India, China emerge hi-fliers in Apac region

New Delhi: Air travel is on the upswing in the Asia-Pacific region, with India and China emerging as strong aviation markets. The good news for passengers is that with more airlines starting operations , airfares are softening.
According to Asia-Pacific’s Business Travel Monitor, an airfare survey released by American Express, there was a 3% year-on-year growth in domestic airfares of the Asia-Pacific region with India, the Philippines and Indonesia being exceptions.
The survey covered 14 markets of the Asia-Pacific region , that is, India, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia , Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
An interesting trend revealed by the survey is that the airfares for flights within the Asia-Pacific region and from Asia-Pacific to Middle-East , Europe and Africa saw a 0% growth in the last quarter of 2006, the latest period for which the survey results are available. Despite the low cost carrier (LCC) boom in India, domestic airfares witnessed a growth of 6% in the last quarter of 2006 but a 3% YoY dip.
07/05/07 Vishakha Talreja/Economic Times

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Categories: General Aviation May 2007