Tiger Airways Holdings said its wholly owned Australian subsidiary was working "constructively" with Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to resolve issues that led to the carrier being grounded last month.
At a court hearing on Friday in Australia, both parties requested an adjournment to August 11 as CASA asked for more information from the carrier.
"There is no information available yet as to when Tiger Airways Australia may resume services, but the airline is committed to doing so as soon as possible," Tiger Airways Holdings said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
"Tiger Airways flights will, by virtue of the adjournment (Friday), remain suspended until 11 August 2011."
The Australian arm of Singapore's Tiger Airways has been grounded since July 2 over "serious and imminent" safety risks related to pilot training, fatigue management and other issues.
And on Friday the airline hit fresh problems, with aviation regulators knocking back a redrafted safety manual in a move that will see its flight ban extended.
Negotiations for the ban to be lifted were in their final stages this week but CASA said "some of the documentation that they have provided is not complete and accurate and up to date."
"We've asked them to revise that, which they are doing, and obviously we can't move forward with the matter until we get that back from them and reassess it," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told AFP in Sydney.
"That obviously has delayed things a bit."
The problems relate to "key safety documents, manuals essentially that underpin the operations of the airline", which CASA had asked Tiger to amend before it would be allowed to fly again.
The manual outlining how Tiger would manage and process its operational data was of particular concern, Gibson said, which was "quite central to safety."
The parent company said Tiger Airways Australia incurred a Sg$23.2 million ($19 million) loss in the first quarter, compared with a Sg$10.6 million loss in the same period in 2010, due to higher fuel prices and disruption from the Chile ash cloud in June.
"With the loss incurred in the first quarter, and the suspension of all domestic services in Australia for more than a month, we expect Tiger Airways Australia to report a net loss for this financial year," Tiger Airways Holdings said.
The parent firm reported a Sg$20.6 million after-tax loss for the quarter company-wide.
"The Group?s financial performance will be significantly affected by the expected losses of Tiger Airways Australia, while being exposed to high and volatile jet fuel prices," it added.
Tiger Airways plunged 9.57 percent on the SGX before trading was briefly halted pending announcement of the extension of its Australian subsidiary's suspension.
It pared losses after trading resumed 40 minutes later, slipping 7.83 percent to Sg$1.06.
By: AFP
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