Beware of Low cost airlines

Low-cost Asian airlines are booming in recent years, bringing airfares down to all time lows. Explosive growth however can make companies reckless. Smart travelers, while knowing how to go about getting the best deals on airfares to Asia, which often involves using low cost carriers, would also be well advised to check out the safety records of some of these new airlines.

With the proliferation of low cost airlines in Asia over recent years, the availability of discounted airfares throughout the region has drastically increased. In a market once dominated by large airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, the list of new low cost carriers in Asia seems to be growing by the week, with little signs of slowing down. In fact, with the region’s growing middle class and their increasing desire to travel, forecasts for demand for discounted airfares from low cost carriers are only increasing. According to the Official Airline Guide’s website , the number of low cost flights operating in the Asia-Pacific region has grown to 60,000 a year, from 3,900 six years ago.

The growth in low cost airlines has indeed provided huge benefits for travelers. One example of some of the huge discounts now available, Air Asia sells some round trip tickets on the popular Singapore-Bangkok route for as little as USD150, compared with USD500 or more with Singapore Airlines.

Explosive growth, and varying levels or regulations in certain countries, have raised concerns about the safety of some of these new low cost carriers.

While many of the budget carriers have new fleets, some of the airlines buy old planes that have been sitting around, unused for years. Duct tape has been observed holding together seats and parts of a bathroom together on a Nok Air flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai last year.

Shortly before the One-Two-Go Airlines crash in Phuket in September 2007  which killed more than 80 passengers, other airlines landing at the airport warned air-traffic controllers about the dangerously wet and windy conditions. Controllers did not cancel or delay the landing and the jet skidded beyond the runway and burst into flames.

Phuket Air has also come under scrutiny for its safety record after overshooting a runway on a landing in Eastern Thailand. In 2006 Phuket Air was banned from flying into the European Union after an incident in Britain in 2005 when passengers reportedly saw fuel leaking from one of its aircraft before takeoff, and refused to fly on it. (The ban was removed in 2007)

Thailand isn’t the only country with concerns about its discount carriers. Indonesia has a much worse record and in fact EVERY airline from Indonesia is banned from the European Union. The EU maintains a blacklist of airlines:
http://www.ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/pdf/list_en.pdf

Indonesia also takes a rap on the International Aviation Safety Assessments Program of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Indonesia is ranked a category 2, which is defined by the FAA website as:

Does Not Comply with ICAO Standards: The Federal Aviation Administration assessed this country’s civil aviation authority (CAA) and determined that it does not provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Indonesia shares this list with countries such as The Congo, Belize, Haiti, Honduras, Kiribati, Zimbabwe and Uruguay.

No related posts.