Tiger Airways rebranded to boost market share

Budget carrier Tiger Airways ditched its leaping tiger and changed its name to Tigerair, in a major rebranding to boost market size and shareholder value, local daily Straits Times reported on Thursday. "Customers who fly with us understand that we are not providing five-star service or fine dining. We are your hawker centre, but even as a hawker centre, you have to do things well," the company' s chief executive officer Koay Peng Yen said upon unveiling the new look at Changi Airport on Wednesday. Tigerair, a third of which is owned by Singapore Airlines, recently launched a call centre, which has cut response times by half, he added. There is also a mobile app that allows users to make and change bookings. Repeat customers will find it convenient that the system is able to store their personal details for future bookings. "Competition continues to be around so we want to focus on enhancing ourselves to our customers so that we stand out," he said. Apart from its Singapore operations, Tigerair also has stakes in Indonesia's Mandala Airlines and South East Asian Airlines in the Philippines. It also owns 40 percent of Tigerair Australia. Koay said the rebranding has not increased costs significantly so far. "We don't see it as a cost. Rather, it's an investment to generate more volume and in turn, higher revenues," he said.