ycp81 From Singapore, joined Jun 2006, 338 posts, RR: 0 Posted (1 year 10 months 1 week 8 hours ago) and read 6519 times:
Just 2 wks ago, I made my second beach holiday trip of the year, this time to Phuket. Went with a group of old friends over the weekend to chill out and just relax. As usual, with the frequent offers by the budget airlines, we managed to grab tickets at S$130 return on Tiger. Quite a good deal for tickets just bought slightly more than a month in advance. As I am sure almost all of us all very well-versed with the service (or lack-of) on budget airlines, this report would be mainly a pictorial one.
30 June 2011
Tiger Airways
TR 2154
Singapore (SIN) - Phuket (HKT)
A320
9V-TAB
Budget Class
Checked in 1.5hrs before the STD of 1820hrs. However the flight was retimed to 1855hrs due to late arrival of aircraft. Well, nothing new on Tiger.
9V-TAR just arrived back to base.
At 1845hrs, an announcement was made that the flight was further delayed to 1930hrs. Groans..... Our plane finally arrived at about 1920hrs. It was 9V-TAB, Tiger's oldest plane in its fleet in Singapore. 2nd time I am flying on it too.
Boarding started shortly after. There was no change of crew and no cleaning of aircraft either (will see why later).
All pax boarded. Flight was almost full! Great business for Tiger.
Awaiting pushback. Safety demo was done. Flight time announced to be 1hr20min at 37000ft.
Taxi to Rwy20L. Passing a SEAir A319 (ex-Tiger plane).
Tight seat pitch. All the seats were very worn out. A passenger's seat could not even stay upright and he had to be shifted to another seat before takeoff for safety reasons.
After a day of flights, the interior of the seat pockets were disgusting! Used tissues, immigration forms, wrappers, food crumbs ..... Gross!! I guess Tiger only clean their planes once a day. So the late evening flights would get real dirty cabins.
Reading materials in seat pocket. Tiger Tales was worn out.
Buy-on-board service was conducted, with sales of drinks and snacks. No hot food available on this short flight. Surprisingly, sales were quite good. Guess everyone were in their holiday mood. I did not buy anything though, but lets still take a look at the menu.
Parked at the gate. A Business Air B767-300 a distance away.
Late flight, no frills, dirty seats, low fares. That is Tiger for you.
Pigging out time in Phuket
And for the return
03 July 2011
Tiger Airways
TR 2155
Phuket (HKT) - Singapore (SIN)
A320
9V-TAT
Budget Class
Check-in at the "new" Terminal 2, which is just basically a small check-in hall with more counters. We would still need to walk to Terminal 1 to clear immigration and security.
Tiger opened 2 desks for check-in.
Departure area with lots of shops selling overpriced items.
Our flight would be departing from Gate 5 with a STD of 1930hrs....
which was later changed to 1950hrs. Thats Tiger again. Luckily delay was not too long this time round.
Boarding the newer 9V-TAT. 5 cabin crew onboard, inclusive of 1 trainee crew. There was also a Korean crew. Looks like the Korean gals are still flying for Tiger.
Silkair A319 beside us, also to SIN. Our A320 was choc-a-block while the MI flight was definitely not too full judging by the number of pax waiting at the gate. Looks like lots of holiday makers still go for the cheaper fares on short trips.
9V-TAT is a much newer plane and equipped with leather seats. Also felt cleaner than the inbound flight. But legroom is still bad as expected.
First time seeing this onboard a flight.
Seat pocket materials. Magazine was a new issue.
MI flight pushing back, and it was supposed to depart later than us!
Further delay while a mix-up was being sorted out. 2 pairs of passengers were assigned the same seats. A Pacific Blue B738 beside.
Finally pushed back after a 45min delay. Flight time of 1hr20min again at 36000ft. Taxi past a Air Asia A320.
Disembarking. The plane looks clean on the outside.
On the tarmac.
2 delays on Tiger on 2 flights, not too good. On the other hand, the tickets were cheap and so did not expect much. I will be doing another short trip to KL on Tiger and Jetstar. Further report to come.
My past and future travels - http://www.ba97.com/ba97/calendar/report.asp?handle=ycp81
ba724 From Australia, joined Nov 2010, 44 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (1 year 10 months 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 6055 times:
Hello YCP81..A very informative TR,really enjoyed it!Have much the same probs with Tiger in Australia re late arrivals and departures,I haven't as yet flown with them and they are grounded by CASA at the moment on safety concerns,but will probably book a flight with them some time in the future if they get up and flying soon.Totally loved the sign for the Husband Day care centre,now that is one place I could kill a few hours in!My wife thinks it is a great idea too! Mmmm.
Good Luck to you and look forward to more reports..Best Dave
ycp81 From Singapore, joined Jun 2006, 338 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (1 year 10 months 5 days 11 hours ago) and read 5698 times:
2 weeks after Phuket, I made a short 32hrs weekend getway to Kuala Lumpur. Tickets bought just slightly more than a week before departure was only S$40 on Tiger to KL and RM85 (or S$35) back to SIN on Jetstar. A great deal! More pictures and videos to do the talking.
17 July 2011
Tiger Airways
TR 2454
Singapore (SIN) - Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
A320
9V-TAT
Budget Class
At Tiger land again.
Thankfully, the flight is not delayed this time round.
Flying on 9V-TAT again 2 weeks after my last flight on her.
Boarding TAT.
SEAir A319 arriving from Manila Clark. Air China B763 taking off behind.
Cebu Pacific A320 also arrived from Manila.
SQ A380 taking off.
Pushing back from Tiger land.
SQ B773ER lifting off.
Star livery SQ B772 holding on Rwy20C.
MH B734 taking off before us, heading to KUL too I guess.
Next up, QF A380 to Sydney.
Lots of planes queuing up behind us too.
Finally the Tiger is next to depart after the Lion. About 15-20min of waiting for departure.
First, immigration cards were distributed. Then the all gals cabin crew (1 Singaporean, 1 PRC and 2 Filipinos) came down with the BOB menu to take orders for snacks and drinks. Orders were then delivered from the galley. Guess it is more efficient for such a short flight than pushing the whole trolley down the aisle. Duty-free items were then offered for sale. Not many takers for the on-board sales though.
Short flight, relatively on-time, no frills. Well worth the $40 i guess.
Gaining my kilos in KL
18 July 2011
Jetstar Asia
3K 688
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Singapore (SIN)
A320
9V-JSC
Budget Class
Jetstar departs from the KLIA main terminal, a much welcome from the overcrowded LCCT terminal. Check-in desks at rows right at the end of the terminal. 3 desks opened for check-in. Check-in was handled by Malaysia Airlines ground staff.
However was surprised to find out that the flight was delayed by 2hrs!! Reason given, "operational reasons". No meal vouchers given for the delay. And I was not informed of the delay prior to departing for the airport. Well, I did received a SMS, but it was informing me of a delay for a flight departing from Perth, which I was not supposed to be flying on. Guess the automated system that sends messages screwed up. (Well, I tried to get my "customer guarantee" voucher via their call center but was rejected flatly as "I have been notified via SMS of the delay". It was a wrong SMS for goodness sake! Wrote in to feedback and is still waiting for their reply..)
Jetstar issues proper boarding passes now instead of supermarket receipts.
KLIA has an area just after immigration with lots of model planes!
My flight would be departing from the satellite terminal.
The "rainforest" in the middle of the terminal.
With compliments of my Maybank Horizon Platinum credit card (and having charged my air-tickets to it), I was able to access the Plaza Premium Lounge to while away the time waiting for the delayed flight. Other passengers were not so lucky and have to make do with loitering around the terminal. The lounge is also used by Lufthansa, KLM, Royal Brunei and Japan Airlines Business Class passengers.
Proceeded to the gate at around 2250hrs. The plane has just arrived.
Plane was 9V-JSC with Valuair titles too. Flew on this plane once many years back.
Finally boarded the flight. Immigration forms were handed out by a crew near the door. Load was about 60-70%.
At the gate awaiting pushback.
Surprisingly the seat pitch (at row 10) was actually quite decent. The last time I flew on this plane, I remembered the seat pitch being very tight. I was sitting near the rear of the plane then. This plane was not retrofitted and still has 30 rows (180 seats). Anyone can confirm that the seat pitch gets tighter towards the rear of the plane?
Reading materials in seat pocket. The magazine was "well read" (aka tattered and torn).
I was impressed with their onboard menu, especially the choiced of hot meals for longer flights.
More choices!
And lots of beverages too!
View towards the rear of cabin. Quite a number of empty seats.
Safety demo prior to pushback. According to the captain, the flight was delayed due to one aircraft down for maintenance. He did apologize for the delay though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C30LKtsitjE
MH new A333s. 2 of them were parked on the remote bays. Why is MH not flying them?
Parked at the gate beside a KLM B773ER. Due to the delayed arrival, there were no more public transport and I had to incur a hefty cab fare plus midnight surcharges!! Not good!!
Other than the long delay, the Jetstar flight was fine for a short sector.
Next up, another Jetstar flight in 2 wks time to Auckland. First long-haul experience on a budget airline! Comments on the report are much welcomed.
jetsetter629 From United States of America, joined Nov 2007, 409 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (1 year 10 months 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 5586 times:
Thanks for the trip reports! How was the weather in Phuket while you were there? Summer is their rainy season, correct?
RvXKaz From Singapore, joined Apr 2011, 182 posts, RR: 3 Reply 5, posted (1 year 9 months 4 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 5056 times:
Hi ycp81!
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the two main budget airlines flying out of SIN! I must be honest in that TR isn't on my list of airlines to fly with after the endless bad word-of-mouth about them but its very interesting to read about your experiences all the same! Thanks for sharing your photos during your vacation as well! I found the one about husband-sitting services in Phuket particularly hilarious!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): As I am sure almost all of us all very well-versed with the service (or lack-of) on budget airlines, this report would be mainly a pictorial one.
Great job on the pictures indeed! I guess the perk of flying budget is the ramp access which you have utilised well in your wonderful shots of the ramp action and planes you're flying with!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): At 1845hrs, an announcement was made that the flight was further delayed to 1930hrs
What was the original flight time?
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): Tight seat pitch. All the seats were very worn out.
I believe you completely.
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): After a day of flights, the interior of the seat pockets were disgusting! Used tissues, immigration forms, wrappers, food crumbs ..... Gross!! I guess Tiger only clean their planes once a day. So the late evening flights would get real dirty cabins.
That's disgusting! Thanks for the warning about evening flights! I suppose the cabin crew are to clean up the cabin after each flight but I doubt they wanna tarnish their nicely manicured nails in doing so.
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): Late flight, no frills, dirty seats, low fares. That is Tiger for you.
Exactly what I imagined!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): which was later changed to 1950hrs. Thats Tiger again.
Its quite the norm, isn't it! LoL!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): There was also a Korean crew. Looks like the Korean gals are still flying for Tiger.
Wow I am quite surprised! I wonder how long was their contract for!
Thats really interesting! I've never seen it on any flights before myself!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): 2 delays on Tiger on 2 flights, not too good. On the other hand, the tickets were cheap and so did not expect much.
I guess thats how budget airlines operate I guess.Most people won't complain because of the dirt cheap tickets.
Quoting ycp81 (Reply 2): Thankfully, the flight is not delayed this time round.
Thats the rare occasion isn't it!
Quoting ycp81 (Reply 2): Then the all gals cabin crew (1 Singaporean, 1 PRC and 2 Filipinos) came down with the BOB menu to take orders for snacks and drinks.
I didn't know TR has diverse nationalities amongst their cabin crew. Quite interesting!
Quoting ba724 (Reply 1): Jetstar issues proper boarding passes now instead of supermarket receipts.
LoL I love the stub portion! Its quite funny to see the flight number imprinted in that oversized font.
Quoting ycp81 (Reply 2): With compliments of my Maybank Horizon Platinum credit card (and having charged my air-tickets to it), I was able to access the Plaza Premium Lounge to while away the time waiting for the delayed flight. Other passengers were not so lucky and have to make do with loitering around the terminal.
I should get me that card! Really awesome that you were using the same lounge the KLM and JAL passengers were using though you were flying budget!
Seems like you have had some fun (and yummy) weekend escapes as well as scoring 4 economical flights on TR and 3K! Its nice to be updated on how is TR faring these days and I must say, they are still up to my expectations (which is at its minimum!)
Thanks once again for this pictorial TR!
Cheers,
RvXKaz
They say that I'm a dreamer. But I'd only Dreamt Skyward.
moosecamel88 From Singapore, joined May 2011, 46 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (1 year 9 months 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 4934 times:
Hello ycp81!
Thank you for your TR on TR! :p I enjoyed reading it! I'm a big fan of TR ONLY when they offer good discounts! hehe!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): As usual, with the frequent offers by the budget airlines, we managed to grab tickets at S$130 return on Tiger.
WOW! That's a steal! Good for you and your friends!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): Tight seat pitch. All the seats were very worn out. A passenger's seat could not even stay upright and he had to be shifted to another seat before takeoff for safety reasons.
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): Surprisingly, sales were quite good. Guess everyone were in their holiday mood.
Either that or they were famished!
Quoting ycp81 (Thread starter): Then the all gals cabin crew (1 Singaporean, 1 PRC and 2 Filipinos) came down with the BOB menu to take orders for snacks and drinks.
I realised that non-Singaporean crew outnumber Singaporean crew on TR. hmmm...
ycp81 From Singapore, joined Jun 2006, 338 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (1 year 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 4598 times:
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 5): Its nice to be updated on how is TR faring these days and I must say, they are still up to my expectations (which is at its minimum!)
Thanks for your comments! Yep, TR is ok if you have no expectations at all and the delay is less than 2hrs LOL. I still have 1 flight with them this year in late Oct.
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 5): I didn't know TR has diverse nationalities amongst their cabin crew. Quite interesting!
Quoting moosecamel88 (Reply 7): I realised that non-Singaporean crew outnumber Singaporean crew on TR. hmmm...
TR has crew from S'pore/Malaysia, China, Philippines, Korea and probably more? Quite diverse I must say.
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 5): That's disgusting! Thanks for the warning about evening flights! I suppose the cabin crew are to clean up the cabin after each flight but I doubt they wanna tarnish their nicely manicured nails in doing so.
I don't think the crew even have time to clean the cabin as boarding started almost right after the last passenger had disembarked.
Quoting RvXKaz (Reply 5): I love the stub portion! Its quite funny to see the flight number imprinted in that oversized font.
More 3K stubs for me! I have 3 flights coming up with them to AKL and BKK within the next 3 weeks! Will review on the long-haul on 3K.
My past and future travels - http://www.ba97.com/ba97/calendar/report.asp?handle=ycp81
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I'm a big fan of TR ONLY when they offer good discounts! hehe!
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