Tiger names new chief

A month after Tiger's six-week forced grounding ended, Andrew David, formerly chief operating officer at Virgin, has been appointed to replace Tony Davis, who was brought in from Singapore to sort out the airline's woes in Australia.

The appointment of an experienced airline executive signals that Tiger's Singapore parent and its cornerstone shareholders, including Singapore Airlines, intend to maintain the budget airline's Australian operations. Industry insiders said Mr David had the operational experience needed to turn around Tiger's flagging fortunes. "They wouldn't appoint him if they were just about to pull out," one said.

Some analysts had expected Tiger to retreat to Singapore.

Chin Yau Seng, acting chief executive of Singapore-based Tiger Airways, said he was confident Mr David could successfully steer the Australian operations.