Singaporean low-fare start-up Valuair is preparing to launch operations with two Airbus A320s leased from Singapore Aircraft Lease Enterprise (SALE). The new carrier has tentatively earmarked Bangkok, Hong Kong and Jakarta as cities to which it would like to operate, but has yet to secure traffic rights because it is waiting to gain its air operator's certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Valuair chairman Lim Chin Beng says the airline "will be more like JetBlue than Southwest Airlines", noting that JetBlue offers some frills such as in-flight entertainment. Fares will be about 40% below those of full-service carriers.
Source: Flight International
