Tiger Airways on it's way back - but what about Cairns

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Cairns are still missing the cheap flights down to Melbourne, hope Tiger do make a comeback up here.

THE beleaguered Tiger Airways has started expanding again as passenger numbers return to the levels they were before the devastating grounding this year.

 

From today the airline is increasing the number of daily flights it operates from 22 to 32 and it has added an extra 45,000 seats for next year.

Airline spokeswoman Vanessa Regan said seven jets were now operational and hoped all 10 of the airline's planes would be flying next year.

“Whilst it has been a demanding year for Tiger Airways Australia the groundswell of our customer support has remained strong," Ms Regan said.

She said the key to winning back the public trust was its relaunched product, focusing on affordability, reliability and enhanced safety.

The airline has gone from the bottom of the domestic airlines on-time performance table to the top, achieving the highest level of on time departures for October at 84.7 per cent.

However the reduced flights have hit hard, with the airline’s group passengers numbers falling 13 per cent last month and passenger loads running 8 per cent less at 78 per cent.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority grounded Tiger for six weeks for safety reasons this year.