When the Singapore Air Show opened yesterday, it was amid an atmosphere of uncertainty that went beyond just the contradictory factors of a lack of confidence in global economic prospects but with the Asian market projected to continue to grow in importance. Advances in aviation technology are also changing the relative importance of the routes linking Asia with major markets.
Not that long ago, flights from Europe and the United States tended to head to one of several major airports, such as Hong Kong, Tokyo and, indeed, Singapore. However with the advent of long-range aircraft, the trend has been to fragment towards a profusion of regional destinations.
This development has been to the advantage of Emirates airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways because of the burgeoning network of connecting flights onwards to Asia. For travellers heading from London or New York to India, for example, they no longer just fly into Delhi, Mumbai or Calcutta – they are now as likely to go to Kochi, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and a host of other provincial destinations.
This helps explain alliances such as the one between Etihad and Jet Airways, and why Emirates has vigorously pursued increased rights to Indian destinations despite the bureaucratic hurdles placed in the way of foreign airlines. A similar dynamic applies to many other Asian destinations and particularly in China’s provinces.
With one of the topics for discussion on the sidelines of the Singapore Air Show being how to progress the proposed open-skies agreement between the countries of the European Union and their counterparts in the Asean bloc, this trend is likely to grow stronger.
With global economic uncertainty continuing to hamper confidence and investment – including aircraft sale announcements usually associated with major air shows – this trend is a bright spot for the airlines based in the Gulf.
