The cost of airline tickets for a family is steep, and the biggest barrier to us traveling.  Consequently we are exploring the options when it comes to budget airlines.  I recently flew between Cairns and Sydney, a three hour flight on Tiger Airlines with my two young kids.   Yes the cost of the flights were much less than those offered by alternative airlines on that particular day however it was the timing of the flight, fitting in perfectly with my kids routine that swayed me to give them a go.

First things first, Tiger charges for all “extras” above the base, advertised fare.  Passengers are charged extra to check luggage – and when I booked for our family the web portal would not allow me to only check luggage for one passenger, it automatically assigned checked luggage to the entire family an additional total of $60 on top of our fares.  We were also offered the option to pay extra to choose our seats, which I passed on.

Check in was quick and efficacious.  I was asked to provide ID for my 2 and 5 year old (which has never occurred before).  Thankfully I had my Medicare card with me otherwise we would have been refused boarding.

As for the flight, as you would expect we were crammed in like sardines in a can.  We were however safely transported from A to B and to schedule.  A small variety of food options were available for sale at elevated prices – not really a meal.  I would always pack a lunch for your kids if traveling Tiger.  In flight crew were professional and respectful without the kindness and warmth that is sometimes show to me by other aircrew as a mother flying alone with small kids .

The real test though of how airlines treat traveling families is how they treat their customers if things don’t go to plan e.g. there are delays or bad weather.  Would I fly Tiger Airways again – yes, if their flights very much cheaper, and at a convenient time for our family.  Would I favour them over other airlines?  No, I would not.

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