New China Airlines subsidiary Tigerair Taiwan eyes rapid expansion after becoming Taiwan’s first LCC

LCC start-up Tigerair Taiwan is planning to pursue rapid expansion with an initial focus on Singapore, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. China could eventually become Tigerair Taiwan's largest market if bilateral restrictions, which are the carrier's biggest obstacle to growth, are eased.

The new China Airlines (CAL) subsidiary became Taiwan's first LCC on 26-Sep-2014, when it launched services to Singapore with one A320. A second A320 will be added in Nov-2014 and used to launch services to Thailand while a third A320 is expected to arrive by early 2015 and support new services to Korea and Japan.

Tigerair Taiwan is encouraged by initial load factors on the Singapore route and moves by the Taiwanese government to liberalise and promote LCC development. It now expects to grow faster than outlined in its initial business plan, which envisioned a fleet of 12 A320s by the end of its third year.