Tiger airways

[december]

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[Lilly-Pilly]

Hey there
We flew with Tiger once, it was with discounted flights we got on special. The 2 hour wait was a joke, we had a 2 year old and a 5 year old with us and just couldn't see the reasoning behind waiting so long for a domestic flight.

There were no problems with the flights or anything, but basically you pay a budget flight and you get budget service, more so in terms of customer service etc. From what i remember the majority of arriving two hours early was spent waiting in lines to be checked in!

If I got really cheap flights again then i'd fly with them again cause of the money saved and put up with the rest, after all it was only one day there and one day back we had to put up with, and we got $20 flights to brisbane from melbourne so we didn't mind too much, but be just don't expect too much!!

[Pinny-mum]

Hi there just a tip, make sure you are there the 2 hours earlier as my friend arrived later than the required time and they would not book her in even though she only had hand luggage! No exceptions either, she was flying down from perth for her 30th and they didn''t care. All money lost. Her flight didn't leave for an hour later either.

[Mummy2Lilly]

Hi, i have booked a flight for me and my baby to fly from melb to syd. they were cheap tickets. oh well i thought they were, and after i paid, realised i had been charged $27 for an infant, i could have got cheaper flights thru qantas, but to late now, dont think i can change.
Anyhow has anyone flown melb to syd with tiger, if so what was there experience like. i have to be at the airport 2hrs before hand, wow this is going to be hard to keep an almost 12mnth old occupied at the airport for this long. Can i keep his stroller until we board. lately i have only heard negative things about them. i am kicking myself for boojing with them ,as i am preparing for a disaster.. It si only me & the baby going. DH wont be there to help out

Hi there,

I have flown with them. I think they have changed you that much for your baby is cause they have to put insurance on your tickets if you are traveling with a baby under the age of 5. Thats what they have told me. The only reason you have to be there is 2 hrs before is cause sometimes the line is quite long so you can be waiting quite awhile to be seen by someone to get your tickets. But if your not happy with waiting that long just wait until the line is really small and then get your tickets as the time will go quicker. You cant keep his stroller with you while you wait for the plane as it has to go under with the baggage. To be honest they are the only plane service i will go through as there staff isnt rude etc. plus they try to help you out the best they can compaired to any other plane service.

Thanks

[Rivlas]

Just a reminder if you haven't flown with them before is that their terminal is to the left of the main airport. We found this out by accident taking friends to catch a plane. Another thing is that they are very strict with luggage weight.
Yes, make sure you are there in plenty of time to book in as they are very unforgiving if you are late.
Just make sure you have plenty of snacks and toys with you.

[Madham]

I dont want to put a damper on your flight, we flew with them in January and omg i will never fly with them again. Yes you need to be there early, they are very strict with times. It is along way to walk when you arrive back in melbourne from plane to there terminal and my ds was 9 months at the time we flew and asleep so a long and heavy walk to terminal. I found the staff not very friendly or helpful, there is little room on flight to move but i guess you wont be on there long so that should not be a problem for you.
I hope you have a better experience than we did.

[Willow]

Any one have any more positive stories?? I'm flying with my 3 month old to Adelaide on Friday and totally dreading it.

I wanted to fly with Virgin or Jetstar but they had the 'cheapest' (not really when you add all their extra fees on top ) flights but a friend booked the tickets.

[mbear]

Flying to Melb this weekend with Tiger - and a 5 mth old. So sorry Willow, no advice. But did read in newspaper about 2 mths ago about a Tiger airways air hostess telling a mum to cover up whilst she was b/f her baby..... The mother was pretty upset about it apparently.
I guess on Monday we wil have our own accounts of the airline.....

[Willow]

I remember that Mbear - I dare someone to ask me to cover up

Let's hope we both get to our respective destinations and home again with our sanity in tact huh??

[Emma1979]

good luck
never flown wth them and prefer to pay more and fly qantas.... there is no way i could front up two hours early for a domestic flight, even if i was paid to, just sounds ridiculous and i never knew that was one of their rules until now.... you couldn't pay me enough to sit for that long in an airport for now reason other than inadequate check in services... every airline i have flown has let me keep stroller to point of boarding, ridiculous they won't allow it.

in light of the above i hope your experience is okay!! good luck.

[Rivlas]

The hostess was being very, shall I say prudish, and was dealt with, as they cannot ask you to cover up when feeding. If they do just ask them what does the manual say about breast feeding

[smiles4u]

Abby ... same here DP, DD & i flew with Tiger for the 1st time this past Sept, and yeh NEVER again

Our original flight was early but not too early then we got a phone call about a month or so before that we HAD to now be there heaps earlier ... lets just say we had to get up out of bed at 3.30am ... nearly killed us

YOU MUST, MUST, MUST get there early to check in or too bad NO FLIGHT !!!!!!!!!

YOU MUST, MUST, MUST be aware of plane luggage & onboard luggage weight limits ... OMG they are STRICT ... hand luggage can't be over 7kilo's ... and plane luggage can't be more than 15kilo's (You might wanna check this incase it has changed ) !!!!!!!

It was the 1st time i have ever been asked to have hand luggage weighed ... DP's backpack was a minor 0.4kilo's over & they insisted he had to take something out to weigh less ... & to put it into my backpack that weighed less then his. They even weighed my handbag (a slouchy bag).

[luna moth]

It was the 1st time i have ever been asked to have hand luggage weighed ...

I have had this happen a few times, with various airlines, including Qantas. I actually wish they'd do it more often, with some people blatantly taking way too much carry-on.

In a slightly related rant - I can't stand the charging for checked baggage! It's no difference to me, if I have to check, I don't mind paying. Whatever. But what I can't stand is what it's done to the overhead lockers - they now get jammed full because of all the tightarses who take waaaay too much carry on, and then they take heaps longer to empty the plane.
[/rant]

[december]

..............

[Willow]

Just thought I'd pop back in and say I had a pretty good experience too. Apart from making us wait on the tarmac with a 3 month old strapped to me in 43 degree heat for about 5 mins with the engines running and our heads nearly being blown off, it was pretty uneventful.

I would fly with them again but probably not with children. I just felt like the customer service wasn't there. They just didn't seem to go that little bit further to make our flight easier with 3 kids in tow.

[Rainbow_Mumma]

I have flown melb to mackay and back with Tiger when DD2 was 8 weeks old we also got charged for her but we didnt mind it was still a lot cheaper for all 4 of us to fly Tiger than anywhere else. I had absolutely no problems with them the check in was quick and easy, flight comfortable, everything went very smoothly we are booking with them again when we go to QLD next

[smiles4u]

Hey Nikkie, are you flying to Maroochydore Airport ??

... as we were shocked that the pilot told us all to get off the plane in a hurry as their turnabout is fast ... they weren't kidding the plane took off exactly 30mins after it had landed, can't imagine how they got everyone off then new passengers on & clean the plane, etc in all that time ... it was awful having to hurry with a child as she thought something was wrong & got a tad upset.

So sorry Nikkie not here to be a damper on anything just rather that i warn you then you have an idea ... and be prepared that they could change your flight time that may not be suitable to you !!

Fingers crossed for you matie, as our experience was a shocker (i haven't even mentioned ALL of what happened with our flights, etc ... and i'm not one to be fussy) ... Hope your experience once again will be a brilliant one ... and how nice is it going to Qld to get away from the usual cold weather here (we almost moved there before moving here to Ballarat but DP's work is more Melb & Sydney based)

[Dollyroux]

I flew home from the Gold Coast on Monday with Tiger and had no issues.

Booking closed an hour beforehand and we were there about an hour and 45 minutes before the flight left.

The booking staff were very helpful and held the extra seat in our row of 3 so that we would have more room. You can't keep your stroller till check in time, it has to go when you check in your other luggage - the staff should help you when you check in your case - but generally you ahve to take strollers to the oversized section, no real hassle though.

The flight was fine, service was comparable to jetstar (who we flew on the way up) and I would use them again.

In regards to keeping your little one entertained, there's plenty of quite spots in the airport where you could set him up with some toys on the (most likely) grubby floor. I would also recommend taking a sling, wrap or carrier for before boarding and for disembarking/collecting your luggage as that way you can keep him strapped in till you get your stroller.

Good luck!