TigerAir eyes Alice Springs for a stopover on route between Darwin and Adelaide

QUESTIONS have been raised about the possibility of an affordable airline flying from Adelaide to Darwin with a stopover in Alice Springs.

TigerAir's mascot when the company returned to Alice Springs.

QUESTIONS have been raised about the possibility of an affordable airline flying from Adelaide to Darwin with a stopover in Alice Springs.

A trusted source told the Centralian Advocate that Tigerair has recently bought two new planes which are thought to be top contenders for a potential Adelaide to Darwin route.

Tigerair Australia spokeswoman Vanessa Regan refused to comment on the new planes but admitted they have plans to grow the company.

"However, we have not released details of the exact growth plan at this time," she said.

Tigerair currently offers 72 travel destinations worldwide including 12 locations in Australia and function out of their Melbourne and Sydney bases, where they house their 11 planes.

Alice Springs Airport manager Katie Cooper said they are talking to a number of carriers about various routes, which they do that as a standard practice.

"We wouldn't discuss any commercial decisions for obvious reasons but we would certainly work with airlines for routes where there is is a need in the market," she said.

"Any growth in the market that is sustainable growth is a positive for Alice Springs."

Ms Cooper pointed out that the Northern Territory had recently won a Global Airlines Routes Award, which is about marketing and putting business cases to airlines.

Chamber of Commerce Central Australia region executive officer Kay Eade says any introduction of new routes will always improve the economy of Alice.

"The coming of Tiger to Alice from Sydney and Melbourne has increased the number of tourists coming to Alice Springs," she said.

"They spend some time here which adds to the economic growth of our town.

"The cost of travel to and from Alice is very high and competition is always healthy in all industries, while it will increase customer service it will also bring about affordable air fares.

Another choice of flight would be more than welcome according to Travel World manager Dunja Ganama.

"More flights are always an advantage, that positively affects costs, allows people to fly often and that means more tourists will come to Alice because at the moment coming to Alice is more expensive than anywhere else in the country," she said.

"We have two daily flights to Darwin and more often than not they are full.

"Families going overseas from Alice are forced to drive to Darwin than to fly because it is expensive."

Minister for Tourism Matt Conlan said they are in continued and ongoing discussions with all airline partners including TigerAir to increase services to the Centre.

"We've seen Alice Springs top a number of TigerAir fan polls this year so clearly there is a lot of interest in the town as a holiday destination and the fact airlines are taking note of that is fantastic news," Mr Conlan said.