Tiger Airways Holdings Limited () was a
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
-based
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
for a group of
low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...
s operating in the Asia-Pacific region. It was formed in 2007 to allow for easier management of the airline subsidiaries, as well as any future expansion, without having to focus on operational issues, leaving those to the airlines themselves. In 2016,
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...
purchased the company and it was delisted from the
Singapore Exchange
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX Group) is a Singapore-based exchange conglomerate, operating Equity (finance), equity, fixed income, currency and commodity markets. It provides a range of listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and ...
.
Group companies
Tigerair (Tiger Airways Singapore)
Tigerair was incorporated on 12 December 2003 and began ticket sales on 31 August 2004. Services commenced on 15 September 2004 to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
. It operates scheduled international services from
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport ( ; ) is the primary international airport that serves the country of Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. More than 100 airlines operate from the airport, with flights to destinations in A ...
and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiger Airways Holdings.
In 2006, the airline flew 1.2 million passengers, a growth of 75% from the previous year. The airline was the first to operate from the Budget Terminal in Changi Airport in order to achieve operating-cost savings and its cost structure is modeled after
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...
. Despite regional competition, the airline has reiterated its current intention to remain focused on flying within a five-hour radius from its Singaporean base.
Following the acquisition of Tiger Airway Holdings by
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...
, the Tigerair brand was retired with operations merged into
Scoot
Scoot Pte Ltd, operating as Scoot, is a low-cost airline based in Singapore and a subsidiary of the country's flag carrier Singapore Airlines. It began its operations on 4 June 2012 on medium and long-haul routes from Singapore, predominantly t ...
, its sister budget airline.
Shareholders
Tigerair was listed on the
Singapore Exchange
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX Group) is a Singapore-based exchange conglomerate, operating Equity (finance), equity, fixed income, currency and commodity markets. It provides a range of listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and ...
in February 2010. As at 18 June 2014,
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...
, holding 40% of the issued shares, is the only substantial shareholder (i.e. holding at least 5% of the issued shares) of Tiger Airways Holdings.
Financial performance
The following table shows the financial performance of Tiger Airways Holdings.
Operating performance
Regional Partners
Due to the reorganization of Tiger Air into
Budget Aviation Holdings, the following partners have either taken full ownership of the Tiger Air branding or cancelled operations.
Regional affiliate partnership ventures
Tigerair Australia
Tiger Airways Australia was formed as the Australian affiliate of Tiger Airways. In February 2007, Tiger announced that it hoped to become
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's third full-scale domestic airline, competing directly with
Virgin Blue and
Qantas
Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
/
Jetstar
Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, doing business as, trading as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by the ...
. Tigerair Australia planned to use its Australian domestic network to support an expanded international presence through the gateway of
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, expanded to include
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. On 16 March 2007 the airline received approval from the
Foreign Investment Review Board to establish the new subsidiary/
Tiger Airways Australia began operations on 23 November 2007. In July 2008 Tiger announced that it would suspend its flights from
Darwin on 25 October, citing Darwin International Airport operating and fuel costs, making it the most expensive airport on the Tigerair Australia network but did not rule out returning in the future if costs were to decrease. Tigerair Australia resumed services to Darwin on Friday 18 June 2010. On 5 August 2008 the airline announced
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
as its second operational base and began services on 10 January 2010.
Tiger resumed flights on 2 August 2011, after it was grounded for safety issues, on a restricted schedule maintaining its hub in Melbourne. Tiger Airways Australia re-opened its second base at
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
with three aircraft in July 2012.
In October 2012,
Virgin Australia Holdings
Virgin Australia Holdings Pty Ltd is the holding company that owns and operates Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. It previously operated Pacific Blue Airlines, Tigerair Australia and joint-venture airline Polynesian Blue ...
(parent company of competitor Virgin Australia) announced its intention to purchase 60% of Tiger Airways Australia. The deal was completed in July 2013, after the airline had changed its name to Tigerair Australia.
In October 2014, Virgin Australia Holdings announced plans to acquire the remaining 40% stake in Tigerair Australia for
$1. Virgin retained the Tigerair name and acquired the brand rights for Tigerair to operate to some international destinations from Australia.
It ceased in March 2020.
Tigerair Taiwan
Tigerair Taiwan is a Taiwanese affiliate and was set up as a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
between
China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL; zh, t=中華航空, poj=Tiong-hôa Hâng-khong, p=Zhōnghuá Hángkōng, first=t, c=, s=) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan). It is one of Taiwan's two major airlines, along with E ...
and Tiger Airways Holdings. China Airlines holds a 90% stake in the new carrier, while Tiger Airways Holdings holds the remaining 10%.
The carrier is based at
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣桃園國際機場) is the main international airport serving Taiwan, particularly the northern region and Taipei. Located in Dayuan, Taoyuan, approximately west of Taipei, t ...
and currently has 6 aircraft.
It was the first Taiwan-based LCC to start operations and the only LCC in the country that are still flying (The other being
V Air of
Transasia Airways, which folded in 2016). In 2017, as Tigerair Singapore merged into Scoot, CAPA reports that China Airlines will buy another 10% from Budget Aviation Holdings, leaving China Airlines Group (China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines) the owner of the airline, despite allowed to retain the brand.
Tigerair Philippines
Tigerair Philippines was the Philippines affiliate of Tigerair. The joint venture was announced in November 2010 between Tiger Airways Holdings and
SEAir, which saw Tigerair leasing its two Airbus A319 aircraft to SEAir to open up new international routes out of SEAir's base at
Clark International Airport
Clark International Airport , known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2014, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat within the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in ...
. The DG-coded flights were operated by SEAir's pilots and cabin crew using the leased aircraft which were repainted into SEAir's livery. Seats on these flights were marketed by Tiger in addition to SEAir's own website.
In February 2011, Tiger Airways Holdings increased its share in the venture to 40%, however in March 2014, Tigerair disposed of its 40% stake in the airline to
Cebu Pacific
Cebu Air, Inc. (), operating as Cebu Pacific (stylized in lowercase), is a Philippine low-cost airline based in Pasay, Metro Manila. Founded in 1988, the airline was the first low-cost carrier in Asia and is also the largest airline in the Phi ...
, though flights were still temporarily branded as Tigerair Philippines.
Tigerair Mandala
Tigerair Mandala was the Indonesian affiliate of Tigerair. The airline was a joint venture between Tiger Airways Holdings and Saratoga Investama Sedaya.
Tigerair ventured into the Indonesian market by buying the troubled
Mandala Airlines, with the Saratoga Group holding a majority 51.3% and the remaining 15.7% by previous shareholders and creditors of Mandala. Tigerair Mandala sported a hybrid livery with the name 'mandala' on the fuselage accompanied by Tigerair's stripes on the tail and wingtips.
Tigerair Mandala started operations on 5 April 2012, with one domestic route between its home base
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
and
Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
, the capital of North
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
. This was followed by its first international destination when it launched the Medan-Singapore route on 20 April 2012, adding a second Indonesian destination to Tigerair Singapore network after Jakarta. In May 2012, Tigerair Mandala flew to
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
's capital
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
from Jakarta.
Before it ceased its operation Tigerair had 35.8% Shares.
Tigerair Mandala ceased all operations on 1 July 2014 as it was not able to sustain its operations and the airline's key shareholders decided to cease funding the carrier.
Abandoned regional affiliate projects
Incheon Tiger
On 5 November 2007, Tiger Airways announced that it would be starting a
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
n-based budget airline. Incheon Tiger was to have been a joint venture between Tiger Aviation Holdings and Incheon Metropolitan City, flying to destinations in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
and the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
. The airline was to be based in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
's
Incheon Airport and planned to begin services by 2009; however, the project was abandoned in December 2008.
Thai Tiger
Tiger Airways and
Thai Airways International
Thai Airways International plc () is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961 as a joint venture between SAS and Thai Airways Company, the airline has its corporate headquarters in Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak district, Bang ...
proposed forming an airline based in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, where Thai Airways and Tiger Airways would own 51% and 39% respectively of the newly formed airline, while RyanThai would hold the remaining 10%. Operations were expected to begin in the 1st quarter of 2011. Tiger Airways subsequently dropped its plan to form a Bangkok-based low-cost joint venture with Thai Airways after failing to get the necessary investment approvals from the Thai government. As a result, in December 2011
Thai Airways International
Thai Airways International plc () is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961 as a joint venture between SAS and Thai Airways Company, the airline has its corporate headquarters in Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak district, Bang ...
, Tiger Airways and RyanThai decided not to proceed with the incorporation of Thai Tiger.
Tiger Airways drops joint venture with Thai Airways
/ref>
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2019
Airline holding companies
Holding companies of Singapore
Singaporean companies established in 2007
Singapore Airlines
Temasek Holdings
Companies formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange
Holding companies established in 2007
Singaporean brands