New look for Tiger Airways

Budget airline Tiger Airways may be eyeing the lucrative travel market in Malaysia.

Some new destinations could include Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu and Kota Kinabalu.

The move follows its recent return to profitability, and to start afresh, the company has unveiled a new corporate identity to go along.

It said the fresh look reflects the company's "renewed purpose".

With six new aircraft expected for delivery by next March, Tiger is looking at expanding its Malaysian routes.

Speaking in Malaysia, managing director Ho Yuen Sang said the airline plans to increase frequency of its Penang-Singapore route from 14 times to 21 weekly.

The airline also plans to promote Penang as the connection hub via Singapore.

Tiger also expects passenger growth to hit a high 20 per cent for the year ending March 2014.

This is similar to what was recorded last year, driven by network expansion.

To go along with its expansion plans, the carrier has been renamed Tigerair.

Apart from just branding change, the company has been working to improve its operations, including reducing response time at its call centre.

Group CEO Koay Peng Yen said: "It's still important for us to focus on being a no-frills airline, that's what we want to be good at. (But) we also realise that it's not just about operating the airline, we want to focus on operational service excellence at the same time. So all the basic items have to be done very well, such that the customer experience - from the time you make a reservation on the website or phone app, all the way to the inflight experience and post-flight experience - all must add up to a great experience."

It has not been a great experience for Tiger over the past two years.

Its Australian operations were suspended in 2011 over safety concerns.

Overall earnings have also been dragged down by start-up losses from its associate airlines in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Paul Yong, vice president of equity research at DBS Vickers, said: "In areas like Indonesia and Philippines for Tiger Airways - where they are still new - we do expect them to be loss-making for a while. We are currently in an expansionary phase of the market whereby all the carriers are just looking to grab market share, so I think consumers can expect low fares and more choices for a while to come."

The airline recently got the green light to hive off a 60 per cent stake in Tiger Australia to Virgin Australia, and it has also been profitable for two straight quarters, after six previous quarters of losses.

Mr Yong said: "Both the current management and the interim management that Singapore Airlines previously jettisoned in, both played an important role in helping to steady the ship for Tiger Airways, particularly in Australia where they've helped operations to resume to pre-suspension levels."

DBS Vickers said Tiger has been working to boost its balance sheet, and it can look forward to better days ahead.

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A big revamp by the CEO. It is refreshing from the airline which didn't have a desirable track record. This rebranding isn't just superficial. Passenger experience will also be improved according to the CEO. Now it is more focused on making itself stand out from others, something that it should have done long ago. With this change, hopefully the fengshui of the airline will also turn for the better.