TominScotland - 30/08/2011 08:36 GMT
Staying in Brisbane for a couple of weeks, I was invited to sample footie at the 'G' so looked to book flights for a weekend in Melbourne. Options were Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tiger, which has recently been permitted to operate again in Australia after a 5 week ban because of safety concerns. There was a major difference in the prices offered by Tiger on their schedule compared to the competition and, being Aberdonian, that was enough to swing it for me, despite the grave misgivings of colleagues here.
I took the Airtrain to Brisbane Airport from the suburb where I am based for my Saturday morning flight - the Airtrain runs to both international and domestic terminals and is generally a good service. However, it lets the City and its environmental credentials down badly by ceasing service at 8 pm daily after which any passengers have to made do with the taxi or shank's pony.
Tiger currently have suspended online check in in order to sort out refunds due to customers who could not fly during the suspension - I cannot seek the link here but so it was. Therefore, it was traditional check-in but in an obscure area of the domestic terminal, badly signposted and behind Jetstar. But check-in with allocated seats was fast and efficient so no complaints there.
Boarding was in the main domestic lounge and was down stair and to the aircraft, an apparently well maintained A320. Boarding was front and rear and I was located in my chosen aisle seat, three rows from the back . Push back was early and we were airborne after a short wait. Catering is for purchase with a number of 'meal deals', none of which offer any discount on the combined price of the component parts so a bit of a con. I did not bother, having had my breakfast in the airport before departure. Service appeared to be friendly and efficient - Tiger focus on informality so that when your boarding pass is scanned for boarding you are wished a good flight by first name, not everybody's cup of tea, I guess.
Arrival was 15 minutes ahead of schedule and disembarkation was via steps front only, much to the annoyance of those of us at the rear. A reasonable walk under a covered walkway led to the warehouse surroundings of Terminal 4 arrivals, used exclusively by Tiger. Nonetheless, 15 minutes after landing I was on the Skybus to the city centre, which is a direct service to the Southern Cross Railway Station (Spencer Street of yore) terminal.
On the return, I was dropped to the airport where Terminal 4 has a drop-off area right in front of the terminal. Check-in was incredibly fast and with no queues for security, I was airside within 5 minutes of drop-off. The terminal waiting area is basic but has a shop, a couple of cafes and a shushi bar so is more than adequate. Boarding was early, again via the covered walkway and front and rear steps. This time I was seated up front in Row 3 but deplaning was by both sets of steps back in Brisbane. We left early and arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule in Brisbane.
All in all, very good value for a weekend trip at less than A$200 return all in, booked close to departure. Tiger only operate twice daily in each direction on this route, a disadvantage compared to other operators. Nonetheless, all forebodings were groundless and I would certainly recommend Tiger for domestic Oz travel.
