Dow Jones
Wednesday March 24, 9:29 PM AEDT
Singapore's Tiger Airways Picks Airbus A320s For Fleet
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Singapore Airlines Ltd.'s budget airline affiliate - Tiger Airways - Wednesday said it has chosen new Airbus A320 airplanes for its fleet.
Tiger Airways, which expects to commence flights in the fourth quarter of 2004, said it will lease the first four aircraft from Airbus.
A statement from Airbus Wednesday said two leased aircraft will be delivered to Tiger Airways in July, while the other two will be delivered in December.
"With the new aircraft, we will benefit from simplicity in operations, better fuel efficiencies and lower maintenance costs. These cost savings will be passed on to our customers. Tiger will offer the lowest possible fares across its network," Patrick Gan, Tiger Airways' chief executive, said in a statement.
The budget carrier's application for its Airline Operators' Certificate is being processed.
Tiger Airways will be based at Singapore's Changi Airport as will its rival Valuair, set up by SIA veteran Lim Chin Beng.
Valuair took delivery of its first two A320 aircraft March 20 and expects to commence flights from early May.
In contrast to Tiger Airways' A320 configuration which will seat 180 passengers, Valuair's aircraft seats 162 passengers.
And unlike most other budget airlines, Valuair intends to provide some in-flight service.
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