Taiwan’s first low-cost carrier takes off on Sept. 26 / Tigerair Taiwan’s Guan Xu: Fly wherever you want

Reported and photographed by You t
ru / Taipei

The preparations for Tigerair Taiwan are in their final stages. At a press conference held today (1st), Guan Xu, CEO of Tigerair Taiwan, stated that the airline’s first brand-new A320 aircraft successfully flew from Airbus in Toulouse, France, and arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:00 AM Taipei time on August 31. The airline is scheduled to commence operations on September 26, and starting tomorrow (2nd) at 10:00 AM, it will release 10,000 tickets for the Taipei-Singapore route at NT$888 each for online booking.


▲ Tigerair Taiwan holds a press conference.

Tigerair Taiwan’s first aircraft successfully flew from Airbus in Toulouse, France, and arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:00 AM on August 31. The aircraft’s registration number is B-50001, and it is configured with 180 seats. This aircraft was purchased by Tigerair Taiwan and is expected to receive its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration, which is currently in the final stage of review. The airline plans to launch its inaugural Taipei–Singapore route on September 26.

To celebrate the maiden flight, Tigerair Taiwan will begin offering one-way Taipei–Singapore tickets at NT$888 and one-way Singapore–Taipei tickets at NT$1,445 starting from 10:00 AM on Tuesday, September 2. Tiger fans can “register in advance” via the Tigerair Taiwan official website. The one-way tickets include airport taxes but do not incur additional fuel surcharges. The departure period ranges from the inaugural flight date up to March 28 of next year (2015). “Advance registration” does not require immediate payment. Passengers can return to the official website during the designated period after Tigerair Taiwan officially obtains flight approval to complete the seat reservation by making the payment.


▲%Continuation of the photo with the CEO and other officials at the press conference.


Guan Xu stated that Tigerair Taiwan chose Singapore as its first destination because it can leverage existing resources from TransAsia Airways (formerly operating as Tigerair). Future flight operations are expected to see more than double the transport capacity. Tigerair Taiwan plans to operate daily flights between Taipei and Singapore, and will introduce one more aircraft within the next two to three months. The minimum seat pitch on Tigerair Taiwan is 28.5 inches, and in-flight meals, baggage, and entertainment services are all available for an additional fee.

Guan Xu also mentioned that the initial fleet plan is to introduce 12 A320 aircraft within three years. Tigerair Taiwan aims to achieve the goal of “flying wherever Taiwanese people want to go.” Regarding the website, the official Tigerair Taiwan site will be integrated with the former TransAsia Tigerair website, connecting more routes. The new logo will appear on the website tomorrow, and passengers can click on the top left corner to access the Tigerair Taiwan website.