Tiger Airways eyes Mla-Macau flights via NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - Low cost carrier Tiger Airways Philippines (formerly Southeast Asian Airlines Inc.), a unit of Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. of Singapore, is set to mount flights between Manila and Macau to lure more tourists into to the Philippines.

Tiger Airways is seeking the green light from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to fly to Macau from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) five times a week using an Airbus A319 or Airbus A320.

It has filed an application for re-allocation of entitlements to Macau in accordance with the recently concluded confidential memorandum of understanding entered into between the Philippines and Macau last June.

The seat entitlements would be equivalent to 900 seats per week per way.

Tiger Airways Philippines currently flies to Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong as well as local destinations including Clark, Laoag, Bacolod, Kalibo, Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban, and Puerto Princesa.

Tiger Airways Philippines maintains hubs in Clark International Airport and Terminal 4 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Earlier, Tiger Airways Philippines president and chief executive officer Olive Ramos announced the airline’s plan to beef up its existing fleet of five aircraft to 25 within the next three to five years.

Ramos said the airline would be acquiring at least three to four aircraft per year over the next three to five years as it intends to increase its flights to existing destinations and mount flights to more destinations.

It has an existing fleet of three Airbus A320s with a seating capacity of 180 and two A319s with a capacity of 140 or about 10 to 20 seats less than competitors to offer passengers more leg room.

The company sees its revenues tripling to P5 billion this year compared to last year due to the increasing number of airline passengers.

“Tiger Airways Philippines plans to increase its revenue forecast to P5 billion for 2013. This is three times higher than 2012. We are confident this growth can be supported by the bullish tourism targets of the DOT and the increasing number of travelers from wider segments of the society,” Ramos said.

She explained that this would translate to a higher market share of about five percent this year from three percent last year in the low cost carrier segment.