SIA's Scoot needs feed from Tiger Airways and smaller aircraft to achieve profitable growth

The new partnership unveiled on 01-Oct-2012 between low-cost carriers Scoot and Tiger Airways is an overdue but critical step in the evolution of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group. The group is betting that aligning its long-haul and short-haul LCC brands will improve the profitability and growth prospects for both carriers. While Scoot has been open to connectivity since its inception, Tiger has made a major shift in strategy to accommodate this connectivity.

SIA, however, remains adamant that it should maintain complete separation with no transfer of passengers between its two low-cost brands and two full-service brands (Singapore Airlines and regional subsidiary SilkAir). This conservative strategy could end up backfiring as it goes against the successful formula used by other airline groups such as Qantas.

Scoot is also evaluating smaller widebody aircraft that will allow it to open more destinations than it can with its present fleet of Boeing 777-200s.