Travel Budget Airlines

[hamohawk1]

Flying for the first time with Tiger this week to perth. Have never flown with them before but have heard a lot of mixed reviews about them.

Previous air travel around australia I've done has mostly involved jetstar or virgin, although they can hardly be termed budget carriers anymore as they were both considerably more expensive than Tiger.

Has anyone had any issues with Tiger airways (or other carriers) that i should note when booking flights in the future?

 

[Mego Red]

There will be quite a few people, like me, who would have gotten to the airport and had Tiger cancel a flight and leave you stranded.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

All I can say is: good luck

 

[hamohawk1]

There will be quite a few people, like me, who would have gotten to the airport and had Tiger cancel a flight and leave you stranded.

are you entitled to a refund or transfer?

 

[radiojake]

Plenty of horror stories with Tiger, but I've been lucky - The worst i've had is when the plane was delayed by about 3 hours... but they never came out and said that.. Around the time that boarding was scheduled, they announced it was going to be a 45 min wait - After an hour, they said it would be another 45 min wait - Another hour later they said another 45 mins...

That was annoying because I'd rather they just come out and say it how it was...


Also a friend of mine got stranded in Sydney when they cancelled the flight which meant she missed her best friend's birthday in Melbourne that night...


But having said all that, I've probably flown with them up to 20 or more times and beside the first story, it's been fine....

 

[Borry]

Tiger are great overseas.

Domestically, not so much. A few mates flew to Melbourne form Sydney to watch the Bunnies get inevitably pumped by the Storm in a final in 2012. Felw on the same day, ended up getting to the game 30 mins late due to their flight being cancelled.

Tiger did a reality TV show on 7 a few years back where they shot themselves in the foot big time with lots of episodes showing ridiculous flight delays and cancellations.

 

[Morganashlee]

Tiger previously had no agreements with other airlines to transfer passengers in the event of a cancellation.

Now they have been bought out by Virgin this shouldn't be such an issue I would assume.

 

[Borderline]

They're painful at times but I wouldn't worry about safety or anything. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time and be prepared to wait around at the airport if it's delayed.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Years ago I remember Virgin Blue. I think with their renaming to Virgin Australia they've become a 'full service' airline.

I don't know much about cancellations but the prices seem good. If you're flying within Australia the flight is isn't long enough to care about in flight services.

 

[Uncle_Leo]

Never had an issue with Jetstar or Tiger.

Meanwhile every time I fly with Virgin I seem to have issues.

 

[True__Believer]

I personally have not had any dramas with budget airlines. Just remember you get what you pay for, most people expect champagne service on a cask wine budget. If you just want to get from point A to point B it is fine.

 

[WCErevival]

I've had and I've heard of more issues with Jetstar than Tiger. Tiger has always been good to me.

 

[Bosun]

Flown Jetstar once internationally, never again. I dont really care about the onboard services however if they are delayed by any factor your at their mercy with no compensation (i.e put up in a hotel) I was a Qantas club member at the time and had access to the Qantas Lounge which made it better, the rest of the poor buggers just got an orange drink (the one Principle Skinner likes) and a ham sandwich. The delay was 9 hours with no updates.......**** that. Reason being is when there is a weather or airport incident and all flights are delayed budget airlines are pushed back to the bottom of the queue, hence budget I guess. The best advice I can give is really understand your terms and conditions before you hand over your $$.

 

[Flash of power]

Plan your trip to the airport well - do not arrive 1 second late for your check in or you will not be going anywhere, do not overpack either. If your carry on or check in luggage is overweight, you will pay for it - heavily.

Don't expect in-flight services, there are none, but you get what you pay for, so if you got a cheap ticket, play by the rules and enjoy.

Expectations with budget airlines are the biggest problem, if you are used to flying a full service airline at three times the price and then travel cheap don't have the same expectations and then whinge about what you don't get.

 

[Shell]

I've had and I've heard of more issues with Jetstar than Tiger. Tiger has always been good to me.

Yeah same here. Not like I'm a regular flyer or anything, but have had nothing more than a 30 min delay with them.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

I may be flying Tiger coming home from a tour.

However, I'll have a guitar and most airlines consider that a tool of the trade and don't charge you... should I expect a budget one to have a different line and be charged?
I don't mind paying, I'm a bit surprised most airlines wont charge but I want to be prepared.
Also, I'd fly home Qantas but the Tiger flight happens to be at a better time, and it's also about $65 haha

 

[Morganashlee]

I may be flying Tiger coming home from a tour.

However, I'll have a guitar and most airlines consider that a tool of the trade and don't charge you... should I expect a budget one to have a different line and be charged?
I don't mind paying, I'm a bit surprised most airlines wont charge but I want to be prepared.
Also, I'd fly home Qantas but the Tiger flight happens to be at a better time, and it's also about $65 haha

You will need to pay to have it checked in

 

[Big Bryza]

Never had an issue with tiger. As long as you don't **** around and arrive in time for your flight you'll be sweet.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

You will need to pay to have it checked in

Cheers.

 

[Scotland]

I've had no issues with Tiger. I'm a fan because so many other people aren't and it seems like every time I fly the plane is half full I get 2 or 3 seats to myself.

They can be Nazis with baggage allowances, but taking oversize stuff is easy. You just pre-book by weight regardless of what it is as long as it is within the size envelope. I've transported snowboard gear no worries.

 

[Big Cox 88]

Flown budget airlines a lot, never been let down by Tiger apart from the odd short delay. I even flew to London with Airasia in 2006 which was ok considering I paid $400 one way. No food, no entertainment though. I agree with others who say Jetstar is probably the worst they have encountered.

 

[Shiv]

Flown with tiger before, they cancelled a flight once we got to the airport but then they transferred us to a virgin flight. Jetstar and tiger are getting very strict with carry on luggage though, in terms of size and weight. Safe travels!

 

[UFO Tatsu]

Almost all the flights I have had with Tiger has been delayed by at least 1/2 hour to 3 hours. But I went with them over the xmas break to China and they were rather good. So here's hoping.

 

[Catfish Alley]

We don't have a domestic budget airline in Canada unfortunately.

I always thought Virgin were pretty good in Australia. Another one that was good was JMC from the UK. I think it's Thomas Cook Airline now.

 

[The Dice Man]

Recently flew a couple of Emirates, 3 AirAsia, 3 Jet-star, and Scoot and found air Asia to be the best. They also had the hottest hostesses. Emirates was by far the worst. Each flight delayed an hour and another hour before getting any offer of water.

I've also flown Virgin, Tiger, Ryanair and never had a problem with any of the budget ones. I've always been quite aware of their conditions and met them each time.

Best flights I've had would be with Singapore airlines. Wipe the floor with Emirates and just nudge out Etihad.

I wish I could afford business class