Earlier this month, Jetstar announced it was going to start actively policing carry-on baggage to make sure people weren’t trying to shirk its weight and size rules. Now fellow low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Australia is doing the same thing.
As we pointed out in our recent guide to domestic baggage fees, on Tiger you can’t carry more than two bags on board, and they can’t have a combined weight of more than 10kg. When Tiger first launched in Australia and all passengers had to check in at the airport, carry-on baggage was routinely weighed to see if it exceeded those limits. After Tiger introduced web check-in, that obviously became trickier to enforce.
The solution? A staff member at the gate whose only job is to check if your bag meets the limits. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to pay the at-airport fee for putting it in hold, and on Tiger that’s quite likely to be more than your ticket. The minimum fee is $70, and on flights above one hour 45 minutes, it goes up to $85, with additional per-kilo charges for anything over 15kg. In other words, a 20kg bag on a short flight which you’re forced to check at the gate will cost you $175.
Tiger will officially start enforcing the policy from 18 September, though apparently the gate checkers have been deployed at some airports for eight months already in an “educational” capacity. For the first three months of the new policy, Tiger says it will discount any applicable fees by “up to 40%”. Our advice? Don’t risk it. Pay for checked baggage in advance, or make sure you stay under the limits. For advice on that, check our guide to the best clever packing tricks.
Comments
12 responses to “Tiger Airways Is About To Get Even Narkier About Carry-On Baggage”
I guess it doesn’t affect me, I don’t fly Tiger because I’m tall and don’t have the necessary detachable legs to sit comfortably on their planes
You should definitely get the upgrade and have your legs detachable!
Save your money and just get two extra hinges in your femurs.
My colleague uses his leave in lots of small chunks during the year and takes several extra long weekends etc. Boss says he is no longer allowed to fly Tiger after them cancelling flights so often and him being stranded and not able to get back to work in time.
I don’t think I’ll ever trust them. Didn’t the whole airline get grounded at one point too?
Yes, “stranded”…
I’m sure the cancelled flights are exactly why he flew with them!
It’s a budget airline, the philosophy “you get what you pay for” rings true even for Tiger.
Maybe if they didnt charge so much, people would be more included to check a bag…. just sayin’
Our advice? Don’t risk it. Fly QANTAS or Virgin.
TIFIFY.
And don’t carry tools like screwdrivers and pliers because they’ll charge you $70 to put them in with your luggage. This is embarrassing at the x-ray machine and if you’re running late may cause you to miss your flight.
Also vernier calipers, learned that one the hard way.
For $70, wouldn’t you leave it with them and buy some new ones at your destination?
It was a business trip that I needed them for and wouldn’t have time to pick up a new pair so in reality my boss paid for the checked baggage, it was just a pain to go back through security and check the bag. To make matters worse I went through a different xray machine the second time and the new person scanning my brief case was worried about the 4 temperature data loggers lined up nicely next to each other.