'World's cheapest airline' Tigerair could land in New Zealand as parent company prepares to announce 'exciting news'
Tigerair Australia is a low cost carrier which operates 12 Airbus A320 and three Boeing 737 aircraft across 22 domestic routes around Australia.
Virgin Australia could bring its budget airline Tigerair to New Zealand following its "divorce" with Air New Zealand, group chief executive Rob Sharp says.
Air New Zealand ended its seven-year trans-Tasman alliance with Virgin in April.
Last week, the national carrier announced that it has struck a deal with Qantas which will result in the two airlines codesharing on 115 domestic routes on both sides of the Tasman.
But Virgin Australia, owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, still has an ace up its sleeve in the form of its subsidiary Tigerair.
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Sharp said at a recent Centre for Aviation (CAPA) conference in Sydney that "it remains an option" to bring Tigerair Australia to New Zealand.
"Not too far down the track there's an option for us to bring Tiger into the market. Nothing to announce but it is an option that we have."
Tigerair was named the cheapest airline in the world in Rome2Rio's 2018 Global Flight Price Ranking.
Virgin Australia is considering bringing Tigerair to New Zealand "as an option".
In April Virgin Australia managing director John Borghetti said its divorce from Air New Zealand presented it with an opportunity to operate both Virgin Australia and Tigerair in the Tasman market.
A Virgin Australia spokeswoman said on Thursday there would be "some exciting news stories and announcements for Virgin Australia" in the coming weeks and months.
Sharp likened Virgin and Air New Zealand's relationship to divorce.
"We're playing nicely together at the moment but we'll be fierce competitors post the end of October.
"It's really disappointing for consumers because the codeshare arrangement that's been put in place effectively means a drop in competition within domestic New Zealand."
Virgin planned to bring its "full suite of product across" to New Zealand, Sharp said.
"We'll be very competitive in the market and we'll certainly bring competition."
Aviation commentator Irene King said if Tigerair did enter New Zealand, Kiwis would lap it up.
"We like to see competition because that saves us money," King said.
The arrival of Tigerair would bring prices down and stimulate the domestic market, growing the number of people flying, she said.
New Zealanders were "passionate travellers at minimum cost" so anything that drove the cost down would appeal to the domestic market, she said.
However, if Tigerair did land in New Zealand it would probably mean Virgin Australia would pull out, she said.
"You could well see the Virgin brand disappear from the Australasian market," King said.
"That's the only way it would make economic sense. I can't see them ever contemplating running both."
House of Travel commercial director Brent Thomas said rather than cannibalise from competitors, Tigerair would grow the whole market.
"It boosts the number of people travelling," Thomas said.
Tigerair's brand would resonate with some New Zealand travellers, he said.
"There will be a certain part of the population out there who would be keen to see them."
Tigerair currently flies between most major Australian cities, with flights from Sydney to Melbourne costing about $80 one way.
The Rome2rio report said Tigerair flights cost US$0.06 per kilometre on average, making it the world's cheapest airline, "likely due to the large distances covered".
The report said that, while Tigerair has suffered "years of bad press", Virgin seems "to have turned its fortunes around" since buying it in 2014.
"It's not often we say this, but sometimes cheapest can be best," the report said.
- Stuff
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