Lee Lik Hsin, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Budget Aviation Holdings (BAH), says a potential merger between its Scoot (TR, Singapore Changi) and Tigerair (Singapore Changi) units may be considered in the long run.
Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) established BAH in May this year to streamline the two carriers' cost structures through improved operational synergies. But, even though they share some common organizational structures such as sales and marketing, IT, planning and operations, Lee told Singapore's Today newspaper in an interview that bringing them under a singular brand and Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) would involve many regulatory and commercial considerations, among other issues. These, he said, would have to be reviewed internally before any firm plans are made.
In the interim, Lee said BAH is open to forming strategic joint-ventures and partnerships with other carriers in Asia.
“The partnership opportunities could be anywhere in Asia. It is about getting the right opportunity, the right partner at the right time,” he said.
Both Scoot and Tigerair are founding members of the Value Alliance.
At present, Scoot operates in the long haul budget segment employing five B787-8s and six B787-9s to serve twenty-three destinations in Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and from June 2017 onwards, Greece. Tigerair, for its part, is a regional budget airline offering regular flights to thirty-nine destinations in Thailand, the Philippines, China, Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Macau, the Maldives, and Myanmar using twenty-two A320-200s and two A319-100s.
