Soon to be Virgin Australia controlled Tiger Airways Australia has been rebranded as Tigerair, with the airline’s first aircraft to feature a revised livery and logo unveiled at Melbourne Airport this morning.
The name change and dropping the leaping Tiger logo for large ‘Tigerair’ titles promises to be the first step in the airline’s rebranding and repositioning as it comes under Virgin Australia control and seeks to move on from the brand damage caused by its 2011 grounding, turn around heavy financial losses, and grow to become a more aggressive competitor to Jetstar in the Australian low cost airline market.
“Today’s announcement is a strong statement reinforcing that we mean business and we are ready for change,” Tigerair Australia CEO Rob Sharp said in a statement. The airline also promises that is is “making a number of fundamental changes to its core processes to make travelling Tigerair an even better experience”. This includes a “new-look” website and “new customer facing products [which] will be announced over the coming months”.
“Today’s news is much more than just a fresh coat of paint and a new logo – it is the start of the revival of our airline here in Australia and should be seen as reinforcement of our commitment towards continuous innovation and improvement,” Sharp promised.
“However, we have a long way to go. Our two key priorities now are to create a stronger operating platform that can deliver growth and to build a sustainable business that brings greater competition to the Australian budget carrier market.”
After being revealed in Melbourne this morning, A320 VH-VNQ operated to Alice Springs on the first rebranded Tigerair flight.
