MORE than 30 additional jobs will be created as Tiger Airways' new Airbus A320 kicks off its Adelaide operations from March 1. The low-cost airline's
two Airbus A320 aircrafts, which will be based in Adelaide, will fly to six destinations - Canberra, Hobart, Gold Coast, Alice Springs, Perth and Melbourne.
Besides the airline's recruitment of
40 cabin crew and 12 pilots, additional jobs are being created in the ground handling and overnight maintenance services area.
Ground-handling services provider Aero-Care Pty Ltd is hiring 30 more staff while overnight maintenance services company John Holland Aviation Services will create up to five new jobs, Tiger Airways said.
A John Holland spokesperson said the company will look to expand this team alongside the expansion of Tiger Airways' services and other business opportunities within the South Australian market.
South Australia is going to benefit from the price revolution, which has already saved $60 million for customers since Tiger was launched in 2007, Tiger Airways managing director Shelley Roberts said.
"Australia has never seen the fares we are talking about,'' Ms Roberts said.
Tiger's entry will ease the pain of rival Jetstar closing its base here last year, especially with more aircraft likely to be added in Adelaide over the coming years based on demand.
It is widely believed the choice of Adelaide as a second base was partly due to a deal struck with Adelaide Airport Ltd and a $2 million carrot from the State Government, but Ms Roberts said customer support and demand were the main attractions to setting up a base here.
"The decision was based on the market for our services,'' she added.
In fact, a decision to upgrade from a 144-seat Airbus A319 to new 177-seat Airbus A320s was prompted by the perceived demand for low-cost services in Adelaide
.
Tiger's plans come as rival budget carrier Virgin Blue's announced up to 400 job cuts from its Australian workforce and ground five aircraft due to declining demand.
Qantas also said it was scaling back operations and cancelling some international flight routes.
However Ms Roberts - who will address the Deloitte Women of Influence luncheon organised by the American Chamber of Commerce SA at the Hyatt Regency on Friday - said the airline was actively exploring a number of opportunities to bring in more point-to-point services.
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