20 years of budget airlines: Once the underdogs of commercial aviation, now a force to reckon with

A BRIEF HISTORY

In Asia, mainly in Southeast Asia, there was a growing hunger and need for heat connectivity in the early 2000s.

Lacking an integrated system of highway, road, and sea links, the local geography was disjointed.

Numerous regional low-cost airlines stepped up in this situation in an effort to meet the rising demand for affordable vacation.

Valuair was the first company to emerge in May 2004. By providing a light supper on board for all passengers and giving seats as opposed to the free-seating arrangements that budget airlines used in those days, it sought to revolutionize low-cost vacation. &nbsp,

It was unlikely to be popular to take a quick trip from Singapore to Bangkok, but this did. &nbsp,

Full-service carriers Singapore Airlines ( SIA ) and Cathay Pacific started lowering prices in the weeks leading up to this historic, low-cost flight, with SIA selling Bangkok tickets only marginally more expensively than Valuair.

At the start of the first flight, former ValuAir president Lim Chin Beng said,” I’m very surprised at the effect of the great boys.”

However, it was only a matter of time before Valuair was sucked in by rising gas prices, ongoing price war with full-service ships, and the emergence of two rivals the same year: Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways. &nbsp,

” When we planned this flight, it did not appear to be any other expenditure companies”, Mr Lim said in 2005. ” If there were only one or two, the full-service carriers would have been more tolerant” .&nbsp,

With the writing on the wall, Valuair was acquired by Jetstar Asia in July 2005, &nbsp, just over one time from its virgin journey.

Mr. Norazman, who joined the flight in October 2004 and was already on its second flight, recalls having to wear two distinct uniforms because he had been assigned to Valuair flights as well.

Along with older Eastern budget airlines for as&nbsp, Malaysia’s AirAsia and Philippines ‘ Cebu Pacific, the company took off over the next few decades.

By 2009, low-cost carriers were accounting for 23 per cent of Changi Airport’s total passenger traffic, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore ( CAAS ). &nbsp,

It did n’t take long for Changi to spring into action.

” Being Asia’s local hub for air travel, Changi Airport saw an opportunity to increase its capital links to provide this need by introducing low-cost ship activities in Singapore”, said Mr Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s professional vice-president for air hub and cargo growth.

In 2006, it built a no-frills, resources switch with no aerobridges and transport infrastructure, to support the growth of low-cost companies. &nbsp,

The switch was shut down in 2012 to make room for the development of a bigger, full-service Terminal 4 despite growing over the years to accommodate more people.

Mr. Lim described the choice as “hard” and claimed it was based on customer feedback that even cheap companies could not provide the exact level of service from Changi Airport. &nbsp,

COVID-19, which ravaged air go in the first 2020s, recently curbed rise over the following decade, but the sector has resurrected in force. Budget providers currently contribute to about one-third of Changi Airport’s customer customers.