Airline works to restore grounded Australian operation while progress stalls on expanding overseas ambitions
Singapore-based low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Holdings shook up its management in July following the grounding of flights at its Australian subsidiary because of safety concerns.
Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) suspended the flights of Tiger Airways Australia, which operates domestically, from 2 July. CASA, which believes the carrier poses a "serious and imminent risk to air safety", has since applied to the country's Federal Court to extend this grounding until 1 August.
While Tiger Airways Australia's fate beyond August remains uncertain, the fall-out from the grounding has already started. The airline's chief executive, Crawford Rix, leaves Tiger Airways Australia on 31 July, after joining the carrier only last year from BMIbaby.
Tiger Airways Holdings chief Tony Davis has taken over the reins at Tiger in Australia, as the airline works to get the grounding on its flights lifted. And in a surprising move, the carrier's board has appointed Singapore Airlines senior executive Chin Yau Seng to act as chief executive of Tiger in Singapore in place of Davis.
SIA, a 33% stakeholder in Tiger, has long refrained from involvement with the low-cost carrier's operations. Chin's appointment as acting chief came four days after the grounding in Australia. Tiger also announced former long-serving SIA chairman J.Y. Pillay as non-executive chairman and an independent director. The appointments form a clear signal that SIA is getting more directly involved in Tiger, in a reversal from previous practise.
Tiger's troubles come as the carrier had been in expansion mode, following a strong 2010 in which it completed an initial public offering, advanced aircraft deliveries and launched new routes. Plans to start a low-cost joint venture carrier with Thai Airways International were followed by moves to acquire stakes in Philippine carrier Seair and financially troubled Indonesian carrier Mandala Airlines, which suspended its flights in January.
But even before the grounding in Australia, doubts were forming over some of Tiger's plans. Its joint venture with Thai, which targeted a March start, is still waiting for regulatory approval.
Meanwhile Philippine carriers earlier this year urged regulators to examine Seair's relationship with Tiger, accusing Seair of violating cabotage restrictions by selling tickets on domestic routes on Tiger's website. As for Mandala, it has yet to resume operations, despite saying earlier it hoped to fly again in May.
Its joint venture with Thai, which targeted a March start, has yet to get approval
Source: Airline Business
