SINGAPORE : Tiger Airways will begin flights to Australia with
the launch on December 19 of a four-times weekly service to the
city of Darwin, the Singapore-based budget carrier said on
Wednesday.
Fares for a one-way trip to Darwin, the capital of Australia's
Northern Territory state, will start from S$49.98 (US$29.40)
excluding taxes, the carrier said in a statement.
Ticket sales for the route will start on Thursday.
"We are excited to launch new low fare flights to yet another
country in the Asia-Pacific region ... there is strong demand for
affordable flights to Australia from Asia," said Tiger Airways
chief executive Tony Davis.
The Northern Territory's chief minister Clare Martin said the
launch of the new service will draw more Asian tourists to the
Australian state, which boasts of some of the world's greatest
natural attractions, including Ayers Rock or Uluru.
"This gives the Northern Territory a huge opportunity to tap into
the new Asian markets of Singapore, Macau, Thailand, India, Vietnam
and Southern China," Martin said.
"It will help us to deliver more tourists in our off peak seasons
at very attractive rates."
Tiger Airways, 49-percent owned by Singapore Airlines, has been
rapidly expanding its network since starting commercial flights in
September 2004.
The carrier now flies from Singapore to 10 destinations in Asia
including Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phuket and Clark Field
north of Manila. - AFP/de