Asian carriers have often offered lower fares than their European or American rivals. Now
they are starting to catch the wave of discount airlines, pioneered in the US and Europe. In
South-East Asia, an ASEAN-wide open skies agreement is in the works, but in the rest of
the continent flights are still severely restricted by bilateral agreements.
Asian carriers are generally much cheaper than their American or European rivals, and
there are some great bargains to be had. The low-cost airline industry in Asia is sure to
boom in the coming years.
China
China's first low-cost airline was launched in July 2005, and many seem set to follow.
Internationally, you can already fly in to various points in southern China from cities in
Southeast Asia (see section below). Hong Kong's pioneering long-haul LCC Oasis shut
down operations in April 2008.
China United
China United flies out of Beijing's Nanyuan Airport to various cities in Northern China. The
Beijing article has details.
Hong Kong Express
Hong Kong Express flies from Hong Kong to Hangzhou, and Ningbo with more
destinations planned.
Spring Airlines
Spring Airlines flies from its base in Shanghai to over 20 destinations in China, and is
still expanding rapidly.
Viva Macau
Viva Macau flies from Macau to Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh city and Sydney (from August 2007).
India
India's airline market is rapidly liberalizing. Half a dozen domestic low-cost carriers have
started operations and more are on the horizon.
Low-cost flights into India remain more limited, although Air India Express does operate
some international flights and various Middle Eastern carriers fly to India. There are also
limited connections from South-East Asia: as of November 2007, Tiger flies from
Singapore to Chennai and Kochi. (Nok and Jetstar have terminated its services.)
Air Deccan
Air Deccan operate a domestic network in India. Their fares start from INR 500
(US$11.50) - excluding taxes.
Air India Express
Air India Express is the low-cost spinoff of state carrier Air India. The carrier currently
operates flights to Middle Eastern destinations Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Salalah, as
well as from Chennai to Singapore.
Go Air
Go Air is an LCC based out of Mumbai and operates flights to many cities in India.
IndiGo
IndiGo is based in Delhi and flies through the country, claiming to offer the lowest fares in
the country.
Indus Air
Indus Air flies Embraer regional jets from Chandigarh to Delhi and Mumbai.
Jet Lite
Jet Lite - 30+ flights from Delhi, and more. International flights to Kathmandu, Nepal have
been added from several cities.
SpiceJet
SpiceJet started operations in May 2005. The airline promises Everyday Spicy Fares for
as low as INR 99.
Sri Lanka
Mihin Lanka
Mihin Lanka is Sri Lanka's first LCC. The airline is based in Colombo and flies to various
points in India as well as Bangkok, Dubai, Male and Singapore.
Nepal
Fly Yeti
Fly Yeti is operated by Air Arabia and is based out of Kathmandu, with flights operating to
Kuala Lumpur, Sharjah, & Abu Dhabi, with more destinations planned.
Jet Lite
Jet Lite - Flights connect Kathmandu to Delhi and several other Indian cities.
Japan
Japan's low-cost carriers have had a rocky ride, with most being snapped up by the
majors. Dirt-cheap fares are simply not available
Air Do
Japan's first low-cost carrier, Hokkaido International Airlines flies from Tokyo to Sapporo,
Asahikawa and Hakodate. It was absorbed by ANA in 2000 but continues operations.
Jetstar
Jetstar, an Australian LCC has flights from Australia to Nagoya and Osaka.
Skymark Airlines
Skymark Airlines flies from Tokyo to Fukuoka, Sapporo, Kobe and Naha.
Skynet Asia Airways
Skynet Asia Airways flies from Tokyo to Miyazaki, Kumamoto and Nagasaki.
StarFlyer
StarFlyer flies between Tokyo and Kitakyushu (close to Fukuoka) multiple times daily.
Korea
South Korea's staid aviation scene was shaken up in 2005 when the first low-cost carrier
started operation. (Needless to say, North Korea's aviation scene remains virtually non-
existent.)
Hansung Airlines
Hansung Airlines flies from Cheongju to Seoul and Jeju. An accident (no injuries) closed
operations for several months, but they started flying again in March 2006.
Jeju Air
Jeju Air flies from Seoul to Busan, Jeju and Yangyang, and also offers direct Jeju-Busan
flights.
Middle East
Air Arabia
Air Arabia, the largest LCC in the Middle East, are based in Sharjah in the United Arab
Emirates. A coach service connects Sharjah with Dubai for US$2.50. They fly to a variety of
destinations in the Middle East, East Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. They operate a
modern fleet. Their fares are often very good value, starting at 119 UAE dirhams (US$32)
on some routes. They offer a connecting flight service.
They sometimes seem to use bait-and-switch advertising; their advertised rates are not
always available when you try to book. Actual rates are often much higher, though usually
still well below those of major airlines. Luggage allowances are about half of what one
would expect for a mainstream carrier, which can be quite a surprise at check-in (one
check-in bag, not two!).
The airline operates flights to Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, Nagpur, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad,
and Chennai in India. Other cities across the globe touched by Air Arabia are Aleppo and
Damascus (Syria); Alexandria, Assiut and Luxor (Egypt); Amman (Jordan); Astana and
Almaty (Kazakhstan); Bahrain; Beirut (Lebanon); Chittagong (Bangladesh); Colombo (Sri
Lanka); Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh (KSA), Doha (Qatar); Istanbul (Turkey); Kabul
(Afghanistan); Khartoum (Sudan); Kuwait; Muscat (Oman); Sanaa (Yemen); Sharjah (UAE)
and Tehran (Iran).
Atlas Blue
Atlas Blue flies from Marrakech and Agadir in Morocco to destinations around Europe
(mostly France).
Gulf Traveller
Gulf Traveller is the low-cost spinoff of Gulf Air, based in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Muscat
(Oman).
Menajet
Menajet flies a limited network from Beirut, Lebanon.
Nas Air
Nas Air operates domestic flights in Saudi Arabia.
Jazeera Airways
Jazeera Airways flies to many destinations across the Middle East and India. It has main
hubs in Kuwait and Dubai.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia has the most developed low cost carrier networks in Asia, with many
operators and fierce competition. As of September 2007, all countries in South-East Asia
except East Timor can be reached by LCC.
Bases across multiple countries
Air Asia
Malaysian airline Air Asia has the distinction of having been acquired for 1 ringgit (US
$0.25), but they have now grown to the largest (and most profitable) operator in the region.
Originally founded by government-owned conglomerate DRB-Hicom, the heavily indebted
airline was purchased by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes's company Tune
Air Sdn Bhd for the symbolic sum of one ringgit on December 2nd, 2001. They operate on
the now-classic model of open seating, primarily Internet/phone booking and no
complimentary refreshments. AirAsia operates Flyasianxpress or FAX and AirAsiaX in
addition to two associated Companies: Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia.
They have bases in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru (near Singapore), Kota Kinabalu,
Kuching, Bangkok and Jakarta, operating flights to:
Malaysia: Alor Star, Bintulu, Ipoh, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching,
Labuan, Lahat Datu, Langkawi, Miri, Mulu, Penang, Sandakan, Sibu, Tawau
Thailand: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Narathiwat, Phuket, Surat
Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani
Indonesia: Bali (Denpasar), Balikpapan, Bandung, Banda Acheh, Batam, Medan, Padang,
Palembang, Pekanbaru, Solo, Surabaya, Yoyakarta
China: Macau, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Hangzhou. As of January 2008, flights to Tianjin
are planned but not yet started.
Hong Kong
Cambodia: Phnom Penh and Siem Reap
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam
Manila in the Philippines
Brunei
Singapore
Yangon in Myanmar
Gold Coast in Australia
Vientiane in Laos
They are currently eyeing India, and Sri Lanka for possible expansion. Flights to
Melbourne, Australia from Kuala Lumpur are planned.
Jetstar/Valuair
Jetstar is a Qantas-backed LCC currently flying from Singapore to Bangkok, Hong Kong,
Ho Chi Minh, Manila, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Siem Reap, Taipei, Osaka and Yangon.
Flights to India have been terminated. Jetstar's subsidiary brand Valuair flies to Jakarta,
Surabaya and Denpasar (Bali). Jetstar's Australian registered planes also fly to Cairns via
Darwin. Jetstar is also set to launch operations from a Vietnam base in 2008.
Indonesia
Citilink
Garuda Citilink operate a domestic route network in Indonesia. Fares start from 125,000
Indonesian Rupiah ($15). Warning: this subsidiary of Garuda Airline does not currently
accept credit card purchases online or at its call center, requiring payment via a limited
number of ATMs in Indonesia or directly at their office in Jakarta.
Lion Air
Lion Air flies from Jakarta to domestic destinations and Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur,
Penang and Singapore.
Warning: as of March 13, 2008 Lion air only accepts online credit card payment more than
48 hours before the departure time of the flight. Payment can be made via many popular
Indonesian ATM's, however this option is not available to holders of foreign credit cards.
Philippines
Air Philippines
Air Philippines , a Philippine Airlines subsidiary mainly flies domestic routes in the
Philippines. It flies internationally from Manila to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Daegu.
Cebu Pacific Air
Cebu Pacific flies primarily within the Philippines, but also flies from Manila, Cebu and
Davao to Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei,
Singapore, and (starting fall of 2007) Guangzhou, Macau, Shanghai, and Xiamen. Flights
to Seoul and Busan are also available, but need to be booked through a travel agent as
they are not bookable on Cebu's website. Travelers should also be aware that Cebu's
website does not accept credit cards issued in the USA or Europe.
Singapore
Tiger Airways
Tiger Airways is a low-cost airline set up in Singapore jointly by Singapore Airlines and the
people who started Ryanair. Services currently operate from Singapore to Australia
(Darwin, Perth), China (Guangzhou, Haikou, Macau, Shenzhen), Indonesia (Padang),
Philippines (Manila), Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Phuket, Udon Thani),
Vietnam (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City), India (Chennai, Kochin and Bangalore). Many
difficulties have been reported with Tiger's online booking system, especially with the
declining of visa cards for no obvious reason. If your card doesn't work then you can try
booking over the phone on (+65) 65807630, but don't be optimistic that you'll get much
more help there. No food or drinks are allowed on Tiger flights. If you buy any while on-
board your change will be given in Singapore dollars, even if you're flying from Macau to
Manila.
Thailand
Nok Air
Thai Airlines low-cost spinoff Nok Air took to the skies in 2004 sporting a lurid purple paint
scheme with a bird's beak painted on the nose, and employing a price scheme similar to
that of Air Asia.
Passengers can book on the web, call-center Tel-1318 or at the airports. Payment can be
made via credit card, counter service, 7-11, or online credit card. Those who make the
booking online can choose the seating right after the purchase.
Currently, they fly from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Phuket, Nakhon Si Thammarat,
Udon Thani, Trang, Krabi, Hanoi and Loei, from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, Udon Thani,
Pai and Mae Hong Son, and from Hat Yai to Phuket. Also, they have opened an
international route to Bangalore (India) and Hanoi (Vietnam) in 2007.
Orient Thai
Orient Thai , which also uses the brand One-Two-GO [4], flies domestic flights in Thailand
as well as international flights to Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Seoul from both Bangkok
and Phuket.
Note: Even by low-cost carrier standards, Orient Thai's on-time record is notoriously poor
and their planes, particularly the 747s, are old. A crash in September 2007 killed 89,
although the jury is still out on what caused it.
PB air
PB air flies domestic Thai routes and Da Nang, Vietnam.
Phuket Air
Phuket air is now defunct, but is trying to fly again.
Vietnam
Pacific Airlines
Pacific Airlines flies domestically in Vietnam and internationally to Bangkok and
Singapore.
