Tiger Airways to start flights to India from October

Tiger Airways' delayed Big Bang entry into India is finally taking off this October. The budget carrier will start by jetting off to two Indian cities - the popular Chennai in the south, and Kochi in the south-western state of Kerala. Tiger said this latest foray will consolidate its position as the only low cost carrier offering services across the whole of Asia - from China to Australia. With the addition of populous India to its network, Tiger said it now has a potential three billion passengers from the region. From October, it will fly four times a week to Chennai and three times a week to Kochi.

Tiger has already started selling tickets for these destinations on its website. Return fares start at S$300 plus taxes, which is less than half of what main service carriers are offering. Tiger also has air rights for four other Indian cities - Goa, Trivandrum, Kolkatta and Kozhikode - and will probably add more services there within the next 12 months. "In terms of additional growth, I think a lot of that will come down to availability of landing slots at the different airports and making sure that we can get the times that we need to operate," said Tony Davis, CEO of Tiger Airways.

The carrier is also eyeing expanding its services to Bangalore and Hyderabad, although it does not have air rights for these cities right now. With India on board, Tiger said it will be looking to consolidate its position in Asia with more destinations and services. "What is important is that we have a continuous stream of aircraft delivery over the next 5-7 years, which really guarantees the continued growth of the business," said Davis. The carrier recently hit the news with its acquisition of 50 Airbus A320s, on top of its existing 20 planes. It has a strategy of sticking to just the A320, saying that it offers efficiencies and savings. Tiger is still considering various options on financing its latest aircraft purchases.

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