Not So Budget Budget Airlines

The budget airlines claim to be give the passenger the best value for money, but is it really true?

I just bought an air ticket from Tiger Airways. The cost of tax & surcharge is SGD$170.00. At the booking site, how this SGD$170.00 came about is not explained. In comparison, for a similar route, it is only SGD$64.00 total for tax & surcharge for SIA.

There is a new rule that came into effect on 1 Nov 2008, that all air fare advertisements must indicate the fare inclusive of both tax & surcharges. Even with that, Tiger Airways still has other hidden charges.

1. Cost of check-in luggage: SGD$10.00/check-in luggage per sector
2. Cost of selecting your seat: SGD$10.00 for any normal seat; more for emergence exit seats
3. Cost of paying your air fare by credit card: SGD$5.00

It is not really fair to charge extra for paying by credit card, as there is no other payment method other than paying by credit card!

Tiger Airways has one more trick that you must be careful. For example, if you want to buy a ticket from Hong Kong to Singapore, you can have the option to pay in Singapore dollars or Hong Kong dollars. If you choose to pay in Singapore dollars, better check out the exchange rate first. The rate offered at Tiger Airways' website is much lower.

Considering Tiger flights always set off at odd hours, you have to pay many hidden charges, you may need to take a cab to catch your flight, you need to pay to get your food or drinks on board, the total amount sometimes can explode to close to what you pay for a normal airline.