USA: American Airlines Plane With 170 On Board Catches Fire At O'Hare International Airport

A plane caught fire just before take off at Chicago’s O’hare airport. The American Airlines jet had nine crew members and 161 passengers on board.

Seven passengers and a flight attendant who were slightly injured and taken to hospital, the airline said.

The Aviation Industry have been under huge pressure in recent months after two Boeing Max jets crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing a combined 346 people.

Some 189 people died when the Lion Air flight crashed into the Java Sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta followed by the Ethiopian Airlines disaster that killed 157 people six minutes after the plane took off from Addis Ababa.


Tourism Observer

NIGERIA: Green Africa Airways Orders 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 Aircraft,Largest Aircraft Order In Africa

Nigerian start-up Green Africa Airways has today confirmed a commitment for up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, split into 50 firm orders and 50 options.

The deal is worth an estimated $11.7 billion at current list prices, making it the largest Boeing aircraft order from an African carrier.

The announcement comes in as the airline begins to finalize proceedings to launch commercial operations.

Babawande Afolabi, Founder, and CEO at Green Africa Airways said that Today is a historic day for the Nigerian and African aviation industry, this landmark deal takes us much closer to our long-held dream of building a world-class airline that will unlock a new realm of positive possibilities for millions of customers.

This deal is a bold symbol of the dynamism, resilience and soaring entrepreneurial drive of the next generation of Nigerians and Africans, he added.

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Green Africa Airways has been established with the goal of providing quality and affordable air travel and to be a significant contributor to the economic development of Nigeria and the African continent.

The Nigerian carrier has recently been awarded its AOC from the Nigerian authorities.

Helped by a group of industry professionals, led by Tom Horton, former Chairman/CEO of American Airlines; William Shaw, Founder and former CEO of VivaColombia; and Virasb Vahidi, former CCO of American Airlines, the Nigerian startup has a group of knowledgeable and successful experts behind it.

Both Horton and Vahidi were responsible for bringing American Airlines out of bankruptcy, re-launching the carrier, introducing its new corporate identity, and welcome its first Boeing 777-300(ER) into service.

Vahidi said that Nigeria is uniquely positioned to be the home of the next major value airline. The strategic partnership with Boeing positions Green Africa Airways to expand and improve air travel for customers in Nigeria, and further strengthens the relationship between the United States, Nigeria, and Africa.

The airline has plans to develop the Nigerian market with the goal of building up a strong Pan African network.

In Boeing’s 20-year Commercial Market Outlook, it forecasts that the airline industry in Africa will require 1,190 new planes, as the continent continues to grow both intra-continental and intercontinental connectivity.

Ihssane Mounir, SVP of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Boeing Company, added that “The growth potential for air travel across Nigeria and Africa is extraordinary, with the airplane fleet expected to more than double over the next 20 years.”

We look forward to Green Africa Airways building their fleet with the MAX and taking advantage of the jet’s efficiency and dependability to open new options across Nigeria and the African continent.

Boeing will be a trusted partner to Green Africa Airways as the MAX is introduced into their operations and through their long-term success, he said.

The news today come in a week where Boeing has celebrated many firsts for the 737 MAX program, with Eastar Jet taking delivery of the first Korean 737 MAX plane and with Boeing completing its first aircraft at its new China completion facility.

Earlier in September, Nigerian carrier Air Peace also booked an order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in Lagos. The deal was valued at $1.17 billion.

With both orders combined, the Nigerian market is set to receive 110 brand-new 737 MAX planes over the next few years—revamping an industry that has needed an injection of fresh machinery for a very long time.

Today marks yet another successful landmark for the 737 MAX program, putting an end to a year that has had its ups and downs with hundreds of sales and the Lion Air accident that took the lives of 190 people in Indonesia.


Tourism Observer

INDONESIA: Lion Air Fake Bomb Threat, Passengers Break Bones And Suffer Wounds As They Struggle To Save Themselves

At least 10 passengers on a flight preparing to take off from Borneo island were injured, most of them with broken bones and head wounds, after panicked ensued when a man claimed there was a bomb on board, Indonesian police said Tuesday.

Passengers overheard the 26-year-old man, Frantinus Nirigi, telling a flight attendant there was a bomb on the Lion Air Boeing 737, which was to carry 189 passengers to Jakarta on Monday night.

An eventual inspection of the plane found no explosives.

After Nirigi made the bomb claim, another passenger broke open the emergency exits, enabling panicked passengers to flee the aircraft, Purnomo said.

He and Nirigi were both arrested.

Video posted online showed dozens of people standing on the plane’s right wing. Some slid down the right engine and landed on the tarmac.

Purnomo said eight passengers were hospitalised with broken bones and head wounds, while two others had minor injuries.

Police did not provide details on how the passengers were injured.

In a video taken by a passenger and posted online, a flight attendant identified only as Cindy told the airport authorities that passengers were pushing each other after the captain asked them to leave the plane immediately.

I asked passengers to immediately leave the plane calmly and orderly, but instead they pushed each other and scrambled out of the plane,she said.

Airline spokesman Danang Mandala said in a statement that the one-hour flight was delayed because a panicked passenger opened both emergency exits on the right side of the aircraft without instructions from the cabin crew.

He said a bomb joke was not a valid reason for someone to force open an emergency exit without the crew’s instructions.

No suspicious items were found after a thorough inspection of the plane by police and security personnel at Supadio airport in Pontianak city.

The flight departed for Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, after a three-hour delay, said Lukman Nurjaman, Lion Air’s district manager in Pontianak.

The incident is the latest bomb hoax on flights in Indonesia.

On Sunday, Lion Air removed a 25-year-old passenger from a flight departing from Jakarta bound for Malaysia after he joked about the presence of a bomb on board.

Indonesian flag carrier Garuda delayed a flight in March after a passenger claimed he was carrying a bomb.

National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal said the two men arrested in Monday’s incident face up to eight years in prison.


Tourism Observer

United Airlines Paris Air Show Ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX 10

United Airlines made a blockbuster announcement Tuesday at the Paris Air Show, shifting 100 of its outstanding 737 MAX orders to Boeing’s newly launched 737 MAX 10.

United also announced an incremental order for 4 Boeing 777-300ER widebodies, growing its 777-300ER order book to 18 frames, just two short of rival American Airlines and one short of Air Canada for the biggest fleet of 777-300ERs in North America.

The 737 MAX 10 is the newest and largest variant of Boeing’s re-engined 737 MAX family and was launched Monday at the Paris Air Show in a brief press conference. The 737 MAX 10 adds two additional rows of seating relative to the 737 MAX 9 (the previous largest member of the MAX family).

It seats as many as 230 passengers in a single class configuration and will seat approximately 188 passengers in a typical two-class configuration. For United, the aircraft will probably be configured in a three-class configuration with Economy Plus so the seating capacity might be smaller.

United currently has 161 737 MAX jets on order; 100 from an order placed back in July 2012 for 100 737 MAX 9s, and 61 conversions from United’s multiple orders for the 737-700 placed under prior management teams. Its order book now consists of 61 737 MAX 9s and 100 737 MAX 10s. United expects to take delivery of its first MAX 10 in 2020.

With the announcement, Boeing has now revealed 290-310 orders and commitments for the 737 MAX 10 from 11 customers. Both figures are actually higher than the 240 from 10 customers promised by Boeing at the opening of the show.

The order was announced at a press conference featuring Boeing’s Global VP of Sales Ihssane Mounir, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO, and Gerry Laderman, United’s SVP of Finance and Procurement.

Once again, Mounir kicked off the press conference with a half-attempt at humor:

Apologies the room is a little hot, but the announcement makes it a little hotter. Jerry is the godfather of economics, and their order is all about economics. They have elected to purchase 100 MAX-10s and four additional 777-300ERs.

McAllister also spoke fondly of the deal.

This is a very special day for all of us at Boeing, and I have to say on bahalf of all, this means a lot to us. This order is not only a launch customer, it makes them the largest MAX-10 customer in the world. They have a very talented team who participated in this assessment. We are simply honored with the confidence United places in the MAX-10. This makes United’s 11th launch with Boeing, beginning in the 1920s.

Laderman was similarly nostalgic:

When I first joined the airline, we [United] were flying 737-100s, and now we’re very excited about the 737 MAX. We have had great success with the stretched models of aircraft, including the 757-300. Today we launch the MAX-10 which we hope will be as successful as those other models.

These 100 737 MAX 10s will be used by United to grow domestic capacity, whether through direct capacity growth or through United’s typical cascade of replacing regional jets indirectly with large narrowbodies.

In this model United uses smaller narrowbodies (the 737-700/800 or Airbus A319/A320) to replace regional jets, and then uses larger narrowbodies (the 737-900ER mostly) to replace the routes that had been flown by the smaller 737 and A320 family jets.

Sometimes the first step in this chain is actually to replace a small, 50-seat regional jet with a larger 76-seat one in which case the cascade just moves down a level.

In particular, the MAX 10 will be very useful for United at its space constrained Newark and San Francisco hubs, as well as for high-density routes from the Denver hub. It may also fly to Hawaii and other leisure destinations. Essentially it will play the same role that the 757-200 used to domestically and a similar role to the 737-900ER.

Another role will be to perhaps replace the 21 757-300s in United’s fleet. While these aircraft about 25 seats larger than the MAX 10, they are also getting up there in age, and the MAX 10 should have comparable seat mile economics as it is basically two generations newer.

Another almost certain replacement role will be for United’s transcontinental fleet of premium service (p.s.) Boeing 757-200s. Rival American Airlines has already switched to the Airbus A321, and retiring the MAX 10s would allow United to isolate the 757 fleet to purely a trans-Atlantic mission either replacing these aircraft with the 737 MAX 8 or with a new mid-sized airplane NMA from Boeing.

The 737 MAX 10 was already in good shape after the massive surge of orders announced over days one and two of PAS, but the order from United is validation on a different level even than Lion Air or SpiceJet.

Obviously, one piece of this is the size of the order, but United is a tier 1 global carrier in a way that those two Asian ULCCs simply cannot match. United is the world’s third largest airline (by RPKs) and that gives Boeing’s attempt to address the middle of market (MOM) space real weight from day one.

Between the 737 MAX 10 and the 737 MAX 9, Boeing has now closed the gap to perhaps 2:1 or 2.5:1 in favor of the Airbus A321neo. That still isn’t great but it is much better than the 3-4:1 before the show.

One underrated aspect of this order is the incremental top-up of United’s 777-300ER fleet, growing that subfleet to 18 aircraft by the end of 2018. Three of the four additional orders will be delivered before summer 2018, while the fourth will be in place by the end of 2018.

United has apparently seen strong success with its existing 777-300ER fleet which features the carrier’s new Polaris Business Class product and seats 366 passengers in a three-class configuration (60J / 102Y+ / 204Y).

The 777-300ERs are being used to replace the Boeing 747-400 and in the current environment are highly economical. Boeing no doubt gave United a spanking deal on these 777-300ERs to help bridge its production gap in 2018 as it seeks to transition from the 777 Classic to the re-engined 777X.

The one question that this does bring up for Boeing’s rival Airbus is whether United will further defer at least a portion of its order for Airbus A350-1000s. We are hearing further chatter about delays to United’s order for 35 A350-1000s, and United is no doubt being pitched by Boeing on more 777-300ERs on the cheap followed by 777Xs in the mid 2020s.

INDONESIA: 1.7 million Chinese Visitors Enter Indonesia

Head of Chinese Tourism National Administration (CNTA) Li Jinzao said that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia has risen by a good measure of 20%. In the meantime, he added that the number of Indonesian tourists to China was recorded to rise by 16%.

This reflects good tourism cooperation between the two countries. He said he hopes that the cooperation between Indonesia and China only improves with time.

Earlier, Indonesian Tourism Minister, Arief Yahya, said China is currently the biggest source of tourist arrivals in Indonesia; leaving behind Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, and Korea.

“We have set ourselves the target of attracting 20 million tourists in 2019 and nearly 50% of them will come from China,” he disclosed.

It is important to step up tourism cooperation with China to achieve the desired target.

In this regard, he accentuated how important it is to step up tourism cooperation with China to achieve the desired target. Moreover, he promised that his ministry will also be focusing on promoting the “Great China” branding.

This covers a trio of Asian countries China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Yahya also invited Chinese investors to try their luck with the Indonesian tourism industry.

We invite Chinese investors engaged in the tourism sector to invest in Indonesia which offers natural and cultural attractions. Now is the time to make long-term investments in the tourism sector, he said.

While down 1.9% from the previous month, the figure marks an increase of almost 20% than in the same month of 2015.

It was the second month in a row and the fourth time so far this year that the Chinese-governed in the tourism sector, followed closely by Singaporean and Australian travelers. Most of the Chinese tourists opted for beautiful and very beachy Bali as their destination.

The Tourism Ministry’s deputy minister for overseas promotion, I Gde Pitana, attributed to the rising trend of the holiday season in August in China and the government’s efforts to attract more visitors’ discussion.

He said the ministry would remain focused on its tourism promotion program in China until the end of the year to introduce the archipelago in several major cities, such as Beijing and Shenzhen.

The government aims to attract at least 1.7 million Chinese tourists this year; 1.3 million more than the last year. It has scrapped the visa fees for Chinese travelers, making China one of 169 countries the nationals of which enjoy free entry to Indonesia.

This is not all. For this month, the ministry has geared up for the Chinese Golden Week; a seven-day national holiday period that starts on Oct. 1.

It has established healthy connections with travel agents and tour operators in Bali and China since July to offer tourism packages to places like Bali and Manado, North Sulawesi.

“That way, Chinese companies won’t send their employees to Thailand for the holidays. They can just go to those destinations instead,” Pitana said.

He also mentioned that several airlines were also on board to achieve the 1.7 million tourist target to help this tourism plan further.

The country’s largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, is serving direct flights from six Chinese cities. The airline hopes to fly at least 30,000 Chinese tourists to Manado by the end of the year. Whereas, Garuda Indonesia has flown holidaymakers from three major Chinese cities to Jakarta. These Chinese cities are namely Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

BPS head Suhariyanto said that the visitors contained in the statistics were all tourists and not workers and that it was not just in one country but others as well; meaning the Chinese were traveling all over the world as tourists.

“The surge is not happening in Indonesia alone, but also in other countries, supported by the tourists’ higher earning per capita as China’s economy grows,” he said.

Hotels have started facilitating the tourists in just the right way

Moreover, the hotels have started facilitating the tourists in just the right way. Jayakarta Hotels and Resorts president director Edwin Dhanu said the chain had prepared several services to accommodate the increasing number of tourists.

“We have prepared a separate, special breakfast called Chinese breakfast in which we provide bread, porridge, and dim sum,” he said that it was different from the full buffet breakfast offered exclusively to Australian tourists.

Jayakarta also employed Mandarin-speaking staff in the guest reservation divisions in Jakarta and Bali who tend to most of the Chinese guests.

The both countries are doing everything to keep growing and keep their tourism industry booming with each other’s help.

Airbus Closed Gap With Boeing In Battle For Airliner Orders

Airbus virtually closed the gap with Boeing in their intense battle for airliner orders in July after booking about half of the 197 firm sales unveiled at last month's Farnborough Airshow, according to the latest data from both companies.

Amid a broad slowdown in purchases, the European planemaker said it had sold a total of 373 jets between January and July, or 323 after adjusting for cancellations.

That compares with 383 airplane sales, or 333 after cancellations, notched up by US rival Boeing.

Combined orders at the world's dominant planemakers fell 17 per cent from the same period last year, weighed by concerns over the economy and relatively low oil prices which have taken the edge off demand for new fuel-saving models.

Both planemakers are also struggling to book new sales in a market that is seen as somewhat oversupplied with jets, especially larger wide-body models, industry experts said.

The slowdown has raised some questions about whether they will maintain plans to boost output later this decade.

Both have also faced a slew of order deferrals in recent weeks, while insisting the trend of postponements is stable.

Two industry sources said Indonesia's Lion Air, one of the largest Asian jet buyers with hundreds of jets on order from Boeing and Airbus, is aiming to defer about 25 Airbus jets.

Airbus declined comment and Lion Air was not available.

The planemaker was also hammering out last details of an order for 100 more planes from Lion Air's regional rival AirAsia , announced in a shower of publicity at Farnborough.

After a slow start to the year, Airbus had looked set to end the Farnborough Airshow with 380 net orders for the year to date including the AirAsia deal, which it described as a firm order.

The deal did not make it into the new tally, however, and an Airbus spokesman said paperwork was being finalised. A person close to the talks said they only involved tying up loose ends.

Latest Airbus data also suggested that another order secured at the height of an industry boom in 2012 had been trimmed back.

Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet has cancelled five of 40 A320neo jets it has on order, according to Thursday's update.

No immediate comment was available from the airline on the disclosure, which comes as Mexican consumer confidence drops to its lowest level in two years amid a weak economy.

While Boeing remains ahead by a whisker in the race for new orders, it maintains a solid lead on deliveries which drive revenues, handing over 432 jets between January and July.

Airbus delivered 339 jets between January and July, down 4 percent on the year, due in part to a shortage of Pratt & Whitney (UTX.N> engines for its latest model, the revamped A320neo.

Airbus delivered just three of the jets in July, including two powered by Pratt & Whitney and the first to be delivered with alternative engines from CFM International .

So far this year it has delivered 11 A320neos and 15 of its widebody A350s, another model suffering delays due in part to problems with suppliers. It aims to deliver 50 A350s this year.

Industry sources say that besides widely reported problems with cabin equipment such as toilets, the A350 has faced some other glitches including quality problems with wing spoilers from Austrian parts maker FACC. An Airbus spokesman said these problems had been resolved. FACC declined to comment.

New Airbus data also incorporated the cancellation by Qatar Airways of the first of 50 A320neo-family jets it has ordered.

The Gulf airline has criticised Airbus and Pratt & Whitney over A320neo delays and said in June it would exercise a clause to abandon the first jet, one of several parked in Qatar livery outside the French factory waiting for engines.

Parent Airbus Group said last week that upgraded versions of the engines were now being delivered.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways is in talks with Boeing for rival 737 MAX jets to diversify its fast-expanding fleet.

MALAYSIA: Malindo Air

Malindo is a Low Budget Airline. Malindo Air is an airline based in Malaysia, headquartered in Petaling Jaya. It is a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI) (51%) of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia (49%). The name "Malindo" is derived from the names of respective countries: Malaysia and Indonesia. Malindo Air initially planned to start operation on 1 May 2013 from the new KLIA2 terminal. However, Malindo Air brought forward the launch date to mid-March 2013 with domestic destinations.

The airline offers only economy class and business class seats.

For its jet routes, Malindo Air provides a personal TV (in-flight entertainment system) in every seat, light snacks and free meal, seat pitches of 32" and 45" for economy class and business class respectively, and free baggage allowances of 20 kg & 30 kg. Furthermore, wifi service will be available from June onwards.

The airline also has expanded on a parallel turboprop service, focusing mainly secondary routes within 2-hour radius from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. Pioneer destinations include Penang, Johor Bahru and Kota Bahru.

Guests travelling on board Malindo Air’s Boeing 737-900ER from KLIA will enjoy extra legroom at no additional cost as all seats in economy have a seat pitch of 32”. All seats in economy class are also fitted with In Flight Entertainment system (IFE) that offer guest the latest Asian and Hollywood movie blockbusters, TV Programmes and interactive games to choose from at no additional charge.

Business Class passengers enjoy a seat pitch of 45” between them and each seats fitted with personal 13-inch screen stowed away under their seat rest and complimentary baggage allowance of up to 30kg and a full meal service with every business class ticket purchased.

Economy Class

A meal or snack and non alcoholic beverages are provided complimentary
Seat pitch of 32inch with some recline; seat selection for a small fee
Seat back screens show movies and TV shows on demand on the 737-900
No blankets or pillows
Included baggage allowance of 20kgs

Business Class

Superior meal and beverages are provided complimentary
Seat pitch of 45 inch with recline
Seat back screens show movies and TV shows on demand on the 737-900
No blankets or pillows
Included baggage allowance of 30kgs

Malindo

Destinations MALINDO AIR:
Malaysia

Alor Setar

Johor Bahru

Langkawi

Kuala Lumpur (HUB)

Subang (HUB)

Kuala Terengganu

Kota Bharu

Kota Kinabalu

Kuching

Penang

Sibu

Bangladesh

Dhaka

Chittagong

India

Ahmedabad

Delhi

Mumbai

Tiruchirappalli

Indonesia

Denpasar

Jakarta

Thailand

Bangkok (by Lion Air)

MALAYSIA: Malindo Air Launches Daily Service From Kuala Lumpur To Colombo

Malindo Air launched a daily service from Kuala Lumpur to Colombo on last 18th December 2015 expanding and strengthening their operations in Sri Lanka. Malindo Air is a Malaysian airline with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The airline is the result of a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defense Industries (NADI) of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia.

The name Malindo signifies a cooperative pact between the two countries, derived from the countries’ names – Malaysia and Indonesia. Malindo Air operates from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) and the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (also known as the Subang Airport, Subang SkyPark or LTSAAS) in Subang, Selangor, Malaysia. Malindo has selected Colombo as an emerging destination and Malindo marks another important milestone of launching this new rout.

Hon. Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, Minister of Transport, Ms. Madubhani Perera, Director Marketing SLTPB and Ms. Chami Gasnawage, Assistant Director Marketing SLTPB attended the inaugural flight launching ceremony at BIA welcoming the new flight to Sri Lanka. “We expect 15% growth in Malaysian Tourist Arrivals in 2016 which is over 25,000 tourists per year, voiced Ms. M

adubhani Perera, Director Marketing – Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. Jetwing travels is working as the General Sales Agency (GSA) for Malindo Air. Mr. Sunil Pieris, Director Travel Services and Mr. Raju Arasaratnam, Executive Director at Jetwing Travels were also took part at the inauguration ceremony.

“Whilst it’s true that as we continue to expand, we are taking more people on more aircraft to more places, we have to continue our efforts to provide the best service for our customers,” Chief Executive Officer Chandran Rama Muthy said in a statement. He also said that Malindo Air is working very closely with Tourism Malaysia to promote a wide variety of attractions in Sri Lanka.

The carrier operates a network of scheduled passenger services throughout Malaysia, and has spread its wings to regional destinations in Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Singapore, Nepal and Australia, covering an extensive network of over 40 routes in the region.

INDONESIA: Lion Air Takes Delivery Of Its First A330-300

Jakarta-based carrier to introduce popular widebody on high density routes

Indonesia’s Lion Air, part of the Lion Group, has taken delivery of its first widebody A330-300. The aircraft, powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, is the first of three A330s ordered by Lion Group and seats 440 passengers in a single class layout. The airline will use its A330 fleet on long range pilgrimage flights to Saudi Arabia, as well as on selected high density domestic routes.

“We chose the A330 for its ability to operate on a wide range of services with maximum efficiency,” said Rusdi Kirana, Co-Founder of Lion Group. “Replacing the 747, the A330 will significantly reduce operating costs on our Umrah flights. We will also use the aircraft to introduce widebody service on high capacity domestic routes, enabling more people to travel by air within Indonesia than ever before.”

“We are pleased to see Lion Air become a new operator of the best-selling A330,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. ““From shorter regional routes to long range services, the A330 does it all – and at lower cost. Lion Air will benefit strongly from the A330’s reduced operating costs, extended range capability and proven reliability, making it the perfect platform for high density low cost services.”

Lion Air first took to the skies in 2000. Today the Group operates an extensive network covering over 100 destinations in Indonesia and South East Asia, as well as long range services to Saudi Arabia. Today, 11 A320ceo are operated by Lion Group’s full service unit Batik Air; while the Group has 225 Airbus aircraft yet to be delivered, comprising 223 A320 Family aircraft and two more A330s.

The A330 is one of the most popular wide-body aircraft with over 1,500 orders, and over 1,200 delivered to some 110 operators worldwide. Offering the lowest operating costs in its category, and thanks to continuous investment and innovations, the A330 is the most profitable and best performing aircraft in its class.

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Announces Tigerair Takeover Bid

SIA currently owns 55.8 per cent of Tigerair and the “voluntary conditional general offer” is for the shares it does not already own.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Friday announced a full takeover bid for its struggling budget carrier subsidiary Tigerair and vowed to redevelop it as an integral part of the group’s portfolio.

SIA currently owns 55.8 per cent of Tigerair and the “voluntary conditional general offer” is for the shares it does not already own valued at around 453 million Singapore dollars (Dh1.17 billion, $322 million).

SIA said it intends to delist the low-cost carrier from the stock market.

“SIA’s objective for the offer is to derive enhanced commercial and operational synergies through a full integration of Tiger Airways into the SIA Group,” the airline said in a statement.

“SIA believes the offer will benefit shareholders of both Tiger Airways and SIA.”

The airline is offering Tigerair shareholders a price of S$0.41 per share in cash and an option to subscribe for SIA shares at S$11.1043.

SIA shares closed at S$11.15 apiece on Thursday before the carrier announced that its second quarter net profit more than doubled.

Tigerair shares closed at S$0.31 on Thursday, meaning SIA’s offer price carries a 32 per cent premium over that.

Both companies called for a trading halt Friday pending the announcement.

SIA said its offer will be funded from its “internal cash resources”.

The airline on Thursday said its net profit in the three months to September soared 135 per cent to S$213.6 million from the previous year, boosted by higher dividends from long-term investments and the absence of share losses from associated companies after it classified Tigerair as a subsidiary.

Tigerair went public five years ago, with a maximum initial offer price of S$1.65, but the airline was hobbled by a string of losses as competition in the Southeast Asian low cost carrier market intensified.

A strategy to expand the Tigerair brand to Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines failed.

SIA, which is also facing tough challenges from Middle Eastern carriers and budget airlines, already has in its stable Scoot, a medium-haul budget carrier, and full-fare SilkAir, which serves leisure destinations in Asia.

In the three months to June this year, Tigerair reported a net loss of S$ $1.7 million, narrowing from a whopping S$65.2 million loss in the same quarter the year before.

“Tigerair has been doing terribly so it is only prudent on the part of SIA to consolidate the budget carrier into its stable of companies together with Scoot and SilkAir,” said Shukor Yusof, an analyst with Malaysia-based aviation research firm Endau Analytics.

“It would help to realign the balance sheet of Tigerair. But at the same time, it is not going to guarantee profitability for Tigerair in the near future,” he said.

Shukor said competition has intensified in Southeast Asia’s no-frills carrier market with players that are “better placed” for the challenge, including Malaysia’s AirAsia, Indonesia’s Lion Air and Cebu Pacific of the Philippines.

SIA needed Tigerair to complete its portfolio, he added, especially with Singapore building a new terminal to maintain the city-state’s edge as a regional air transport hub.