Avalon’s Tiger hopes ‘fading’

JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
HOPES of budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia resuming its Avalon base are fading, according to airport chief Justin Giddings
Mr Giddings conceded Brisbane was increasingly looking like the airline’s second aircraft and crew base.
“A Brisbane base wouldn’t be unexpected, but we haven’t really heard of any decision yet,” he said.
“We’ve been trying to set up a meeting with Tiger but haven’t had any response, so it’s pretty obvious they’ll set up somewhere else.
“I’m still confident that Tiger will fly in and fly out of Avalon because they don’t need to base aircraft here.”
Tiger last week announced 155,000 extra seats as it ramped up capacity following its grounding last year amid safety concerns.
Mr Giddings said Tiger still had three of its 10 planes on the ground and would focus on returning them to service.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority now allows Tiger 32 flights a day.
“Then Tiger will come and talk to us,” Mr Giddings said.
Brisbane and Darwin were touted as possible Tiger bases after the airline announced it had purchased a 33 per cent stake in a grounded Indonesian carrier Mandala Airlines.
A Tiger spokesperson said she expected Mandala to fly again in April.
Tiger had achieved operational improvements since services resumed, the spokesperson said.
“This will mean additional frequencies on existing routes, the introduction of new routes and the establishment of a second Australian base.”
The airline also announced a new daily daytime service between Melbourne and Cairns from April 25.
The service would provide 2500 additional visitor seats a week through Cairns Airport.
The extra 155,000 seats will also be available from April to meet seasonal demand on the popular Melbourne to Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Gold Coast routes.
“Both Australia’s east and west coasts will benefit from the additional capacity it creates,” the Tiger spokesperson said.
Travel website Wotif.com.au released a survey this week ranking Brisbane as Australia’s third most favourite airport behind Melbourne and Sydney.