Tiger Airways to leap into South Korea?

Tiger Airways will reportedly sign an MoU with the Incheon Metropolitan City Government this month to establish an LCC at the South Korean gateway by 2010. The proposed airline plans to launch with five A320s – the same number as the Australian offshoot – and operate domestic services initially before launching international operations to destinations within a four-hour radius of Incheon. The move follows statements by Tiger Airways CEO, Tony Davis, at the Centre's Aviation Outlook Summit in Singapore last week that the airline would pursue franchise agreements across Asia. “We would control the branding and distribution, but it would be very much like a McDonalds franchising arrangement”, said Mr Davis. The carrier is not seeking majority control of its ventures in all cases, although its first two operations, in Singapore and Australia, are 100% controlled by the Tiger Airways group, which is in turn 49% owned by Singapore Airlines. Tiger expects some barriers to entry, as the regulatory environment “is a long way behind in Asia”, according to Mr Davis, who declared he has become a “huge pragmatist” in his time leading an Asian LCC. A potential hitch to the Korean operation is moves by the Transportation Ministry only to grant international licences to airlines that have operated domestic routes for a minimum of three years without any major accidents. An amendment to the aviation policy in this regard is expected by the end of 2007. Jetstar is also known to be taking an active interest in investing in the high potential Korean market.

• ข่าวTiger Airways
• ข่าวo:eco
• ข่าวen