Tigerair spreads its wings over Asia

Tigerair Australia has joined seven Asian airlines to create the world’s largest low-cost alliance.

Tigerair Australia’s new alliance would give consumers access to fares across the Asia Pacific.

Virgin Australia’s budget airline Tigerair Australia is betting on a big boost in domestic passengers after joining forces with seven Asian airlines to create the world’s largest low-cost carrier alliance.

The new group, Value Alliance, will expand Tigerair’s existing network from 21 routes and 12 destinations to span one third of the world to more than 160 destinations across the Asia Pacific region.

The alliance will allow the eight airlines to share itineraries, optional extras and other merchandising through a common sales and reservation platform developed by Britain-based software company Air Black Box.

“This software will allow Australian consumers to leverage the breadth of the entire network across these eight airlines. So that means when you go on to the Tigerair website you will be offered the best fare of the day across all the airlines that cover these 160 destinations,” Tigerair Australia chief executive Rob Sharp told The Australian.

“It will also allow these eight carriers to sell itineraries that include Tigerair domestic fares. This broadens our distribution channel and will bring more passengers on to Tigerair. It will allow us to build a critical mass and give us a sustainable base.”

Unlike typical interline technologies, the platform will allow passengers to purchase extras such as seat and meal selection, variable baggage allowances and other in-flight features across the partner airlines.

“This is a real game-changer in terms of what low-cost carriers can offer. Until now, it’s been very challenging for any airline to cross-sell but this effectively allows cross-merchandising without compromising our brand position,” Mr Sharp said.

But while the new alliance would give consumers access to fares across the Asia Pacific, Mr Sharp said the group had no plans to offer a frequent flyer program that would allow consumers to earn points that could later be redeemed for flights.

“We are staying true to not making a new loyalty program. That will allow us to funnel our resources into keeping fares low,” Mr Sharp said.

“We are happy to have other loyalty programs spend points on Tigerair flights as (Virgin’s) Velocity program now allows.”

The other alliance members are Cebu Pacific, Jeju Air, Nok Air, NokScoot, Scoot, Tigerair Singapore and Vanilla Air.