SINGAPORE, 16 September 2004 — Tiger Airways, a budget carrier backed by Singapore Airlines, took off yesterday with an inaugural flight to Bangkok amid a savage price war with other no-frills operators in the region.
Flight TR108, a white, brand-new Airbus 320 with a pouncing tiger painted on its side near the cockpit, took off at 1:15 p.m. (0515 GMT) from Changi Airport with about 160 paying passengers on board.
Tiger Airways became the latest no-frills carrier to take to the skies in Southeast Asia, where the market is becoming increasingly crowded. It joins Malaysia’s AirAsia and its Thai unit Thai AirAsia, Singapore-based Valuair and Thailand’s Nok Air to compete for the budget travel pie.
Another budget airline backed by Australian flag carrier Qantas and also based in Singapore is set to take flight later this year. Singaporean Alvin Gan and his family were among the lucky 50 passengers on yesterday’s inaugural flight who paid only 59 US cents each for a one-way ticket in a marketing gimmick that kicked off a fierce price war.
“We are just taking advantage of the cheap air fares to go there,” Gan told AFP, adding he was “quite lucky” to be able to get hold of the promotional fares for himself, his wife and young daughter after the airline’s website was jammed by fellow bargain hunters.
Thai AirAsia, a joint venture between the Malaysian budget carrier and the family of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has retaliated with a 29 US cent one-way ticket to Bangkok, which took effect yesterday, and a 17 cent fare to the resort of Phuket.
Tiger Airways chief executive Patrick Gan said his airline was prepared for a continued price war. “We led the market with our one-dollar fare offer to Bangkok, Phuket and Hat Yai. We have set an aggressive pace and our competitors have since tried to play catch up,” he told reporters.
Asked whether Tiger Airways will respond to AirAsia’s challenge, Gan said: “We are planning an appropriate response to the competitors at an appropriate time... We will let them sweat a little bit.” Tiger Airways is 49-percent owned by Singapore Airlines.
The other shareholders are the founders of European no-frills carrier Ryanair, Singapore’s investment agency Temasek Holdings and American investor Indigo Partners. Passengers were treated to a catered lunch along with guests invited to witness the nearly two-hour inaugural flight to Bangkok.
Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua said at the launching ceremonies that the arrival of the low-cost carrier phenomenon in Asia should further boost regional tourism. “Even before its takeoff today, Tiger Airways has already succeeded in ramping up interest in low cost travel with its jet-stopping advertisement offering ultra low fares,” Lim said.
“With the arrival of low-cost carriers, both Singapore and our regional neighbors can look forward to greater opportunities for travel ... there is no doubt that the availability of low fares here will simulate the growth of intra-Asian tourism.” “This is a huge, but not well tapped travel market,” Lim added.
A total of 3,000 tickets were offered for the 2 Singapore dollar tab.
The fare offered by Tiger, an offshoot of Singapore Airlines, applies during the first week of its flights to Bangkok with the same rate offered on its Hat Yai service from Sept. 22 and to the resort island of Phuket from Sept. 29. Passengers who were not quick enough to clinch the tickets paid higher fares on a tiered arrangement.
