Tiger Airways completes Mandala Airlines deal
Tiger Airways has completed its 33 per cent investment in PT Mandala Airlines of Indonesia.
The investment in Mandala will be held through its wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore, Roar Aviation.
Mandala has undergone a financial restructuring process in accordance with Indonesian law.
The largest shareholder in the restructured Mandala will be the Saratoga group, which will hold a 51.3 per cent stake. The remaining 15.7 per cent will be held by the previous shareholders and creditors of Mandala.
The next stage of the process is to reactivate Mandala’s Air Operator’s Certificate, which has been frozen since the suspension of its operations in January 2011.
The AOC is expected to be reactivated in February 2012, after which flight sales will commence ahead of the resumption of flights in April 2012.
The restructured airline will adopt the Tiger Airways business model, and plans to offer low cost travel to international and domestic Indonesian destinations within a five-hour flying radius.
Like other airlines in the Tiger Airways Group, the restructured airline will also operate Airbus A320 aircraft.
Further information on the number of aircraft, the initial routes and destinations is expected to be unveiled once all approvals have been granted by the regulators and authorities.
Chief executive of Tiger Airways, Chin Yau Seng, said: “We are pleased to have completed this transaction, and are excited about the re-launch of Mandala’s operations once its AOC has been reactivated.
“Mandala is the first of Tiger Airways’ joint venture ‘Cubs’ and represents a significant step in our efforts to expand our ‘paw-print’ in this region.”