SINGAPORE: Singapore's upcoming low-fare airline Tiger Airways has applied for an operating licence, company officials said on Tuesday amid media reports that it will also go head-to-head with major carriers.
Tiger Airways will fly to destinations up to five hours from Singapore and is "possibly looking at the big cities and leisure points as well," a local newspaper quoted the airline's adviser Charlie Clifton as saying.
However, a spokesperson from the airline told AFP they were not ready to disclose specific destinations yet.
The Singapore government is already laying out plans to accommodate the operations and possible expansion of low cost carriers (LCCs) such as Tiger Airways.
A terminal specifically tailored to meet the needs of budget airlines will be added at Singapore's Changi Airport, Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said in parliament on Monday.
"This way, we will ensure that we are well prepared should the LCCs take off in a big way in Asia," he said.
Tiger Airways' licence application was filed with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
The airline, jointly owned by Singapore Airlines, the founders of European no-frills carrier Ryan Air, Singapore investment holding company Temasek Holdings and American investors Indigo Partners, said it expects to start flights in the fourth quarter of this year.
It will face competition from a number of budget airlines based in Southeast Asia such as market leader AirAsia of Malaysia as well as upcoming carriers ValuAir from Singapore and Nok Air from Thailand. - AFP
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Courtesy channelnewsasia.com - Tuesday, March 16th 2004
New budget carrier Tiger Airways picks Airbus' A320s for take-off
SINGAPORE : Airbus has beaten Boeing to emerge as the preferred choice of Singapore's soon-to-be-launched budget carriers.
Last month, ValuAir signed a deal to lease two 162-seater Airbus A320s.
And now rival Tiger Airways is following suit, with its first four A320s slated for delivery in the second half of this year, ready for the airline to take-off by year-end.
They will be on lease and will each seat 180 passengers in a single cabin configuration.
That means it will be packing in 18 more passengers per plane than ValuAir.
Tiger's new CEO Patrick Gan says these planes will have better fuel efficiencies and lower maintenance costs than others it considered, and this will be passed onto its customers. - CNA
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Courtesy channelnewsasia.com