TIGER AIRWAYS  Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

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TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  8 February 2010 by Mike Stroud   (Australia)

Have flown with Tiger about 10 times over the past 18 months most recently MEL-SYD-MEL last weekend. With one exception (a fierce electrical storm closing the airport for over an hour) all flights have been close to or on time. Been fortunate enough not to be cancelled at any stage which seems to be the most common gripe. As long as you realise you need to play by thier rules (check in times and baggage weights), the service offered is not what some people who flew in the 1960's and 70's were used to and the seating is cramped I really can't see that they are much different to the competition. They are often the most cost effective and if you consider only a few years back it frequently cost $300 or more return on the above route (discount) the $56 I paid is incredible value. If I drove I would get to about Holbrook on that amount of petrol! The industry has changed and if you want to pay more there are carriers that will give you a differing experience. At least we have the choice now.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  5 February 2010 by Jarrod McCloughan   (Australia)

Flew SYD-MEL-SYD in January for the Australian Open. Check-in at Sydney was a breeze. Was over and done with in 3 minutes. The queues for Virgin Blue and Jetstar were horrific. Off to a good start. Flight was 15 mins late arriving and departing. No big deal. There were delays at both Sydney and Melbourne. We even slowed down due to Air Traffic control in Melbourne. Walked the long distance to the baggage collection. With 2 flights arriving at once, it was very crowded. There were about 300 or so people in this small area with no walls or aircon. The flight itself was okay. It is a short hour flight. It is just like taking a train or bus to work. Legroom is limited, but fine for an hour. Flight coming back was okay too. The Tiger Terminal is okay, though it is clear expansion is needed. With 3 flights checking in, the queue was out the door. Took about 10 minutes of waiting in the queue. at least all the 8 desks were open. The terminal reminded me of Avalon, except there were less windows. There were a few places to eat and a Newsagent and Surf Shop. One thing to note is that only passengers are allowed through to Departures. I have never seen this before for an Australian Domestic flight leaving a Domestic Terminal. Flight back was around 80% full, so they are getting decent loads. I just wish they had more Sydney to Melbourne flights and an early morning flight from Sydney would be great. I've flown with Tiger three times now, and on each occasion has been fine. Fingers crossed it remains that way.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  28 January 2010 by B Vincent   (Australia)

SIN-SGN early morning check-in after arriving from PER. The budget terminal is a huge step down from the other Changi terminals, but there is an improving range of shops and services. Boarding was interesting - passengers are shepherded into roped-off pens which are released onto the aircraft one at a time, irrespective of seat location. The seats were 29 inch pitch and had AV controls (there were no screens) and ashtrays - almost as if they had been salvaged from another plane. In fact the aircraft interior was very shabby - upholstery was frayed, cushion supports sagging, carpets torn, and some seats were patched with duct tape. At least we arrived in one piece.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  28 January 2010 by B Vincent   (Australia)

PER-SIN very full flight, new-looking A320. Check-in was painless, as was boarding - though I noticed that the monitors showed "Boarding" about 20 min before the aircraft had even arrived, and moved to "Final Call" before the first passenger had boarded. I paid for an exit row seat so leg room was not a problem, but I still found the seat uncomfortable, the back was quite flat and rigid. Poor choice of food (no vegetarian meals) and my MasterCard was "not accepted". But the crew were friendly and professional, and the flight was smooth and more or less on time.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  21 January 2010 by Harley Cattini   (Australia)

Booked a SYD-MELB flight that was cancelled and was told that the next available flight would be 5 days later. Tried to sort things out in person at the terminal, but was told by the lovely young customer service rep that she would not speak to a person "with attitude" (I did not have "attitude" but was panicking, as I needed another flight) and was, literally, pushed aside. Eventually got through to customer service via phone (which, importantly, is NOT a free call) after a significant wait, to a person on the other end who, after receiving both my name and booking reference, would not speak to me further after I gave him my date of birth and he claimed that the answer I had given was incorrect. He then abruptly disconnected me. Even if the flight had been on time, this level of customer service is just inexcusable. The adage of "you get what you pay for" simply doesn't apply in this instance as I paid for a service, and it was not delivered.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  19 January 2010 by Bruce Sutherland   (Australia)

My wife and I had booked for a weekend away in Melbourne (ex Sydney). Both the flight out on Friday afternoon and back on Sunday evening were cancelled. On Friday we were moved to a later flight, which in turn was 2 hours delayed resulting in us arriving 6 hours later than scheduled. On Sunday they could only offer us an alternative the next day (some of us have work to get to), so we flew with Virgin Blue. I'm still waiting for reimbursement from Tiger. The cancellations were due to a plane being signed off service for 3 days for maintenance. In spite of Tiger obviously knowing the plane was not available, we were not notified on the Friday until we arrived at the Airport, and on Sunday received a phone call in the afternoon that the evening flight was cancelled. First and last time I'd ever book with Tiger. They're not even that much cheaper than the other airlines, so it's not worth it.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  19 January 2010 by Rebecca Adams   (Australia)

You have to turn up early (2+ hours) to catch a domestic flight with Tiger. I learnt the hard way, by turning up what I considered a reasonable time for domestic - 1 hour before my flight. The queue was probably 500 people long, and there was no way I could get to the check in counter without pushing in. There were no staff streamlining passengers to make sure passengers on early flights were checked in first. I missed the flight because of this, with staff completely unsympathetic. The return flight was delayed 1 hour, which is not a huge issue, but there were no announcements, other flights to the same location were boarded before us. Also you have to pay for drinking water on the flight. For saving all of about $40, definitely not worth it. Good points: the staff on board were friendly and professional, and seats were comfortable. Many customers were irate and verbally abusive to Tiger staff, so they do have to put up with a lot for being cheap. Tiger save money by cutting staff numbers right down so they can barely provide service outside the planes. Customers cannot take their complaints or concerns anywhere.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  14 January 2010 by P Skabla   (Australia)

Disgusting customer service! My family with two very small children had an early 8am flight. Arrived at Adelaide airport to be told by another passenger that our flight to Melbourne was cancelled. I could get no information from staff and they had one worker walking around in a dazed state doing nothing to calm irate passengers. We were told that we could get on a 3pm flight with another airline - not realistic with two small children who need sleep and 43 degree day outside. Our other option which we did was to pay $570 for three one way tickets with Qantas to get on a 9.40am flight. They don't even have the decency to phone passengers to make them aware of the cancellation. Why do they need our email and phone numbers?

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  8 January 2010 by David Wall   (Australia)

Here's the frustrating part, their phone number shown in their website is constantly engaged or no one picks up (also believe their phone system doesn't support 'queue', so if one person is on the phone, it'll show 'engaged' tone to all other people). I have also tried fax them but I have not received any sort of response from Tiger to confirm the problem or resolution. There is no other contact method stated anywhere in the website. so basically they are un- reachable from me as a customer now. Once they have your money they dont care. My flight was cancelled when I got to the airport and I was left stranded.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  8 January 2010 by Clark Kingsley   (Australia)

MEL-OOL-MEL for business purposes with a group of 10 clients. Tiger has a good record of getting out of the Gold Coast on time, they are situated in another terminal which saves 15mins in itself, and everyday fares are usually $30 cheaper than the major competition. I would like to see Tiger move into Terminal 3 at Melbourne airport, as the smaller terminal can get depressing and full. Crew attentive and friendly during flight, would be nice to see more items on the menu. You get a bit of a family friendly atmosphere when flying with Tiger, crew seem to relate to everyone and flight crew provide good updates. Tiger are hardly any different to Jetstar, seats are more comfortable.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  29 December 2009 by Erick Wijayanto   (Australia)

Sydney-Melbourne return. Flight was delayed for 30mins going to Melbourne from Sydney but other than that it was alright - service not the best but it was ok. I think it is worth your money and I would fly with Tiger next time. remember to make sure you are not late to the check-in desk or else you will lose your ticket. Melbourne to Sydney the service was better than going to Melbourne.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  28 December 2009 by Tommy McIntosh   (Australia)

Sydney - Melbourne flight cancelled. I thought that this route was supposed to be one of the busiest in the world so I hate to imagine what happens on the less busy routes. No notification, no staff, nothing. had to buy a last minute ticket with another airline for a lot of money. Still haven't been able to get through to customer services and probably will not bother as there is no point. You have to be crazy to use Tiger, it just isn't worth the risk. Most definitely a false economy.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  23 December 2009 by Lyndsay Mackey   (Australia)

Sydney to Melbourne on 29 November was cancelled. The aircraft apparently went out of service the night before, but we (three of us) only found out when we arrived at check-in at 10.00am the next day. No notice from Tiger that the flight had been cancelled. Fortunately we were second in the queue - if you happened to be number 123 you'd be really peeved! Anyway, we're told the flight has been cancelled. The next Tiger flight available to us is Wednesday - three days later! No assistance with alternate travel arrangements or accomodation. Given a slip of paper with the Tiger call-centre number on it. This number rings engaged for hours. No apology. "Should get a refund in about a month" - not holding my breath. Insurance only covers up to the value of the flights cancelled - so we get a refund to the value of a cheap flight booked three months previously, to buy a premium cost flight from a competitor airline at no notice. In summary, cancelled flight; no notice to customers; unclear refund process and timing; insurance not worth the paper it's written on; Tiger couldn't care less - on checking, this philosophy is written in to the fine print of their terms; impossible to find a Tiger official more senior than a check-in operator or a call-centre operative. Seven flights in the past six months - will not darken their doors again. Eventually hired a car and drove. Cost of the car (minimum three day hire - one way) about $650.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  22 December 2009 by Josh Teoh   (Australia)

SYD-MEL-SYD. Both flights were generally on time. I must have been very lucky as there were no lengthy queues awaiting me when I arrived at the airports. Onboard, the seat pitch is definitely the smallest I have ever encountered and I am only of average height. I couldn't even stretch my legs out without hitting the seat in front of me. This would probably be tolerable on flights less than 2 hours but I'd imagine it to be torture for longer flights. This was my first time on Tiger and probably my last. I'd rather pay a little more for reliability and more legroom.

TIGER AIRWAYS customer review :  20 December 2009 by A Taub   (Australia)

MEL-SYD. First time with Tiger and never again. Turned up to Melbourne airport to utter chaos. About 400 people were queued up, the line of people sneaking way outside the terminal onto the road outside. Pathetic communication. It eventually turned out that 2 MEL-SYD flights on the Sunday before Christmas were cancelled - no explanation given. We were eventually - hours later - booked onto a Virgin Blue flight back to Sydney. I'm not someone that normally writes reviews, but I was so incensed with Tiger's appalling attitude to it's customers and non- existant customer service that I find myself writing this here. A few dollars cheaper just is not worth it - fly with a proper airline.