VIRGIN Australia is set to snap up full ownership of budget carrier Tiger Australia for just $1.

Virgin, which bought 60 per cent of Tiger in July 2013, will buy out the remaining stake for the tiny sum from Singapore-based parent company Tiger Holdings.

Chief executive John Borghetti said taking full ownership of Tiger would enable it to bring the discount carrier to profitability more quickly.

“Under this proposed transaction, we will benefit from the economies of scale and achieve profitability ahead of schedule by the end of 2016, by leveraging the resources of the wider Virgin Australia Group,” he said.

Under the deal, Virgin will also obtain brand rights to fly Tigerair Australia to overseas destinations, which could see it compete with Qantas-owned Jetstar internationally.

Mr Borghetti said Virgin would continue to operate Tiger as a separate brand.

“We remain committed to maintaining the airline’s low cost business model and the separate Tigerair brand, ensuring that we can continue to deliver the most competitive pricing in Australian budget travel,” he said.

The move comes after a difficult 12 months for Australian airlines as an intense battle for market share saw both Virgin and Qantas suffer heavy losses.

Virgin posted a full-year loss of $355.6 million, while Qantas suffered a record loss of $2.8 billion.

With AAP