Tiger Airways orders 20 more Airbus A320s in ambitious expansion plan
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Tiger Airways
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation PREMIUM: Tiger Airways has ordered 20 more Airbus A320s, as part of its ambitious expansion plan that will see it operating 70 A320s from its bases in Singapore, Australia and Korea by 2016. The airline previously announced it could grow its fleet to 70 aircraft by 2014. Tiger has opted not to follow Jetstar’s recent move to acquire slightly larger (213-seat) A321s.
The move caps off a six-week period in which Asia’s leading LCCs have finalised their long-term fleet plans, which will usher in a period of spectacular route development in the Asia Pacific region.
Earlier this month, AirAsia ordered an additional 25 A320s together with a further 25 options, bringing AirAsia Group's (Malaysia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia) total orders to 175 firm and 50 purchase options. The last of the 175 firm A320s will be delivered by the end of 2014, allowing the Group to entirely replace its B737s and provide for significant growth across its affiliate network. AirAsia placed its original order for 60 A320s in Mar-05, with re-orders for an additional 40 aircraft announced in Jul-06 and another 50 aircraft in Jan-07.
In Nov-07, Jetstar announced an order for 68 A320/A321s (including a provisional order for 17 A321s scheduled for delivery from Mar-08), plus 40 options and purchase rights. Jetstar has an existing fleet of 23 A320s and has previously announced an additional nine A320s for its Australian domestic operations would enter service between Dec-07 and Mar-09, while 15 B787s would be delivered by the end of 2009.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Cebu Pacific has boosted its order of ATR 72s to add to its recent order for A320s. From its current fleet of 15 A320 aircraft, Cebu could have a fleet of up to 50 aircraft (32 A320s and 18 ATR 72s) by the end of 2012, if all options are converted into firm orders.
Tiger Airways confirmed new services will commence to Bangalore and Kuala Lumpur in 2008, while it is on the hunt for a second base in Australia. AirAsia is also targeting new destinations in India, as well as Southern China and the ASEAN region in 2008, while Jetstar is establishing hubs in Perth and Darwin and will soon announce its Asian hub for one-stop B787 services to Europe.
Asia Pacific’s LCCs have boosted their capacity share in the region from 9% in 2006 to 12% this year and are on-track to boost their share to around 20% of the market by the end of the decade.
Date posted: 19-Dec-07
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Tiger Airways orders 20 more Airbus A320s in ambitious expansion plan 
