By Desmond Ng

ARE passengers expecting too much from budget airlines? Or have their services been found wanting this year?

The number of complaints filed with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) against budget airlines has more than doubled. There were 157 this year compared with 75 in last year.

This is the highest since budget airlines started operating here in 2004.

Tiger Airways, the budget airline with the largest number of flights at Changi airport, also drew the most complaints, with 84 complaints, up from 40 last year.

There were 54 complaints against Jetstar Asia Airways, up from 31 last year.

The consumer watchdog said that most of these disputes involve unsatisfactory services such as loss of luggage or the vendor failing to give reasons for flight cancellations.

There are also grouses over failure to honour contracts (for example, trip cancelled without notice), misrepresentation and misleading advertisements on pricing.

Mr Seah Seng Choon, executive director of Case, said the increase in complaints could be because more people are flying budget in the recession and also because of the recent siege of Bangkok's airports.

Mr Seah said: 'We agree that budget airlines should provide some degree of support whenever passengers are stranded. Doing nothing is not acceptable.'

He said there should be a dispute resolution system in place for consumers who want to seek redress or voice their complaints.

'Keeping costs to a bare minimum doesn't mean that they (the carriers) shouldn't pay attention to customer service,' he said.

When this reporter called Jetstar Asia yesterday to try to speak to its media officer, I was told to write a letter to its PO boxes in Australia and Singapore and wait for a reply.

The customer service officer said the airline does not have an e-mail system to handle such requests.

Problems with inadequate call centre service have also left consumers like undergraduate Karen Chua wondering whether the cost savings is worth the frustration.

This 25-year-old used to fly to Cebu about five times a year to visit her friends there. She usually takes Cebu Pacific because it's cheaper.

But her experiences have not left her satisfied, especially when she has to contact the carrier's call centre, which is in Manila.

That means having to pay overseas charges when she calls from Singapore.

Said Ms Chua: 'You wait like forever on the phone when you call the call centre. Once when I had to cancel my ticket, it took me half an hour before I could get in touch with a customer service person.

'It cost me more than $30 for that phone call which is ridiculous.'

The flight ticket cost her about $200.

She claimed that it's not unusual for departures to be delayed by more than an hour.

'I fly with them very often and six out of 10 times, their flights are delayed,' she added.

Ms Chua, who recently booked a ticket to Vietnam with Tiger Airways, said its online pricing details are not sufficiently transparent.

This is because the airline charges extra for luggage space and credit card booking.

She said: 'For consumers like me, these hidden costs can be misleading because I am trying to compare prices with other airlines.

'These budget airlines may be low cost but it shouldn't be at the expense of their service.'

Nevertheless, Ms Chua still continues to fly budget because of its attractive pricing.

Tiger Airways chief operating officer Steve Burns said it has flown millions of passengers to and from Singapore in the last year.

And the company is content that the overwhelming majority of their customers are happy with the value they get.

Said Mr Burns: 'In recent weeks, events such as the unforeseen closure of the Bangkok airport have meant that call centres of all airlines have been under considerable pressure to deal with queries from the public about the disruption to their travel plans.

'Our customers do understand that events such as these are outside the control of the airlines.'

Mr Burns said that in dealing with queries from the public, every communication received by Tiger is dealt with on an individual basis.

Jetstar Asia said it has increased its routes from 12 in 2007 to 15 this year, leading to a 20 per cent increase in passengers.