Mandala to resume flights in April

JAKARTA: The Tiger Airways announced on Thursday its plan to buy a 33 percent stake in PT Mandala Airlines. Singapore-based airline Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd announced on Tuesday that Mandala Airlines will resume operations in April.

Tiger Airways, which concluded its purchase of a 33 percent stake in Mandala earlier this month, said in a statement that Mandala’s Air Operators Certificate (AOC) had been reinstated by the Transportation Ministry.

Mandala’s operating license was frozen in January 2011 following the suspension of Mandala’s operations.

“Information about the number of planes and routes will be announced soon,” the company was quoted as saying by kontan.co.id.

“This is positive news for Tiger Airways. The relaunch of Mandala will help improve Tiger’s performance, which has been affected by slowing growth in passengers back in Singapore,” CIMB research analyst Daniel
Lau said.

Mandala has undergone financial restructuring in accordance with Indonesian law. The largest shareholder in the restructured Mandala is the Saratoga Group, which owns 51.3 percent of the airline. The remaining 15.7 percent is owned by previous shareholders and creditors of Mandala.