News & Events Tiger Airways on life support

[the fly]

Ansett all over again

I think that Compass would be a better comparison than Ansett.

 

[Bombers_Forever]

Big deal. They can shut the **** up and be thankful not to be on a plane with lax maintenance and even less safety checks.

This. The latest incident happened on this Thursday - that is what prompted it. Is CASA meant to ignore that and allow them to continue flying unsafe when thier flights are full?

 

[maeby]

CASA has given them a week to get their shit together, after flying 900ft below they should have been yesterday on a flight (when they were coming in to land at Avalon airport), which was also only 800ft above a nearby mountain range (there has also been another similar incident to this recently). They had already been given a warning in March about their disgraceful safety standards, but this latest incident was enough for them to be grounded for a week, and unless they get their shit together, Tiger will be no more.

They have also said no more flights will be coming in or out of Adelaide anymore, regardless if they get through this.

What does everyone think? It means the days of really cheap flights are probably gone.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/07/02/3259293.htm

Are you able to tell me where you read this? It didn't appear to be in the article that was linked, or on their website?
I have tickets flying Tiger to Adelaide in 3 weeks, hoping I still get to go...

 

[Costanza_]

****ing stoked about them being grounded.

My flight home from Buenos Aires got cancelled due to the volcanic ash. Been delayed a week in coming home, insurance is covering our expenses i.e. extra weeks living it up in Argentina. One of the only downsides was that we had non-refundable Tiger flights to Brisbane booked for tomorrow (GF's family live in Bris).

Flights grounded.
Obligated to give full refund.
Win.

 

[Rod Stroker]

It's not like we're talking about Aeroflot here.

Despite their horrendous safety record of almost 7000 fatalities, they have improved, to the point where they made the Most Improved Airline in the latest official Skytrax ratings:
http://www.theage.com.au/travel/tra...-qantas-slips-in-rankings-20110623-1ggew.html

 

[DREAM TEAM BUFF]

There'd be alot more families destroyed if a Tiger plane crashed ...

Damn Straight

 

[GoldnBrownHawk]

I never flew with them anyway - with everything you hear about delays and cancellations, plus the fact they use airports like Avalon, it's never seemed worth the few bucks you save. But this wouldn't scare me off. CASA won't let them back in the air until they're perfectly safe.

It's not like we're talking about Aeroflot here.

Same, heard plenty of bad stories about cancellations and delays. I was told of one guy booked with Tiger 10 times. Only made it on to a flight 5 times from the 10 due to cancellations. Ended up having to fork out more to go with Virgin/Qantas to make the destination. You shouldn’t have to put up with that if you are paying for a service but that said, you get what you pay for.

 

[The Passenger]

why would they fly below the level required anyway?? save fuel??

 

[brampta]

I smell something fishy.

Remember Ansett? Just before they went under, a number of their planes were grounded over christmas/easter/school holidays periods due to maintenance issues. My aunt who was a hostie for them at the time, said that it was no coincidence that ansett had been grounded over the two most lucrative times of the year, and suspected some sort of conspiracy.

Qantas had a whoooolllleeee run of mechanical issues and mid-air near disasters and yet were not grounded, so for CASA to ground Tiger, well the issues must be pretty serious right?

 

[kwame]

Have only flown with tiger once on a footy trip a couple years ago.... Didn't think they were too bad apart from the baggage collection area in Melbourne resembling a shed

 

[Caesar]

Ugh. CASA's regulations are pretty cut and dried. There is no conspiracy. Qantas's problems were relatively isolated, blown out of proportion by the media, and systemic issues were repeatedly ruled out.

As for Ansett, their boats were in so bad shape prior to their bankruptcy that people smugglers would have rejected them. They had no money to keep them up to standard, their grounding was hardly a surprise.

 

[Bombers_Forever]

Ugh. CASA's regulations are pretty cut and dried. There is no conspiracy. Qantas's problems were relatively isolated, blown out of proportion by the media, and systemic issues were repeatedly ruled out.

As for Ansett, their boats were in so bad shape prior to their bankruptcy that people smugglers would have rejected them. They had no money to keep them up to standard, their grounding was hardly a surprise.

Exactly - correct on both counts.

Ansett, even if thier aircraft were fixed, were never going to recover because they were a badly run business.

 

[vealesy]

Jetstar are cashing in.

I had flights picked out 4 days ago for finals time, didn't book them though.

Came back on tonight to book them and the total price went up from 340 to 402.

 

[Normy132]

Regardless of the outcome with CASA, Tiger are finished. There's no way I can see anybody going with them again.

On another flight upstart, have to remember how much capital is required to start an airline. It's not something you can set up in six months or so. It will take a while before anything else comes back in.

 

[clarkoscluster]

Regardless of the outcome with CASA, Tiger are finished. There's no way I can see anybody going with them again.

On another flight upstart, have to remember how much capital is required to start an airline. It's not something you can set up in six months or so. It will take a while before anything else comes back in.

I'm a uni student, so I use Tiger as a means to travel on a tight budget for interstate Hawks games and other stuff. I've probably flown with them 10 times return over the past 3 years, and got some rediculously cheap flights. I've had one flight cancellation and maybe 4 or 5 half hour to an hour delays. I'm sure if I had of been flying the other carriers on all of those trips, the record with them could have very closely resembeled my record with Tiger... 1 cancelled flight in 10 return trips is nothing to be upset about.

Granted, that is just my experience, and others have had it far, far worse, but on the basis of my history with the airline, and CASA giving them the green light (meaning their planes are safe to fly), then I would have no hesitation flying them again. If I get another cancellation down the track, I'll deal with it then. But I'm not going to worry about what may or may not happen - I'm happy to take a risk if it means I can get from A to B for a relative pittance.

 

[The Passenger]

1 cancelled flight in 10 return trips is nothing to be upset about.

???

in my entire flying life i have had one cancelled flight (that i can remember)... was when dublin airport closed down so wasn't even the airlines fault.

i'm trying to recall some others but i can't. i'm sure there's probably been a couple of others i can't remember.

i reckon i've been on a plan roughly 400 to 500 times.

so even saying there's 4 flight cancellation that i can't remember (doubtful as the one i can remember was a very memorable experience) that's roughly 1 in 100.....

 

[clarkoscluster]

???

in my entire flying life i have had one cancelled flight (that i can remember)... was when dublin airport closed down so wasn't even the airlines fault.

i'm trying to recall some others but i can't. i'm sure there's probably been a couple of others i can't remember.

i reckon i've been on a plan roughly 400 to 500 times.

so even saying there's 4 flight cancellation that i can't remember (doubtful as the one i can remember was a very memorable experience) that's roughly 1 in 100.....

Fair enough - I don't fly as regularly as you obviously, but I have definitely seen cancellations from other airlines in my time when going to the airport. Either you have an incredible strike rate, or I have a poor one, but I really don't consider having 1 out of say 20 flights cancelled over a 4 year period being the end of the world. It certainly isn't enough to put be off travelling with them as if it wasn't for their cheap fares, I wouldn't have been able to travel to the extent I have. If I miss one trip because of a cancellation, but can go on 2 or 3 others due to cheaper fares, I think I still win overall.

They're definitely not for everyone, but they serve a purpose in the market for budget travellers, of which there is a very large demand. It would be a shame to see them disappear, for no other reason then the fact that they keep the other airlines honest by ensuring fares stay down. In any case, once uni's over, hopefully my days of budget travelling will cease. Until then, I've got no issues flying with Tiger (provided their planes are safe of course)!

 

[The Passenger]

budget airlines are great.

jetstar do the job. you don't get anything special but when you're just getting from a to b.

ryanair and easyjet in europe likewise.

tiger though... only flown with them twice. both flights delayed 2+ hours.

i've also found jetstar are not that much more expensive than tiger a lot of the time.

 

[Shell]

LOL, people on 3AW are reporting when you wish to register a complaint or a request for a refund for a ticket, etc, there is no "SUBMIT" button on the botton of the page you fill out on the Tiger website.

Lol, lol, lol. God Tiger are useless (so I hear) when it comes to customer service.

Feel for the people who are caught up in this... at the same time am thanking my lucky stars, I'm going away these school holidays- just one hour north of Melb, and ya dont need a plane to get there!!!!

 

[Brad Goodman]

If/when Tiger wind up, any chance of Paul Stoddart jumping in?

 

[Red_Devil]

So what's the actual issue? Is it cause a pilot flew below the safe height? Or is maintenance an issue too? If it's just the first, then obviously they'll be forced to make changes to training procedures an stuff and they'll get back in the air. If it's the second also, then it's a worry.

Personally, I have flown with Tiger just a couple of times. Experienced one delay but no cancellations. All the flights went smoothly. It's a budget airline, you get what you pay for when it comes to customer service, flight delays and other small things so an hour or so delay wouldn't bother me compared to the saving of going qantas for example. But if it's maintenance issues as well, then I think I'll stick to jetstar and the likes in future.


A few mates and myself are going to gold coast in 4 weeks or so. 3 of them have got tickets to fly up with Tiger. I was about to book before the weekend but held off once i heard about this (I was booking jetstar)

 

[Simple Jack]

I feel for families as much as anyone, but the event that triggered the ban only occurred yesterday. It's not like CASA chose the timing.

It wasn't that this event soley triggered the ban, it is the tip of a VERY, VERY big iceberg and it was more the mouse that sunk the boat type of situation.

and LOL at the people saying, Oh noes! Tiger are bad! I'll stick to Jetstar from now on! Jetstar are AT LEAST as bad if not worse. Here are some significantly more dangerous incidents Jetstar have had.

Investigation: AO-2007-044 - Go-around event Melbourne Airport, Victoria, 21 July 2007, VH-VQT, Airbus Industrie A320-232

Investigation: AO-2011-073 - Performance related event - Airbus, A321-231, VH-VWX, Darwin Airport, 12 June 2011

But why are Tiger grounded while Jetstar keep flying you ask? Jetstar (well more correctly Jetstars big brother) have one thing that Tiger don't, the "Chairmans Lounge". There is only one politician in the country that refuses the free entry that pollies get, Nick Xenophon (this guy has serious integrity).

But I'm not going to worry about what may or may not happen - I'm happy to take a risk if it means I can get from A to B for a relative pittance.

Absolutely 100% spot on, perfect attitude. When you fly "low cost" what do you think that means.

They aren't using low cost A320's, nor low cost fuel, nor low cost airways charges, nor low cost landing fees. You are getting low cost crew, service and maintainence.

You CAN NOT expect to pay $29 bucks to go from Melb-Syd and do it with safety as a high priority, FFS the taxi to the airport will cost more than that, which do you think is a more expensive/complex operation to run.

Oh and to the person who used Southwest as an example of a LCC that works, absolutely correct, but Southwest are run as a different type of LCC to Tiger/Jetstar with a completely different management culture which means you just can't compare them.

 

[Caesar]

It wasn't that this event soley triggered the ban, it is the tip of a VERY, VERY big iceberg and it was more the mouse that sunk the boat type of situation.

and LOL at the people saying, Oh noes! Tiger are bad! I'll stick to Jetstar from now on! Jetstar are AT LEAST as bad if not worse. Here are some significantly more dangerous incidents Jetstar have had.

Investigation: AO-2007-044 - Go-around event Melbourne Airport, Victoria, 21 July 2007, VH-VQT, Airbus Industrie A320-232

Investigation: AO-2011-073 - Performance related event - Airbus, A321-231, VH-VWX, Darwin Airport, 12 June 2011

But why are Tiger grounded while Jetstar keep flying you ask? Jetstar (well more correctly Jetstars big brother) have one thing that Tiger don't, the "Chairmans Lounge". There is only one politician in the country that refuses the free entry that pollies get, Nick Xenophon (this guy has serious integrity).

Great. The tinfoil hat brigade is here.

They aren't using low cost A320's, nor low cost fuel, nor low cost airways charges, nor low cost landing fees. You are getting low cost crew, service and maintainence.

You CAN NOT expect to pay $29 bucks to go from Melb-Syd and do it with safety as a high priority

You are very wrong.

 

[foley_falcon]

Chances of my flight on Tuesday night taking me to Cairns?

 

[McCrann]

Exactly - correct on both counts.

Ansett, even if thier aircraft were fixed, were never going to recover because they were a badly run business.

Clearly this was true.

Though, flying in the 90s.

Ansett Business Class >>> Qantas Business Class

Might be part of the reason they went broke.