Flight: Tigerair from Sydney to Adelaide

When: Saturday 14 February 2015

Aircraft: Airbus A320

Class: One class – economy

Configuration: 3-3

Seat: 1B (Exit Row)

How long: 2 hours

Verdict: 8/10

Frequency: Tigerair flies Sydney to Adelaide up to 7 times per week, or one return flight per day.

Frequent Flyer: Tigerair is not associated with any loyalty programme.

Baggage:

Checked in baggage is optional, with each bag cut at a max 15kg. Cost is $15.50 per bag on this particular sector when pre-booked online. However, passengers can bring hand carry up to 10kg in up to two carry-on bags for no additional cost.

If you don’t pre-book or exceed your free hand carry allowance, you’ll be forced to fork out $85 per checked-in bag at the counter.

Checking in:

Tigerair operates out of T2 from Sydney and new signage at the airport makes it easy to spot. The most important factor for anyone booked is – don’t dawdle. The check in closes 45 minutes before departure – that’s right, forty five and not a minute after. The airline said it does so because of its on-time performance, and opens check-in 3 hours earlier so passengers have plenty of time. Of course, some do not because we’ve been wired to think 30 minutes is the cut off from most domestic carriers if you’ve got a check-in bag, but Tigerair sticks firmly to its policies. Therefore, if for any reason you’re in the back of a queue a couple of minutes before the 45 minute curfew due to an Uber driver not knowing his way to the airport (true story), make sure someone at the front desk knows about it or your tickets could be as useful as yesterday’s newspaper.

Luckily for me, knowing ahead of time that I was sitting in an exit-row seat and had a check-in bag, I could not check-in online or via one of the newly installed kiosks at the terminal and made sure to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Being “cricket weekend”, and not to mention Valentine’s Day, it made for a busy travel weekend and the airport was packed.

Those travelling light with only hand carry can make use of the new check-in kiosks, while others with bags seating in seats other than emergency exit rows can then make use of the automated baggage drop off facilities.

Onboard the plane:

Sitting in the exit row made for a very easy boarding process – and having never flown Tigerair before, I was pleasantly surprised how much quicker it is to load passengers. Perhaps due to the stricter hand-luggage sizes allowed on board or the fact both front and rear doors were open, but there was hardly a queue at any given time despite being a full flight.

Saturday morning in Sydney is clearly a popular time to travel, as we were stuck on the tarmac ahead of a long queue of other departing flights. While the flight was delayed here by about 15-20 minutes, we made it on time in Adelaide touching down at the estimated time of arrival. 

Staff:

The two flight attendants were especially helpful with luggage and seat requests by, what I think, are somewhat demanding passengers. Despite being surrounded by lovebirds or cricket fans, they were courteous and polite – even managing to keep a smile on their faces the entire flight.

Food:

Like every other low cost domestic carrier flying in Australian skies, all food and beverage must be purchased. As it was a morning flight, I simply opt for a cup of tea at $4, but there’s a lot more on offer for hungrier passengers as Tigerair recently revamped its inflight dining options. By choosing set meals passengers can make savings and prices seem relatively similar to other airlines’ in-flight menus and food outlets at Sydney Domestic Airport.

Comfort:

Sitting in the exit-row (and being the height of an average 12-year old boy), I found having the extra space to stretch out made for an extremely comfortable experience. While there are no entertainment options onboard, my lift-out tray made for a handy iPad ‘desk’ and

Did you know?

TigerAir fares starts from $65 each way between Sydney and Adelaide and $45 between Melbourne and Adelaide. Tigerair Australia rebranded in 2013 and is now fully owned by Virgin Australia, however both airlines will continue to operate as two separate business models and brands which cater for two distinct market segments, and  Tigerair will continue to maintain a low cost business model.

TigerAir CEO Rob Sharp