While its planes sit on the tarmac waiting for clearance to fly again, Tiger Airways has landed a new accolade - its customer service, or lack of it, has inspired a country music song.
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American alt-country singer Dale Watson was travelling from Melbourne to Sydney on his way to the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival in April when the discount airline charged him a $500 excess baggage fee for a box of CDs worth $3000. Mr Watson claims the airline then lost the CDs en route, leaving him nothing to sell at the concert, and has failed to reimburse him or return the discs.
Despite the airline immediately promising to "make amends" the drama has dragged on for months and inspired a jingle that is unlikely to feature in the airline's next ad campaign - Tiger Airways and Their We Don't Care-ways:
There goes Tiger Airways and their we don't care-waysYou got a complaint, well stand in lineYou got a problem, well that's your problem...
They charged me 500 dollars in extra baggage feesMy hands were tiedI had to pay their price
The song goes on:
But now I'm back in Texas and like a Tiger Airways rep saidThey ain't gonna help me if they could.
His name was Timothy ArcherHe worked public relations along with Simon MurphyThey made the callsWhen all was said was done, nothing was said and doneWhich seems to be their motto after all.
But for Mr Watson, the lowlight of the ordeal came at the end of a phone conversation with Mr Archer, a Tiger PR manager.
A spokesman for the country singer alleged that Mr Archer failed to hang up the phone at the end of a "heated discussion" about reimbursement and was overheard saying he would "rip the cheque up", and because Mr Watson lived in America he was unlikely to get his money or merchandise returned.
Mr Archer was contacted by BusinessDay and declined to comment.
The country singer, who has a loyal following in Australia, Europe and the US, said a video of the song would be made available on YouTube. April marked his eighth tour of Australia.
Simon Murphy, the managing director of the Sydney-based PR firm The Narrative, which was hired to do public relations work for Tiger, said he felt sorry for the singer.
"Obviously the airline has to work within the guidelines of its terms and conditions when it comes to lost luggage, but as things stand right now we are trying to get the matter resolved and I'm pretty hopeful we can do this amicably," Mr Murphy told BusinessDay.
Tiger's entire fleet was grounded by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority on safety concerns at the beginning of July, stranding thousands of passengers and cost Crawford Rix, the airline's managing director, his job.
The airline, one-third owned by Singapore Airlines, further angered regulators by continuing to sell tickets despite the uncertainty over its survival.
Tiger said yesterday it had hired ex-Qantas chief pilot Captain Chris Manning as its chief safety officer as part of the effort to start flying again in August, when the airline's safety will again be reviewed.
CASA grounded the airline after revelations that two of its planes had flown at unsafe altitudes on approach to Melbourne.
czappone@fairfax.com.au
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