A new chapter for Tiger Airways

TWELVE years after its launch, Tiger Airways is coming home as it becomes a fully owned subsidiary of parent group, Singapore Airlines (SIA).

When the budget airline took to the skies in 2004 - with a list of shareholders that included SIA and Ryanair's parent company, Irelandia Investments - SIA kept at arms length. But as Tiger scaled up its presence in the region and found itself stumbling under the weight of loss-making ventures overseas and a capacity overhang at home, SIA had no choice but to step in to save its floundering cub.

When it threw down a general offer for Tiger in November last year, SIA was already a majority shareholder with a stake of nearly 56 per cent. This had enabled it to roll out some initiatives aimed at greater cooperation a…