This is one country music song that has a happy ending. Tiger Airways, already embarrassed by its forced grounding this month, has finally bowed to pressure from a Texas-based country music star seeking compensation over a lost box full of 120 CDs.
The Singapore Airlines-backed carrier this morning confirmed it had repaid Dale Watson the $2000 wholesale cost of the 120 CDs and the $500 excess baggage charge for the lost cargo.
‘‘We have covered the excess baggage and we’ve come to an agreement with Dale ... [to cover] the wholesale cost of his package,’’ said Tiger spokesman Simon Murphy.
‘‘We see it as a one-off,’’ he said.
But after being pursued by Watson for four months, the payment has come too late for Tiger to stop the aggrieved country musician from posting a clip online of his song Tiger Airways - We Don't Careways.
Watson, who is well-known on the live music circuit of his hometown of Austin in Texas, has already been playing the tune to live audiences.
His ordeal with Tiger started when his baggage was lost on a flight during his Australian tour in April.
Attempts by the musician and his Australian representative Karl Bergersen to be compensated involved dozens of unanswered phone calls and numerous broken promises. The delay of several cheques was blamed on ashclouds and the airlines grounding.
Sydney fans of Watson who already made aware of his problems with Tiger when his live performance in April was peppered with criticisms of his Tiger’s customer service.
Aside from the lost CDs, one of his band members had to pay $500 to get his pedal steel guitar on a Tiger flight.Murphy, along with Tim Archer, get a special mention on Watson’s song for being part of the airline’s unhelpful public relations team.
Asked what he thought of getting a mention on the Tiger Airways song, Murphy said: ‘‘It’s not really a personal matter. It’s not a personal slur.’’
‘‘It’s an airline matter. I’ve done what I can to be an intermediary here,’’ he said.
srochfort@smh.com.au
