Tiger Airways Philippines Plans Fleet Expansion

Tiger Airways Philippines, currently operating as Southeast Asian Airlines until July 10 has announced that it intends to triple revenues and increase market share through a major fleet expansion  which will see the airline introduce up to twenty five new aircraft over the next five years.

Copyright Photo: Tiger Airways

At a recent press conference, Olive Ramos, President & CEO of Tiger Airways Philippines said that the airline plans to add between three to four aircraft each year over the next three to five years. This would enable the airline to increase flight frequencies to existing destinations and to service new destinations. 

The airline plans to lease the additional aircraft rather than purchase as part of its current business model aimed at preventing the airline from becoming trapped in huge investments. The airline currently operates a fleet of three Airbus A320 aircraft and two Airbus A319 aircraft. The airline boasts that each aircraft carries less seating than similar aircraft operated by its competitors enabling Tiger Airways to offer enhanced comfort to guests by providing additional legroom. 

The airline plans to fund the new aircraft through internally generated funds. For 2013, the airline set aside $15 million in working capital. The company believes that it can achieve P5 billion in revenue this year which would represent a tripling in revenue over 2012 figures. The increased revenue can be attributed to a steady increase in the number of airline passengers. 

"We are confident this growth can be supported by the bullish tourism targets of the Department of Tourism and the increasing number of travelers from wider segments of the society," Ramos said. "Everybody wants to achieve profitability but we don't want to sacrifice the safety and comfort of our passengers."

The carrier believes that the higher revenue would translate into a higher market share of five percent for 2013 which is two percent higher than that 3 percent achieved in the low cost carrier sector for 2012. 

Tiger Airways Philippines currently operates out of hubs at Clark International Airport and Ninoy Aquino International Airport. In addition to launching the only direct service between Kalibo and Singapore on July 18, the airline plans to complete its rebranding from Southeast Asian Airlines to Tiger Airways Philippines on July 10. 

The airline officially received approval from the Securities & Exchange Commission on June 1 to officially rebrand as Tiger Airways Philippines. The entity is separate from Southeast Asian Airlines.