Shamed and shackled, Tiger will start with limited Melbourne-Sydney flights on Friday with three flights offering one way fares at $119.95, $59.95 and $139.95 which include $32.13 in taxes, fees and levies,  a sharp increase in its previous pricing but much cheaper than the fares offered today by its competitors.

The cheapest fare on Qantas for the same day was $175, although it did offer an $127 fare on Jetstar, yet Jetstar’s own site only offered one of its incredibly expensive $289 fares, a reminder that neither the Qantas not Jetstar sites can be relied upon to tell the full story on a regular basis, as well as underscoring the low service high price ethic on its once bargain basement low fare subsidiary.

Virgin Australia was similarly unimpressive. Its lowest fare was $185, or $10 more than Qantas and without a complimentary meal or snack or drink or anything, and no inclusive baggage allowance , which could leave the Virgin customer paying more than $200 and still going hungry and thirsty.

Tiger says it will announce additional destinations and fares in coming days.

It is also sending two of its 10 A320s back to Singapore and shutting down crew bases in Adelaide and Avalon.

This is the Tiger statement:

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (“CASA”) has notified Tiger Airways Australia that it will discontinue its legal action against the airline. As a consequence, the airline’s Air Operator’s Certificate (“AOC”) has been re-instated and services will resume on Friday 12th August 2011.
Tiger Airways Australia has worked constructively with CASA to address the concerns that were raised by the regulator, which has now enabled the AOC to be re-instated.

Tiger Airways Australia will resume ticket sales today and will implement a gradual resumption of domestic services from Friday 12 August 2011.

The airline is resuming services with a simplified flight programme in order to focus on flying popular and profitable routes. Flights will initially resume between Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) and Sydney. The resumption of services on other Tiger Airways routes will be announced shortly. As part of its simplified flying programme, Tiger Airways Australia will reduce its operating fleet from 10 Airbus A320 aircraft to eight Airbus A320 aircraft. Consequently, two Airbus A320 aircraft will be redeployed to other airline businesses in the Tiger Airways Group.

The new flight schedule will initially consolidate the business into a single crew base operating from Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) and as a result the crew base at Adelaide Airport will be closed and the crew base at Avalon (Melbourne) Airport will be temporarily suspended. All Tiger Airways Australia staff currently working at the Adelaide and Avalon crew bases will be offered redeployment to the Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) operation.

Passengers already booked to fly with Tiger Airways Australia from 12 August 2011 will be advised of any change to their travel plans and will be offered a range of options including a free of charge transfer to another Tiger Airways Australia flight of their choice, or if their flight is not operating a full refund back to the original form of payment or a credit for deferred travel.

Tiger Airways Australia is committed to a safe, viable and long term future in Australia. The airline remains committed to regaining the confidence of its customers through an enhanced focus on punctuality and convenience, while continuing to offer Australia’s most affordable air fares.