My first international travel destination was Singapore around the year 2010. My cousin, Ate Haydn, had just started working in Singapore then. As a summer outing, we (my siblings and mom) decided to visit her for a few days and see the "beauty of Singapore". Being a budget summer get-away, we booked a budget airlines. During that time, Tiger Airways offers the cheapest round trip ticket from Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark to Singapore. I think our round trip fare is around Php 4,000 each.
Being a budget airlines, we didn't set a high expectation.
Booking - we booked our flight using their website. The transaction amount is only in USD at that time and the only option for payment is thru credit card. We used my Aunt's credit card for booking because she has higher credit limit (=p). We were informed to bring a photocopy of the used credit card in case they verify the purchase during check-in. However, they didn't ask for credit card verification.
Check in - we arrived 3 hrs before the flight. There were a lot of passengers (I think it was a full flight) so we expected that it will take a while before our turn comes. If you have been to DMIA, you know that there are only a few check-in counter. If I remember correctly, there was only I counter allotted for Tiger Airways. However, we didn't wait too long at all. I think only around 30 mins. The lady at the check-in counter is also very kind.
Flight - we encounter a few air turbulence due to bad weather. It was raining really hard before take-off. I thought our flight will be delayed or canceled. Good thing that it stopped raining 30 mins before take-off. During the flight, the captain gave timely update about the weather in SG and the status of our flight.
A funny thing that happened is that we had to wait in the departure gate for the bus to come and take us to the plane (fyi: DMIA has no 2nd floor before), we waited for 10 mins on the gate (we can't see outside because the walls were not made of glass unlike NAIA), rode the bus and realised that, had we walked going to the plane, we'll only be walking for about 3 mins. lol.
Food - because this is a budget airlines, food is not included on the airfare. However, you can pre-purchase it online during booking. They also sell some light snacks and drinks on the flight. Just make sure that you have enough cash to pay for it. They accept PHP and SGD as their mode of payment.
Take-off and Landing - Despite the bad weather, we had a smooth take-off. I didn't even feel the difference if not for the fact that I saw the plane lift from the runway. (or was I just too excited for the trip?! lol).
conclusion: I enjoyed my first international flight with Tiger Airways. ^_^
Note: I found this post rotting on my draft since 2012. T_T
