Interesting. Although you didn't know about the policy being precisely 45 minutes, you must have considered that there would be some cutoff time, and that you wouldn't be allowed to just show up 1 minute prior to scheduled departure and expect to be accommodated. Since all flights from Changi are international, what did you think a reasonable cutoff time for an int'l departure from Changi would be?

Since almost all of my int'l flights involve either departing from or going to the US, I've gotten used to a strict 60 minute check-in cutoff for int'l flights. Even though your flight doesn't operate under US jurisdiction, I can't imagine that you thought something much less than 45 minutes would have been reasonable for an int'l departure with checked bags, even if you didn't know it was precisely 45 minutes.

So, where is this bag you plan to check with Tiger at Changi coming from? I'm going to assume that it's not something you will pick up at Changi and check, and also that it's not something you will carry on with you on the flight from TPE, as then you'd probably just carry it on for the Tiger flight as well. So the most likely situation is that it will be checked on your inbound flight as well. That makes the situation much more complicated, as it means that not only must you wait at baggage claim to retrieve your bag then take it yourself to the Tiger check-in counter, but also that you'll have to clear Immigration twice (once into and once out of Singapore), as baggage claim is past Immigration. The published Minimum Connect Time for Changi is 60 minutes, but that's for situations where you're on a single itinerary, and thus don't have to deal with Immigration or bags, and probably not even check-in.

This begs the question: why are you booking this with Tiger? I see that there are several one- and two-carrier options to go from TPE to BLR with a connection in SIN. Any of these options would give you a realistic 60-minute minimum connect time, since they'll handle the bag transfer and you won't have to deal with Immigration. Plus, even if the connection involves multiple carriers, if you purchased it on a single ticket, there would be built-in, automatic "insurance" for a misconnect - any misconnection would have to be dealt with at the carriers' expense, not yours.

So, why would you book this trip as two separate tickets instead of one considering all of the above? I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that it was because it was cheaper to do so. You're now finding out some of the reasons that LCC's are cheaper: it costs money to interline luggage with other carriers, to be able to issue tickets using standardized electronic ticketing systems, to be able to offer multi-carrier check-in at the point of origin, and to cover the costs of misconnects. It's not reasonable for you to just jump at the cheapest price, and still expect the full service of all of the things I mention above without paying what it costs to support them.

as I've said earlier I assumed web checkin would be functional.... it's the checkin that makes this connection tighter than normal, otherwise 2hrs 35 mins to clear customs/immigration, pickup bags, do a bag drop and clear security in the same terminal is PLENTY especially at an airport like Changi.

As for why I chose these flights, they were the only available for the schedule I wanted and for a reasonable price. I wanted to leave TPE midday and be in BLR the same eve. The 2 tiger flights cost me $325. The cheapest alternative is a flight via KUL by Malaysia airlines at a whopping $816...the other cheaper flights all had huge layovers.

I think Tiger airways is in the wrong here. First, their website says online checkin temporarily down which implies it is down for a few hours or so. They should've said WE DO NOT OFFER ONLINE CHECK IN. If I had known this I would've realized I would need to stand in another long queue and perhaps not make my connection therefore I would not have booked the flight. Secondly, what LCC does not offer online checkin? This is just bizzare - usually LCCs emphasize online checkin to reduce the expenses of having ground staff check people in.

I have traveled with Air Asia several times - they are also an LCC but they are infinitely better.

Oh well, live and learn... I made certain reasonable assumptions but I realize now that what may seem reasonable and logical to me may not be to others (like a LCC not offering online checkin and making people stand in a queue for hours). If I miss the 2nd flight it will be my first missed flight in 100s I have taken so there is a first time for everything :) Will just execute Plan B and buy another ticket at Changi SIN-BLR...there are plenty of flights on that route and a same day ticket does not seem too expensive thankfully.

On another note I did look at the flight history of my incoming flight TPE-SIN and it looks like it usually arrives on time, sometimes arrives a bit earlier and a few times arrives 10-15 mins late...so most probably I will be able to pull the connection off.

I will post a response to this thread to mention if I made this connection or not ;)

My rule is to be checked in online at the 24 hour mark and I go ahead and select how many bags I want to check in and pay the fee online( I know it stupid to charge a fee for the first checked bag). Then I go to the bag drop at least 90 minutes-2 hours for Domestic flights and 3-4 for International flight and go to the lounge or get a bite to eat.

When I'm not checking bags I will still arrive at the airport between 90 minutes-2 hours. I don't want to take any chances.

Once I was checking in for a flight and a family just missed the checkin time for their international flight and the agent said I have to help this gentlemen who has arrived early and is in line. The look on their faces was priceless and the checkin agent said it happens all the time.

So after I was done I stood around to see what would happen and the agent said tough luck your flight has closed and for security reasons I cannot check you in and anyways your bags would not make it. The family was pleading to no avail. I secretly was laughing to myself and reminded me why I arrive early.

If I know there is traffic I add 30-45 minutes etc.

One thing for which I give credit to easyJet (there aren't many!) is this:

When the check-in line is long and a flight is about to close, they have someone going up and down the line asking "anyone going to place-whose-flight-is-about-to-close?" They then bring people going to that destination to the front of the line, so that they do not miss their flight.

It's probably annoying if you are left still waiting in the line, but it does help to avoid people missing their flight due to the long line.

As always, though, it's best to arrive in plenty of time and allow time for delays.