Complaints about budget airlines increase.
Tiger Airways, the international airline that offers flights to Australia from Singapore, India and Thailand, has been voted worst airline by Australians.
A survey, conducted by Choice magazine, rated Tiger Airways at a measley 55 per cent satisfaction rate. However good news for Virgin Blue as they came out on top with a healthy 68 per cent satisfaction rate.
Virgin Blue was rated favourably for its friendly crew, but many people found the quirky on-board banter to be irritating, which sounds like a very British complaint.
The New South Wales Office of Fair Trading revealed that it received 1546 complaints about airlines in 2008/9, a rise from 1200 the previous year. It seems that as flights to Australia get cheaper, so do the standards of many airlines.
Most of the complaints centred around the service provided - or not as the case may be! Cancellations and hidden charges also rattled passengers cages.
Some good news for Tiger Airways however, as they were voted the best airline for giving value for money. Internationally Singapore Airlines came out on top above all the rest, as giving the best overall satisfaction. Qantas rated second-lowest for international satisfaction with just 59 per cent. Jetstar was the lowest in that category, scoring 53 per cent.
A spokeswoman for Tiger Airways commented: “Tiger Airways is putting a great deal of resource and focus into customer service and continually enhances and refines the business to meet the demands of its customers.� She went on to blame teething problems as the cause of many of the complaints.
Jetstar revealed that they had modelled themselves on the European low-cost model pioneered by none other than Ryanair! In fact Tiger Airlines had abandoned the Ryanair model only last month as it became aware of Ryanair’s unpopularity among customers.
A word of advice to airlines, if you are thinking of offering budget flights, it’s probably best not to look to one of the worst ranking airlines for inspiration.
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