Low-cost carrier Tiger Airways has named a former Virgin Blue executive as its new head of Australian operations.

Former Virgin Blue chief executive Andrew David, who has also worked in the high rankings of Air New Zealand, is set to take over Tiger Airways Australia Pty. Ltd. as its new Australian chief on 17 October. He takes the place of Tony Davis, who has held the position for more than five years and will be parting ways with the carrier on 1 November.

Last month saw Singapore-based Tiger Airways Holdings announce that Chin Yau Seng would become the full group’s chief executive. He had become the acting chief during the Australian flight ban, which began in mid-July. Yau Seng comes from the executive panel of Singapore Airlines, which owns a 32.8 per cent stake in Tiger Airways.

The news follows six weeks of costly grounding for its entire Australian domestic operations due to safety concerns raised by the country’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority. But Tiger’s operations down under resumed on 12 August when the safety regulator lifted the safety ban.

The airline’s current fleet and schedule have been reduced and analysts say the ban had amounted to at least SGD $2 million (£1.02 million) each week and the airline warned last month of first-quarter losses of SGD $20.6 million (£10.5 million), compared to net profits of S$1.9 million (£973,00) a year prior.