THE beleaguered Tiger Airways continues to struggle due to flying restrictions that followed its devastating grounding last year, however it has high hopes for the future.
The Tiger Airways Group has reported a loss of $17.4 million for the quarter ending 31 December last year, which it said is a result of its reduced operations in Australia. This is compared to a profit of $22.5 million for the quarter ending 31 December 2010.
“The under-utilization of the Group’s aircraft fleet continues to have a significant impact on financial performance,” the airline said in a statement.
The airline continues to operate a smaller schedule following its grounding by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for six weeks due to safety reasons last year.
Passenger numbers dropped 12 per cent due to the limited operations, with seat capacity falling 2.7 per cent.
The loss is despite the airline upping average airfares by 16.9 per cent during the same period. Despite the reduction in passengers, Tiger’s passenger seat revenue increased by 2.8 per cent to $139.9 million.
The airline was also hit by a “substantial” increase in fuel prices.
However Tiger Airways is hoping to get back on track this year with plans to have all 10 of its aircraft in Australia in use by the second half of 2012.
“This will mean additional frequencies on existing routes, the introduction of new routes and the establishment of a second Australian base.”
The airline said it has continued to see improvements in it operations following an emphasis on reliability and punctuality.
It comes as passengers were warned to expect another whack in the hip pocket this year as carriers rein in capacity and increase fares.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au
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