Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways said on Monday Chin Yau Seng will replace Tony Davis as chief executive in a move that was expected after its Australian business was rocked by a flight suspension due to safety issues.

The leadership change adds to the series of steps Tiger is taking to restore its reputation after the more than one-month flight ban battered its share price and hurt its profitability.

The airline beefed up top management by bringing in Chin, ex-CEO of SilkAir, a regional carrier owned by Singapore Airlines (SIA) , and J Y Pillay, a former SIA executive, as chairman.

The airline is also raising US$132 million in a rights issue that is 90 percent underwritten by Singapore state investor Temasek and SIA, which collectively own 40 percent of Tiger.

Tiger Air said it will use the money raised to shore up its capital, help it finance its expansion and pay for aircraft it has ordered.

Shares of the budget carrier have fallen about 22 percent since the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia imposed in early July a flight ban on the entire domestic operation of Tiger Airways Australia.

Chin replaces Davis on Nov. 1. Davis will leave the company on the same date, Tiger Air said.

Davis was appointed the head of Tiger's Australia operations after safety issues in Australia arose. Tiger is in the process of appointing a replacement as CEO of Tiger Air Australia, the company said.

"This was completely expected. When he (Davis) was demoted to Australia, he had one mission, which was to fix issues outstanding at that time," said John Rachmat, an analyst at RBS, who expected Davis to leave the company after the issues with its Australia operations were resolved.

"In a sense it was his responsibility as a group CEO, that relationships with authorities should deteriorate to such a poor level that their license got suspended."

"Tiger has had teething problems and have been over ambitious in the past. They need to address the reliability problems and expand the fleet and both are interlinked," said Peter Harbison, executive chairman of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

"Having said that, the way things are going in Asia, a responsible approach will capture the big upside for them."