hey ozbargainers me and my family will be travelling to cairns(from melbourne) over christmas for 3 days and we are flying with tigerair.
After reading bad reviews on multiple websites, it got me very curious. Is tigerair really that bad? Whats the chances of the flight being cancelled/Delayed? Any ozbargainers here flown with them? I really hope tigerair doesnt mess us up because we have a wedding to attend over there….
Davo111 why comment when you have never flow them.
They are fine. Most people who complain are Qantas employees who are about to lose their jobs.
At SYD, BNE same terminal as other domestic carriers. At MEL short 200m walk form main domestic terminal.
industry statistics > you flying on there a few times
Haven't had a problem in the 20 times I've flown with them. Just get there with an hour spare.
Problems arise when they delay or cancel a flight because they have less planes in the air, thus not being able to get you on the next flights like other carriers. I do only fly Melb <-> Cairns. Seems to be a twice a day
Exactly. If you arrive on time and are within the allowed weight limit, I also never had a problem with them. I had 1 delay of 2 hours coming back from Hobart, but then again I had a 3 hour delay with JetStar going from Melb to Gold Coast.
I've flow with them a few times as they are generally the cheapest, if you get there on time and have the right amount of luggage there generally aren't any issues.
If you arrive expecting budget service for your budget priced ticket, you'll be fine.
If you arrive expecting to be treated like royalty cause you bought a $30 ticket, you're in for a rude shock!
Touche!
Isn't that the whole premise of those budget carrier tv shows haha.
haha well said
I've flown with them return Perth to Melbourne and it was a great experience over all. The flight departing Melbourne was delayed by 45 minutes but other than that, I couldn't complain about anything.
The seat room you get is better than Jetstar and the staff were friendly.
Flying again next year Perth > Sydney return with them.
Until recently no complaints, fwon with them probably a dozen times and never a real problem (give or take 20 mins delay etc).
Last booking with them, they cancelled the flight and moved me to an earlier (8 hours earlier) flight which was impossible for me. I understand any airline can do this, but it really pissed me off and i will be reticent to book with themk again, certainly not if connecting flights are needed etc.
In flight etc has never been a problem.
Agreed, in flight is the same (or better) as any other budget airline in Oz.
It's the terminal where the sparks fly and 99% of the time its from self absorbed idiots who think the rules weren't written for them and that they'll get silver plated service for their cardboard ticket price.
YES!
Last time was one time too many. Had to sleep at Sydney Airport cause the flight was turned back cause it was 2 minutes late from being cleared for take off and the Airport was closed, not to mention I payed for all these upgrades that I failed to receive on the morning flight and when I called and arranged a refund they said it was going to be up to 7 weeks. Its been 9 months and I'm still waiting… Another time similar story I was going from perth to melb on the redeye and I was young and naive at the time and didn't bother checking if the flight was delayed etc. but got to the airport and yes it was delayed by more than 3 hours, so another painful night of sleeping at airports, in shitty seats etc. I will only fly during the day now as a result of this. I have had many a bargain from tiger but I would rather pay a bit well a lot extra for my peace of mind. I fly from perth so the flights can be quite long as well.
Interesting. You can sleep at the airport?
Well, in my case it was more laying there for hours on end trying… but yes.
Surely something to ring up Fair Trading about if they haven't refunded you after 9 months?
so what's the difference ? All airlines do this.
Qantas had to cancel one of it's very 1st BNE/LAX nonstop (flight used to go via AKL). It occurred in December & there was no back up aircraft & other airlines were full. Most passengers had to wait 48 hours to actually fly out. It's called life.
A hard lesson learnt. When flying to/from Syd, always try to avoid arriving/leaving close to the curfew times. Regardless of what airline, once the curfew times have passed…the reason why u pay more for Qantas/Virgin is that they may put u up for the night….
may doesn't mean will.
Flown with them a couple of times, all good.
Traveled with a toddler under 2 so no seat assigned, really appreciated them keeping the third seat in our row empty so we could stretch out once the seat belt sign was off.
They did this for both our flights and we also noticed that they did the same for other couples with toddlers on the flight.
I've flown with them no issues, my parents flew with them and there was a storm in Brisbane on their return leg that shut the airport. No travel insurance -they thought they'd be up the creek without a paddle but tiger were great. Put them up in a hotel for 2 nights as they were willing to let others who had to get home go in front once the weather cleared. The weather wasn't their fault but they really come to the party much better than the other (full service) airlines who were in the same situation.
I'd still be wary for time sensitive situations like weddings or job interviews.
Glorified bus service.
You get what you pay for and it's not all that bad.
Yes, you'll be a little late on (most) occasions, but as long as you're not a dick about it, you'll be ok. Flying to a family wedding on the morning of is not recommended. Fly in the day before and who cares if you're an hour late for $50?
If you want to spend $150 for the same trip so you don't have to wait, that's fine too, but you'll probably just waste the time you've saved on Facebook anyway. (Let's be clear, time on ozbargain is an investment, not a waste)
So in your example to save $100 on airfare ($150 with others vs $50 with tiger), you recommend going a day earlier? So that could be a day of lost pay and a extra night of accommodation?
Hmmm that $100 extra doesn't seem too bad now does it!?
Many people stay with family when they travel, so this isn't an issue.
I do agree, I'd rather pay more, arrive when I want, not have to stay an extra night, but I also don't use 4c a litre fuel vouchers if I have to queue. My time has value and I know others would wait 30mins in a queue for cheap fuel. To each their own.
Total true time has a value
I've flown with them plenty of times, with only 1 case where the flight was cancelled late. The bad moments are the ones you remember most but most airlines have done this to me. I wouldnt say they are my first choice, but if the price is right I dont hesitate. But like with most budget airlines, having a backup plan or travel insurance is always handy.
In a word………..yes.
I'm just wondering when Virgin is in full control (not sure when) if it'll improve.
Fair comment that it's a budget airline but their customer service is shocking and cancelling flights with half a days notice when previously confirmed (for a third time) just 2 days before???
Virgin are in full ownership now, but still have tiger running itself. In future tiger will be to Virgin what jetstar is to Qantas. So expect tourist destinations (i.e. price-sensitive fares, esp to destinations where competitors also ply the route) flown by virgin to end up as tiger routes.
For example, with up to 4 competitors now flying from SYD/MEL/BNE to DPS (Bali), virgin would find competing on price and/or service difficult compared to Jetstar/Air Asia Indonesia and Garuda. Tiger will end up with this route, assuming the competitors keep flying it.
Thanks carwashhair, I knew Virgin bought them out (for $1 - if I'd known I would have offered $2 hahaha) but wasn't sure if Virgin would change anything or not or when full control would take place.
Be interesting to see if things do improve.
You could have bought it for $2 and sold to Virgin for $4… Double your money!
Flown a few times without issue. Last time they cancelled my flight without reason. I found out before I left home and phoned up. After being on hold for ages they told me I would get put on another flight the next day, but the only way to book this was to physically go to the airport and they couldn't do it over the phone.
So drove an hour to the airport and got put on a Virgin flight the next day. They then told me they would reimburse my expenses up to $120 (and gave me a piece of paper with details of how to make a claim. I later put in a claim for my taxi fares, which was rejected as I "live in the same state as the airport and only applies to interstate visitors" - it said nothing about this on the handout but was in fine print on the website.
I complained but to no avail…
I ma fairly philosophical about this - that is the chance you take when you fly budget, and anyway I have also has flights postponed and cancelled on "premium" airlines
I've only used them twice, but didn't have much of an issue. Very budget carrier, but I'd prefer to save the money. Cabin crew not very attentive, and at Gold Coast and Melb we had to walk a fair way to get on/off the plane
I had no problems with my flights from SYD-ADL and MEL-SYD.
They were freebies booked with infrequent flyers vouchers. I got checked baggage and a meal too because I had money spare.
No dramas whatsoever. The food was crap - surprise.
Never had a problem! Flown with them many many times over the yrs. only ever had 1 2hr delay from sydney to Adelaide.
Flown twice and great! Very good service, and things will just get better now they're owned by Virgin Australia
oh really? so if my flight gets cancelled they will put me into a virgin flight?
Yes I've heard of people getting that.
VA bought them for $1 recently
IF they fly I find them fine.
They screwed me on a red-eye PERTH-MELBOURNE flight when they delayed, delayed then cancelled the flight. They only had one staff member rebooking flights for the entire plane and that process started about 2am! I took off about 10.5 hours late, missed a day of work and felt like crap for days because of the lack of sleep / sleeping at airport / etc.
Did they put you on a virgin flight?
yes - because the next tiger air flight was in 24 hour I think
It's pretty simple, if everything goes smooth, you'll feel like you got a bargain. If ANYTHING goes wrong, they are the last ones you want to be dealing with. If you forget to print your boarding pass or are not able to for some reason (travelling, no access to printer). If you miss your flight. If there are major delays. If they decide to cancel your flight. If you're a kilo or two over the weight limit. Jetstar has handled each of these situations with far more grace whenever I have dealt with them. Didn't print your boarding pass, here we'll print you one for free. Bit over the luggage limit, no problem. Missed your flight, we'll charge you $100 and book you on the next one available - this was with the cheapest fare, I expected zero refunds, and if I wanted to book myself on the next flight available I would have been spending $400-500 because of the short notice. And Tiger board from a hard to find shed in Melbourne Tullamarine, although that may have changed in the last six months.
It's not about dealing with those situations with grace. You know that Tiger make their money by charging you for kgs over the allowance. Gracefully or not, you're getting charged on Tiger.
It's a budget airline. If you want the little bolt ons like staff printing tickets for you the you pay for that service. That means another airline.
When they were grounded a few years ago my flight was cancelled and my trip to Melbourne was off. Never bothered with them since. I can't ever remember having a pleasant experience with them although the flights were always cheap.
Just make sure you don't book the last flight of the day. If it gets cancelled then your pretty much screwed.
Booked with them once. Busy night at the airport - Virgin/Qantas had delays, my Tiger flight got cancelled. No compensation for taxi's to travel back home and to the airport again, so I paid a premium to change to Virgin.
Will not fly Tiger again.
Tiger is great, I get Jetstar to price beat them whenever I need to fly.
has anyone here experienced a flight cancellation and they put you on another airline? or do they just put you on the next tiger air flight?
In April 2014 they cancelled on me, I moved me on to a Virgin flight.
Someone summed it best - it's a bus service, but one with a higher cancellation-with-no-reason risk than others. Working at the airport for the past decade and being informed by people in the industry, Tiger is almost always pressed to get operational efficiencies (eg. say minimum 80% passenger capacity every flight), and will not hesitate to cancel the flight if they do not get enough people …
… a cancellation happened to us on our Mel-Syd return flight one Monday this July, TWO hours before we were due to fly out. We were informed by text and to ring a phone number, but that call went to the Philippines and we were placed on hold for over 15mins, forcing to book a replacement flight in Jetstar.
I've flown with Tiger before (including our Syd-Mel flight) with no issues, but after this experience, I've decided it's not worth the risk. Pay the extra with VA or QF, especially if you're travelling for a wedding.
did you pay extra for the jetstar flight, if so how much?
If your going to a wedding, take Virgin or Qantas just to be safer
jetstar and tigers flights domestically and mostly within 1 hour of each other i find, so without even checking, you can normally just submit the two tiger flights to jetstar's online chat price match page and they will beat tigers price by 10%.
I think you are all overlooking the most important fact, where they were shut down by CASA twice over safety issues. I would not fly this airlines if they have been deemed fundamentally unsafe by the governing body.
=> TIGER AIR: MOSTLY LATE/DELAYED & HAS A MODERATE CHANCE OF CANCELLATION
…also if you have any issues on your side (of your own or as a result of their problems), you get treated like the plague.
=> JETSTAR: JUST AS CHEAP BUT MOSTLY ON TIME/QUITE RELIABLE
…and decent help (can't say always useful) if you have any problems.
After almost a decade of flying with both. If its a cheap flight Jetstar > Tiger. For something important Qantas/Virgin/REX > Jetstar/Tiger.
I've flown with them many times and they're usually fine…never had problems even once
I have also flown with them and have never had any issues.
Its all personal experience I think. But for me, they are BAD enough that I will ALWAYS price match with jetstar. the benefit is 10% savings but it is abit of a hassle with the online chat process. But Jetstar I have found to be much more reliable. Tigers flight cancellation rate seems way higher % wise to me. (talking regular flights syd > gc here.)
Nope recently flew in early December (Syd - Mel domestic return). They were timely, no cancelled flights, and even got back early on the return flight.
Have nothing but praise for their service
Jetstar is way more reliable than Tiger.
Tiger is almost always delayed, and has about a 20% chance of flights being cancelled.
If cancelled:
* Tiger attempts to put you on the next available flight, always fails, refunds the ticket and leaves you to find your own means to get to the destination .
* Jetstar puts you on a flight (including Virgin) not too far off and refunds transportation costs (unless the cancellation was due to bad weather).
What me and missus do is book Jetstar for when she comes down, and Tiger for the return trip :P
The office can wait!
Edit: Oh, and this provides some advice on how to get Jetstar to price match Tiger. They do have to fly within an hour of each other.
Wife's Jetstar was cancelled last night, they put her in a hotel and on a Qantas flight early morning today.
Just signed in to post this with my personal experience.
The ONE time I booked with Tiger for Mum & Dad to fly to Syd (from Mlbn) in June this yr…. and you guessed it, was cancelled!
Checked flights even prior to departure to the airport (1hr away), got there 2hrs before flight & were told at arrival that the flight was cancelled.
They were pretty poor at service too and seemed like were accustomed to notifying passengers and not caring at all what passengers had to do to arrange alternatives.
Imagine being a son and even after your dad warned you he didn't want to go with Tiger after hearing bad stories…"I thought, meh, it won't happen to us" to have that happen the ONLY time you do actually fly with them.
Bloody awful service and I'd never book with them again. I'm sure some of you have positives with them… but from my personal experience it was pretty bad.
Spend a few $$$ more, book with Virgin/Qantas and retain some sanity. :)
I travel between MEL-BNE frequently and every time I have been on Tiger they have been exactly on time.
The last three times I travelled with Qantas the flights were, respectively, one, one & a half, and two & a half hours late.
Flied about 20 times with them. In two cases, flight got shifted by a few hours and they let me know more that a week before. For all other cases, it was in time.
I am not going to complain, on an average, I have had these flights for less than 50% of other carriers.
So true: you get what you pay for.
I just laugh when people on the news are in hysterics 'I've missed my (wedding, holiday, major event) because of (shitty brand) and now they've cost me thousands of dollars!'
I've never had any qulams, flown a few times. I think Per -> Mel and Per -> Sng, although when I was flying back from Melbourne, my gf's flight, which was due to be 3 hours earlier than mine, was cancelled, but she was able to get on to my flight. I think they cancelled all of the early morning flights that week, but overall it wasn't a big issue (for us at least).
Service etc like every other budget carrier in Australia.
i travelled with them to cairns from SYD and it was fine for me. ($110 ticket single fare)
I travelled with them every Friday/Saturday from SYD - BNE for about ten-twelve weeks and only one flight was delayed - that was due to Sydney airport being closed due to lightning so all aircraft were delayed from all airlines as workers aren't allowed on the tarmac in those conditions. Other than that it was cheap and cheerful. No different to jetstar or virgin really (although as Tiger don't have a frequent flyer scheme you get a better seat closer to the front with Tiger if you check in early or pay for one - the other airlines reserve better seats closer to the front for their status passengers - Gold, Platinum etc. )
I've also flown with them to the Whitsunday Coast and Melbourne.
Their planes seemed fine and clean. You can buy coffee etc on board fairly cheaply.
I would probably not fly with them to Melbourne as the terminal there is awful. Also you need to firm with your plans as they aren't flexible to allow a cost effective change. I ended up missing one flight and buying a Business Class reward ticket on virgin instead as I needed to fly earlier after one meeting.
Had an encounter with very rude ground staff at a Tiger terminal who would not let me approach the plane with my phone in my hand and was held back and forced to power it off. She took my phone from me and hit the home button to confirm that it was off after I powered it down in front of her to confirm it wasn't on sleep. I am of Indian descent. Other passengers were not made to do this with numerous passengers texting and chatting away. I do believe that this was discriminatory and whether or not it was she could have been more polite about it. At this point, I would much rather pay more than give money to tiger.
I have used Tiger a couple of times and can't really complain. Flight was on time and really cheap.
I wouldn't use Tiger to get to a concert or other time important event as they have fewer planes spare than Qantas or Virgin, therefore any network delays can have you rebooked to fly in a day or two's time.
Tiger is great. It's the Qantas protectionist freezing out tactics they are subject to that is the issue. In their overseas setups, they're the opposite - fabulous, while Jetstar etc are poor. It seems each local authority freezes out the competition to protect their local carriers. I fly with whomever - they're all rubbish! ;-)
My only experience with them was VERY bad. Cancelled my flight, meaning I missed my connecting flight and they didn't give a shit about it. Pretty rude to boot. My connecting flight was with Virgin. I told them what was going on, and Virgin refunded my connecting flight for me and arranged another flight through with them on the spot with a very reasonable price.
I've flown with them a couple of times, but won't do it again after the last one. Flight was delayed about 3 hours, the staff were absolutely hopeless/overwhelmed and then when boarding finally happened, the hostess at the gate was saying "hurry up" to everyone repeatedly as she herded us on board.
OH OH - BUT HOPEFULLY HO HO FOR CHRISTMAS. Personally we have never flown with them as 1 trip from Perth to Singapore on Jetstar was enough to put us off budget flights for life. All staff @ supermarkets etc. have more customer care attitudes than these cheapie airlines.
Flown with them approximately 20-30 times and never had my flight cancelled in the last minute. Delays - yes.
And if you compare prices during the similar times and dates with other airlines, Tiger is generally always cheaper. So, for me, this is my Ozbargain go to airline.
I will only fly Jetstar if there are no more seats left on the Tiger or if Jetstar has a better time (e.g. midday departure vs. late night flight).
My advice is that Tiger charges credit card service fees for each way. For Jetstar, no fees if you pay by direct debit. These are the hidden fees you need to take into consideration when choosing either airline.
no
They are fine if there is no disruption. You get what you pay for.
But they are quite shit when issue happens. I was stranded at MEL once when they have delayed a flight for 2.5hours and finally cancelled. Their staff doesn't seem to really care. Rebooked for a flight on the next morning, compensation provided was not even close enough to get the crappiest hotel room available (at last minute).
I've only flown Tiger once and had no issues, but the truth is that they're known for delays for cancellations. I can imagine this is the same for other budget airlines too. I don't have statistics, but I've flown with Tiger twice and had no issues. I've flown with Jetstar once and had an issue with cancellations. It varies.
I've had 2 flights cancelled about 1 month in advance. Refund issued no problems. Was only miffed because I could not fly with the cheapest airline and I usually plan my trips around the cheapest fare.
Its like they have a deal with jetstar. "Hey I'll have a 80% off for this and this date then I'll cancelled the flights a couple of weeks after its sold out. They'll solidified travel plans then and have no choice but to fly jetstar, just give us a cut okay!"
Otherwise, no issues. Luggage limit is the luggage limit, its not a recommendation. I think you should not complain if an airline charges you more for exceeding the luggage load. If you plan to bring more, buy the extra allowance. Other Airlines are just being super nice to allow your luggage because you pay so much more for the tickets.
Have flown tiger maybe more than 20 times now and will still continue to do so unless its a really important flight, like maybe an organ transplant or something.
Yeah they suck. Had my mrs and a bunch of her o/s backpacker mates here (perth) looking to head to melbourne. Everyone was here, bags were packed, ready to leave a few hours before the flight and then received SMS saying that flight was cancelled.
Had reservations at a hostel and lost a whole day, ended up flying over 24 hours later and getting in at a stupid time, having heaps of trouble getting to the hostel and getting set up.
Would never book a tiger flight again :(
Not sure about the parking charges in Cairns, but if they are as exorbitant as Melbourne and if someone is coming to pick you up, ask them to come at least an hour after the scheduled landing time.
Never had a problem with Tiger Air, for flights from Sydney to Brisbane I find particularly good as you fly from the same terminals as Virgin/Jetstar, it is a short flight and significantly cheaper. I prefer not flying Tiger to Melbourne only because of the ugly terminal they have down there and wouldn't consider them for a family flight unless desperate.
I've personally experienced more flight cancellations with Virgin and Jetstar in the past, perhaps I've just been lucky in that respect.
Even so, if you are a true ozbargainer you should only fly Jetstar with the price beat guarantee on the equivalent Tiger flight every time! Booked my Christmas flights (Syd-Melb) just yesterday at a ridiculous price for this time of year (3 adults at an average of $100 per flight for a convenient flight time too).
Another point, I also find the people that fly Tiger seem to not help with the planes taking off late. They like to treat it like another airline where you can turn up closer to boarding and have no troubles checking in. You do not know how many times I've seen people panicking in the Tiger terminal because they didn't realize they had to turn up extra early for Tiger Check in so they can get through in time. They get so angry like it was a conspiracy for the airline to rob them of money, it is written all over the website/ticket/booking system, you'd think they'd be ok with that.
Yep..some ppl never read the T&Cs properly, then cry foul when Tiger enforces the rules.
I think it's important to remember that tiger air had a rebranding in 2013(?), and that you should consider which comments are before and after that period.
I've flown with tiger about 20 times this year (10 return trips), flying between sydney and my university placement.
I've had one big delay ~1hr, but during a big storm.
My GF had a 7hr delay due to technical problems. I think other people's comments above are true in that tiger has less planes, so when things go wrong, the delays are much worse.
I've had a few flights arrive late, 10-20 minutes, and they're usually the ones arriving at sydney airport, where we've landed, but are just on the tarmac, waiting to be taxied in. I think that's because tiger's gate is one of the furthest away.
Otherwise the rest of my flights are good. Straight forward service, online check in, no need for food on the plane, and staff are pleasant. There was two flights where the flight attendant broke into laughter giving the safety instructions, but my friend and i just thought that was funny. Tbh, I just sleep as soon as I get on a plane anyway, do it didn't bother me what service is like anyway.
As a student, I saved a lot of money flying tiger this year, especially waiting for sales as well. I think I flew Qantas, and jetstar once each this year as well.
Jetstar was similar to tiger, except more stingy with there luggage allowance. Didn't expect them to actually weigh everyone's carry on.
Qantas was damn nice, food/drinks/newspapers. But I couldn't justify spending that much more, for a <1hr flight, especially as a student.
I prefer them to Jetstar
I flew with them for a small flight to Cairns once, was the same as Jetstar to me.
Oh and I heard that they were bought by Virgin, so they may have improved due to that.
Hi. Many of the comments above, in which a fair bit of support is shown, are quite correct.
I also prefer Tiger to Jetstar.
If you allow in advance for potentially being behind schedule by 30 minutes, you will most always end up being a happy customer. Also take $7.5 with you to buy a hot snack + drink; they are tasty.
ssmith3104
I've flown with them about 7 times between Melb to either Tas or Syd and once to Perth. A couple of times the flight was significantly delayed but other than this, it's fine, as long as you know what to expect, which is no frills.
Given resourcing their on time performance is actually quite good considering. What people never consider is that given the costings involved Tigerair usually deal with rubbish bay allocations, continually changing check in structures and a lack of manpower on the ground. If you were paying a premium for their service then I could understand this being an issue but they're the epitome of a budget carrier so I'm not quite sure why others get so worked up.
The one thing I find (quite possibly mass generalising here) but Tigerair passengers pay the least but expect the most in terms of leeway and service provided. For whatever reason people seem to think that because they've only paid 30 dollars a ticket it gives them the green light to kick up the almightiest scene when they miss a flight/are inconvenienced by cancellations etc.
Definitely think they've improved post CASA shutdown days and I think given their recent Virgin buyout they'll get things more right than wrong in the coming years. Would I fly with them? No, probably not but if it came down to purchasing flights of that nature I'd be flying with them over Jetstar almost every time.
Edit: FYI not affiliated with Tiger at all but as someone who was previously based out of a mainline airport I probably have a better understanding of the constraints they face.
They are no worse than other discount airlines, like jetstar.
For anyone who needs to feel better about flying with Tiger, Jetstar's system is having a meltdown today…
Apologies to those of you who are sitting in an airport waiting to get home to see your loved ones for Christmas.
No airline is immune. Even the top price airlines have delays. Buying first class doesn't guarantee you'll get there on time. Sh-t happens, but I'd rather be delayed than have the airlines still try to fly with "potential" mechanical issues.
Seems all discount airlines are about a same. Had a really bad experience with Singapore airlines cheapo version, scoot.
took a return flight bris-melb 2 years ago. no problem exceot the melb terminal, at the time and I don't know if it has changed, was just a large uninsulated tin shed which in winter was f%#king freezing.
other than that they were fine.
though my wife now refuses to fly with them (the downside of marrying a non-ozbargainer)
the melb terminal, at the time and I don't know if it has changed, was just a large uninsulated tin shed which in winter was f%#king freezing.
It is still that same shed. Looks like an empty version of Bunnings.
Ah yes, the cattle shed!
Throwing my two cents in, as someone who almost exclusively flies Tiger. Definitely had my fair share of incidents, but not enough to deter me from flying with them.
Flew from Sydney to Adelaide a few years back. Extremely bad weather in Adelaide meant that the plane couldn't land and circled the sky for a good 45 minutes (we were about 15 minutes from landing). Eventually the flight was diverted to Melbourne to re-fuel, but due to Adelaide Airport's 11pm curfew, we wouldn't have made it back in time. Tiger provided two options in Melbourne - a full refund or a night's accommodation at a nearby airport hotel and a flight back to Adelaide the next morning.
Took the last flight out of Melbourne to Adelaide and naturally, the incoming flight was delayed. Again, due to Adelaide airport's curfew, when the plane DID rock up, we wouldn't have made it into Adelaide before 11pm. Same deal, Tiger put up passengers at the same hotel with an added flight to Adelaide the following morning.
Take-out from both these incidents - they handle their delays/mishaps appropriately. I recall an incident once where Jetstar left their passengers stranded at the airport for hours. Tiger's last flight from Melbourne - Adelaide now departs at 5pm, so no more of those "will I make it back before curfew?" 9pm departures.
These are just two of the scenarios I've experienced with Tiger. I could go on about their leg room and check-in and the fact they once unfairly charged me $60 for a check-in bag, blah blah, but at the end of the day I'm very happy with simply getting from A to B for a good price, regardless of delays or a cattle shed.
And honestly, you have not experienced 'delays' until you've sat in a Cebu Pacific departure lounge in the Philippines. Try every single flight being announced over the PA as delayed.
Each to their own - I have no issues with flying Tiger, and the extreme budget traveller within me won't hold anything against them.
Honestly, my worst experience beside a 1-2 hour delay (once out of maybe 15 times) was not getting my god damn hot meal that I preordered. I was a bit upset, but to be fair they offered me basically anything that they did have, I opted for a smirnoff ice and pringles which I think ends up being about the same price. they also gave me a card with an email on it that I could complain to, LOL. Nice girls
Flew with Tiger several times, all OK, except one was delayed by about 45 minutes.
A little tip, whenever I need to fly, I always check Tiger first to find the desired time & fares, THEN I look up Jetstar to see if they have the same flights at the same time (or within an hour either side), if Jetstar has the same flight then I would get Jetstar to price beat.
This way, you get the cheapest fare available, and if you won't have to worry about flying Tiger (if that is your concern).
Never flown with them, but watching that tv show "airline" confirmed that i would want to avoid them.
Keep in mind their on-time rate is 10% worse than all the other airlines. the main issue is that their airports are usually isolated, so you can't just go next door and jump on a different airline.