SIA establishes holding company for Scoot, Tigerair in push for integration

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has established a holding company to own and manage its budget airlines Scoot and Tigerair, said the carrier in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement confirmed an earlier report that Scoot and Tigerair will be run by one CEO. According to SIA, Lee Lik Hsin, who has led Tigerair since May 2014, will lead both budget airlines as CEO of the holding company, which has been registered as Budget Aviation Holdings Pte Ltd.

Campbell Wilson, who has led Scoot as CEO since prior to its launch of operations in 2012, will be returning to SIA in a senior position.

SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong will be chairman of Budget Aviation Holdings and its management will include senior staff from Scoot, Tigerair and SIA, said the carrier.

The holding company structure will allow for the integration and sharing of key functions, such as in sales and marketing, IT, planning and operations.

SIA took full ownership of Tigerair following a general offer that closed on March 4. The process has now been completed with the recent delisting of the company from Singapore Exchange (SGX).

The statement did not mention if staff would be affected by the changes.

Goh said in the statement that the holding company structure will drive a deep integration of SIA's low-cost subsidiaries, which are important parts of the portfolio strategy in which SIA have investments in both the full-service and budget aspects of the airline business.

"There are many opportunities ahead for Scoot and Tigerair to work more closely together, which will provide new opportunities for the growth of both airlines for the benefit of our customers," said Lee of his new position as CEO of Budget Aviation Holdings. Endit