There are basically two types of traveler within Asia - the business traveler whose company pays the ticket and the rest of us. The rest of us are tourists, families, entrepreneurs, travelers.

This page will follow the fortunes of the low cost carriers in Asia - and will try to tell you who is flying where and what the best deals are.

WHAT IS A LOW COST CARRIER

Self explanatory really. Low costs equal low fares. How do these airlines keep their costs low? They use one type of aircraft. They keep it in the air as long as they can during the day. They don't give free meals; they don't show movies. They use young, eager, hard working and relatively cheap crew! They don't have old union agreements to fret over. They negotiate everything with their suppliers.  They don't use travel agents. You book online or through a call centre. They don't transfer your bags and they don't do interlining. They don't use large planes. You cannot turn around (unload and load) a 747 in 20 minutes.

In 2008 we have briefly seen oil prices reach US$150 a barrel. Even at end August 2008 prices on US$115 this is still some 65% higher than at the start of the year. The impact on the airlines is huge - it is hard to be low cost anymore.

SO WHAT DO YOU GET

Cheap fares. A seat. And generally on time. Usually flying on a small single aisle 737 or Airbus 320.

In India meals are often served. A simple meal is also served on Valuair.

Most airlines opt for the sales cart. Some sell alcohol and some do not. Jetstar and Tiger for instance will sell you a glass of wine. Air Asia does not sell alcohol.

Air Asia and Tiger do not have pre-assigned seating. Other airlines do assign seating and it can be a bit of a scrum to board the plane.

AND WHAT DO YOU PAY.

That all depends on when you book and when you want to fly. If you want to fly at a weekend or holiday expect to pay more. If you want to fly tomorrow expect to pay more.

For example. BKK to SIN on Air Asia can be from Baht 699 to over Baht 3,000; before taxes and fule surcharges. About 30% of fares are sold at the lowest price.

WHAT WILL COME NEXT

To start with expect more low cost carriers. And then some consolidation.

Expect even greater cost saving efforts. In Europe Ryanair's new 737s are delivered with: Seats that do not recline (they dont break so easily), no window shades, and no seatback pockets (these are hard to keep clean. The safety instructions are printed on the back of the fold down table. It looks like the accountants have thought of everything.

RyanAir now charges for checked in baggage. Will the Asian airlines follow?

Expect the big boys to try to play the same game with their own LCCs subsidised by big brother. Qantas, Thai, SQ and Garuda are all creating imitation LCCs.

THE INDUSTRY LCC HEAVWEIGHTS

Southwest (USA)

JetBlue (USA)

Ryanair (Europe)

Easyjet (Europe)

Center for Asia Pacific Aviation - Commentary

April 6 2004

Low Cost Airline Fever Rampant in Asia

Singapore will have a fourth low cost airline by the end of 2004, following Qantas' announcement today of plans to invest SGD50 million for a 49.9% shareholding in a new carrier.

The airline would fly to a range of Asian cities within five hours of Singapore and operate a fleet of single aisle aircraft – either B737-800s or A320s. The carrier will initially operate four aircraft, increasing to 20 aircraft over the following three years.

According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's Managing Director, Peter Harbison, "this latest move clearly shows an aviation industry in a massive transition phase. The old competitive rules are gone forever. The opening of aviation markets and low cost operating models are a cocktail for rapid change and every airline in this region will have to think twice".

Singapore Airlines' parent, Temasek has emerged as a leading low cost airline investor, agreeing to take a 19% share of the new Qantas-led LCA, and 11% of the Singapore Airlines-led Tiger Airways, which also plans to commence services by the end of 2004.

For Qantas, the move recognises the crucial role low cost airlines will play in the development of point-to-point leisure travel in the Asia Pacific region in the future and the need to be an active participant in this process.

It is also a key strategy by Qantas to defend its largest international hub - Singapore - into which it has invested significantly over the years. As more point-to-point operators establish in Singapore, there is a risk the market will become more fragmented, meaning a loss of through traffic and revenue in Singapore. At SGD50 million, it is a fairly small investment for Qantas to defend its Singapore operation and participate in what should be a very high growth market.

The strategy carries limited risk for Qantas, because the new airline's operations will be discrete and will tap into opportunities that Qantas and Virgin Blue cannot currently - without undermining the parent's operations.

But there are some potential negatives:
Singapore's market will be increasingly crowded as ValuAir, AirAsia, Tiger Airways and the new Qantas-led LCA take to the skies over the next nine months - which guarantees volatility and extremely low fares. However, the Singapore market has a very high propensity to travel;
The move could prompt a retaliatory move by Singapore Airlines, possibly in the Australian domestic market but more specifically on the Pacific. SIA has been seeking access to Australia-US routes for some time and its argument gains weight with Qantas international expansion in Singapore

 

Thailand

Thai Air Asia Domestic Thailand plus KL, Penang, Macau, Singapore, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Xiamen and Johor Bahru.

One-Two-Go (Domestic in Thailand and as Orient Thai to Seoul and HKG). As of August 2008 this airline has been grounded.

NokAir (Thai Air domestic flights rebranded!)

Singapore

Valuair - now owned by Jetstar/Qantas flying to Indonesia - operating to Indonesia on behalf of Jetstar.

Tiger Air - flying to Thailand, China, Macau, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and now in Australia.

Jetstar Asia to Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines

Malaysia

Air Asia (domestic Malaysia, Bangkok, Macau, Philippines, Phuket and Indonesia)

Indonesia:

Adam Air

Air Asia (formerly AWAir) - associated with Air Asia (in Indonesia)

Lion AIr 36 domestic cities in Indonesia plus Singapore and Malayisa.

Mandala Airlines

Hong Kong

Oasis Hong Kong. Long haul to London Gatwick. Ceased operating in 2008.

Macau

Viva Macau (start flying in Nov 2006 to Jakarta and the Maldives)

Philippines

Cebu Pacific (Philippines and international to Hong Kong and Singapore.)

South East Asian Air

India: Already here

Air Deccan

Kingfisher AIrlines (India domestic, full service, low cost but also has first class)

SpiceJet (Delhi based)

Air India Express (low cost from Air India. Flights to Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Salahah and Sharjah, with service from 5 Indian cities - Calicut, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai and Delhi

Go AIr (Mumbai based)

Indigo (Delhi based)

Jagson Airlines (Delhi)

Paramount Airways (based in Chennai(Madras))

Australia/New Zealand

Virgin Blue flying around the land down under with Pacific Blue providing links to NZ

Jetstar (a competitive low cost response from Qantas)

Pacific Blue (Virgin blue by another name)

Freedom Air (imitation low cost from Air NZ)

Pakistan

AirBlue

Aero Asia

Middle East

Air Arabia (based in Sharjah - UAE - this is very convenient for Dubai

Jazeera Airways - based in Kuwait

LCC Terminals:

Budget Terminal Singapore
Kuala Lumpur

Latest News -

Tiger Airways from 01FEB10 launches 2 Daily Singapore – Hong Kong service with Airbus A320.  Schedule as follows:

TR922 SIN0755 – 1135HKG 320 D
TR924 SIN1635 – 2020HKG 320 x6

TR923 HKG1225 – 1600SIN 320 D
TR925 HKG2050 – 0025+1SIN 320 x6