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| IndiGo A320: big expansion plans |
WHO SAYS BIG IS BEAUTIFUL? An average Asian travelling to New York just has to contemplate the French fries the size of surfboards, shoes large enough to sail the Atlantic and prophylactics bigger than laundry bags, to throw up his hands in dismay. Michael Jordan’s footwear alone could accommodate the entire population of Burundi though you might need a LOT more space if you changed US$1 into Vietnamese dong.
Nope, Asians are small. That’s why BIG airlines have SMALL seats and small servings and small toilets so that we are not offended by any exaggerated sense of scale. There’s only one thing better than this. SMALL airlines that offer BIG discounts. See the small airline and low cost carrier winners in our Best in Travel Poll.
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Thirty years ago you could cross the Pacific at three US cents per mile eating palate-puckering stodge and assisting old biddies who claimed to be stewardesses. But across Asian skies you’d fork out over US$0.26 per mile. Big, and bigger went bust, along with Anna Nicole Smith. The advent of no-frills low cost budget airlines has forced changes that go well beyond customer satisfaction and fewer pilliwinks in consumer pockets. Singapore's famous Changi Airport even has a dedicated Budget Terminal as does Kuala Lumpur International Airport. How these initiatives pan out remains to be seen but budget airlines will welcome diminished ground charges.
It is not all best rate deals however. Asia’s proliferating small airlines are going national, regional, and international. They offer decent service, well maintained aircraft and surprisingly snappy on-time records. We’ll look at some fast-growing regional carriers too in this mix.
Where it all started: Malaysia low cost airlines
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| AirAsia: Like a Virgin |
The most spunky contender on the Asian stage by far has been the Malaysia-based AirAsia (www.airasia.com) under the helm of the irrepressible CEO Tony Fernandes. This pioneering and award-winning Asian low cost airline set the low-fare ball rolling and certainly means business, as a strategic alliance with former rival Jetstar announced on 5 January, 2010, indicates. Earlier, the 1 February, 2008 launch of services between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore at rates as astonishingly low as S$13.99 marked a huge breakthrough on a monopoly route known for usuriously high fares.
A former music industry professional who picked most of his young staff from the same business, Fernandes is enjoying watching the big boys face the music as he dashes off an arpeggio of routes criss-crossing Asia. His B737 fleet is, like the proverbial teenager, two going on 56 (aircraft). The B737-300s are being replaced by Airbus A320-200s. And, in June 2011, the airline placed a staggeringly large order for 200 A320neo jets.
Pick from a dizzying array of destinations serviced from Kuala Lumpur (the Low Cost Carrier Terminal, LCCT), Bangkok, Jakarta, or Clark Angeles Airport (renamed Diosdado Macapagal International Airport) in the Philippines, touching Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Brunei, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Macau, Guilin, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Bangalore, Bali, Jakarta, Surabaya, Tehran, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Seoul, Taipei, Hanoi, Danang and Colombo.
An eye-poppingly low fare of RM199 one way was set for the inaugural AirAsia X KL-Sydney flight on 1 April, 2012
Long haul? No problem. Say hello to the “X” factor and AirAsia X. With a small Virgin stake it planned to be the budget long haul airline of choice. However, the airline’s European foray had unravelled by early 2012 as high fuel costs, lower passenger demand and the Eurozone airline carbon tax announcement sawed off potential profit. Or so the airline claimed as it cancelled services to London, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Paris, the last of these scrubbed off the map by 31 March, 2012.
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| FireFly: feeder routes |
Instead, the airline is focusing on China and Australia. An eye-poppingly low fare of RM199 one way was set for the inaugural AirAsia X KL-Sydney flight 1 April, 2012. Expect more low fare action on the ‘Roo route.
The similarities with Virgin, in style, philosophy and image, are remarkable. AirAsia has played an agile David to the established national carriers’ creaking Goliath with aplomb. And it has rolled out spin-offs like AirAsiaGo (www.airasiago.com) for all-you-need holidays and the cheerful budget Tune Hotels (www.tunehotels.com) whose reach now extends to London.
For people on the move, is a mobile phone site (mobile.airasia.com) with information and bookings accessible through PDAs and handhelds. AirAsia is also working towards OnAir mobile services that permit passengers to use their cell phones and BlackBerrys inflight. This includes the ability to call, text and send and receive e-mails.
In November 2008 AirAsia won budget traveller hearts with the announcement that it was dropping fuel surcharges from ticket prices and would only charge airport tax and an administration fee. The end of fuel surcharges was followed up with a huge free seats giveaway on a range of routes. The airline also has an ontime guarantee. If delayed for over two hours, you'll get a RM200 e-gift voucher.
In August 2011 came the announcement of a cross stake in Malaysia Airlines (www.malaysiaairlines.com) through the AirAsia owning company, which brought to an end years of bitter rivalry. Now both are working in concert, wielding a big stick at the SIA-Tiger-Scoot combine, with MAS low cost airline FireFly (firefly.com.my) transforming, much like the ugly duckling, into a full service regional airline "swan".
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| THAI Smile: aloft by mid 2012 |
Based in Penang, FireFly launched in April 2007 with 50-seat Fokkers but now boasts a growing number of ATR 72-500s and B737s. As a full service regional airline it is to provide a feeder service for parent Malaysia Airlines.
With hubs in Penang and Subang, Firefly offers flights to various locations in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand (Phuket and Samui) and Sumatra in Indonesia.
Budget airline no more. It will punch above its class taking a swing or two at the boutique and purposeful resort-feeder Berjaya Air (www.berjaya-air.com). Asian small airline Berjaya Air has been around for a while operating from Kuala Lumpur’s Subang airport. It operates domestic routes from Kuala Lumpur to Tioman, Redang, as well as regional flights to Singapore (Changi Budget Terminal) and Koh Samui, Thailand.
Its 48-seater Dash-7 is a specialty short take-off and landing aircraft. The airline’s Singapore-Redang run has shortened an 11-hour excursion overland to just 90 minutes. There is a Singapore-Tioman service as well.
Thailand cheap flights proliferate, Indochina
As the battle in Thailand hots up, state-controlled behemoth Thai Airways International (www.thaiairways.com) often slashes fares by large margins on key domestic and international routes. THAI’s thinly veiled counter-attack against budget carriers now nipping freely at its heels yields an instant bonanza for travellers.
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| Nok Air's distinctive beak nose |
THAI Airways International will now focus its low-cost ambitions on the THAI Smile Air launching mid 2012. Based at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and starting with domestic services, THAI Smile will in 2013 spread its wings to ASEAN, Chinese, and Indian points flying 174-seater A320 aircraft. The new airline will replace the parent carrier in some smaller upcountry destinations like Khon Kaen, Chiang Rai, Udon Thani and Ubon Ratchathani. “Premium” service will include free seat selection, a 15kg-20kg bag allowance, quick check-in and the hugely attractive potential to collect frequent flyer points.
No-frills Nok Air (www.nokair.com) serves domestic destinations like Phuket, Chiang Mai and Udon Thai. The airline also serves several Thai islands. On 31 May, 2007, Nok Air launched a ground-breaking Bangkok-Bangalore flight, a late-night red-eye. What made this service to India unique was the airline's intention to reinvent itself as the world's first "shopper's airline". Partnering with The Mall Group who run Bangkok shopping mecca's like Siam Paragon and Emporium, Nok Air offered its passengers from Bangalore discounts of up to 50 percent on brands like Bebe, Esprit and Replay in Bangkok. The Bangalore daily run on a B737-400 was canned on 23 November, 2007 as the shopping binge failed to materialise.
As well being a charter service, Siam General Aviation Co or SGA Airlines, which became Nok Mini (www.nokmini.com) end 2009, operates low-density feeder and commuter routes in north Thailand. Flights from Bangkok connect Nan, Mae Sot, Phrae, Loei, and Nakhon Phanom. Chiang Mai links up with Udon Thani and Mae Hong Son with the original SGA 12-seat Cessnas upgraded to SAAB 340s.
Orient Thai Airlines (www.flyorientthai.com) took off in 1990, with CEO Udom Tantiprasongchai setting up Cambodia International Airlines (CIA). Were these the people who misled Bush into invading Iraq? Despite the racy acronym, the cocktail of Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese military proved unattractive for business travel and the airline, sensibly, pulled out to focus its efforts on the lucrative Bangkok-Hong Kong route and charters.
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| PC Air crew: vive la difference |
The Hong Kong run is a scheduled service. The airline operates a fleet of B737s, McDonnell Douglas aircraft and B747s. It has domestic flights within Thailand to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai and Phuket from Bangkok.
On 3 December 2003, Orient Thai launched the budget low-cost One-Two-GO. The airline operated to destinations like Hong Kong and Incheon (Seoul). Following a 16 September 2007 MD-82 crash in Phuket and dampened sales – exacerbated by a European Union ban due to safety fears – the airline ended service in July 2010.
Other would-be and just-about-there Thailand contenders once included Air Andaman (closed in 2004), Phuket Air (www.phuketairlines.com) that had a stormy history and got mothballed (but continues to wet lease aircraft), and PB Air, which shut down in early 2010. Budget Thai Sky Airlines flew briefly from Bangkok to Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur but soon went out of operation.
Thailand’s PC Air generated a lot of buzz with its highly publicised, and comely, transgendered cabin crew
Thai carrier PC Air (www.pcairline.com) took to the skies for the first time in December 2011 as a tour charter and generated a lot of buzz with its highly publicised transgendered cabin crew. “Excuse me Sir, er… Miss, could you help with my baggage?” Ahead are more air charters to China and full commercial operations by June 2012 as a regular scheduled carrier. PC Air’s focus is on regional destinations like Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.
The briskly run, fast-growing, full-service Bangkok Airways (www.bangkokair.com) operates its own airports in Koh Samui and Trat. The quaint thatch-roof affairs have been overtaken by a modicum of modernity. This means larger thatch roof lounges. Arrival is effortless and soothing. Bangkok Airways began as Sahakol Air in 1968, an air-taxi company during the Vietnam War. It has added considerable muscle in Indochina with the launch of a heritage circuit covering key holiday destinations in Cambodia and Laos though its broader network covers places as far afield as Malé (Maldives), Mumbai, Bangalore and Dhaka. Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are serviced from Koh Samui.
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| Bangkok Airways A319 |
The airline describes itself as a "boutique" service and is a class act. In an era of no-frills, Bangkok Airways is looking at the small extras that make a big difference. Bangkok Airways has weighed in with the big boys now, its Bangkok-Samui monopoly often criticised for high fares. Also expect a Blue Ribbon business class, quality airport lounges, and a frequent flyer programme, FlyerBonus, now with alliance partners like Kingfisher from India.
Sparky minnows in the Indochina region include Lao Airlines (www.laoairlines.com), which offers a peppering of points from Vientiane and Luang Prabang, to Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Kunming, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Singapore and Hanoi; Cambodia Angkor AIR (cambodiaangkorair.com), with 67-seat ATR-72s (also connecting Phnom Penh to Sihanouk Ville at around US$85); and Skywings Asia Airlines (www.skywingsair.com) that launched in 2010 with an A320 and an MD-80 linking Siem Reap with Hanoi and Incheon (Seoul). A great many small airlines have taken to the skies in Cambodia but most are out of service and Royal Air Cambodge the erstwhile Cambodian national carrier went bust in 2001.
Low cost from Singapore? Yes
Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com) along with its regional feeder sibling SilkAir (www.silkair.com) had some revenue nibbled by Singapore-based ValuAir. No-frills ValuAir flew to Hong Kong offering passengers not lavish service and meals on its A-320s but something revolutionary - rock-bottom prices and singing stewardesses casually clad in sneakers and khaki slacks. That's right. On landing, stewardesses burst into song, on the cabin microphone. Perhaps the singing was excellent - or not good enough - but the airline merged with Jetstar Asia in mid July 2005 as low cost airline consolidations began.
Not to be outdone, Singapore Airlines has punched back with its new low-cost airline, Scoot (flyscoot.com) that starts flying mid 2012 between Singapore and Sydney throwing down the gauntlet to the more established Jetstar Asia (backed by Qantas). Scoot B777-200s will later add regional and longhaul budget flights from Singapore to India, the Middle East, and even Europe. With two classes available in the cabin, the attentions of a quality mentor in SIA, and a base at Changi's Terminal 2, this budget airline will certainly have a competitive advantage.
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| Tiger Airways: fast expansion |
With fares estimated at 40 percent cheaper than full service carriers, the Scoot's CEO Campbell Wilson was reported as saying his airline was "unabashedly no-frills". Take that AirAsia. Better late than never.
Earlier, SIA had fought back with its own partly owned low-cost carrier, Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.com), a move that sparked heated debate – not over viability, but its name. One irate gentleman told the press at the time, “The tiger is very ferocious… It [the name] should be more caring and friendly”. Hmm, well…perhaps Telly Tubby Airways then. There was another potential snag. Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.co.uk) was already operating vintage biplane flights over the UK’s West Midlands. Undeterred, Tiger flies to several cities in Thailand (Bangkok, Hat Yai, Krabi and Phuket), Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam, Jakarta, Manila city and Clark, and Macau. It has added a diverse clutch of destinations in Australia too including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Gold Coast; and other finds include Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India), and Shenzhen, Haikou and Guangzhou in China. For a flight to say Taipei (from Singapore), the “raw” air fare is roughly S$217 up SIN-TPE and S$120 up for the return sector.
SIA's low-cost Scoot arrives mid 2012 with flights from Singapore to Sydney, throwing down the gauntlet to Jetstar
Low-cost carrier Tiger Airways took a huge leap of faith to partner with regional airline giant Thai Airways and in early August 2010 the two airlines unveiled Thai Tiger Airways, which was then expected to commence operations in 2011. That adventure failed to materialise. Rubbing salt into the wound, in mid 2011 Tiger Airways was grounded in Australia due to "safety" reasons in an almost unprecedented move by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). But the airline was quick to take remedial action and, after a truly wild ride, has clawed its way back, aiming to win the recognition it deserves. In its grab bag is a privilege programme called Stripes, which enables members to book the best ticket deals first and pick up other freebies. The airline also offers bookings for hotels (including budget stays) and car rentals. Tiger’s roaring fleet includes A320s and a couple of A319s.
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| Jetstar Asia A330 |
Low cost airline Jetstar Asia (www.jetstarasia.com) is a spunky partnership between Qantas and Singapore groups. From its Singapore hub it, unsurprisingly, serves up a smorgasbord of Australian destinations like Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane, Perth, Cairns, Gold Coast and Melbourne. A prominent feather in its cap is the daily Singapore-Hongkong run that retails one-way for anywhere between HK$261-$638. Add to this Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Cambodia), Guangzhou, Huangzhou, Guilin and Beijing (China), Jakarta, Bali and Surabaya (Indonesia), and an assortment of flavours including Taipei, Osaka, KL, Penang, Yangon Danang, Hanoi, Bangkok and Phuket, and you have the outline of the second Asian low cost airline giant.
In February 2008, Jetstar launched revolutionary low-fare flights Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and on 5 January, 2010, AirAsia and Jetstar Asia announced plans for a strategic alliance to harness operations as well as procurement – in one fell swoop adding huge muscle in the low fare sweepstakes. Jetstar Asia and Valueair were meanwhile merged into a single Singapore-based entity with Qantas (which owns a large chunk of Jetstar Asia) providing the capital injection. Both airlines maintain their brand identity.
Jetstar Asia operates a fleet of 14 Airbus A320-200 aircraft and two A330s on which there is allocated seating and no boarding scrum for the best views. Select your seat online. In Singapore, if you do not wish to make payments online, just pop into one of the over 300 7-Eleven convenience stores dotted around the city and pay at the counter. It's as easy as that.
Indian regional and budget airlines
India’s hapless air travellers, long plagued by mysterious delays, cancellations and flights that were “pre-poned” (as opposed to postponed), because overbooked flights took off as soon as seats were full, have more choice. Kingfisher Airlines (www.flykingfisher.com) run by the flamboyant Vijay Mallya who says all crew have been "handpicked" by him, took to the skies with Airbus A320-200s seating 174 in a single class with a wider 30-inch seat pitch. In September 2008 Kingfisher launched a Bengaluru (Bangalore) to London Heathrow service. By 2012 the destination map had grown to include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paris and Dusseldorf. In Asia, points include Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.
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| Jetlite: low cost India routes |
The airline has grown rapidly as a top-drawer product, very much in the Virgin style with the signature red. Every seat on a Kingfisher A320 has a personal video screen with 10 audio and five video channels. More A340-500s are in the pipeline. The airline offers a Club and, uniquely, a domestic First Class product, as well as a frequent flyer program called King Club.
Kingfisher also acquired financially ailing Air Deccan - now rebranded Kingfisher Red - heralding a new era in consolidation and, in October 2008, announced a strategic alliance with Jet Airways involving code-share services, route rationalisation and frequent flier program reciprocity.
India's southern Bangalore-based no-frills Kingfisher Red continues to roll out some great value Internet fares though by late 2011 the airline had hit a serious cash crunch and services were rolled back dramatically. It was a tough winter as the airline scrambled for funds and several flights failed to depart. Still, online seats whizz off fast. As the Air Deccan launch steward, Captain GR Gopinath once said, "Every Indian can fly and should fly." Kingfisher Red operates daily services to over 55 Indian destinations including spots like Port Blair (Andamans), Cochin, Goa, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Dehradun, Srinagar and Guwahati.
Jet Airways (www.jetairways.com) has meanwhile stormed the domestic and international scene flying to over 40 Indian cities, with a loyal following and its own frequent flier programme, Jet Privilege. Jet Airways has reciprocal arrangements on frequent flyer programs (FFP) with Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Thai International and Austrian Airlines.
Jet has rapidly become the one to beat with service on par with the best anywhere in the world and it has moved out of the small and regional airlines league becoming a major international player with an excellent first, business and economy class product. The airline is now resolutely international with flights to London, New York, Shanghai, Toronto, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Colombo, Kuwait, Muscat, Doha and Singapore. A Mumbai-New York run operates via Brussels.
There is a Delhi-Brussels-Toronto service as well. By December 2007 Jet even had a daily service from Chennai to New York and Toronto via Brussels. The Jet Airways Mumbai-Hong Kong service launched with considerable fanfare 14 April 2008 using a 220-seat A330-200 and New Delhi to Hong Kong followed.
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| Spicejet in runway queue |
By 2012 cities as diverse as San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Zurich were on line. The B737-800 workhorse aircraft on select trunk routes offer a 3-3 seat configuration with JetScreen - a delightful touchscreen video on demand set-up for all passengers on business and economy. The airline has B777-300ERs and 10 cutting edge B-787 Dreamliners from Boeing are in the pipeline.
Continuing the consolidation of Indian skies, Jet bought former rival Air Sahara that carried the tagline, “Emotionally Yours”. So what if the ladies at the check-in desk weep every time they greet you? This is Bollywood Country. Sahara was rebranded JetLite (www.jetlite.com). Indian low cost airline JetLite - or "value airline" as the company puts it - connects around 30 domestic destinations in India as well as a couple of international points flying B737 aircraft.
Jet Airways Konnect (www.jetairways.com) is another all-economy low-cost no-frills “brand” from this carrier. There is a Jet Airways Konnect Premiere as well with further frills, mileage and roomier seats. Konnect runs mainly B737-800 short-haul feeder runs from and to places like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram. The airlines utilises ATR 72-500 aircraft as well.
In 2011, IndiGo placed an order – one of the largest in aviation history – for a staggering 180 A320neo aircraft
An Indian budget airline contender worth a closer look is fast growing SpiceJet (www.spicejet.com), which operates a raft of services to places like Chennai, Colombo, Kathmandu, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, New Delhi and Kolkata. The airline operates 212-seat B737-900-ERs (in a single aisle 3-3 seat configuration), similarly configured Boeing 737-800s, and Bombardier Q400s (with a 2-2 seat configuration). Online check-in is possible though check-in baggage is disallowed if signing in from the Web.
Hot on the heels of Jet Airways is IndiGo (www.goindigo.in). Headquartered in Gurgaon, India, just south of New Delhi, it launched in August 2006. Its fleet of six A320s opened the account flying domestic routes between Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata. Less than six years later, it boasts a fleet of 48 A320-200s, serves 26 domestic locations and has 272 daily flights. By late 2011, IndiGo held almost 20 percent of the market share in the Indian aviation industry, and its fast-paced growth shows no signs of slacking. This was highlighted when the Indian budget carrier ordered a staggering 180 A320neos in January 2011 – one of the largest purchases in aviation history – to be delivered between 2016 and 2025.
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| IndiGo: low cost high stakes |
IndiGo has already become the second largest airline in India after Jet Airways, and its attentiveness to passenger convenience – online check-in, mobile bookings, lounge access for a small fee – has won it a loyal following and confirmed its position as one of the best low cost airlines in the region. Expansion has continued, and September 2011 saw IndiGo’s maiden international flight from Delhi to Dubai. International routes are now available out of both Delhi and Mumbai, with services to Singapore, Bangkok, Muscat and Kathmandu. Definitely one to watch.
Other small players whizz through India’s crowded airspace. And these aren’t your-daddy-was-a-sailor unknowns. Air-India (www.airindia.in) has its low-cost budget airline Air India Express (www.airindiaexpress.in). Air India Express B737-800s fly Middle East and Southeast Asian routes connecting cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi and Trivandrum with Singapore, Dubai, Doha, Sharjah, Muscat and Abu Dhabi. With Air India and Indian Airlines merged into Air India Ltd on 27 February, 2011, Indian Airline’s low-cost airline Alliance Air was rechristened Air India Regional. The airline covers over 25 Indian destinations with over 350 services including several to the remote northeast of the country.
Bhutan’s regional player
Up in the Himalayas, Druk Air (www.drukair.com.bt) weaves its tiny planes adroitly through the twisting valleys to touch down whisper-smooth at Bhutan’s Paro airport ensuring your martini is neither shaken nor stirred. This minnow from Bhutan has two huge advantages over its competitors. Firstly, it has no competitors as it is the only airline flying to Paro through narrow valleys at an elevation of 7,300ft, and second, the scenery through the windows of the new Airbus A319s is eye-poppingly arresting. Starting with two destinations in 1983, a subsequent fleet of BAe 146-100s began extending operations in November 1988. The aircraft was light, responsive, and manoeuvrable. This correspondent enjoyed some of the smoothest landings at high altitude with Drukair's senior pilots at the helm of this aircraft. The tiny A319 fleet has permitted expansion to new destinations and the route network by early 2012 included Delhi, Kolkata, Bangkok, Dhaka and Kathmandu. Hong Kong and Singapore are in its sights.
Seaplanes in the Maldives
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| Trans Maldivian seaplane |
How small is small? Perhaps taking the prize is spirited Maldivian (maldivian.aero), which does the Maldives archipelago reasonably thoroughly with 16-seat Dornier 228s, 50-seat Dash8-300s, and 37-seat Dash8-200s from Malé the capital to Gan, Hanimaadhoo, Kadhdhoo, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, South India. Fancy a spin in a single aisle with a seat configuration of 1-1? Here’s your chance. Even smaller? The pioneering Maldives seaplane operator Trans Maldivian Airways (www.tma.com.mv) whose bright yellow Twin Otters can be spotted skimming the azure seas. These planes fly you right to the island resorts, while MEGA Maldives Airlines (megamaldivesair.com) does select international routes with some scheduled services and charters (with a focus on China and South Korea) using B767-300ER (extended range) aircraft.
Great deals on Philippines flights
Manila-based Cebu Pacific (www.cebupacificair.com) was one of the original low-cost trendsetters, flying DC-9s. Cebu Pacific now flies Airbus A319s and A320s as well as ATR 72-500s to local spots like Davao, Cebu and Clark (Subic) as well as farther afield to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Bangkok, Macau, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Incheon (Seoul), Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu, Brunei, and Jakarta. New routes include Manila-Hanoi and Hongkong-Boracay (Kalibo) starting at about P2,499. Seat selections at booking time have been available since September 2008 at a cost of P100 for standard seats and P200 extra for premium legroom seats. That’s not a lot of pesos.
Within The Philippines, two other sprightly operators of note are Zest Air (www.zestair.com.ph formerly Asian Spirit), and Southeast Asian Airlines, or SEAir (www.flyseair.com) that runs a useful network linking various islands and points including Boracay (Caticlan), El Nido, Tablas, Taytay and Vigan. And from Clarke (Subic), SEAir works with distribution partner Tiger Airways to offer tickets for Singapore, Bangkok, Macau and Hong Kong too. Domestic flights are largely on Dornier 328s and international routes are on Airbus 319s.
Hongkong Airline’s all-business service HK-London offers two classes, with Premier serving up fully flat beds
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| Philippines: SEAir has an island network |
Zest Air offers solid penetration of the Philippines, touching even remote regions like Zamboanga, Puerto Princesa (Palawan), and Cagayan de Oro. International points include Seoul, Busan, Shanghai and Taipei. Cheeky Pacific Air, which used to weigh guests along with their baggage, before its small prop-planes huffed across the Pacific to Boracay, was an early pioneer that has been sadly overtaken by events.
Hong Kong, China, and even Tibet
In Hong Kong, CR Airways launched in 2003 to provide an alternative for small city getaways. It soon mushroomed into Hongkong Airlines (www.hkairlines.com) with a very different mandate as a full service airline. Hongkong Airlines operates a fleet of A300-200 and B737-800 aircraft and marked 7 March, 2012, for the launch of a revolutionary all-business service Hong Kong to London’s Gatwick. The aircraft are fitted out with two classes – Club Premier, and Club Classic. Club Premier in the front of the fuselage serves up fully flat beds in a 1-2-1 configuration with 6’1” inch of leg wiggle room. The Classic cabin has 82 cradle seats in a 2-2-2 configuration with 22 inches of bottom space and a 51” seat pitch. Expect a ClubSkyBar and a CEO-pleasing inflight WiFi connection. (Flamboyant Hongkong-based Oasis was in the UK-HK longhaul business traveller market but, on 9 April, 2008, it filed for liquidation and flights ground to a halt, less than flamboyantly.)
Hongkong Airline’s growing route network includes Bali, Beijing, Bangkok, Shanghai, Sanya, Harbin, Phuket, Tokyo, and offbeat choices like Moscow, Brussels and Berlin. Quite a lot on the event horizon here and as a well funded airline with a strong presence in China, it seems set to grow steadily.
Low-cost subsidiary Hong Kong Express (www.hongkongexpress.com) specialises in China with a peppering of other destinations. Also in the general region, VIVA Macau ran out of funds and was grounded late March 2010 after rolling out a number of low cost services from Macau to the Pearl River Delta region and beyond.
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| Cebu Pacific is a popular budget choice |
Shanghai-based Spring Airlines (www.china-sss.com) first grabbed the headlines by offering tickets for only one yuan but it was back on the Hong Kong newspaper front pages by September 2010 offering cheap flights to Shanghai. The budget carrier was undercutting big boys such as Cathay Pacific (www.cathaypacific.com), Dragonair (www.dragonair.com) – the hard working Cathay feeder airline that dominates China and offers points like Kota Kinabalu, Phuket, Phnom Penh and Bengaluru – Hong Kong Airlines, and China Eastern (www.flychinaeastern.com). Spring launched with return fares for as low as Rmb398 (HK$457). These wallet-friendly prices were less than a third of the lowest fare. While the Spring Airlines daily return flight may be little threat to the heavyweights who operate 30 flights a day to Shanghai, it certainly ruffled a few feathers. But with Hong Kong landing slots in incredibly short supply it looks like the Shanghai-based carrier will have little opportunity to seriously compete. Still, it has launched flights between Shanghai to Ibaraki (40kms from Tokyo) and plans to increase its fleet of 20 A320s to 100 by 2015.
Start-up Tibet Airlines (www.tibetairlines.com.cn) launched its groundbreaking Lhasa-Beijing flight mid 2011 with spokes to Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Sanya. It is eyeing the region for further international points in India and Southeast Asia to promote Buddhist tourism. The airline is starting with three 128-seat A319 aircraft that airline general manager Liu Yanping describes as best suited to the high altitudes. Within five years the airline anticipates a fleet of 20 aircraft.
South Korea and Japan options
Peach (www.flypeach.com) arrived late 2011 as Japan’s first true domestic low cost carrier. Flying between Osaka and Sapporo and Osaka and Fukuoka, it also has plans to add new offshore routes including to Seoul. Promotional fares as low as ¥250 (US$3.20) for a one way ticket. As its website points out, the price for two tickets, ¥500, is the same as the price of a peach. Get it? Keep an eye on 2012 start-up Jetstar Japan too that will operate A320s linking Sapporo, Okinawa and Fukuoka with some points in China as well.
As Peach points out, the price for two tickets, ¥500 (US$6.40), is the same as the price of a peach in Japan
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| Hongkong Airlines: all business to London |
South Korea's Jeju Air (en.jejuair.net) flies turboprop aircraft from Seoul's Gimpo Airport to Busan's Gimhae and Jeju Island (also Cheju Island). The airline also does Incheon-Hong Kong and Hong Kong-Busan. The airline operates newish B737-800 aircraft that seat 190 passengers. A younger addition to South Korea's budget skies is Korean Air's low-cost airline Jin Air (www.jinair.com). By early 2012 Jin Air was flying from Seoul’s Gimpo Airport to Jeju, Sapporo, Shanghai, Macau, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Cebu, Clark (Philippines), and Guam. Along with cheap ticket prices, the airline plans to maintain a youthful, informal atmosphere with cabin crew clad in jeans and t-shirts. The flight attendants will save costs by doubling up as cabin cleaners, so try not to litter if you want to see those welcoming smiles. The airline accepts only online bookings through the Internet.
A bit of Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia
Vietnam-based Pacific Airlines operating out of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Saigon has been absorbed into the Jetstar family as Jetstar Pacific (www.jetstar.com) using Boeing B737-400s. The airline offered 10 to 50 percent discounts for students, people on social welfare, the elderly and passengers buying tickets seven to 30 days in advance. There were also free tickets for frequent flyers. Jetstar Pacific serves Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Danang and Hanoi. Do Saigon to Singapore one way for about US$88. Or fly in a bit more style on SkyTeam member and national carrier Vietnam Airlines (www.vietnamairlines.com) that operates a growing fleet of A320 and A321 aircraft as well as B777s. On the order books are state-of-the-art B787 Dreamliners (2015) and new generation A350-900s (from 2014 onwards).
Myanmar Airways International (www.maiair.com) started out in 1950 as the Union of Burma Airways. By the late ’90s as MAI it had one spry but hard-worked B737, and an occasional MD-82, with very pleasant crew shuttling between Yangon, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The airline was assisted by Singapore-based Regionair. By 2012 the airline had graduated to A320-231 aircraft with expatriate cockpit crew to shore up passenger morale. From Yangon the airline services destinations like Gaya (India), Guangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok, with planned routes to Dubai, New Delhi, Seoul and Tokyo.
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| V Australia specialises in long hauls |
Indonesian Lion Air (www.lionair.co.id) once offered Singapore-Jakarta runs at almost 60 percent below the SIA price. Lion Air offers an extensive Indonesian network and flies to Malaysia (and Kuala Lumpur) too. PT AWAIR is now Indonesia AirAsia (www.airasia.com/id/en/home.page) and connects places like Bali, Surabaya, Jakarta and Medan. Indonesia’s Adam Air took off in 2003 and eventually amassed 22 aircraft in its fleet but after a series of horrific crashes and airport incidents had its license revoked by the Indonesian air transportation agency in early 2008. TransNusa (www.transnusa.co.id) is a fledgling player among Indonesia's small airlines, with a fleet of Fokker 50 jets and BAe 146-200s. The airline has gained penetration domestically servicing routes to places like Denpasar (Bali), Mataram (Lombok) and Makasar.
Australia and Pacific budget flights and more
Virgin Blue now simply Virgin Australia (www.virginaustralia.com) is already well settled in Oz and has consolidated under the newer over-arching Virgin Australia brand, sister carrier Pacific Blue in New Zealand and long-haul V Australia. Virgin Australia offers a radical departure from normal airline lounges with its snazzy spaces that offer hi-tech cubbyholes and premium food and wine. In Sydney look for the Premium Entry and Premium Valet (for business class and premium economy passengers).
Virgin’s V Australia (www.virginaustralia.com) connecting the east coast of Australia to the US West Coast with daily nonstops Sydney-LA and three times a week Brisbane to Los Angeles, is a game-changer. V Australia flies B777-300ERs (with economy, premium economy class and business) on this groundbreaking transpacific route.
At the other side of the spectrum, the small luxury airline Ozjet once offered corporate highfliers a "business class only" service, with eight daily flights between Sydney and Melbourne. It wound up operations by May 2009. Strategic Airlines operating as Air Australia (www.airaustralia.com) is a new Australian budget airline that covers Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth as well as farther flung Bali, Phuket and Honolulu. The Airbus A330-200 and A320-200 aircraft swapped their old red-white-blue livery for gold-green-silver starting late November, 2011. The longer range A330 offers a business class in a 2-2-2 configuration and economy seating in a 2-4-2 configuration that tapers to a 2-3-2 towards the tail of the plane in the last four rows. A few tail waggle shakes but one less body to contend with.
Polynesian Blue now Virgin Samoa (www.virginaustralia.com) is a joint venture by Virgin Australia and the government of Samoa. The airline offers direct flights to Samoa (Apia) from New Zealand (Auckland) and Australia (Sydney).
Fiji’s Air Pacific is on a steroid binge acquiring B747-400s to fly into places like Hong Kong (from January, 2012)
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| Air Pacific B747s fly Fiji-Hong Kong |
Fiji’s Air Pacific (www.airpacific.com) has meanwhile gone on a steroid binge acquiring B747-400s that fly into places like Hong Kong (from 19 January, 2012, replacing the B767s), and augmenting a fleet of B737s, Twin Otters and ATR 42-500s. The airline has also ordered new Airbus A330-200s arriving 2013 and its routes include points in Australia, New Zealand, USA (code sharing with American Airlines), Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey
GMG Airlines (www.gmgairlines.com) from Bangladesh started in 1997 and offers routes from Dhaka and Cox’s Bazaar to Kolkata (India), Chittagong, and Sylhet. The airline uses 250-seater B767-300 aircraft as well as Dash-8s for small runways.
Established in 2004, Airblue (www.airblue.com) operates a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft and offers scheduled services to many cities within Pakistan. It maintained a decent safety record post launch until the crash of flight ED202 on 28 July, 2010, in poor weather near Islamabad. Airblue offers services to a few international destinations including UAE (Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi), Istanbul and UK (Manchester).
In addition to Ariana Afghan Airlines (www.flyariana.com) and its fleet of B727s, B737-400s and A310-300s operating from Kabul and elsewhere within Afghanistan to Frankfurt, Ankara, Teheran, Kuwait, Jeddah, Islamabad and New Delhi, smaller Safi Airways (www.safiairways.aero) flies Airbus A320-200 aircraft and B767-200ERs from Kabul to Dubai and New Delhi.
Iran has a slew of airlines serving domestic and regional destinations led by the national carrier Iran Air (www.iranair.com) and domestic and international carrier Mahan Air (www.mahan.aero) but all are hampered by sanctions and other technical limitations that have consigned them to squeezing (and cannibalising) old Boeings, leased Airbuses, and creaking Russian aircraft, often plagued by safety issues.
Neighbouring Turkey is home to Turkish Airlines (www.turkishairlines.com), now an aspiring biggie with lavish television commercials announcing it is “globally yours” and a fairly modern fleet of over 200 aircraft spanning everything from A340-300s and A320-200s to A319s, Boeing 777-300ERs, B737-800s and B737-900ERs.
As Tony Fernandes loves to quip, “Now everyone can fly.” Yes, at just three US cents per kilometre (on AirAsia), everyone can indeed fly.
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