Asian Ryanair looks for partners

TIGER Airways, the low-cost Asian airline backed by Tony Ryan of Ryanair, is trying to establish affiliate companies across the region to franchise out the brand and spur expansion.

The company - which is 16% held by Irelandia Investments, the Ryan family's private investment arm - said it would hold minority stakes in the new Tiger units and was courting potential partners.

'In order to expand Tiger Airways into a pan-regional operation we are looking at the possibility of establishing partnerships in third countries,' said Tony Davis, Tiger's chief executive. The move would 'enable us to establish bases and operations outside of Singapore', said Davis, a former British Airways and bmibaby executive.

The strategy could prove an effective way of tapping extra investment funds and opening up new markets. Asia lacks a collective open-skies deal, and access to routes is regulated by a complex web of bilateral, State-to-State deals.

'There are opportunities to franchise the distribution, the branding, the business,' Davis said.

'To the consumer, they wouldn't be able to differentiate a Tiger operation in another country from what we do here in Singapore.'

Low-cost airlines are booming in Asia, with a host of independent start-ups and operations backed by full-service carriers.

Singapore Airlines holds a 49% stake in Tiger Airways, which launched last September. 'There will be lots of people around Asia that would be quite happy to partner with us,' said Davis.