Scoot, Nok Air and Tigerair announced new overseas ventures and partnerships

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                   / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

Scoot, Nok Air and Tigerair announced new overseas ventures and partnerships on 16 December 2013.

Nok Air, the low-cost subsidiary of Thai Airways International, and Singapore's long-haul budget airline, Scoot, plan to establish a new budget airline based in Bangkok to capture a share of the burgeoning Asia-Pacific low-cost travel market. The airline, if approved by regulators, will be called NokScoot and operate on medium and long-haul routes.

NokScoot will take over routes previously operated by Thai private airlines U-Airlines, R-Airlines and P.C. Air that have recently grounded flight operations in Suvarnabhumi and  Don Mueang International Airports of Bangkok.

NokScoot will fly from both airports of Bangkok.

Both companies will make an initial joint investment of S$80 million, of which Nok Air will own up to 51 per cent of the joint-venture.

Nok Air Chief Executive Officer Patee Sarasin said both airlines are "excited" at expanding overseas.

"It has always been Nok's goal to offer Thais more choice and more value, of which this venture is yet another example. We're also excited at the opportunity to encourage more inbound tourists, to boost the Thai economy," he said.

Scoot Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson added: "Thailand is Asia's premier tourist destination and logical hub for Scoot to expand to."

Meanwhile, Scoot's other partner Tiger Airways also announced plans on Monday to form a new low-cost airline, this time in Taiwan.

It plans to set up Tigerair Taiwan through a joint venture with China Airlines, Taiwan's biggest carrier.

Tigerair said it would hold a 10% stake in the new company, which is aimed at tapping the budget-conscious travel market in North Asia. Tigerair Taiwan will be based in Taipei and will launch budget flights from Taipei  to China, South Korea and Japan in order to compete with rivals such as TransAsia Airways' unnamed budget flight subsidiary, China's Spring Airlines, Japan's Peach Aviation and South Korea's Eastar Jet, Jeju Air and T'way Airlines.

It has not been confirmed which Taipei airport Tigerair Taiwan will base its operations in since Tigerair flies only to Taoyuan International Airport, the international gateway to the city of Taipei.

Under existing Taiwan aviation regulations, airlines operating to China and Korea from Taipei are encouraged to operate flights from Taipei City's Songshan airport.

Tiger Airways, which is majority-owned by Singapore Airlines, also announced an agreement to enhance connectivity between flights with India's Spicejet, besides forming an official sales and marketing partnership with Scoot.

Tigerair started selling Scoot's tickets on its web-site one year ago while it is expected Scoot will start selling Tigerair's tickets on its web-site soon.