24 June 2003SINGAPORE – Reports from Singapore this week have said a former managing director of Singapore Airlines is one of those behind a break-away low-cost carrier in Singapore called ValuAir.
Local media reports state that Lim Chin Beng has registered a company named ValuAir, which aims to operate passenger services from Singapore to nearby points in Asia. No operator's certificate application has not yet been filed with Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the reports note.
Lim, aged 70, helped set up SIA after the former Malaysia-Singapore Airlines was disbanded.
Lim was SIA's managing director between 1972 and 1982, when he became deputy chairman. He retired in 1996.
He is a former Singapore ambassador to Japan, and currently chairman of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which owns the Straits Times newspaper.
Reports say Bangkok and Bali are among leisure destinations under study for low-cost services. The group is reportedly now negotiating aircraft leases with the Airbus A320 seen as a "likely choice”.
Earlier this month SIA revealed it is also formally studying the establishment of a no-frills carrier.