TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The island’s only budget airline, Tigerair Taiwan, will buy seven Airbus A320neo jets and lease eight more, with delivery scheduled to start in 2021, reports said Saturday (August 17).

The total value of the deal stands at US$729.75 million (NT$22.8 billion), the Central News Agency reported.

Tigerair Taiwan operates 29 routes from Taiwan's Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, and Taichung to 22 destinations, many of them in Japan.  

Taiwan’s largest carrier, China Airlines (CAL), owns 90 percent of Tigerair Taiwan, with the remaining 10 percent controlled by another affiliate, Mandarin Airlines. CAL recently placed an order for 25 Airbus A321neo aircraft.

The budget airline made a profit of NT$1 billion (US$31.9 million) last year, while an initial public offering (IPO) was planned for the end of 2020, according to CNA.