rapacious airports charging for displays, but for timetable content - that is news to me.

As someone with extensive IT knowledge, the days of extorting 'real time data' are numbered , and it is easy enough to set up parallel information sites - snifferdogalerts and real time mobile speed/booze bus notifications, for instance. And one train company that tried to muzzle a 3rd party real time online service - claiming their timetable was copyright!

The is nothing stopping Tiger from using butcher paper and a texta to alert passengers. Low tech and low cost. Or preventing check-in droids from telling the truth. Do I have to walk in with my own air band receiver?

The next question to ask is : Are the times displayed in lounges more accurate than the displays outside?

 

[one9]

I hope the newspapers do some investigative reporting.
It is said Sydney airport is below par. And it is easy for overseas visitors to get upset with incorrect timetables - I don't seem to recall anything as bad in other (rest of world) airports. Damage Australian tourism - creating bad first impressions - way to go!

The weight of opinion is that the airport is responsible.
In which case signs should be affixed to the wall, stating that these signs are not updated and should not be relied upon. I've heard stories of rapacious airports charging for displays, but for timetable content - that is news to me.

As someone with extensive IT knowledge, the days of extorting 'real time data' are numbered , and it is easy enough to set up parallel information sites - snifferdogalerts and real time mobile speed/booze bus notifications, for instance. And one train company that tried to muzzle a 3rd party real time online service - claiming their timetable was copyright!

The is nothing stopping Tiger from using butcher paper and a texta to alert passengers. Low tech and low cost. Or preventing check-in droids from telling the truth. Do I have to walk in with my own air band receiver?

The next question to ask is : Are the times displayed in lounges more accurate than the displays outside?

I think the consensus on the board is that your expectations are too high for a low cost airline. It is not expected by most passengers that low cost airlines will have real time departure displays. The departure times are the scheduled departure times of flights and to help remind people that boarding is 20 minutes prior to the flight, and to provide the gate number.

 

[JohnK]

I think the lass who told me things were on time must be following a rulebook - tell them whats on the board - do not think or deviate.
This is not an isolated event - they do it all the time.

To be fair I do not think this is limited to Tiger alone. I have gone to BNE airport many times and looked at the departure and arrival screens and notice that the inbound aircraft is scheduled to arrive at the same time as the aircraft is scheduled to depart. Go to check-in and ask how late the flight is going to be today only to be told it is on time. Eventually the departure screen gets updated with a new time. I do not think the scheck-in or lounge staff are aware of every delay.

The best one of all is when you are looking at the departure screen and boarding was supposed to start 10-15 minutes ago and the screen has not been updated and then every 5 or so minutes a delay of another 5 minutes is announced.

Perhaps it just happens to me more than most but I now expect everyone one of my flights to be late and funny enough most are late. Met Bundy Bear at Sydney airport one Monday morning and sat in the lounge for a while. He was getting anxious to get to BNE having just arrived from New Zealand and was keen to board the aircraft as he was in business class. I told him to relax as the flight was going to be 30 minutes late. He laughed and did not believe me. I was spot on. Flight was delayed 30 minutes.

The next question to ask is : Are the times displayed in lounges more accurate than the displays outside?

From experience they are the same. Generally you will hear boarding calls a few minutes later than normal.

 

[straitman]

The next question to ask is : Are the times displayed in lounges more accurate than the displays outside?

I don't know about anywhere else but at AKL International the answer is a resounding NO :!:

I have seen it a couple of times and when I have asked the QP staff they stated that the boards are operated and updated by the airport and that often the comparison to reality is often purely coincidental and that they will always call the flights when we need to actually leave the lounge.

 

[dajop]

To be fair I do not think this is limited to Tiger alone. I have gone to BNE airport many times and looked at the departure and arrival screens and notice that the inbound aircraft is scheduled to arrive at the same time as the aircraft is scheduled to depart.

Yes this is true. My standard practice for domestic - QF & DJ - flights is to trace back the previous arrival using the gate number of my departing flight. When a flight is due to land at 3:05pm and my 3:10pm departure is still indicating an ontime departure from the same gate I know something hasn't been updated.....

Sometimes I've been with colleagues and been a bit of a smart a## and said, to use the example above, "Oh I bet we won't even start boarding until 3:20" "But the display says its due do depart on time at 3:10" "Do you want to put money on that ..."

 

[markis10]

Yes this is true. My standard practice for domestic - QF & DJ - flights is to trace back the previous arrival using the gate number of my departing flight. When a flight is due to land at 3:05pm and my 3:10pm departure is still indicating an ontime departure from the same gate I know something hasn't been updated........"

Done the same thing when we did a quick day trip to Adelaide for a function, kept an eye on ADL website that showed the gate number for departure and then saw the same gate was for a late inbound ex CBR flight, so I was able to extend our function knowing the aircraft from CBR was late despite the departure listing not reflecting the change. I have also seen the DK boards in MEL badly reflecting the status, with my flight not even listed!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

To be fair I do not think this is limited to Tiger alone. I do not think the scheck-in or lounge staff are aware of every delay.

well it's not lke the TT staff have much elseto do once they close off check-in 45 minutes prior to departure. They CLAIM they have to do 'departure stuff' - you'd think one of those 'departure things' would be to poke their head out and se if the plane's arrived yet.

I aggree schedule information is bad with TT. A friend of mine recently went to SYD. We got to the airport at 6.45pm for a 7.30pm departure. The 230pm flight hdn't even left and the 7.30pm was showing as 'on time'. It eventally left at 2345. (After the 2.30pm rotated through SYD and back).

 

[BAM1748]

Also my contracts were $70 each way, not $20 cheapies.

$70 each way on an plane sounds pretty cheap to me.

I guess what's on the board, although provided by someone else is ultimately up to the airline to keep on top of it being updated as required.