Wirraway
21st Jul 2004, 09:37
AP
Singapore's new budget carrier launched
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
SINGAPORE (AP) - New budget airline Tiger Airways - an offshoot of national carrier Singapore Airlines - entered the already crowded no-frills market in Southeast Asia on Wednesday, saying it has a business plan to eventually "dominate the region.''
The launch at Singapore's Changi Airport gave scant details on the business plan, with chief executive Patrick Gan saying only that the carrier intends to be profitable in a year and will order 12 new planes by 2006.
Gan said the carrier would be fully operational by the end of this year and intends to fly to "between five to 10 destinations'' that are within a 4-hour flight from Singapore.
He declined to divulge more when meeting with reporters, saying he didn't want to tip his hand to competitors.
"We're confident in our model and we know we'll succeed,'' said Gan. "The low-cost carrier business is a tough business. ... Eventually it will be a survival of the fittest.''
Tiger, which is also partly owned by Irish budget carrier Ryanair, is the second no-frills carrier to come out of the city-state after Valuair's May start.
Another yet-to-be-named carrier formed by Australia's Qantas is expected to fly by the end of 2004 - joining a host of other budget carriers already flying over Southeast Asian skies such as Malaysia's AirAsia, Thailand's Nok Air, Indonesia's Lion Air and Australia's Jetstar.
But Gan said Tiger had the backing and "unrivaled'' expertise of Singapore Airlines and Ryanair, adding that in the interim, it had seconded several pilots from the city-state's national carrier.
"We have a long-term business plan to dominate the region,'' said Gan, adding that they could offer fares up to 40 percent lower than full service airlines.
Gan admitted Tiger could take away some of Singapore Airlines' business because of its much cheaper fares.
Analysts say Tiger was formed partly in response to competition from airlines like AirAsia, which had been eating into margins on full-service airlines.
On Tuesday, Singapore said it would build a 45 million Singapore dollar (US$26 million) budget terminal specifically for low-cost airlines _ which Tiger has already committed to using when it is completed in 2006. - AP
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Singapore's new budget carrier launched
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
SINGAPORE (AP) - New budget airline Tiger Airways - an offshoot of national carrier Singapore Airlines - entered the already crowded no-frills market in Southeast Asia on Wednesday, saying it has a business plan to eventually "dominate the region.''
The launch at Singapore's Changi Airport gave scant details on the business plan, with chief executive Patrick Gan saying only that the carrier intends to be profitable in a year and will order 12 new planes by 2006.
Gan said the carrier would be fully operational by the end of this year and intends to fly to "between five to 10 destinations'' that are within a 4-hour flight from Singapore.
He declined to divulge more when meeting with reporters, saying he didn't want to tip his hand to competitors.
"We're confident in our model and we know we'll succeed,'' said Gan. "The low-cost carrier business is a tough business. ... Eventually it will be a survival of the fittest.''
Tiger, which is also partly owned by Irish budget carrier Ryanair, is the second no-frills carrier to come out of the city-state after Valuair's May start.
Another yet-to-be-named carrier formed by Australia's Qantas is expected to fly by the end of 2004 - joining a host of other budget carriers already flying over Southeast Asian skies such as Malaysia's AirAsia, Thailand's Nok Air, Indonesia's Lion Air and Australia's Jetstar.
But Gan said Tiger had the backing and "unrivaled'' expertise of Singapore Airlines and Ryanair, adding that in the interim, it had seconded several pilots from the city-state's national carrier.
"We have a long-term business plan to dominate the region,'' said Gan, adding that they could offer fares up to 40 percent lower than full service airlines.
Gan admitted Tiger could take away some of Singapore Airlines' business because of its much cheaper fares.
Analysts say Tiger was formed partly in response to competition from airlines like AirAsia, which had been eating into margins on full-service airlines.
On Tuesday, Singapore said it would build a 45 million Singapore dollar (US$26 million) budget terminal specifically for low-cost airlines _ which Tiger has already committed to using when it is completed in 2006. - AP
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