Tiger Airways

Unfortunately there is a hitch in my plan.  I was notified last night that my flight from Cairns to Melbourne on July 21st has been cancelled.  I had heard somewhere in the news a little while back that Tiger Airways might be in some trouble, but didn't see any major stories or anything develop.  The email that I received last night said, "As you may be aware, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has instructed Tiger Airways to suspend all Australian domestic services until (and including) 31 July 2011.  We regret to advise that your flight has been cancelled as a result."  So now I am looking at my options and nothing seems very promising.  I'll be getting a refund from Tiger, but the flights now are more expensive.  My other option would be a 54 hour bus trip, but I found that it isn't any cheaper and would definitely be more painful, so I crossed that off the list.  It looks like I'm going to have to shell out some serious cash to get back to home base, which is frustrating but I guess can't be helped at this point.