Traveling to Japan feels like coming home!

Just how much do Taiwanese people love

% Forging... (Unintelligible segment, likely corrupted text)

Last August, the low-cost airline brand "V Air" under the Revival Group announced its closure. At the time, there were reports that Tigerair Taiwan was also struggling with losses. However, after changing its business model, Tigerair Taiwan turned a profit in the first quarter of this year. Over the past year, what have been the online discussions about low-cost carriers on Japan routes?

First up is Tigerair Taiwan, which has seen the most changes. Starting in the second half of 2016, it actively expanded its charter flights and group passenger services while also promoting itself through various events to attract independent travelers. Although other low-cost carriers received much less discussion compared to Tigerair, according to passenger volume data published by the Civil Aeronautics Administration for August 2017, all five low-cost carriers exceeded 80% capacity on all their routes—especially Tokyo routes, which all surpassed 90%. It seems the other low-cost carriers are quietly cleaning up too.

% The advantages of flying out of Taiwan, highlighting Tigerair Taiwan’s frequent activities

Let’s take a closer look at the events that sparked heated discussions. For Tigerair Taiwan, there were five clear peaks over the past year: December 26, announcing the sale of summer flights and FB ticket giveaways; January 16, announcing new routes available for sale on January 20 with FB ticket giveaways; February 24, announcing the new website going live on March 1 with FB ticket giveaways; March 1, major system crash on new system launch day; July 21, announcing the sale of winter flights starting July 25 with FB ticket giveaways; August 4, promoting a beer fun run with FB beer giveaways. It’s clear Tigerair Taiwan is leveraging its local advantages to host various raffles and running events to boost brand awareness.

% But advertising can backfire if not handled well, as we’ll see next

However, aggressive advertising can have both positive and negative effects. For example, Tigerair Taiwan’s massive system crash in March was a backlash caused by an overwhelming number of users trying to book tickets, exceeding system capacity. Although Tigerair later introduced various benefits to appease angry customers, the results can be seen in the comparison chart of public sentiment across the five major low-cost carriers. While the other four carriers had around 50% positive feedback, Tigerair only had 30%. It seems it will not be easy to turn around its negative image in a short time.

% Advice: Pay close attention to the details, especially when booking last minute

Everyone knows that low-cost carriers are cheap because they turn traditional airline services into “pay-for” options to save costs. If you’re willing to pay, you could even bring home a water boiler weighing 40–50 kilos—but if you want to save money, you can travel with just a backpack and skip checked baggage altogether. However, each low-cost carrier has different cabin baggage standards. In terms of overall discussion volume, the proportions among the airlines are relatively even, but Vanilla Air, which only accounts for 4.4% of total discussions, has a whopping 19.4% of its discussions focused on baggage. This is because Vanilla has very strict rules on carry-on suitcase dimensions—any carry-on exceeding the allowed size must be checked. Not all carry-ons are allowed on board, which has been a constant topic of online discussion.

% But delays and cancelations are no joke either

Are low-cost carriers unsafe just because they’re so cheap? To this day, many people still have this misconception. As mentioned earlier, low-cost carriers cut costs on meals, baggage, and other value-added services, but they are not necessarily less safe than traditional airlines. In May this year, UK aviation research firm OAG released its 2017 global flight punctuality rankings, and among low-cost carriers, Tigerair (which merged with Scoot in June) and Jetstar Asia both made the list. Additionally, aviation rating website AirlineRatings.com ranked Jetstar Asia as one of the world’s top 10 safest low-cost carriers in its January global safety evaluation.

That said, if there are delays or cancellations, low-cost carriers’ compensation policies aren’t as generous as those of traditional airlines. To avoid losses from delays or cancelations, it’s best to get travel delay insurance.

Cabin baggage quantity limits for each low-cost carrier. (Image/ provided by Web Temperature)

Cabin baggage size limits for each low-cost carrier. (Image/ provided by Web Temperature)

% But there are hidden costs that are hard to spot

The cost is still passed on to you—if you don’t understand the low-cost carrier rules and blindly book, you could face big losses. For example...

1. Seeing the cheapest deal and booking, only to have your plans change and lose the whole ticket

Low-cost carriers generally do not allow date changes, name transfers, or refunds. Even if date changes are permitted, the fee is usually very high—almost the cost of buying a new ticket.

2. Why choose a seat? I heard you can sit together if you select seats at the same time

Do you think airlines are stupid? Anything not stated on the official site doesn’t count. Not choosing a seat means risking being seated apart. Arguing with ground staff based on “what others said online” won’t help.

3. The difference between flights isn’t just the price

“Airline A is cheaper than Airline B!” You book it, only to find Airline A departs later and arrives earlier, costing you more in taxi fares to the city (or an extra night’s accommodation). When you do the math, it might actually cost more than Airline B.