Going back only ten years, passengers had few options for travelling from A to B. Ticket prices were high and one-way fares almost unheard of.
Traditional carriers – or 'legacy carriers' as we like to call them in our field – often held oligopolies on popular trunk routes, causing fares to rise significantly as seats filled closer to departure. More often than not, passengers who wanted to fly on short-notice, would either face a 'sorry, all sold out' message, or the dire prospect of shelling out full fare for their travel.
All this started to change with the advent of low-cost carriers (LCCs), as they created an additional supply of seats and brought the ‘element of choice’ to the market.
Pioneers like Southwest Airlines in the US and Ryanair in Europe, opened the skies to leisure-minded travellers with reduced budgets, often on their way to a vacation spot or on short inter-city hops.
In our Asia-Pacific region, the initial LCC craze kicked off when Tony Fernandes took over Air Asia in 2001 – a largely unknown and loss-making regional carrier – and quickly transformed it into a profitable ‘budget airline’. With its first base at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Air Asia produced its first affiliate in 2004 – Thai Air Asia, based out of Bangkok – and has since established seven additional regional offshoots, hubbed out of diverse locations and spread across the continent, from India to the Philippines and all the way to Japan.
The airline started in 1996 with just two older B737-300 aircraft servicing a few destinations in South East Asia, and has since turned into one of Asia’s most successful business stories. Under the motto 'Now Everyone Can Fly', Air Asia currently serves over 120 destinations, covering three continents, with a fleet exceeding 170 modern aircraft.
And it doesn’t stop there. The Air Asia Group and its nine regional divisions have a total of 290 Airbus aircraft on order. Once these are delivered, it will be difficult to imagine any Asian airport being absent from the route map of 'the red cap', as Air Asia is known in the industry thanks to the chief executive’s trademark accessory.
Tony Fernandes’ Air Asia has set many precedents for LCC travel in Asia that many competitors have copied over the years – sometimes successfully, but more often, not.
Air Asia X serves as a case in point.
Long-haul LCC ambitions
After initial teething problems – mostly related to a lack of fuel-efficient aircraft – Air Asia’s long-haul arm has established itself as a reliable and cost-effective means of travel from Malaysia to north-east Asia and Australia, journeys taking longer than six hours. Soon after Air Asia X’s service inauguration, local affiliate Thai Air Asia X followed suit with services to Japan and Korea and from late December fledgling Indonesia Air Asia X will take to the skies, initially between Bali and Melbourne.
Following Air Asia X’s model, the latest carrier to offer long haul for less is the Philippines’ Cebu Pacific Air. Currently serving five long-haul destinations – Dammam, Dubai, Kuwait, Sydney and Riyadh – the Manila-based carrier says it is potentially looking to expand its network to Honolulu, Hawaii, once it takes delivery of the additional Airbus A330-300 wide-body aircraft. Cebu Pacific configures these in its signature one-class, high-density arrangement, seating 436 passengers – the highest passenger count for the model in the industry.
Speaking to representatives of the airline last month, Business Traveller Asia-Pacific learned that the recently launched services to Dammam and Riyadh are not performing as well as had been predicted, but naturally this might change over time as Cebu Pacific gains a stronger foothold in Saudi Arabia.
FSCs follow the low-cost trend
Concerned with the possibility that passengers might migrate to the budget airlines, especially when travelling with the whole family, traditional full service carriers (FSCs) have started taking a keen interest in establishing their own leaner siblings.
Despite critics’ reservations, Singapore Airlines (SIA) launched its 100%-subsidiary Scoot in May 2012, with services from Singapore to Sydney and the Gold Coast. As this issue went to press, Scoot’s network covered 13 destinations.
"We have a portfolio strategy, in which the SIA Group has exposure to both the full-service and low-cost segments of the market. Our portfolio strategy enables us to tap virtually all segments of the airline business, covering full-service and low-cost operations. This portfolio approach gives us exposure to different airline business models and different customer bases. We have always been a premium full-service airline, while Scoot was established to provide a new engine of growth to the SIA Group," a company spokesman said when questioned whether its long-haul low-cost offshoot was cannibalising mainline SIA’s business.
The infamous cannibalisation factor has often been cited by many FSCs in the past for not going down the budget aisle. However, several carriers seem to have overcome their reservations in recent years as the SIA-Scoot tie-up demonstrates, amongst countless others. Whether they will succeed or eventually change course, only time will tell.
New budget endeavours
Another rising star in the region’s long distance budget segment is Nok Scoot, a partnership between Nok Air – Thailand’s second largest LCC, mainly serving domestic routes and a full subsidiary of flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) – and Singapore’s Scoot.
The carrier is expected to commence operations in the first-quarter of 2015, with services from Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport to Japan. Destinations in China and South Korea have also been short-listed. Nok Scoot will have a similar two-class product to Scoot, with 10 seats abreast in economy and eight seats abreast in its ‘premium cabin’.
Nok Scoot plans to operate two Boeing 777-200ERs in 2015, sourced from Scoot parent SIA. It intends to add two aircraft to its fleet every year from then on. Nok Scoot will give Nok Air the opportunity to expand, bringing in feeder traffic for the LCC, as well as benefitting Scoot's network through the interline agreement it has with Nok Air.
With SIA and THAI covered, it remains to be seen whether other regional heavyweights such as Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand will follow suit. So far they have resisted the temptation, citing the cannibalisation potential as the main deterrent to establishing their own low-cost models.
One of the major global players confirmed to ‘walk the lean aisle’ is Germany’s Lufthansa. Slated for introduction in mid-2015, the airline unveiled plans to start its own long-haul LCC earlier this year, similar in many ways to its regional European LCC Germanwings.
Speaking to Business Traveller Asia-Pacific, Lufthansa chief Karl-Ulrich Garnadt said, "The new long-haul LCC will operate under the ‘wings’ framework, just like Germanwings, and target mainly individual leisure travellers on their way to destinations in Asia, the Americas and Caribbean.”
'World-Wings' and 'Intercont-Wings' have since been shortlisted as potential designations for the new division.
Gamechangers, anyone?
Oslo-based Norwegian, Norway’s answer to cheap long-distance travel, has repeatedly said that all it takes to make the long-haul no-frills concept work is the right kind of aircraft.
To that effect, Norwegian has opted for the fuel-efficient Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner to ply its current routes from Scandinavia to Bangkok, Fort Lauderdale and New York. The LCC’s chief executive Bjørn Kjos said that his airline plans to fly to additional destinations, such as Hong Kong and India, once the larger B787-9 variant joins the fleet from 2016.
Producing decent yields is vital to any airline, budget or not. However, the carrier’s cost base must be low. Fuel traditionally forms the largest single cost item on an airline’s balance sheet, making the acquisition of fuel efficient modern aircraft a necessity. To this end, many industry analysts believe that greener, more fuel-efficient jetliners could be the turning point for future long-haul LCC travel.
In the early LCC days, Canada’s Zoom and Hong Kong’s Oasis both thought they had the magic formula, but failed. Even thriving Air AsiaX had a tough time in its first few of years of operation, as passengers paid discount fares while the airline incurred the same charges en route (fuel, navigational charges, landing fees) as its full-service counterparts, diminishing competitiveness and profitability.
Aware of this history, Scoot will start phasing out its older B777-200ER fleet with the arrival of new B787 aircraft from November and it is expected that partner start-up Nok Scoot will eventually do the same.
Interestingly, there have recently been calls from some in the industry for manufacturer Airbus to produce a high-density version of the A380 superjumbo, tailored to the needs of LCCs who do not require the lavish onboard add-ons ranging from cocktail bars to oversized showers that many full-service airlines opt for. Airbus has so far resisted the temptation, but who knows? Anything can happen in the fast-paced aviation world and before we know it we might see the likes of Ryanair and Air Asia criss-cross the continents with the mighty A380 double decker.
Premium cabins
Whilst no-frills A380s might be unlikely, many LCCs are innovating in other ways including through the addition of small premium cabins and ancillary services (at extra cost) to cater to the business traveller market – a segment that until now has largely resisted the call for low-cost travel.
Norwegian, all three Air Asia X affiliates and Scoot are offering angled lie-flat ‘business’ products. These are by no means leading in innovation. Rather, they are reminiscent of older-style business class seats of legacy carriers, or, similar to the better premium economy long-haul products that have hit the market in recent years, such as Cathay Pacific Airways’ and Turkish Airlines’ premium economy seats.
Onboard, booking a premium cabin with a LCC will make a difference. Forget about having to pay for ancillaries such as food, beverages, pillows, blankets, and IFE – these are included in the upgraded cabins usually priced at 2-3 times the cost point of the main cabin.
Upping the ante, Norwegian offers lounge access, while at Scoot you pay extra for the service. Air Asia X does not offer this facility as yet.
Loyalty rewarded
Another deterrent to LCC travel often cited by business travellers is the absence of loyalty reward schemes. But this looks set to change, too, with many of them currently planning to roll out programmes to reward frequent travel.
Air Asia has already rolled out its ‘BIG Loyalty Programme’, Norwegian’s got ‘Norwegian Reward’, Lion Air has the ‘Passport Club’, Nok Air announced its ‘Nok Fan Club’ earlier this year, and if we were to listen to rumours, then Scoot is about to unveil a loyalty scheme next year.
While A380s, premium cabins and ancillary services such as lounge access are only likely to materialise within the better-established LCCs that perform long-haul operations, loyalty schemes are expected to hit all LCCs sooner rather than later, bridging the gap between FSCs and budget operators.
It was often said that there is little loyalty at the budget end of the market, as price was the most important factor. However, with more LCCs in active service every year, the choice for passengers is growing. Being able to reward loyal customers through frequent flyer programmes is turning into an important means of retaining your customer and stopping them migrating to other budget airlines.
New dogs, old tricks
Having determined the old and new trends in the LCC market, it is time to identify the new kids on the block in our Asia-Pacific region, organised by home country.
CHINA
9 Air
9 Air is a newly formed budget subsidiary of privately owned Juneyao Airlines. It plans to launch domestic flights from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou later this year and expand into Southeast Asia in the future. Initial destinations will include Zhanjiang, Jieyang, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wenzhou, Guiyang and Harbin.
In May, 9 Air placed an order for 50 B737 MAX jets worth US$3.8 billion at current list prices.
China United Airlines
China United Airlines is a domestic low-cost carrier operating from its main hub at Beijing Nanyuan Airport. It is the only commercial airline allowed to fly from the airport, which serves as a military base. It is located only 13km from Tiananmen Square and was China’s first airport when it opened in 1910.
Parent company China Eastern Airlines announced in July this year that China United Airlines had changed from a FSC-model to a LCC operation. As this issue went to press, it had a fleet of 28 Airbus A319 and Boeing B737-800 narrowbody aircraft.
JAPAN
Spring Airlines Japan
Spring Airlines Japan is a low-cost airline headquartered at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. It is 33 per cent owned by Spring Airlines, the private mainland Chinese LCC, with the remainder held by various Japanese investors.
It started operations in August with three initial domestic services from Narita to Saga, Hiroshima and Takamatsu using B737-800 aircraft, and plans to expand into international markets in the near future.
Vanilla Air
Known as Air Asia Japan until October last year, the airline was rebranded as Vanilla Air after Japanese legacy carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) took over full ownership and moved the carrier’s operational base to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.
From there, Vanilla Air operates a modern fleet of all-economy A320 aircraft to Japanese domestic and regional markets, including Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei.
Air Asia Japan
The Air Asia Group is set on re-launching its Japanese subsidiary in summer 2015 in partnership with online mall and travel agency Rakuten. Originally slated to operate four A320 aircraft, the offshoot will serve domestic and regional destinations primarily hubbed out of Nagoya’s Ch?bu Centrair International Airport.
INDIA
Indi Go
While strictly speaking not a new entrant, Indi Go made aviation history this year with a record-breaking US$25.6 billion order for 250 A320neo family aircraft plus 100 options. Before this momentous commitment, Indi Go had an order book of 280.
The Gurgaon-based carrier’s growth aspirations unmistakably signal its confidence in the long-term potential of the Indian civil aviation market.
Air Costa
Air Costa is an Indian regional airline based in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. It operates primarily out of Chennai and as this issue went to press served nine domestic destinations on board four Embraer narrow-aisle aircraft.
The airline plans to focus on improving connectivity between second and third-tier cities in India and has pledged US$2.94 billion for investment in 50 new Embraer E-Jet E2 aircraft to be delivered from 2018.
TAIWAN
V Air
V Air is a planned low-cost airline owned by Taiwan’s Transasia Airways. It says it will commence 'at the end of 2014' with three Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft in all-economy configuration. Inaugural destinations include Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo’s Narita.
Tigerair Taiwan
The first LCC in Taiwan, Tigerair Taiwan was formed in 2014 as a joint venture between China Airlines and regional LCC heavyweight Tigerair Holdings.
The carrier is based at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport and operates an all-economy class Airbus A320 fleet, which it plans to expand to 12 aircraft by 2018. By January, its network will include Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Jeju, Kaohsiung, Singapore and Tokyo.
THAILAND
Thai Viet Jet Air
Thai Viet Jet Air is a proposed start-up subsidiary of established Vietnamese LCC, Viet Jet Air. The carrier expects to commence operations in late December 2014 from its hub at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The start-up is a partnership between Thai businessman and aviation enthusiast Somphong Sooksanguan (51 per cent) and Viet Jet Air (49 per cent), the ownership structure coming as a result of the Thai Government's restrictions on foreign ownership.
Thai Viet Jet Air says it intends to initially operate domestically between Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket with three single-class Airbus A320 aircraft, before expanding into regional markets the following year as it gains more operational experience.
The airline started in 1996 with just two older B737-300 aircraft servicing a few destinations in South East Asia, and has since turned into one of Asia’s most successful business stories. Under the motto 'Now Everyone Can Fly', Air Asia currently serves over 120 destinations, covering three continents, with a fleet exceeding 170 modern aircraft.
And it doesn’t stop there. The Air Asia Group and its nine regional divisions have a total of 290 Airbus aircraft on order. Once these are delivered, it will be difficult to imagine any Asian airport being absent from the route map of 'the red cap', as Air Asia is known in the industry thanks to the chief executive’s trademark accessory.
Tony Fernandes’ Air Asia has set many precedents for LCC travel in Asia that many competitors have copied over the years – sometimes successfully, but more often, not.
Air Asia X serves as a case in point.
Long-haul LCC ambitions
After initial teething problems – mostly related to a lack of fuel-efficient aircraft – Air Asia’s long-haul arm has established itself as a reliable and cost-effective means of travel from Malaysia to north-east Asia and Australia, journeys taking longer than six hours. Soon after Air Asia X’s service inauguration, local affiliate Thai Air Asia X followed suit with services to Japan and Korea and from late December fledgling Indonesia Air Asia X will take to the skies, initially between Bali and Melbourne.
Following Air Asia X’s model, the latest carrier to offer long haul for less is the Philippines’ Cebu Pacific Air. Currently serving five long-haul destinations – Dammam, Dubai, Kuwait, Sydney and Riyadh – the Manila-based carrier says it is potentially looking to expand its network to Honolulu, Hawaii, once it takes delivery of the additional Airbus A330-300 wide-body aircraft. Cebu Pacific configures these in its signature one-class, high-density arrangement, seating 436 passengers – the highest passenger count for the model in the industry.
Speaking to representatives of the airline last month, Business Traveller Asia-Pacific learned that the recently launched services to Dammam and Riyadh are not performing as well as had been predicted, but naturally this might change over time as Cebu Pacific gains a stronger foothold in Saudi Arabia.
FSCs follow the low-cost trend
Concerned with the possibility that passengers might migrate to the budget airlines, especially when travelling with the whole family, traditional full service carriers (FSCs) have started taking a keen interest in establishing their own leaner siblings.
Despite critics’ reservations, Singapore Airlines (SIA) launched its 100%-subsidiary Scoot in May 2012, with services from Singapore to Sydney and the Gold Coast. As this issue went to press, Scoot’s network covered 13 destinations.
"We have a portfolio strategy, in which the SIA Group has exposure to both the full-service and low-cost segments of the market. Our portfolio strategy enables us to tap virtually all segments of the airline business, covering full-service and low-cost operations. This portfolio approach gives us exposure to different airline business models and different customer bases. We have always been a premium full-service airline, while Scoot was established to provide a new engine of growth to the SIA Group," a company spokesman said when questioned whether its long-haul low-cost offshoot was cannibalising mainline SIA’s business.
The infamous cannibalisation factor has often been cited by many FSCs in the past for not going down the budget aisle. However, several carriers seem to have overcome their reservations in recent years as the SIA-Scoot tie-up demonstrates, amongst countless others. Whether they will succeed or eventually change course, only time will tell.
New budget endeavours
Another rising star in the region’s long distance budget segment is Nok Scoot, a partnership between Nok Air – Thailand’s second largest LCC, mainly serving domestic routes and a full subsidiary of flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) – and Singapore’s Scoot.
The carrier is expected to commence operations in the first-quarter of 2015, with services from Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport to Japan. Destinations in China and South Korea have also been short-listed. Nok Scoot will have a similar two-class product to Scoot, with 10 seats abreast in economy and eight seats abreast in its ‘premium cabin’.
Nok Scoot plans to operate two Boeing 777-200ERs in 2015, sourced from Scoot parent SIA. It intends to add two aircraft to its fleet every year from then on. Nok Scoot will give Nok Air the opportunity to expand, bringing in feeder traffic for the LCC, as well as benefitting Scoot's network through the interline agreement it has with Nok Air.
With SIA and THAI covered, it remains to be seen whether other regional heavyweights such as Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand will follow suit. So far they have resisted the temptation, citing the cannibalisation potential as the main deterrent to establishing their own low-cost models.
One of the major global players confirmed to ‘walk the lean aisle’ is Germany’s Lufthansa. Slated for introduction in mid-2015, the airline unveiled plans to start its own long-haul LCC earlier this year, similar in many ways to its regional European LCC Germanwings.
Speaking to Business Traveller Asia-Pacific, Lufthansa chief Karl-Ulrich Garnadt said, "The new long-haul LCC will operate under the ‘wings’ framework, just like Germanwings, and target mainly individual leisure travellers on their way to destinations in Asia, the Americas and Caribbean.”
'World-Wings' and 'Intercont-Wings' have since been shortlisted as potential designations for the new division.
Gamechangers, anyone?
Oslo-based Norwegian, Norway’s answer to cheap long-distance travel, has repeatedly said that all it takes to make the long-haul no-frills concept work is the right kind of aircraft.
To that effect, Norwegian has opted for the fuel-efficient Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner to ply its current routes from Scandinavia to Bangkok, Fort Lauderdale and New York. The LCC’s chief executive Bjørn Kjos said that his airline plans to fly to additional destinations, such as Hong Kong and India, once the larger B787-9 variant joins the fleet from 2016.
Producing decent yields is vital to any airline, budget or not. However, the carrier’s cost base must be low. Fuel traditionally forms the largest single cost item on an airline’s balance sheet, making the acquisition of fuel efficient modern aircraft a necessity. To this end, many industry analysts believe that greener, more fuel-efficient jetliners could be the turning point for future long-haul LCC travel.
In the early LCC days, Canada’s Zoom and Hong Kong’s Oasis both thought they had the magic formula, but failed. Even thriving Air AsiaX had a tough time in its first few of years of operation, as passengers paid discount fares while the airline incurred the same charges en route (fuel, navigational charges, landing fees) as its full-service counterparts, diminishing competitiveness and profitability.
Aware of this history, Scoot will start phasing out its older B777-200ER fleet with the arrival of new B787 aircraft from November and it is expected that partner start-up Nok Scoot will eventually do the same.
Interestingly, there have recently been calls from some in the industry for manufacturer Airbus to produce a high-density version of the A380 superjumbo, tailored to the needs of LCCs who do not require the lavish onboard add-ons ranging from cocktail bars to oversized showers that many full-service airlines opt for. Airbus has so far resisted the temptation, but who knows? Anything can happen in the fast-paced aviation world and before we know it we might see the likes of Ryanair and Air Asia criss-cross the continents with the mighty A380 double decker.
Premium cabins
Whilst no-frills A380s might be unlikely, many LCCs are innovating in other ways including through the addition of small premium cabins and ancillary services (at extra cost) to cater to the business traveller market – a segment that until now has largely resisted the call for low-cost travel.
Norwegian, all three Air Asia X affiliates and Scoot are offering angled lie-flat ‘business’ products. These are by no means leading in innovation. Rather, they are reminiscent of older-style business class seats of legacy carriers, or, similar to the better premium economy long-haul products that have hit the market in recent years, such as Cathay Pacific Airways’ and Turkish Airlines’ premium economy seats.
Onboard, booking a premium cabin with a LCC will make a difference. Forget about having to pay for ancillaries such as food, beverages, pillows, blankets, and IFE – these are included in the upgraded cabins usually priced at 2-3 times the cost point of the main cabin.
Upping the ante, Norwegian offers lounge access, while at Scoot you pay extra for the service. Air Asia X does not offer this facility as yet.
Loyalty rewarded
Another deterrent to LCC travel often cited by business travellers is the absence of loyalty reward schemes. But this looks set to change, too, with many of them currently planning to roll out programmes to reward frequent travel.
Air Asia has already rolled out its ‘BIG Loyalty Programme’, Norwegian’s got ‘Norwegian Reward’, Lion Air has the ‘Passport Club’, Nok Air announced its ‘Nok Fan Club’ earlier this year, and if we were to listen to rumours, then Scoot is about to unveil a loyalty scheme next year.
While A380s, premium cabins and ancillary services such as lounge access are only likely to materialise within the better-established LCCs that perform long-haul operations, loyalty schemes are expected to hit all LCCs sooner rather than later, bridging the gap between FSCs and budget operators.
It was often said that there is little loyalty at the budget end of the market, as price was the most important factor. However, with more LCCs in active service every year, the choice for passengers is growing. Being able to reward loyal customers through frequent flyer programmes is turning into an important means of retaining your customer and stopping them migrating to other budget airlines.
New dogs, old tricks
Having determined the old and new trends in the LCC market, it is time to identify the new kids on the block in our Asia-Pacific region, organised by home country.
CHINA
9 Air
9 Air is a newly formed budget subsidiary of privately owned Juneyao Airlines. It plans to launch domestic flights from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou later this year and expand into Southeast Asia in the future. Initial destinations will include Zhanjiang, Jieyang, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wenzhou, Guiyang and Harbin.
In May, 9 Air placed an order for 50 B737 MAX jets worth US$3.8 billion at current list prices.
China United Airlines
China United Airlines is a domestic low-cost carrier operating from its main hub at Beijing Nanyuan Airport. It is the only commercial airline allowed to fly from the airport, which serves as a military base. It is located only 13km from Tiananmen Square and was China’s first airport when it opened in 1910.
Parent company China Eastern Airlines announced in July this year that China United Airlines had changed from a FSC-model to a LCC operation. As this issue went to press, it had a fleet of 28 Airbus A319 and Boeing B737-800 narrowbody aircraft.
JAPAN
Spring Airlines Japan
Spring Airlines Japan is a low-cost airline headquartered at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. It is 33 per cent owned by Spring Airlines, the private mainland Chinese LCC, with the remainder held by various Japanese investors.
It started operations in August with three initial domestic services from Narita to Saga, Hiroshima and Takamatsu using B737-800 aircraft, and plans to expand into international markets in the near future.
Vanilla Air
Known as Air Asia Japan until October last year, the airline was rebranded as Vanilla Air after Japanese legacy carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) took over full ownership and moved the carrier’s operational base to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.
From there, Vanilla Air operates a modern fleet of all-economy A320 aircraft to Japanese domestic and regional markets, including Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei.
Air Asia Japan
The Air Asia Group is set on re-launching its Japanese subsidiary in summer 2015 in partnership with online mall and travel agency Rakuten. Originally slated to operate four A320 aircraft, the offshoot will serve domestic and regional destinations primarily hubbed out of Nagoya’s Ch?bu Centrair International Airport.
INDIA
Indi Go
While strictly speaking not a new entrant, Indi Go made aviation history this year with a record-breaking US$25.6 billion order for 250 A320neo family aircraft plus 100 options. Before this momentous commitment, Indi Go had an order book of 280.
The Gurgaon-based carrier’s growth aspirations unmistakably signal its confidence in the long-term potential of the Indian civil aviation market.
Air Costa
Air Costa is an Indian regional airline based in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. It operates primarily out of Chennai and as this issue went to press served nine domestic destinations on board four Embraer narrow-aisle aircraft.
The airline plans to focus on improving connectivity between second and third-tier cities in India and has pledged US$2.94 billion for investment in 50 new Embraer E-Jet E2 aircraft to be delivered from 2018.
TAIWAN
V Air
V Air is a planned low-cost airline owned by Taiwan’s Transasia Airways. It says it will commence 'at the end of 2014' with three Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft in all-economy configuration. Inaugural destinations include Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo’s Narita.
Tigerair Taiwan
The first LCC in Taiwan, Tigerair Taiwan was formed in 2014 as a joint venture between China Airlines and regional LCC heavyweight Tigerair Holdings.
The carrier is based at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport and operates an all-economy class Airbus A320 fleet, which it plans to expand to 12 aircraft by 2018. By January, its network will include Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Jeju, Kaohsiung, Singapore and Tokyo.
THAILAND
Thai Viet Jet Air
Thai Viet Jet Air is a proposed start-up subsidiary of established Vietnamese LCC, Viet Jet Air. The carrier expects to commence operations in late December 2014 from its hub at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The start-up is a partnership between Thai businessman and aviation enthusiast Somphong Sooksanguan (51 per cent) and Viet Jet Air (49 per cent), the ownership structure coming as a result of the Thai Government's restrictions on foreign ownership.
Thai Viet Jet Air says it intends to initially operate domestically between Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket with three single-class Airbus A320 aircraft, before expanding into regional markets the following year as it gains more operational experience. 
