| Sports |
By
JONATHAN HEAD
High cost for cheap Asian flights?
WITH incomes rising fast in a region
with a population of 500 million, increasing numbers of people
want to travel, and dozens of new airlines have started up to
meet the demand.
But the proliferation of new carriers has raised concerns about
airline safety, after a number of recent crashes.
If you want to get an idea of how rapidly the budget airline
business has taken off in Asia, consider the decision by the
European Union earlier this year to ban all 51 Indonesian
airlines from flying into European airports.
A decade ago, Indonesia had no more than a dozen.
There has been a similar expansion of airlines throughout the
region.
It all started in Malaysia six years ago, when Tony Fernandes,
an accountant who once worked for Richard Branson’s Virgin
Group, bought then bankrupt Air Asia and decided to re-build it
as a low-cost carrier.
He was convinced South East Asia was ready for the business
model which had worked so well in Europe and the US.
Fernandes was right.
In that time Air Asia has become a phenomenal success, flying to
nearly 50 destinations, and inspiring others to follow its
example in neighbouring countries.
Singapore got Tiger Airlines, Valuair and Jetstar, Indonesia got
Adam Air, Lion, Wings and a host of others, and Thailand got Nok
Air, Thai Air Asia and One-Two-Go.
All these carriers use a similar business model – no-frills
service and non-refundable booking on the internet.
They have been a boon for the millions of people in Asia who
have a bit more money to spend on travel, but not enough for
full-fare flights.
But they have also raised some worrying safety issues.
The safety record of low-cost carriers in Europe and the US has
so far been impressive, but less so in Asia.
A series of crashes in Indonesia over the past two years led to
the ban on all its airlines flying to Europe.
Those accidents prompted doubts about safety procedures at
Indonesian airports, pilot training and maintenance.
The Indonesian aviation authorities say they are now working
hard to make safety inspections more rigorous.
A Thai low-cost carrier, Phuket Air, was also banned from flying
to some European destinations in 2005, although that ban was
lifted this year.
Aside from Air Asia and Tiger, fleets are often much older than
their European and American counterparts.
The aircraft involved in the Phuket crash on Sunday, an MD82,
was first manufactured in the early 1980s.
They are cheap to buy, but have proved very expensive to operate
in recent years as oil prices have rocketed, because older
aircraft are far less fuel efficient.
They also need a lot more maintenance.
The dramatic rise in the number of flights has also put pressure
on South East Asian airports, many of which are small and poor
and have outdated landing facilities.
However, the airport at Phuket is comparatively large and
modern, and not regarded as unusually difficult by many pilots.
– BBC
 
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