Low-cost airlines to further cut airfares
23/2/2004 17:25
A growing number of Southeast Asian air-carriers established are offering
economy air-tickets and are expected to slash prices on local tours to Southeast
Asian destinations no later than the end of this year, the Shanghai Morning Post
reported today.
In a bid to claim more of the Southeast Asian tourist market,
Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore have launched low-cost airlines.
Compared
with normal flights, low-cost ones do not offer free snacks or coffee, but
charge airfares as low as one-fifth of normal.
Singapore-based Tiger Airways,
to kick off operation in the second half of the year, plans to expand its
scheduled flights to other Southeast Asian countries. Hong Kong-based Cathay
Pacific Airways is busy preparing for its own low-cost
airlines.
Malaysia-based Air Asia is attempting flights to the South of
China.
The debuts of the low-cost airlines has dealt a heavy blow to main
air-carriers, and is expected to affect pricing in the entire tourism market,
said an employee with the Outbound Department of the Shanghai China
International Travel Service Co Ltd.
Eagle United Airlines Co Ltd, the first
low-cost airline on the Chinese mainland, plans to start operation within the
year, with its airfares likely to be 20 percent lower than normal, said an
industry analyst, adding that it will inject new life into the domestic aviation
industry.
Many such air carriers are expected to debut in Asia in the coming
five years, the analyst predicted.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
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