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Tags: Tiger Airways / Australia Travel / Virgin Blue / Jetstar / Qantas / → All Tags
World's Third-Busiest Airline Route Gets More Crowded
We have to admit we were a little surprised to learn that the trip from Sydney to Melbourne ranks as the third-busiest travel route in the world, but if that's true, then it sure makes sense that low-cost carrier Tiger Airways has just thrown its two cents in the ring.
Since last Friday, Tiger has been running multiple flights between Sydney and Melbourne each day, with all-inclusive one-way fares starting from A$39 ($31) for the 90-minute flight. There's heavy competition from Jetstar, Virgin Blue and Qantas, but at the moment Tiger's prices are definitely amongst the lowest. If nothing else, this means that if you get Down Under, you will definitely be able to take in both Sydney and Melbourne without adding too much strain to the budget.
Related Stories:
· New Melbourne to Sydney Flight Route Takes Off [The Age]
· Tiger Airways Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: 713 Avenue]
Tags: Television Travel / Airline News / Tiger Airways / → All Tags
Australia's Tiger Airways Gets a TV Show We Want to Watch
Fondly do we recall the days of watching passengers flip out over missed flights, get pulled from flights for drunkenness, or even claim to have an invisible spouse traveling with them. This was the era of television show Airline, which covered hijinks on EasyJet and Southwest from a distance where we could all laugh, since we weren't on the crazy flights featured and were instead firmly planted on our couch.
After being canceled from A&E along with Growing Up Gotti back in 2005, the show remained in our happiest television memories until today, when we learned that Australia will be getting their own version, based around LCC Tiger Airways.
Tags: V Australia / Australia Travel / Tiger Airways / → All Tags
Aussie Airlines Getting Desperate
Even though everyone's trying to get us to go to Australia, the message doesn't seem to be getting through at least if the local airlines' actions are anything to go by.
V Australia had a promising start in the Down Under fare war but they're now complaining of a slowdown in demand, and have put back their new plane purchases by a couple of years. Two new Boeing 777s have been rescheduled from 2010 delivery to 2011 and 2012 and that's also shelved V Australia's plans to start Oz to Johannesburg routes.
LCC Tiger Airways is also sounding a bit desperate. This weekend they've got 30,000 free flights on offer to try and fill up some of their domestic routes. Free means, of course, that you still pay taxes, but they do come out pretty cheap, with A$35 ($25) fares (and under) available. With the possibility of $500 fares to get you from the United States down to Oz, it's got to be getting tempting.
Related Stories:
· V Australia to Defer Delivery of Two Boeing Jets [The Advertiser]
· Tiger Offers Free Flights on Domestic Routes [Brisbane Times]
· Everyone Wants You To Go To Australia ... [Jaunted]
[Photo: thewamphyri]
Tags: On Walkabout / Australia Travel / Qantas / Tiger Airways / Train Travel / Driving / → All Tags
Getting Out To The Aussie Outback
The Australian outback is a strange beast: Part desert, part simple empty land, it covers most of the country. But it's also, some say, one of the most beautiful places on earth, and we want to tell you how to get there.
The first thing to remember is that you can't just take a day trip to the outback, like many tourists plan. It'll take a day just to get there. The easiest way is to fly into Alice Springs, pretty much smack bang in the middle of the country. Aussie airline Qantas flies in from all major Australian cities and curiously, Tiger Airways has started up a Melbourne to Alice Springs route.
A great way to get into the Outback without flying is to take the Ghan Railway from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs--a great way, but not a cheap way.
And for stubborn travelers who insist on driving into the outback themselves, the motto is to be prepared. Stock up on extra fuel, a lot of extra water, make sure your car's reliable and basically get a ton of advice or you'll risk frying up in the middle of nowhere. No matter how beautiful it is, you don't want it to be the last place you see.
Related Stories:
· And Now, An Even More Expensive Way to See the Desert [Jaunted]
· Won't Get Fooled Again [Jaunted]
· Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: anniemullinsuk]
Tags: Asia Travel / Jin Air / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / Airlines / Tiger Airways / → All Tags
Big Korean Airport Makes Friends With Jin Air
Our favorite Korean budget carrier, Jin Air, has just done a deal to move its hub to the massive international Incheon Airport, near Seoul. The goal is to make Incheon a big Northeast Asian hub and this deal might just do it.
Singapore-based Tiger Airways got rudely shoved out of the way when it tried to start up an Incheon-based LCC, and now it turns out to be Korean-only territory.
The Incheon city council seems to be promising that the airport will deal exclusively with Jin Air over other Korean budget carriers, so it's a real coup for the Jin Air genies. With Incheon's future looking exciting with stuff like the Asian Games being held there in 2014, it's a spot we're sure to be hearing more about.
Related Stories:
· Incheon, Korean Air in Alliance [Korea Times]
· Tiger Airlines Aggression Works in Oz, Fails in South Korea [Jaunted]
· Jin Air Genies Take to Korean Skies [Jaunted]
[Photo: d'n'c]
Tags: Australia Travel / Korea Travel / Tiger Airways / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / → All Tags
Tiger Airlines Aggression: Works in Oz, Fails in South Korea
If you meet a tiger on the prowl it's bound to be pretty aggressive, and aggressive is a good word to describe low cost carrier Tiger Airways which just keeps on roarin'.
As if it wasn't enough to announce a million new mainland Australia routes last week, now Tiger's adding a bunch of extra flights between Melbourne and Tasmania; double the number of flights will now go to both Launceston and Hobart. The price of A$30 (US$25) is definitely a bargain.
The only place Tiger Airways is being slightly less aggressive is in Korea, where a deal with Incheon Airport to start a joint venture budget airline is now on hold. That's mainly because the local Korean budget airlines have bullied Incheon into giving up the idea. Seems tigers aren't always so brave.
Related Stories:
· Incheon Tiger Airways Postpone Budget Carrier Launch [AFP]
· Tiger Increases Flights Between Melbourne and Tasmania [Peanuts]
· Tiger Airways Adds a Ton of New Routes [Jaunted]
[Photo: Ian Fuller]
Tags: Australia Travel / Tiger Airways / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / → All Tags
Australian LCC Travel: Tiger Airways Adds a Ton of New Routes
Budget Asian carrier Tiger Airways announced a while back it was expanding its offerings in the Australian market with an Adelaide base. Finally, we have details!
A bunch of routes will head out of Adelaide to destinations such as Perth, Tasmania's capital Hobart and the Gold Coast, and they're increasing the Adelaide to Melbourne flights they've already started up. There will also be more flights from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast--they'll run daily from December--and to Alice Springs, a good base for visiting the outback and the famous red rock of Uluru.
Just like Virgin Blue's western expansion, travelers bound for Oz and the Aussies themselves will hopefully get some cheerily cheap fares out of this. And it's about time.
Related Stories:
· Tiger Increases Flight Routes [The Australian]
· Tiger Introduces Daily Melbourne Flights [The Daily]
· Tiger Now Roaring Across Australia [Jaunted]
[Photo: 713 Avenue]
Tags: Australia Travel / Tiger Airways / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / → All Tags
Tiger Now Roaring Across Australia
Singapore Airlines budget offshoot Tiger Airways is defying world trends by continually expanding around the Australasian region, and this week all the news is in the land Down Under. And while it might be a bit exaggerated, it's not that far wrong to agree with Tiger when they say:
Before Tiger Airways came along, it was cheaper for travelers to go overseas than to get around their own country. It was a disgraceful situation but Tiger Airways' low fare revolution has changed that.
Tiger's just announced that they're starting regular Perth to Melbourne flights from October, with opening specials of A$99 ($90) for one-way flights including all taxes--less than half what other airlines would charge at their cheapest. Tiger's also decided to make the South Australian capital Adelaide into its second Aussie base and everyone's waiting to, uh, pounce on the new routes they'll start up there.
Related Stories:
· Tiger to Fly Twice a Day Between Melbourne and Perth [Peanuts]
· More Cheap Flights With New Base: Tiger [The Age]
· Tiger Airways Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: 713 Avenue]
Tags: Singapore Airlines / Tiger Airways / Airlines / In-Flight Entertainment / → All Tags
Singapore Airlines Headlines: PDF Viewers and Roaring Tigers
It's all good news from Singapore Airlines this week. For a start, the carrier's rolling out a new on-board entertainment system, called eX2, which has quite a few features we like. As well as nice new 1280x768 screens, it will also include some PC applications like Media Player and PDF and photo viewers. That means you won't even need your own computer to look at stuff--just plug in your USB stick and read your own documents, listen to your own music or scroll through your own photos.
At the same time, Singapore Airlines must be pretty pleased with itself that its young spin-off Tiger Airways is growing up. The budget carrier that services the Australasian region is 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines but is already making enough money not to need any cash injections from Mom and Dad. Tiger is even talking about looking for other airlines to acquire.
So that's the week for Singapore Airlines: the mile high club isn't important on planes--plugging in your USB stick is and little Tigers can grow up to be big and strong. They must be smiling over there.
Related Stories:
· Singapore Airlines Launches New Entertainment System [eTravel]
· Tiger Airways Has Earned Its Stripes [The Age]
· No Sex Please: We're on Singapore Airlines [Jaunted]
[Photo: William Hook]
Tags: Airlines / New Routes / Low Cost Carriers / LCCs / Tiger Airways / Jetstar / → All Tags
Finally We Can Fly KL to Singapore On The Cheap
So much action in the flight routes of Australasia, so little time to fly every one of them. Big news this week came as Singapore and Malaysia finally opened up a route between the countries to competition. Until now, this flight has cost around $320, a crazy amount for just 55 minutes in the air.
There are plenty of potential takers for budget flights on the KL to Singapore route, with Tiger Airways (a 49% subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) and Qantas offshoot Jetstar already putting their hands up. AirAsia, a Malaysian low cost carrier, is also part of the market, with two flights per day on the route. It's now possible to grab tickets for only the cost of the airport taxes and charges.
And while the liberalization of this route is only partial--just four flights per day have been allocated to the budget carriers--the experts are predicting the traffic will triple within the next two years. The good news is that more openings of Southeast Asian routes should follow by the end of this year, which means we can fly more often and more cheaply. We're going to need some more time off work.
Related Stories:
· Win-Win As KL-Singapore Air Route Opens Up [The Age]
· Flash Mob and Shop at KL's Petronas Towers [Jaunted]
· Will Lion Air Roar Into Australia? [Jaunted]
[Photo: S J photography]
Tags: LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / Singapore Travel / Tiger Airways / Singapore Airlines / → All Tags
Tiger, Tiger, Flying High
One of the hottest budget airlines in the Asia Pacific market at the moment is Singapore-based Tiger Airways, which recently expanded into the Australian market, too. Tiger is a pure-bred low cost carrier, set up expressly for that purpose in 2003, but Singapore Airlines is a 49% stakeholder.
Tiger's routes are largely flown through Singapore, although there is talk of setting up hubs in other Asian countries like the Philippines or South Korea. The airline's other main destinations include Australia, China, Thailand, India and Vietnam. Tiger's recent entry into the Australian market is real headline-grabbing budget stuff: flights as low as A$10 ($9) are on offer. Fares that low are definitely grrrreat.
Related Stories:
· Tiger Airways [Official Site]
· Tiger Airways Unveils $10 Flights [news.com.au]
· Travel Stories in Singapore [Jaunted]
[Photo: Ian Fuller]
