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Tiger Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
TR TGW GO CAT
FoundedDecember 2003
HubsSingapore Changi Airport (Budget Terminal)
Fleet size19 (+57 orders)
Destinations19
Parent companyTiger Airways Holdings Limited
HeadquartersSingapore
Key peopleTony Davis (CEO)
Websitehttp://www.tigerairways.com

Tiger Airways is a low-cost, low-service airline based in Singapore, with its primary hub at Singapore Changi Airport. Incorporated in September 2003, it is currently the largest low-cost airline operating out of Singapore in terms of passengers carried. In 2006, the airline flew 1.2 million passengers, a growth of 75% from the previous year.[1]

The airline was the first to operate from the Budget Terminal in Changi Airport in order to achieve operating-cost savings[2] and its cost structure is modelled after Ryanair. Despite regional competition, the airline has reiterated its current intention to remain focused on flying within a five-hour radius from its Singaporean base.[3] To overcome regulatory hurdles in the region, the airline attempts to buy into regional carriers to expand into a pan-Asian carrier.[4]

Flights to India started in October 2007, and expansion to Malaysia was started in 2008.[5] [6] Former plans to establish a hub in Manila (Clark) have been suspended.

Group consolidated profit improved by S$24.7m from a loss of S$14.8m FY 31 March 2007 to a profit of S$9.9m FY 31 March 2008.

History

The airline was incorporated on 12 December 2003 and began ticket sales on 31 August 2004. The airline flew into a period of relative difficulty for the aviation industry with rising oil prices and intense competition from other airlines. The airline held off imposing fuel surcharges as its competitors have done.

With Singapore Airlines having a stake in the airline, it is noted that the airline occasionally fills in the gap when SIA drops its services from certain destinations. Macau, once served by SIA before being taken up by its subsidiary, SilkAir, in 2002, terminated all flights completely by the end of 2004. Three months later, the route was taken over by Tiger Airways with flights commencing 25 March 2005. A similar pattern can be observed in Krabi, where SilkAir suspended services in February 2005 in the wake of the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Tiger Airways resumed direct services to the location from 7 October 2005.

In late July 2005, it was announced that the airline would commence flights from Macau to Manila (Clark) on 30 October 2005, a much-heralded move as it may signal the establishment of a secondary base besides Singapore, allowing the airline to expand and diversify risks.

On 21 September 2005 the company produced a report card on its first year of operations, with a total of over 500,000 passengers carried, 5000 scheduled flights flown, and a flight completion rate of 98.7 per cent. 94 per cent of flight departures and 90 per cent of arrivals took place according to schedule. It acquired four aircraft and launched a total of nine routes - of which four are flown exclusively by the airline - during the year.

The airline expects to increase its fleet to nine Airbus A320 aircraft by end 2006, and to carry up to three million passengers a year by then. It also hopes to add six more routes during the year, primarily to destinations in China and India,[7] with flights to Southern China having commenced April. The airline also announced its switch from Singapore Airport Terminal Services to Swissport for ground handling when it becomes the first airline to operate at the newly-opened Budget Terminal in Changi Airport on 26 March 2006.

Tiger Airways became the first Singaporean low-cost carrier to receive operating permits from the Chinese aviation authorities to fly to the southern Chinese cities of Haikou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in an announcement on 21 February 2006. Ticket sales to these destinations commenced 24 February 2006, with the first flight to Shenzhen taking place on 15 April, to Haikou from 26 April and to Guangzhou from 27 April 2006. The airline has since indicated that the routes were highly popular, with increased flights to Haikou and Guangzhou less than three months since their launch.[8]

In June 2006, flights to Danang were suspended. On 20 July 2006 the media reported on the airline's intentions to increase its routes from 15 to 20 and to establish a second base city by the end of the year. Possible growth regions include China, Southern India, Cambodia and Brunei.[9] The airline's plans for a possible initial public offering was also revealed. At the same time, it announced that it saw an increase of 81 per cent in passengers carried in the months of April to June since its move to the Budget Terminal in March, compared to the same period in the previous year.

A planned tie-up with South East Asian Airlines[10] was held up by the Civil Aeronautics Board of the Philippines. The board finally approved the proposed tie-up despite protests from other Philippine airlines[11], but as of 2008, there has been no further progress. On 15 November 2008 Tiger terminated its flights from Manila to Macau.[12]

Tiger started services from Singapore to Perth on March 23, 2007.

Tiger Airways Australia

Main article: Tiger Airways Australia

On 9 February 2007 Tiger Airways formally announced that it hoped to become Australia's third full-scale domestic airline, competing directly with Virgin Blue and Qantas/Jetstar.[13] Tiger Airways Australia will use their Australian domestic network to support an expanded international presence with the current gateway of Perth, expanded to include Melbourne. On 16 March 2007 the airline received approval from Australian authorities to establish the new subsidiary,[14] and established Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd on the same day.[15]

Tiger Airways Australia began operations on 23 November 2007, and its current route network already spans every state in the country. On 31 July 2008 Tiger Airways Australia announced that it would suspend its flights from Darwin on 25 October, citing Darwin International Airport operating and fuel costs, making it the most expensive airport on the Tiger Airways Australia network but did not rule out returning in the future if costs were to decrease.[16] Tiger resumed services to Darwin on Friday 18th, June 2010.[17] On 5 August 2008 the airline announced Adelaide as its second operational base[18] and began services on 10 January 2010.

Avalon Airport is to become Tiger Airways Australia's third base, second for Victoria / Melbourne area, and will commence services on 10 November 2010.[19]

Incheon Tiger Airways

On 5 November 2007 Tiger Airways announced that it would be starting a Korean-based budget airline. Incheon Tiger Airways was to have been a joint venture between Tiger Aviation and Incheon Metropolitan City, flying to destinations in Japan, China, Mongolia and the Russian Far East. The airline was to be based in Seoul's Incheon Airport and planned to begin services by 2009; however, the project was abandoned in December 2008.[20]

Thai Tiger Airways

Main article: Thai Tiger Airways

Tiger Airways and Thai Airways International will form an airline based in Thailand, where Thai Airways International and Tiger Airways will own 51% and 49% respectively of the newly formed airline. [21]. Operations are expected to begin in the 1st quarter of 2011.[22]

Corporate management

Tiger Airways is wholly owned by Tiger Airways Holdings Limited, a holding company set up in 2007 to manage both Tiger Airways and start-up Australian subsidiary Tiger Airways Australia. Tiger Airways' original founding shareholders were Singapore Airlines (49%), Bill Franke's Indigo Partners (24%); Tony Ryan's Irelandia Investments (16%) and Temasek Holdings (11%).[23] Tiger Airways Holdings Limited is listed on SGX since 2010.

Financial performance

Tiger Airways Holdings Financial Highlights[24]
Year ended Revenue
(S$m)		 Expenditure
(S$m)		 Operating profit
(S$m)		 Profit before
taxation (S$m)		 Profit attributable to
equity holders (S$m)		 EPS after tax
– diluted (cents)
31 March 2006 75 NA (37.4) NA NA NA
31 March 2007 171.2 NA (14.3) NA NA NA
31 March 2008 231 NA 37.8 NA NA NA
31 March 2009 378.0 425.5 (47.5) (47.6) (50.8) (0.14)
31 March 2010 486.2 458.2 28.0 19.9 28.2 0.07

Note: Tiger Aviation Holdings Limited was listed on 22 January 2010. Full financial information may not be publicised prior to that date.

Operating performance

Tiger Airways Operating Highlights (Including all subsidiaries)[24]
Year ended Passengers
(thousand)		 RPK
(million)		 ASK
(million)		 Load factor
(%)		 Seat capacity
(thousands)
31 March 2009 3,167 5,245 6,459 79.4% 3,989
31 March 2010 4,872 6,768 7,847 85.1% 5,723

Destinations

Main article: Tiger Airways destinations

Tiger Airways currently flies to destinations within an approximate five-hour radius around Singapore to 19 destinations in eight countries around the region. Thailand is its first and biggest market, with four cities served, taking advantage of the open-skies agreement between Singapore and Thailand. Current aviation agreements have prevented the airline from flying to neighbouring Malaysia except Kuala Lumpur (starting February 2008), although in September 2006, it was granted rights to fly to Kuching, Miri and Sibu in a bid to boost tourism in Sarawak.[25]

Future plans include:

  • Increasing the number of aircraft in its fleet to 20 by 2010.[26]
  • Singapore -Bandar Seri Begawan, Singapore -Pontianak, Singapore-Sibu, Singapore-Miri, Singapore-Hong Kong
  • Singapore - Kuala Terengganu [27]
  • Tiger Airways plans to deliver more domestic Australian routes, competing with Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Blue and other regional airlines. It recognised this gap in the market for truly cheap fares as Virgin Blue, also a low-cost carrier, has improved its services for business travellers, as well as opening lounges and introducing a frequent-flyer scheme; therefore, operating a dearer business model[citation needed].
  • Tiger Airways has gained approval from Indian authorities to start flying to four more cities in India (Goa, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli , Kolkata and Kozhikode), and has started flights to Chennai and Bangalore.

Fleet

Tiger Airways Australia Airbus A320-200 at Melbourne Airport

The airline operates a single-model fleet consisting of Airbus A320 aircraft powered by IAE V2500 engines. All aircraft offer single-class economy seating for 180 seats each. The seat pitch is approximately 72.5 cm for standard rows and 97.5 cm for extra leg room and exit rows.[28]

The first aircraft order comprised four aircraft, commencing operations with two aircraft before the remaining four were delivered in January 2005.[29] A second order for an additional eight to be delivered between March 2006 and 2007[30] was made in June 2005, with the Royal Bank of Scotland helped finance the four of the aircraft in the second order, worth a total of about US$500 million.[31]

In July 2006, the airline announced its first sale and leaseback agreement with GATX Air for two aircraft due for delivery in October 2006 and November 2007 respectively. It also announced its intentions to exercise its options for eight additional aircraft for a total of 20 planes.[32]

On 17 October 2006 the airline confirmed its purchase options for another eight aircraft to be delivered between 2008 and 2010 in a deal worth S$780 million. The purchase was expected to help the airline enter its next expansion phase.[33] On 4 January 2007, Tiger announced that it had secured a US$100 million pre delivery deposits facility from the French bank, BNP Paribas to finance this purchase.

On 21 June 2007, Tiger Airways announced it had signed a letter of intent to purchase a further 30 aircraft worth US$2.2 billion, with another 20 on option. These would be delivered between 2011 and 2014.[34]

On 10 October 2007, Tiger Airways confirmed the letter of intent signed in June for the purchase of 30 aircraft with 20 more on option. The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between 2011 and 2014. The new aircraft will be deployed in Tiger Airways' Asia-Pacific network and the domestic operation in Australia.[35]

On 18 December 2007, Tiger Airways announced that it had taken up the options and this increased the number of Airbus A320s ordered by the airline to 70.[36]

On 6 March, during a speech to the Australian National Aviation Press Club, chief executive officer Tony Davis said that the airline would take two Airbus A319s to enable it to fly into smaller Australian airports.

As of January 2010 the Tiger Airways (Singapore) fleet consists of the following aircraft in an all-economy configuration:[37]

Tiger Airways Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-132 2 0 144 Initially intended for Tiger Airways Australia
Airbus A320-232 17 57 180 Orders to be deployed among Tiger Aviation Group subsidiaries
Total 19 57

In-flight

Food and Beverage Options

Tiger Airways offers food and beverages available for purchase as part of a buy on board programme.[38] The menu offers light meals such as instant noodles, soups and sandwiches. Hot and cold beverages as well as liquor are also available for purchase.

Entertainment

There is no free in-flight entertainment provided on board Tiger Airways flights, however passengers can pay S$15 for the use of an in-flight video player which can be used for the duration of that flight. An in-flight magazine, Tiger Tales, is provided as free reading material for passengers.

References

  1. ^ "Tiger Airways sees 75% jump in number of passengers". Channel NewsAsia. 19 January 2007.
  2. ^ "The Proven Business Model". Tiger Airways. 19 January 2007.
  3. ^ "Budget carrier Tiger Airways to launch service to Perth". Channel NewsAsia. 12 January 2007.
  4. ^ "Tiger Airways looks to retailing for business model". Aviation Week.
  5. ^ "2006 continued to be a turbulent year for budget airlines". Channel NewsAsia. 4 January 2007.
  6. ^ "Tiger Airways to start flights to India in October". Channel NewsAsia. 3 July 2007.
  7. ^ "Tiger Airways picks Swissport as new ground handler". Channel NewsAsia. 18 January 2007.
  8. ^ (Press release). Tiger Airways. 2006-06-13 Tiger Airways offers more flights to "hot" destinations http://www.tigerairways.com/about/press/Press_13_06_06.html Tiger Airways offers more flights to "hot" destinations. {{cite press release}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ "Tiger Airways set to expand to more bases before year-end". Channel NewsAsia. 20 July 2006.
  10. ^ "Tiger Airways in tie-up with SEAir Philippines". Channel NewsAsia. 29 September 2006.
  11. ^ "CAB approves Seair-Tiger deal on lease of aircraft". Manila Times. 8 August 2008. - last retrieved 24 Sept 2008
  12. ^ http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news08/411-TigerAirways.shtml
  13. ^ "Singapore's Tiger Airways to pounce on Australian domestic market". Channel NewsAsia. 9 February 2007.
  14. ^ "Growing Tiger gets its stripes". The Australian. 16 March 2007.
  15. ^ "Tiger Airways sets up Aussie subsidiary". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 March 2007.
  16. ^ "Tiger suspends all Darwin flights". Northern Territory News. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  17. ^ "Tiger Airways Roars Back To Darwin" (PDF). Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd. 2010-06-18. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  18. ^ http://news.theage.com.au/national/tiger-sets-up-second-home-in-adelaide-20080805-3q9s.html
  19. ^ "Tiger Airways Announces New Base and Two New Aircraft For Avalon Airport and Victoria" (PDF). Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  20. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jZsb0rbO3c43hnNhCaGqp9-oFqkg
  21. ^ http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_560639.html
  22. ^ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/new-thai-tiger-to-fight-jetstar/story-e6frfh4f-1225900014036
  23. ^ http://www.domain-b.com/industry/aviation/20070703_tiger_airways.htm
  24. ^ a b "Investor Relations". Retrieved 2010-08-10. Cite error: The named reference "SA_annual_report" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ "Tiger Airways to fly to M'sian cities on Borneo Island". The Business Times. 11 September 2006.
  26. ^ "Tiger Airways looks to the future with fleet of 70 A320 aircraft" (Press release).
  27. ^ "Terengganu and Sarawak to get flights from Singapore", The Star, 2009-05-19
  28. ^ http://www.tigerairways.com/in/en/seat_selector.php
  29. ^ "Even More Tiger Airways Flights to Bangkok" (Press release). Tiger Airways. 2005-01-06.
  30. ^ "Tiger Airways to Triple Its Fleet" (Press release). Tiger Airways. 2005-06-29.
  31. ^ "Tiger Airways secures funding for first four new aircraft" (Press release). Tiger Airways. 2005-10-06.
  32. ^ "Tiger Airways and GATX in sale/leaseback agreement for two Airbus A320 aircraft" (Press release). Tiger Airways. 2006-07-02.
  33. ^ "Tiger Airways buys 8 new Airbus to increase fleet to 20 by 2010". Channel NewsAsia. 17 October 2006.
  34. ^ "Tiger Airways orders up to 50 more A320 aircraft" (Press release). Airbus. 2007-06-21.
  35. ^ Tiger Airways confirms order for 30 Airbus A320 planes
  36. ^ "Tiger Airways looks to the future with fleet of 70 A320 aircraft" (Press release). Airbus. 2007-12-18.
  37. ^ List of Aircraft on Singapore Register as of 31 January 2010 retrieved 18 February 2010.
  38. ^ "Onboard Food and Beverages." Tiger Airways. Accessed 10 November 2008.
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