Sadly, the following review is no longer relevant, since Tiger Air stopped its direct flights from Australia to Denpasar (Bali) on February 3rd 2017. This now leaves Jetstar with a monopoly and they have been price gouging ever since.
Gone is the competition and gone are the cheap fares with Jetstar now charging more than Singapore Airlines (as compared on March 4th 2017) for an Adelaide to Bali return flight. Hopefully another Airline (AirAsia, Virgin, Malindo) may step into the void and introduce some competition back into the market.
When Virgin Australia pulled out of flying from Adelaide to Denpasar in March 2016, the route was handed to partner airline TigerAir Australia. The only other competition for direct ADL to DPS flights is Jetstar.
Unlike other budget airlines, such as Virgin, Jetstar or AirAsia, TigerAir does not have a membership system. It is possible to register to receive email alerts of specials but no way of having your details recorded on their Internet system to speed up repeated bookings – you need to enter all details each time you book (or research) a flight.
This was my first TigerAir flight and certainly not my last. The main advantages are (depending on day of the week and month of the year) they have earlier departure times that get you into Bali in mid to late afternoon rather than late at night.
The return flights depart around 0100 hours which means you get back around 0830 into Adelaide on the same day/date of departure. This offers a slight advantage over Jetstar which departs late evening and arrivies the next day.
If you have Virgin Velocity points, you can pay for your flight with points and cash (credit cards) and acquiring Velocoity points is certainly easy enough. The cost of seat selection and surcharge for payment with credit card are about the same as Jetstar.
TigerAir have their check in area next to Jetstar and open the International area 3 hours before departure. It is possible to complete an online checkin up to 3 days before departure but there is no special queue for Internet Check in, so not really much to be gained.
They do allow a maximum of 2 pieces of hand luggage that have a combined weight of 7 Kg. TigerAir prices for checked luggage are about the same as Jetstar, but unlike Jetstar, they do allow you to add luggage weight right up to the day before you leave without any penalty charges beyond the cost of increased luggage weight..
The aircraft was a Boeing 737 800 with 2 x rows of 3 seats across, which looked more suited to short haul domestic flights than 5 ½ hr International flights. The 2 toilets (1 front and 1 back) are only just adequate for the number of people on board.
Boarding procedures are pretty much standard with people sitting in the back rows (from 16 onwards) board first and front rows boarding last.
The flight time of 5 1/2 hrs from ADL to DPS is about 30 minutes longer than Jetstar. We left about 15 minutes late and arrived about 20 minutes late. The plane pulled into an air-bridge, rather than using a bus to transfer passengers to the terminal (for the very long walk to Immigration)
TigerAir do have entertainment available via onboard WiFi via the TigerAir Australia app. You can watch a large and varied range of TV series and music for free but movies cost $9 each. My Samsung Tablet experienced frequent disconnection difficulties (worse than on Virgin flights) with the need to reconnect at least twice during a 30 minute TV series.
Onboard food and beverages are about on par with what it costs in the airport (expensive by no airport standards but not more than other budget carriers charge).
All in all I would not hesitate to fly with TigerAir again.
stekmer 