Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Is Tiger Airways ok?

Looking to book a flight between Hobart and Melbourne. Found a pretty cheap fare with Tiger Airways. Are they ok? The main thing that worries me is that they only have one flight a day. I don't want to find out they have the same customer care ethic as Ryanair and be stranded at Hobart Airport if they cancel the flight.

Between HBA and MEL you have a choice of Jetstar, Tiger and Virgin Blue. My preferences would be:

1. Virgin Blue. A decent airline - they'll look after you if something goes amiss.

2. Jetstar. Plenty of horror stories. So much so that if there are irregular ops, they should look after you. A while back they didn't and the media hounded them for months. I've always been impressed with my Jetstar flights and wouldn't hesitate to fly them again.

3. Tiger. I think comparing Tiger to Ryanair is pretty accurate. If things go according to plan (which 98% chance they will) you'll be fine. During irregular ops (much less likely in Australia compared to Europe and USA) you'll be more likely to be on your own compared to the others. I personally wouldn't fly Tiger again for the same reason I won't fly Ryanair again - I don't like the flying greyhound experience. But having said that I would elevate Tiger slightly above Ryanair. Slightly.

My family has flown Tiger in Asia. They didnt have a problem. they are very strict on luggage restrictions. So, if you have overweight bags, you will be charged extra.
Good luck!
Let us know how it went when you compete travel.

Friends have flown Tiger MEL-PER and return (~ 4hours each way) without complaint. As MilesDependent said, they're likely to be fine if nothing 'goes wrong' (and I would agree with his/her rankings), but as your main concern is related to IrrOps then you may well have cause for concern in the unlikely event of this happening (based on some reports since they've been operating).

Qantas also operates a couple of flights a day HBA-MEL.

Scuttlebutt has it that Irrops and Tiger in Hba are something that you DONT want to be a part of. I agree with the rankings given earlier - as a regular HBA - Mainland flyer that is generally my order of preference in booking.

Decided not to risk it and booked my flight with Virgin Blue.

2. Jetstar. Plenty of horror stories. So much so that if there are irregular ops, they should look after you. A while back they didn't and the media hounded them for months. I've always been impressed with my Jetstar flights and wouldn't hesitate to fly them again.If you are booked via Qantas on a codeshare, is that a plus?

Tiger have never cancelled a Hobart flight, ever. Thats the thing, cause they only have 1daily they always complete this sector, otherwise front page newspaper's will be blasting them.

Tiger is a good cheap option, and they havn't cancelled a flight in Australia since November. Great Ontime record, compared to Virgin who has shocking stats there.