Tiger Airlines issues

[teelack 9,640]

I would appreciate any feedback regarding the above. I have a couple of bookings with them later this year. The two issues that concern me is that they appear to cancel flights with little or no notice and that they will be moving operations to Don Maung possibly before Christmas. Any updates or feedback appreciated.

[steamer 158]

Flew with Tiger once and back to AC from Swampy.

 

They couldn't even pull up on their own system that I had a return flight out of the Phils.

 

They wanted to charge for drinking water and wouldn't let me move from a middle seat to an unoccupied aisle seat.

 

They were on time, have better flight times (to AC) and are otherwise on par if not better than Cebu Pacific.

Edited September 1, 2012 by steamer

[oddball 55]

Had a flight with them from swampy to singapore, got to the airport and they had cancelled the flight and put me (and my now ex) on a later flight. Had to sit in swampy for 8 hours

They were ok though apart from that

[tomcat76 327]

They're the alternative to Cebu Pacific. Yes, they fly at better times. But they have an erratic track record for short- or no-notice cancellations. (I'm risk averse, so the last few years I've used Cebu Pacific.)

[steamer 158]

They're the alternative to Cebu Pacific. Yes, they fly at better times. But they have an erratic track record for short- or no-notice cancellations. (I'm risk averse, so the last few years I've used Cebu Pacific.)

 

Doesn't CP also have a bad track record re flight cancellations?

[tomcat76 327]

 

Doesn't CP also have a bad track record re flight cancellations?

 

Not that I know of. They're nazi's about luggage weight though... (Tiger probably is, too. I think it's symptomatic of all the "discount airlines".)

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

I don't have anything encouraging to say about Tiger Air. Bottom line: Tiger has a terrible record regarding flight cancellations and an even worse policy for assisting stranded passengers. It's typical for discount airlines. If things go well, you've saved quite a bit of money. But if a flight is cancel, you may be in for a lot of extra expense and hassle.

 

I was booked on the July 1 flight to AC. Just before I departed for Swampy, I checked the Tiger Web site and it said the flight was on time. However, when I got to the airport, it turned out the flight was canceled, just like the flight to AC the day before. The staff assured us the flight would leave the following afternoon, so I wasn't too worried. I just called my hotel in AC and they said no problem to push forward my reservation a day. Tiger provided the stranded passengers with rooms at a decent hotel near the airport, plus dinner that night and breakfast and lunch the next day.

 

In the morning, I called Tiger's Bangkok office to make sure I was booked on the afternoon flight. The woman I spoke with said I was and the flight would depart on schedule at 3.45 p.m. I don't know if she deliberately lied or was just confused, but when we got to the airport (by bus) at 1.30 p.m., the check-in staff said there were only 17 seats available on the flight and 70 passengers from the two cancelled flights. A guy in a wheelchair and a group of Filipino school children got those seats, which was understandable.

 

The rest of us had the option of staying another night at the same hotel and hoping for a seat on a Cebu flight to Clarke or having our tickets refunded. Since there was no guarantee of seats on the next day's Cebu flight, I asked if they could book me on a flight the same day with another airline to Manila. They said no, so I took the refund (didn't get the credit card charges reversed until four weeks later) and bought a ticket myself on the Cebu flight that night to Manila. It ended up costing me about US$300 extra with the cost difference of Cebu ticket and taxi to/from AC.

 

Some of the guys who didn't want to fork out extra money for their tickets were absolutely livid. A lot of shouting at the check-in counter - not a pleasant scene at all. Two major gripes - 1) it was impossible for them to transfer us to another airline; and 2) very poor information. If I had known on July 1 about the cancellation, I would have immediately made plans to fly with another airline. But because Tiger misinformed me about the cancellations, I ended up arriving in AC two days behind schedule. Luckily the Pacific Breeze didn't charge me for altering the arrival date, but I could have run into hassles if they had given my room to someone else.

 

I'll never fly Tiger again.

 

Evil

Edited September 1, 2012 by Evil Penevil

[seanss 27]

Not that I know of. They're nazi's about luggage weight though... (Tiger probably is, too. I think it's symptomatic of all the "discount airlines".)

http://www.cebupacificair.com/pages/prepaid-baggage.aspx

 

shows.................

All fares are now Lite Fares so you have more options for prepaid baggage. At time of booking, pre-purchase your baggage allowance to save time and money at check-in.

You may choose from any of the Prepaid Baggage Options:

• Small up to 15kgs.
  
• Standard up to 20kgs.
  
• Large up to 30kgs.
  
• Extra Large up to 45kgs.
  

[teelack 9,640]

Thanks for the info guys. After reading Evils comments I am happy to conclude that I will have no problems at all just booking back into Pattaya if they stuff me around. With any refund from them or travel insurance I really will not be much out of pocket and AC can wait for another day.

Edited September 1, 2012 by teelack

[whitney 10]

Thankfully, I have built some cushion into my schedule when booking a flight with Tiger Air. With the way airlines standards have lowered, I don't trust none of them when things go wrong to do the right thing.

[PoolHustler 47]

I have just done 2 flights with Tiger Airways

 

4th Sept OUTBOUND BKK-CLK Check in was a breeze with only 1 person in front of me.

Flight 40% capacity. flight left exactly on time and arrived on time................Perfect

 

10th Sept INBOUND CLK-BKK Check in was a breeze with nobody waiting to check in

Flight 50% Capacity. Flight left 5 mins late but arrived 5 mins early.............Perfect

 

Planes were in good order , no issues whatsoever.

On board drinks and snacks are expensive so take your own

[9cisco999 107]

 

Doesn't CP also have a bad track record re flight cancellations?

 

 

 

 

 

Yes it has had one.

[teelack 9,640]

I have just done 2 flights with Tiger Airways

 

4th Sept OUTBOUND BKK-CLK Check in was a breeze with only 1 person in front of me.

Flight 40% capacity. flight left exactly on time and arrived on time................Perfect

 

10th Sept INBOUND CLK-BKK Check in was a breeze with nobody waiting to check in

Flight 50% Capacity. Flight left 5 mins late but arrived 5 mins early.............Perfect

 

Planes were in good order , no issues whatsoever.

On board drinks and snacks are expensive so take your own

I have just done 2 flights with Tiger Airways

 

4th Sept OUTBOUND BKK-CLK Check in was a breeze with only 1 person in front of me.

Flight 40% capacity. flight left exactly on time and arrived on time................Perfect

 

10th Sept INBOUND CLK-BKK Check in was a breeze with nobody waiting to check in

Flight 50% Capacity. Flight left 5 mins late but arrived 5 mins early.............Perfect

 

Planes were in good order , no issues whatsoever.

On board drinks and snacks are expensive so take your own

 

Thanks for that. It raises the issue about '..giving a dog a bad name' in that the adverse publicity may have lead to the 40/50 % loading and low occupancy will kill the whole deal eventually.

[sanuk scouser 1]

Have flown with TIger to Clark twice now. Both flights were on time with no problems whatsoever. Probably worth taking a punt when it's only around 100 quid for a flight BKK - CRK.

 

Sanuk Scouser

 

 

 

 

[SunnyValentine 173]

Currently staying in Subic, this is my 4th trip to the Phillipines this Year, all with Tiger, all on time and no issues.

[tomcat76 327]

For anyone interested:

 

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/tiger.htm

 

 

(...but if you look up Cebu Pacific, they don't get much better marks...)

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Thanks for that. It raises the issue about '..giving a dog a bad name' in that the adverse publicity may have lead to the 40/50 % loading and low occupancy will kill the whole deal eventually.

 

It's not so much that Tiger Air flights are bad; it's that if anything goes wrong, you get can't get any help in re-booking on another airline. Flight delays of three or more days are highly inconvenient for everyone and could be disastrous for some people.

[bigdelta 46]

From my experience in the industry,giving away a passenger to another airline is the last resort for several reasons.First of all,the fare you paid on your airline is generally lower than the fare your company will pay for a seat on another airline to accommodate you.So,they lose the revenue AND have to pay a premium to the next carrier to move you.We went through this for many years until the airlines got together and (mostly) agree not to screw each other in these situations,thereby allowing us to rebook on any available carrier.There were some glaring exceptions though.

Also,if you were on a free or award ticket,no airline would accept you.Airline version of "no money,no honey".Of course passengers with full fare tickets (rare) were a breeze to rebook as the money was there.You always did everything possible to help high mileage flyers.Back in the day of paper tickets (remember those),it meant a simply entry in the endorsement box near the top left of the ticket and you were on your way.The endorsement guaranteed the accepting airline would be paid whatever fare they charged.

Often times,no seat was available on any airline at any fare.At that point,they were offered a through flight or one with a connection and if the passenger declined,we fed them and put them up.

I bent the rules many times for what I thought were genuine reasons and endorsed the tickets to another carrier regardless of the fare.Some agents did it just to get the screamer out of their face.

Bottom line,many discount carriers worldwide are hesitant to give business away since their margins are so thin and customer service be damned.

A point for you-it may be faster to rebook yourself,either online or over the phone,than to wait in line for your airline to rebook when their heart isn't in it.Many saavy fliers do just that and often are rebooked faster than the first few people in line.

 

 

It's not so much that Tiger Air flights are bad; it's that if anything goes wrong, you get can't get any help in re-booking on another airline. Flight delays of three or more days are highly inconvenient for everyone and could be disastrous for some people.

Edited September 12, 2012 by bigdelta

[teelack 9,640]

Thanks for all the info guys. Its a learning curve for me.

 

My reasoning at this stage is that when I get to Swampy I will book in if the flight is a goes and if not simply get a Bells bus back to Pattaya. This is one of the great things about flying inter Asia, the fare write off should not upset your holiday. Whilst for simple curiosity I would like my few days in AC the more that I read and become involve with a web forum the less that I find the place appealing. Needless to say I really dont want to be screwed around but then again my home airport is subject to fog and I have missed flights because of this and simply put it down to things beyond my control.

 

Thanks Evil. I also appprecite the point that you make about lack of service. Its the same the whole world over in that if an airline supplies you with a cheap flight they often believe that the service should be the same!

[SunnyValentine 173]

Its the same the whole world over in that if an airline supplies you with a cheap flight they often believe that the service should be the same!

 

Well, let's be realistic here. You get what you pay for.

 

Problem in the specific case of Bangkok to Clark is there are no regular carriers servicing this route. I don't care so much and would rather pay the premium for a non-budget carrier, but that would mean Manila and an often terrible taxi trip.

 

[teelack 9,640]

Well, let's be realistic here. You get what you pay for.

 

Problem in the specific case of Bangkok to Clark is there are no regular carriers servicing this route. I don't care so much and would rather pay the premium for a non-budget carrier, but that would mean Manila and an often terrible taxi trip.

 

Bit harsh? Just because its a budget airline does not give it license to screw with peoples time, holidays and plans. Its simply bad business and poor PR.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Well, let's be realistic here. You get what you pay for.

 

 

Well, not quite. There aren't the same issues with low-cost carriers in general operating in/out of Bangkok. AirAsia, Nok and even Orient Thai are pretty dependable nowadays, as are flights that are actually operated by Tiger Air.

[teelack 9,640]

Whilst I have not yet recieved any change of airport from Tiger yet I sort of expect it. In anticipation I emailed Mr T for a quote and he has come back with DM to Pattaya 1200 Baht. I will also post this on the Mr T thread.