Tiger adds Avalon flights to its Australian routes
Budget carrier Tiger Airways has announced Thursday that it will start servicing routes to and from Avalon Airport in November, making the Gold Coast as the budget carrier's inaugural destination from Melbourne's second gateway.
Tiger said that it is set to deploy two Airbus A320 in Avalon, which will designate the airport as the low-cost airline's third Australian base after Tullamarine and Adelaide, adding that two more planes would be based to Victoria as part of the five-aircraft agreement it entered with its government.
Tiger Australia managing director Crawford Rix said that the company is happy to service routes coming in and out of Victoria as he added that the five planes they have allocated for the regions should create additional 2.5 million low fare seats.
The airline said that airfares between Avalon Airport, which is about 55 kilometres west of Melbourne, and Gold Coast would start from $45 one-way.
The budget carrier, currently based in Singapore, has been servicing Australian routes since November 2007 with present fleet of nine planes distributed in Adelaide, with three planes, and Tullamarine, hosting six aircrafts.
Tiger president and chief executive Tony Davis has reported last month that their Australian operations resulted to a break even operating figures by its second full year of operation.
Another budget carrier, Jetstar, has been flying from the Linfox-owned Avalon since June 2004 with Qantas Airways Ltd, Jetstar's parent company, also utilising the terminal as its maintenance facility.
Avalon has also hosted the Australian international air show in the past.