Tigerair widens lead as Singapore's largest low cost carrier

Now captures 33% of total LCC capacity.

According to Tigerair, the introduction of new capacity and destinations over the past year has resulted in the consolidation of the airline’s position as Singapore largest Low Cost Carrier (LCC).

Based on Centre for Aviation’s latest LCC sector report dated 17 September, the Singapore-based carrier now accounts for over 33% of total LCC capacity at Changi International Airport (Changi), well above the 26% and 23% capacity share of its next closest competitors.

By the end of 2013, Tigerair Group, including Tigerair Mandala and Tigerair Philippines, will account for almost 11% of total seat capacity at Changi, compared to its competitors, which will stand at under 8% each.

The widening gap between Tigerair Group and its competitors at its Singapore base is driven by Tigerair’s fleet expansion strategy, which will see a total of six A320 aircraft being delivered by the end of the year. The number of destinations served from Singapore will also increase from 28 at the beginning of the year to over 38 by the end of 2013, taking into account the latest destination launches of Boracay, Chiangmai, Langkawi, Lijiang, and Lombok.

CEO of Tigerair Mr Koay Peng Yen commented, “For Tigerair, it is not just about being the largest in our market. It is about leveraging our position to deliver on our promises to customers. Our recently completed brand refresh shows our commitment to do just that, and will help to propel us forward as an organisation with new vigour and zest, while not compromising on our service standards. We are thus also heartened to know that budget airlines as a whole have shown greater improvement in customer satisfaction rankings, compared to traditional full-service carriers.”

Based on the recently published second quarter results of the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) conducted by the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU, Budget Airlines sub-sector improved by 4.9 points to 67.5 points, closing the gap with Full-service Airlines, which improved 2.5 points to 77.1 points.

Said Mr Alexander Knigge, Chief Commercial Officer of Tigerair, “Our success depends on how well we understand and serve our customers’ needs. Anyone can have a decent flight experience, but we want our customers to know that flying with Tigerair makes for a great travel experience.

According to Mr Knigge, the introduction of the Tigerair’s mobile App has offered added convenience for the airline’s customers. The Tigerair mobile App, which was launched in October 2012, surpassed 1,000,000 downloads across iPhone, Android, iPad and Mobile Web applications last week. The App has simplified the booking flow with intuitive step-bystep navigation, where it's possible for users to go back and forth throughout the booking process. In addition, users are always able to access all booking details via the App’s dragdown curtain. Developed with its own native system, the App also features faster data transfer across its various functions, including seat selection, and storage and retrieval of customer details for future reference.

“The mobile app is one value-added product that we have successfully rolled out. We have seen a steady growth in customer bookings via our mobile app, and will continue to introduce new user experience-enhancing features in the coming months,” said Mr Knigge.