According to China’s Xinhua news agency, Tigerair, a subsidiary of Virgin Australia airlines, is one of eight airlines that signed the Value Alliance overnight, the world’s largest low-cost carrier deal that is expected to result in a price war among low-cost carriers in the Asian region.
Under the deal, the Australian airline, as well as seven other Asian-based low-cost carriers, will combine efforts to expand the route maps and offer travellers the best fares, with some industry experts tipping fare reductions of up to 30 per cent under the new deals.
Sharp said the landmark move would allow more Australians to travel for less money, as the alliance aims to undercut competitors Jetstar and AirAsia, while also allowing the alliance members to share itineraries, specials and route maps to make booking the cheapest fare easier.
“This software will allow Australian consumers to leverage the breadth of the entire network across these eight airlines. So that means when you go on to the Tigerair website, you will be offered the best fare of the day across all the airlines that cover these 160 destinations,” Sharp told News Corp today.
Sharp said the alliance would also allow visitors coming to Australia from Asia the added convenience of booking domestic Australian fares as part of the alliance, something Sharp said would streamline the process for overseas visitors.
“It will also allow these eight carriers to sell itineraries that include Tigerair domestic fares. This broadens our distribution channel and will bring more passengers on to Tigerair. It will allow us to build a critical mass and give us a sustainable base.
“This is a real game-changer in terms of what low-cost carriers can offer. Until now, it’s been very challenging for any airline to cross-sell, but this effectively allows cross-merchandising without compromising our brand position,” Sharp said.
The other alliance members are Cebu Pacific (based in the Philippines), Jeju Air (South Korea), Nok Air and NokScoot (Thailand), Scoot (Singapore), Tigerair Singapore and Vanilla Air (Japan).
– BERNAMA