Tiger Airways Philippines targets P5B in sales for 2013

Tiger Airways Philippines, which was recently renamed from Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAir), expects a three-fold increase in sales to P5 billion this year as it adds more planes and routes, officials said in a briefing on Thursday.

Tiger Philippines is looking to increase its market share from the current 3 percent to 5 percent this year, CEO Olive Ramos said, as it draws customers with “affordable rates” and more leg room for passengers.

Ramos said the company was expanding its fleet to 25 aircraft in three to five years from the current fleet of five planes—three Airbus A320s and two A319s.

These are medium-range aircraft that can service local routes as well as those in Asia.

“Our focus is to strengthen our position for Asia,” Ramos said.

The airline’s overseas destinations include Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Locally, it flies to Clark, Laoag, Bacolod, Kalibo, Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban and Puerto Princesa.

Its hubs are in Clark International Airport in Pampanga and Terminal 4 in Manila.

On July 18, the company will start its Kalibo to Singapore route.

Tiger Philippines said it plans to fly “to every major city in the Philippines” as well as key cities abroad. With the lifting of certain restrictions, it can now mount flights to north Asia like Korea, Ramos said.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) showed that SEAir carried 209,979 passengers in the first quarter of 2013.

The information was released in April, before the company obtained regulatory approval to change its corporate identity to Tiger Philippines.

Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd., which is partly owned by Singapore Airlines, acquired a 40 percent stake in SEAir last year.