Tiger Airways triples profits in Q3

Customers stand in line at a Tigerair check-in counter at the Hong Kong airport

The decline in the cost of jet fuel prices has resulted in Tiger Airways (Tigerair) tripling its profits in its fiscal third quarter.
As one of Singapore’s main budget carriers which flies to Macau, Tigerair is reported to have earned S$6.8 million (MOP38.2m)
for the three months ending Dec 31, compared to the S$2.2 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Group revenue increased by 1.5 percent to S$187.4 million, mainly due to higher lease rental income from aircraft and engine leasing arrangements with Tigerair Australia and Tigerair Taiwan. Yet passenger seat revenue lessened by 3.3 percent to S$143.4 million.
Bloomberg data showed that the price of global crude oil fell by about a third over the past year in December. Brent Crude fell to a 12-year low of US$27.10 last week.
“The low fuel-price environment has helped our third-quarter performance and we expect to continue benefiting from it,” said Tigerair CEO Lee Lik Hsin.
Despite the drop in the carrier’s expenses, it has been partially eroded by higher maintenance charges, higher aircraft rental costs and the appreciation of the US dollar against the Singaporean dollar.
The airline will continue to deepen its collaboration with Scoot and the rest of the Singapore Airlines group for future sustainable growth, and is currently working on network expansion opportunities. Staff reporter