I will probably end up using them someday but in the meantime, below are the 2 reasons why I haven't used them yet.
This will sound a lot like I work for Jetstar Asia but obviously I don't. I have to compare against Tiger's main competitor here in Singapore. I'd love it if these reasons could be wiped off - Tiger flies to some nice places.
1. The weirdly high taxes and surcharges
For some weird reason, it costs Tiger Airways more to use the supposedly Budget Terminal than it does Jetstar Asia to use Terminal One. And even when flying back from the same overseas airport, it's somehow more expensive for Tiger than Jetstar.
In this example shown below, it's more than $50 cheaper per person (on taxes and fees) to fly by Jetstar and enjoy Terminal One. And just $46 more expensive (again on taxes and fees) to fly by SIA and enjoy Terminal Two.
Tiger Airways is either getting screwed by all the airports or trying to screw people.
2. The sneakiness
It always looks like they're trying to hide some fees in an attempt to make their fares look cheaper and trick travellers who aren't paying proper attention.
If you saw the picture above, you'd be thinking well Tiger Airways is still the cheapest. But other than the fact that this example was captured in the middle of their promo, I'd still have to add the below charges:
-- $20 - for a seat selection fee of $5 per person per flight. True, this is optional but I want to compare against exactly what Jetstar gives.
-- $20 again - for a "convenience fee" of $5 per person per flight. The convenience fee is so I can pay by credit card on their website. Not that any other option is available. I wouldn't mind the inconvenience of paying at a SingPost SAM or walking down to a Tiger Airways counter if that would save me $20 per trip.
And when I said sneakiness, I really meant this fee. It never gets included in the big bold SubTotal amount. Instead, it's in a small box below in a smaller font and then only gets added at the last possible moment, just where you enter your credit card details.
Sneaky sneaky.
This will sound a lot like I work for Jetstar Asia but obviously I don't. I have to compare against Tiger's main competitor here in Singapore. I'd love it if these reasons could be wiped off - Tiger flies to some nice places.
1. The weirdly high taxes and surcharges
For some weird reason, it costs Tiger Airways more to use the supposedly Budget Terminal than it does Jetstar Asia to use Terminal One. And even when flying back from the same overseas airport, it's somehow more expensive for Tiger than Jetstar.
In this example shown below, it's more than $50 cheaper per person (on taxes and fees) to fly by Jetstar and enjoy Terminal One. And just $46 more expensive (again on taxes and fees) to fly by SIA and enjoy Terminal Two.
Tiger Airways is either getting screwed by all the airports or trying to screw people.
2. The sneakiness
It always looks like they're trying to hide some fees in an attempt to make their fares look cheaper and trick travellers who aren't paying proper attention.
If you saw the picture above, you'd be thinking well Tiger Airways is still the cheapest. But other than the fact that this example was captured in the middle of their promo, I'd still have to add the below charges:
-- $20 - for a seat selection fee of $5 per person per flight. True, this is optional but I want to compare against exactly what Jetstar gives.
-- $20 again - for a "convenience fee" of $5 per person per flight. The convenience fee is so I can pay by credit card on their website. Not that any other option is available. I wouldn't mind the inconvenience of paying at a SingPost SAM or walking down to a Tiger Airways counter if that would save me $20 per trip.
And when I said sneakiness, I really meant this fee. It never gets included in the big bold SubTotal amount. Instead, it's in a small box below in a smaller font and then only gets added at the last possible moment, just where you enter your credit card details.
Sneaky sneaky.
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