Uhhhh thank you? What else is there to say to an airline boss when he confirms passengers will ‘never’ be charged for using the toilet mid-flight?
But don’t go getting too gracious.
John Borghetti, who now oversees the airline since it was purchased by Virgin Australia, says while Tigerair won’t charge passengers to pee, he is a fan of ancillary fees that will improve the low-cost experience for travellers.
Although he didn’t reveal what future Tigerair passengers could be paying for, he did stress that ancillary charges are important to the low-cost model and it’s something the airline will investigate to further improve revenue.
“There are a lot of things you can do to add value for the customer that he or she will pay for.”
“If someone says I’m prepared to pay $10 to sit by the window, or I’m prepared to pay $10 to get whatever, if it’s within your power and if that’s what they want, then, assuming it’s legal, you’d probably do it. You don’t want to make it too complex.”
In a statement from Tigerair Australia, the airline said it is all about providing great value fares for customers on a consistent basis, this is done by allowing customers to choose, which items they wish to pay for.
“Over the past year Tigerair has introduced a number of products based on consumer demand and to make the customer experience better.
Tigerair statement
“These include web check-in, self-serve check in kiosks with automated bag drop facilities in key ports, a new inflight menu with pre order items, priority boarding and the Express Fare bundle.
“The rebrand to Tigerair in July 2013 signalled a new era for the airline in Australia and a firm commitment to putting the customer first. Any further initiatives will be announced in due course and as always, these will be in line with customer demand and feedback.”
Currently, passengers flying Tigerair pay for a choice of ‘extras’ such as $20 prepaid baggage or a $13 meal.
Meanwhile, Mr Borghetti confirmed last week that Tigerair has made a profit over the first six months of the current financial year – the airline’s first profit since 2010.
The financial report shared through ASX last week showed Tigerair has a statutory loss of $24.8 million for the six months to 31 December 2014, however, underlying profit before tax was in the black to $0.5 million for the second quarter 2014/15.
Overall, the Virgin Australia group achieved an underlying profit before tax rise of $10.2 million. The result was an increase from a loss of $45.4 million during the corresponding period the prior year.