Partnership with Tigerair
On September 29, 2006, a deal was announced in which Singapore-based Tigerair would enter a commercial and operational tie-up with SEAir from February 2007.[7] The tie-up was finally approved in 2008 after protest from four other Philippine airlines. However, due to the unfavorable operating environment, the plan was put into hiatus. Tigerair and SEAir revisited the partnership plan in 2010 and it was officially launched on December 16, 2010. Seats on flights operated by SEAir using two aircraft leased from Tigerair were sold and marketed by Tigerair for SEAir. Shortly after SEAir and Tigerair launched the partnership, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest Airways and Air Philippines sent a letter of protest to the Department of Transportation and Communications claiming the partnership between SEAir and Tigerair was illegal and requested the authorities to stop flights operating under the partnership.[8] The Tigerair-SEAir partnership began with international flights from Clark to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau. It was then expanded to domestic destination from Manila (NAIA) to Davao and Cebu (slated to launch in July 2011). However, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered the sales of the domestic flight under the partnership to be suspended on May 20, 2011, after receiving complaints from Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. Since the ban from CAB was lifted in October 2011, the planned domestic flight (between Manila (NAIA) to Davao and Cebu) was scheduled to start in May 2012.[9]
In February 2011, Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd., parent company of Tigerair, purchased 32.5% shares of SEAir.[10] They increased their shares to 40% in August 2012.[11]
In December 2012, CAB approved SEAir's application to form SEAir International, a full-service airline focusing on domestic and international leisure destinations. It operates independently from SEAir Inc., which was rebranded as Tigerair Philippines. Due to the exclusion of turboprop aircraft under a share sale agreement between SEAir and Tigerair, the turboprop fleet of SEAir Inc. was transferred to SEAir International.[12]
SEAir was rebranded as Tigerair Philippines in June 2013.
