TIGER AIRWAYS review :  3 July 2009 by P Mcdaid   (Australia)

Singapore-Phuket return. Singapore budget terminal very pleasant. Check in quick. Good selection of food and shopping. Both flights on time. Allocated emergency exit seats on both legs without paying extra, maybe because we booked so far in advance. Staff pleasant. Didn't try buy on board food. Basically very straightforward, comfortable flights which arrived on time.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  25 June 2009 by Pete Turner   (Australia)

MEL-ADL. Check in quick. The Tiger terminal has basic essentials but a long walk to main terminal shops and have to walk out onto the tarmac to board. But for the price ($43 o/w incl luggage and booking fees), it was great. Seems Tiger is so cheap people are prepared to pay for checked baggage, but almost everyone on Jetstar had carry-on luggage only - a real pain with overhead lockers full and long waits as people got their bags in and out.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  18 June 2009 : by Stéphane Dajtlich  (France)

CBR to Mel one way. Booked 4 tickets from France for my family and me. Paying $142.00 I thought it would be a great bargain. But we received an email yesterday saying our flight will be affected by a new flying plan and our original departure time at 14.55 will be delayed to 21.55 arriving very late at night. Travelling with children to visit friends in Melbourne means the new schedule doesn't suit us at all. Finally I made new flight arrangements with Qantas and even if we have to pay 3 times the price of flying Tiger (QF same price as Virgin blue!), we're sure there'll be no bad surprises with flight re-scheduling. I understand airlines have to re-schedule flights occasionally by a couple of hours, but it is not fair to make passengers re-organise their whole day because of a new departure time seven hours later. My credit card was debited straight away at time of booking but surprisingly it takes 3 to 6 weeks to get the refund! Tiger sell cheap tickets but expect all the cons of a very low cost airline.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  17 June 2009 : by David Harrington  (Australia)

MEL-CBR flew the 8am Saturday service which was at a convenient time. Checkin staff at the shed in Melbourne were friendly and professional. Seats are plastic in the terminal so I would not advise passengers arriving to early. Onboard, flight attendants at the rear were not welcoming. I dont think I saw one smile from them. The menu onboard is limited, and no choice of fresh meals, or any healthy alternative. In the seat pocket their was no Tiger Tales magazine, and menu card was falling to pieces. For the all inclusive last minute price of $25, it was hard to beat, but the service is nothing exciting.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  15 June 2009 : by M Tonin  (Australia)

Adelaide to Melbourne return. Trip did not start well with computers being down at the Tiger Airways' check in desk meaning that we were faced with huge queues upon entering the terminal. Our flight was meant to depart at 0615hrs but was marked as delayed to 0710hrs on the screens. We did not, however, manage to make the flight as due to the computers being down, the staff would not check-in anyone for the flight after 0515 hrs (us!). I am pretty sure that check-in desks are to remain open longer than an hour before scheduled flight (especially since the plane was delayed by a further 1 hour meaning that if we had been allowed to check in at 0515 we would still have had to wait at least 1.5 hours in the terminal prior to boarding). To cut a long story short, we purchased a new ticked with Qantas for the 0640hrs flight and I believe landed in Melbourne before the Tiger Airways flight even left the tarmac at Adelaide airport. The return journey was not much better, with the flight being delayed by 40mins. It is to be noted that all other flights were also delayed with the funniest excuse being "flight to Perth will be delayed due to unavailability of sufficient crew members". Terminal 4 at Melbourne airport is a joke and I would recommend checking in as late as possible or be prepared to sit on hard plastic chairs with very little distractions to be had. We will never use this airline again. The very small cost saving is not worth the associated lost hours, hassle and uncomfortable/small seats this airline have to offer.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  15 June 2009 : by J Johnson  (Australia)

Friday night of long weekend ADL-MEL booked for party of 11 in January. Sometime in May I noticed our flight TT525 no longer scheduled. Found we were changed to TT527 arriving into Melbourne at 21.55 instead, on 18.50. No contact at all from Tiger about flight changes, only a confirmation email the morning of flight, so if your not into checking details, you will be caught out. Plane was late arriving in Adelaide, I think we arrived into Mel about 22.15. I don't mind arriving into the shed, but would hate to depart from there. We flew home Qantas. Check in staff were terrific, as my husband had dropped us off to line up while he parked, he arrived at check in as we were in the process. Found he had left his wallet in car, so no photo ID - the staff let him check in with Medicare card in my purse. Flight crew I thought were quite rude, but if you follow all their rules, and are not time sensitive at all, it is good value at $29.00. Probably wouldn't fly if I had to pay more though.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  8 June 2009 : by P Carr  (Australia)

Adelaide to Melbourne return. 3 hour delay in Adelaide on way over - we actually boarded the plane 20 mins late then were asked to get off again for an undetermined delay. 2 hour delay in Melbourne on way back. They have no empathy about individual situations. Call their number and get someone I can't understand who also can't understand me when you finally get through. There was no one in the terminal to talk to. They don't care if you wait at all. Then at both ends had an hour wait for luggage to arrive on turntable. The Melb terminal was shocking (a tin shed). In the terminals the screen info was different to what they announce over loud speakers and everyone was confused, and a lot of irate people who would not be flying with them again - including myself!

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  5 June 2009 : by David Harrington

MEL-ADL. Checkin lines at Terminal 4 were not long due to it being a quiet Wednesday. No Tiger Tales magazine in any seat pockets. The safety demo cards and sickness bags were torn and falling apart, might be time to replace some of these. It would have been more appropriate if the crew sold merchandise in flight, like books, sudoku, because there is nothing on offer. Tiger's food menu is still a disgrace, nothing further to add their.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  28 May 2009 : by A Sweeney

Tiger started off well, but it seems it just doesn't last. I have flown Tiger a number of times and each time it has progressively gotten worse. There is a real difference between the actual Tiger crew on board the plane and the handling agents on the ground. The most recent incident was my trip to Perth last week. Our flight was two hours delayed leaving Melbourne - reason given by ground crew was that they couldn't get out of Gold Coast airport. However once we eventually got into the plane and on our way to Perth, we were told by the captain that they were short a plane and it had thrown the timetables into a mess. Coming home I arrived at Perth airport at 1730hrs to leave at 1930hrs and found that my flight was supposedly leaving at 0020hrs. On querying the gate staff, they informed me that this new departure time may not even be correct as they didn't know where the plane was. I then had to race to the other 3 airlines and Jetstar was able to get me home quite comfortably for $224. I had to be back for work the next day - totally unreasonable for Tiger to change a time when you're flying through different time zones on a domestic route (obviously this isnt the case for international). Surely Tiger Airways would have at least one aircraft in Australia to make up for any shortfalls/breakdowns they may have? Rather pay an extra $20 per fare and get reliability than what Tiger Airways serve up.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  22 May 2009 : by David Harrington

Flight was delayed by 1.40hrs due to fog earlier in the day in Melbourne. Crew were nice and efficient. Flight time was 45mins, so no need to entertainment or food, but their limited menu suits short hops like this. Even managed to get a exit-row seat due to the fact that it was only around 50% full. A great price, 70% cheaper than the competition.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  21 May 2009 : by Sue Holst

I had my daughter and her boyfriend booked on flights from Adelaide to Melbourne on 17 May 2009 to fly out at 8.10pm. When we arrived at the airport at 7.10pm, there wasn’t anybody from Tiger Airlines at the check in counter, there were also 4 other people there with the same itineraries. When we compared itineraries, they stated Monday 18 May 2009 to fly out at 8.10pm - none of us had booked for the Monday. I had to rush to get the kids on a Virgin flight which was due to fly out at 8.00pm that night, costing me $628 dollars, money I would well not afford, but the kids had to get home to go to work the next morning. The other 4 people had the same dilemma, and also had to pay the big bucks to get home. I have tried to phone Tiger Airways, but get a recorded message, press a certain number for a certain enquiry, or hold for an operator, upon doing this the phone hangs up after a couple of minutes. I have emailed via a reply to the itinerary they sent, but again no reply. As such I am out of pocket for the Tiger flights of $166 dollars, plus the $628 for Virgin. Can anybody point me in the right direction to get in touch with this mob and get my money back? I have since gone on to their online booking and when you select a day, it comes up with a different day but doesn’t highlight the fact there aren’t any flights available on the day you have chosen. This is really dodgy and I am sure plenty of people are being ripped off by this airline. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  15 May 2009 : by A Letch

How can they just change the flight time - I'm travelling with an infant thru the middle of the night, and I'll now be sitting at the airport late at night waiting to board. Every time I try to rebook they tell me that flights for that day or next day haven't been released yet. I've never flown Tiger airways before, but at this stage I never will again.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  12 May 2009 : by David Harrington

MEL-ADL-MEL. We were meant to depart at 0830am to Adelaide, finally left at 10.35am due to the aircraft being stranded in Melbourne after missing the Adelaide airport curfew the night before. Not entirely Tiger's fault seeing the weather was rumored to blame. Ground crew in Melbourne told us we were departing 1 hour late, but our plane was just leaving to Adelaide that was the previous night's cancelled flight, but she still assured me that it was only a 1 hour delay which is not possible. We then were updated at 9am that we were not leaving until 10.30am, after about 5 other updates that we were leaving at all sorts of times. Why couldn't they just tell the truth in the beginning? Once onboard, the crew were professional and efficient, and made the experience bearable. The cabin manager was one of the best I have ever seen. The inflight experience was fine, menu is still rubbish - no range of foods whatsoever. I would not fly Tiger if my meeting was closer to my arrival time, but they really need to pick up their On time performance.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  11 May 2009 : by J Barson

ADL-MEL-ADL. Aircraft for the first flight was late arriving by about 20 minutes, but no announcement was made by staff, with only one Tiger Airways (TA) standing looking at the runway most of the time. Boarded and made it to Melbourne only 5 minutes delayed and baggage service was quick thereafter, although the long walk to the little box-like TA terminal was a pain in the Melbourne cold. The cabin crew were not professional. The return leg was a disaster. Arrived at 1420 for a 1635 flight, got reasonable seats so as to debark quickly in Adelaide. Then as we queued for 15mins I looked at my boarding pass to notice the time had changed to 1655. Boarding time came and went and there was no announcement for boarding, but my suspicions were aroused by the "check in now open" sign flashing on the terminals. Sure enough after the large number of people in the waiting area were murmuring a very lovely voice announced that the aircraft would not be boarding until 1935 and could we kindly stay in the TA terminal until then. So we sit in a packed waiting area until the voice lets us know that both ADL bound flights (ours and the later one) would be boarding shortly from their respective gates. At 1925 the "later" flight to ADL had boarded and we were still waiting. At 1935 we finally got onto our plane for a take off around 1945. The cabin crew were only slightly more professional than the first flight, and the captain suggested that they were going to speed up the trip to "gain back the lost time for the delay", which caused a soft laughter. After deplaning around 2025 in ADL (local time) we waited until 2105 for our baggage. With Tiger Airways, you get what you pay for. Spend the extra 20 bucks per flight and fly a better airline as my experience was dreadful.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  7 May 2009 : by J Strachan

Have flown Tiger three times. Once I missed the flight because of the 45 minute check in. Accept that as my fault. The most recent flight flew CBR-MELB return. Check in and flight from CBR to MELB was ok. Check in for MELB to CBR was horrid. My wife was reduced to tears after being abused by one 'tough guy' check in staff member for forming a line (after being told by his offside to form a line at a particular location). Then when being checked in, was told we were over our weight allowance with too many items (we had a baby car seat and mobile cot). when asked why we weren't charged on the initial flight (CBR- MEL) got no response. Ended up paying another $90 for the joy to fly tiger. Will not be flying again.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  7 May 2009 : by M Dudley

We haven't travelled as yet but I find the menu of additional charges quite frustrating. On the surface the advertised fares were significantly lower than other airlines but after paying to book a standard seat, the luggage fee and the convenience fee, the difference became minimal. Having read the other reviews I am fearing the worst and we are not on the plane yet. It is disappointing to hear so many bad stories of poor customer service and a seemingly lack of interest in the customer by such a new airline. If this continues the future is assured, they will fail. The problem is I am sure they are not reading this feedback because they don't seem to care. First and last for us regardless.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  5 May 2009 : by David Harrington

MEL-OOL-MEL. Checkin at Melbourne went fine, the staff were helpful with my requests and the line moved along quickly. The way sector was not to bad, the Cabin Manager was very efficient, yet some of the other Cabin crew were not. The menu is still appalling, what happened to the good old menu? You cant even purchase a sandwich or a hot meal. Flight deck announcements professional and arrived on time. Gold Coast Tiger terminal is a disgrace. It is a shed that cannot cater for more than 180 people. On the return flight, there were 2 flights leaving within 30mins, and the terminal was chaotic. There were people sitting on the floor, no seats left, food outlets are nothing of range and the place was dirty. Cabin crew on return flight were rude. I asked for something of the menu and was glared at like I have committed a crime. As a weekly Tiger passenger, this was the worst flight experience to date, and unless Tiger moves across to the new Terminal at Gold Coast, I will not be flying them on this route again.

TIGER AIRWAYS review :  22 April 2009 : by J Raich

PER-MEL-PER. I had read a lot of these reviews here and was a bit worried but as I had bought the tickets on an impulse months ago it was too late to change. I made note of the little tips and followed them. Checked email to for any delays (luckily none), was at check in 2 hours prior to departure, made 100% sure my check in baggage was under 15kg and carry on less than 7kg, packed food and water for the flight. Every thing went smoothly. The flights left on time, the aircraft are new, clean, flight crew were fine. No probs with baggage. The seats are quite hard , with little recline and the seat pitch is very small - cramped legs! Tip: get in early and ask for the emergency exits on row 12 and 13 - great legroom. So our experience was great and cheap tickets - 2 adults return PER-MEL for AUD$400. I can see however that if anything goes wrong that very little help is offered so next time we will probably go jetstar just to be safe.