Tiger Airways sinks into the red on Australian woes, fuel prices

Nov 14, 2011, 13:34 GMT

Singapore - Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd on Monday said it sank deep into the red in its second quarter and warned of a substantial loss for the full year due to a flight ban in Australia and high fuel prices.

For the three months through September, Tiger Airways posted a loss after tax of 49.9 million Singapore dollars (38.7 million US dollars), reversing a profit of 14.1 million Singapore dollars from a year ago, the company said.

In July, Australia's aviation authority imposed a six-week flight ban on Tiger on safety concerns. Tiger on August 12 resumed domestic flights in the country with trimmed operations.

While quarterly revenue dropped 23.4 per cent year-on-year to 109.9 million Singapore dollars, expenses increased by 12.9 per cent to 151.11 million Singapore dollars mainly on a 47-per-cent rise in jet fuel prices, it said.

Tiger, which is about one-third-owned by Singapore Airlines, posted an operating loss of 41.19 million Singapore dollars for the quarter, compared to an operating profit of 9.6 million Singapore dollars from a year earlier.

The airline said it 'expects to record a significant net loss for the financial year' due to the grounding of its Australian fleet and high fuel prices.