I went from Adelaide to Brisbane, after which I was ready to give a 1-star review. A few days…read morelater, I went from Brisbane to Sydney, and changed my rating to four stars.
In that time, I realized that if you do your reading of the fine print and understand what to expect, you can maximize your chances of having a good experience.
1. This is a budget, no-frills airline. You pay for everything beyond a seat: bag check, queue jump, overweight checked or carry-on bags, food, drink. You may very well need to use stairs to get on and off the plane. You do get to select a seat.
They save money by hiring less staff, by using stairs instead of buying ramps or paying to use jetbridges, and so on. They have no check-in desks and you need to be prepared for gate changes. A few staff just wander around between check-in kiosks and bag check.
2. You will have to do a lot of stuff yourself - check yourself in, tag your bag, take your bag to the belt, and place it on the belt properly for scanning.
If you check your bag, it's better to pay online in advance. My understanding is that it is cheaper to do so than at the airport.
3. Make sure to read EVERYTHING. I discovered the hard way that if you need assistance, such as a wheelchair, you need to contact them preferably at least five days in advance.
I was SOL at the Adelaide Airport. The staff basically told me too bad, so sad. They could care less. The line at security was the longest I've ever seen at any airport anywhere throughout the world during 42 years of flying. I am grateful to the officers who allowed me to take a close spot in line. I never would have been to stand for that long and walk to the gate in time, despite my getting there about two hours in advance.
BTW, flight check-in starts two hours ahead of time.
After clearing security, I sat down for a few minutes rather than go directly to the gate. I'm glad a did, because a few minutes later, a gate change in the opposite direction was announced.
Another TigerAir flight boarded around the same time and it was confusing as to what flight was boarding when. This was because the other flight was late.
This is another drawback you have to be okay with: My understanding is their flights are often late, and sometimes cancelled, for various reasons.
I had no idea about the stairs. I did not see this on the website. Thankfully they used the jetbridge to board this flight.
But once on the plane, I found things were okay. Even my girth fit between the armrests. The seat configuration is 3-3. Leg space is minimal, something you need to know and be okay about if you have longer legs. If you have claustrophobia - might be tough for you. An aisle seat would be better for you. The seatbelts were the shortest I've ever seen. I actually laughed when I saw them and knew immediately I would need an extender.
There are snacks and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) available for purchase by card, no cash. There is no free food or drink, not peanuts, not pretzels, nothing.
I had only two days before I went from Brisbane to Sydney. I tried to reach them by phone but couldn't. I sent an email but still haven't gotten a response.
So I was ready to not have a wheelchair at the Brisbane or Sydney airports. I mentioned the situation to an agent at bag check in Brisbane. She told me to hold on, and they got a wheelchair for me. I was so grateful. I got there two hours early again, which was good because it took some time to find someone to assist me.
There were stairs to the plane, but there was a cool two-person free-standing lift the agent and I rode up on. I would have struggled on the stairs.
I wonder why they don't get ramps. They would help everyone and while not perfectly safe, they would be safer and faster than stairs.
Not to mention access issues. I will pay extra for bag check, food, overweight bags - but I don't see easy access for all as a luxury item.
At the Brisbane Airport, all carry-ons - even purses - were weighed. If your carry-ons were even an ounce over, you paid right then and there. They didn't do this in Adelaide. I don't know why. But be ready for it and be ready to pay if you go over.
I think all their planes are the same, so again that part was okay. I even recognized some of the same flight attendants as from the other day. Apparently they fly like three different routes on the same day, same plane.
They knew I required assistance and were helpful. There was a wheelchair and an individual available to help when we got to Sydney. (They "borrowed" a wheelchair from another airline since they didn't have their own.) We went to bag claim and they pulled my bag off the belt.
It was an infinitely better experience than the Adelaide-Brisbane trip. I realized if I read all the fine print, remained flexible, and made my special requests early, I could enjoy the low fares offered by TigerAir.
