There is plenty of media speculation today about whether Tiger Australia boss Tony Davis was pushed or walked from the job, just weeks after the airline had its licence to fly restored.
Davis, who will leave Australia on November 1, is heading to Europe to join Irelandia, an airline investment group.
Davis was drafted into Australia from his role as chief executive of the Singapore-based Tiger group to try to rescue the Australian operations after the safety regulator suspended its domestic licence on July 2.
His position as Tiger group chief executive was filled temporarily by the former chief executive of Singapore’s Silk Air, Chin Yau Seng, 40, who was appointed to the position yesterday.
Stephen Bartholomeusz, writing in Business Spectator, suggests Singapore Airlines has been dragged reluctantly into an involvement with Tiger that will complicate its own ambitions.
Singapore Airlines, which owns just under 33 percent of Tiger, will launch its own low-cost airline, possibly called Scoot, next year.
SIA “could see some strategic appeal in using Tiger to keep pressure on Jetstar and helping (partner) Virgin attack Qantas’ more lucrative business to undermine Qantas’ ability to pursue its stated Asian ambitionsâ€, Bartholomeusz writes.
“Those ambitions include a bigger presence for Jetstar in Asia and a new premium airline, not branded Qantas, operating from an Asian base.
“It might make more sense for Tiger to quit this market (Australia) and redeploy the planes in Asia and focus on becoming SIA’s regional low-cost brand,†Bartholomeusz suggests.
Tiger says it will name a new CEO for its Australian business shortly.
