CEO Robert Sharp announces the new look branding for tigerair at Melbourne airport. Tigerair CEO Rob Sharp at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport with one of the A320s wearing the new livery. Photographer: James Morgan Source: Supplied The first plane in the new colours was unveiled at Melbourne Airport this morning and comes as the carrier's joint venture with Virgin Australia is due to be finalised this month. The new livery, which will be progressively rolled out across the airline, sees the leaping Tiger logo replaced with a new design that Tigerair said aimed to convey a corporate personality that is "warm, passionate and genuine." Tigerair Australia chief executive Rob Sharp said the announcement reinforced that the airline was ready for change as it pushed to increase its stake in the budget airline segment. "Today's news is much more than just a fresh coat of paint and a new logo - it is the start of the revival of our airline here in Australia and should be seen as reinforcement of our commitment towards continuous innovation and improvement,"" Mr Sharp said. The strategic repositioning of the brand will assist us through a significant period of growth over the coming years. The airline said the brand roll-out would also bring changes to the way it operated to improve the travel experience for customers. This included a new-look website going live today and the launch of new customer products in coming months. A number of "fun consumer promotions" would also rolled out soon to celebrate the change, Tigerair said. Tiger has committed to significantly growing its fleet as part of the joint venture with Virgin, in which Virgin will take 60 per cent stake in the Australian operation. "Tigerair is already heading in the right direction - we've come a long way over the past two years,"" Mr Sharp said. Those that try us do return and recognise we provide the ability to travel whenever you choose, regardless of budget. However we have a long way to go. Our two key priorities now are to create a stronger operating platform that can deliver growth and to build a sustainable business that brings greater competition to the Australian budget carrier market."" The Australian unit lost $S69 million ($59m) in 2012-13, a 10 per cent improvement on the previous year's loss of $S77m. The carrier's revenue rose 60.4 per cent to $S247m, in line with a 57 per cent rise in passenger numbers, as it relaunched services after the July 2011 grounding over safety concerns. The airline's Singapore owners indicated the airline was likely to have folded without the backing of Virgin Australia.