Ben Sandilands, the aviation guru behind the Plane Talking blog, is among those less than impressed by Tiger Airways’ new paid-for “loyalty†scheme.
Sandilands says Ryanair has nothing on Tiger when it comes to finding new ways to charge customers for extras after asking people to pay $29.95 per year to be put on its Stripes mailing list to get “priority’†access to special fares and promotions.
“Huh! That’s what I get for free from Jetstar’s Jetmail and Virgin Blue’s V-mail,†says Sandilands, who goes on note:
“Tiger wants us to pay it for the privilege of being entered on its data base and bombarded with prior warning of cheap fares that most consumers know last for less time than it takes the booking server to collapse at the very moment you complete filling in the details.
“Nevertheless, Tiger does deserve some sort of award for chutzpah. The Stripes membership club appears to be the first paid subscriber airline loyalty program that doesn’t offer points or rewards. Or anything, with any certainty.
“To quote Crawford Rix, the Tiger Airways managing director, the Stripes club is one that empowers members ‘with even more choice, without complex membership rules and rewards redemption schemes.’
“Get it. You pay $29.95 a year NOT to get anything for free,†Sandilands adds.
