Brisbane base on the cards apparently.......
Tiger flags new Australian crew bases
Tiger flags new Australian crew bases
3/11/2010 6:05:01 PM
Tiger Airways recorded net profit of $A11.0m.
Tiger Airways has flagged establishing a new Australian base for aircraft and crew, as the low-cost carrier expands its operations.
Tiger Airways group chief executive Tony Davis said the airline would "inevitably" base airplanes and crews beyond its current base of Adelaide and Melbourne's Tullamarine and Avalon airports.
"We are talking to airports and state governments right now with a view to announcing some more bases in the coming year," Mr Davis said from Singapore during a conference call on Wednesday.
The Singapore-headquartered Tiger began flying in Australia in November 2007 from bases at Tullamarine Airport and Adelaide.
It was due to begin operations from Melbourne's Avalon Airport later this month, where two aircraft will be based.
It announced recently that Brisbane-Sydney flights would start in February next year.
Mr Davis said Tiger's policy was for its crews and aircraft to return to their home base at the end of each day in a bid to reduce costs.
The airline will have 12 aircraft flying in Australia by the end of fiscal 2011.
Tiger recorded a net profit of $S16 million ($A12.5 million) in the six months to September 30, as revenue growth outpaced increases in passenger volumes.
The result was a turnaround from a $S8.3 million loss in the prior corresponding period, Tiger said on Tuesday.
Revenue for the half rose 39.4 per cent to $S229.8 million, of which roughly a quarter was from ancillary revenue, or fees paid for items such as checking in bags, seat selection or food on board.
Mr Davis said the airline was always looking for ways of increasing ancillary revenue to somewhere closer to 35 per cent of total revenue.
Asked what further initiatives could be introduced in a bid to increase ancillary revenue, Mr Davis said: "The honest answer is I don't know, but we are not going to stop looking."
Tiger ranks fifth among all airlines in terms of the percentage of revenue derived from ancillary services.
Mr Davis said forward bookings were strong for the peak travel period between December and February.
Tiger said it was focused on "ramping up services on existing routes as well as introducing new routes, in particular to Greater China and India from Singapore, and domestically in Australia".
Mr Davis also reiterated the airline's desire for rules to be changed to allow Tiger to begin international operations from Australia, particularly to New Zealand.
He said adding Tiger to the sector would help mitigate any competition issues in relation to the proposed alliance between Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand on trans-Tasman routes, adding that it was "absolutely nonsensical" that Tiger is currently excluded.
Hope it lasts longer than the Adelaide base.