Singapore: Emerging Asian carriers made their presence felt at a major airshow today with multibillion-dollar deals that underscored the region's importance as the growth driver of global aviation.
Four relatively small Asian carriers already had a combined order book of more than USD 11 billion halfway into the six-day Singapore Airshow, with smaller planes as their preference.
Airline executives said many smaller cities in Asia remain underserved despite the explosive growth in budget air travel, and they will use the new planes to connect such destinations to metropolitan centres.
Asia's expanding middle class is driving demand, said Song Seng Wun, regional economist with Malaysian bank CIMB.
"It's really a function of regional economies experiencing spending power of the rising middle class which benefited from so many years of steady growth," Song told AFP.
13/02/14 AFP/Financial Express
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Four relatively small Asian carriers already had a combined order book of more than USD 11 billion halfway into the six-day Singapore Airshow, with smaller planes as their preference.
Airline executives said many smaller cities in Asia remain underserved despite the explosive growth in budget air travel, and they will use the new planes to connect such destinations to metropolitan centres.
Asia's expanding middle class is driving demand, said Song Seng Wun, regional economist with Malaysian bank CIMB.
"It's really a function of regional economies experiencing spending power of the rising middle class which benefited from so many years of steady growth," Song told AFP.
13/02/14 AFP/Financial Express
