Tiger Airways will add more than 380,000 additional seats in the coming months as the budget carrier looks to find its footing after a disastrous 2011.
The extra capacity will be spread over Tiger’s existing network of four routes based out of its Melbourne Airport hub. Melbourne-Sydney will see three additional return flights for a total of eight, adding 240,000 extra seats. Melbourne-Perth will jump from one to two daily returns for 69,000 additional seats, while the Brisbane route will get 28,000 extra seats and Gold Coast adds 46,000. The added capacity will go into effect in March with tickets on sale now starting at $39.95 to Sydney.
Tiger was forced to dramatically curtail its operations last year following a six week suspension imposed by CASA on July 2 over safety concerns. The additional capacity for the new year will be accommodated under the carrier’s current CASA imposed limit of 32 flights per day, which was upped from 22 per day in November.
In a statement, Tiger said it expected to announce new routes “in due course.” Fairfax Media reported that Tiger was again exploring Avalon Airport as a base to expand its operations. The carrier currently uses only seven of its 10 aircraft due to capacity limitations at its Melbourne Airport hub.
Tiger has improved its on-time performance since emerging from the suspension but faced deep financial losses last year. The airline’s managers say Tiger must increase flights in order to break even.
The expanded service comes under new CEO Andrew David, who took over the LCC in November.
