Downturn sparks groundbreaking deals in Asia aviation: AAPA chief

THE global economic slowdown has prompting groundbreaking deals that would have been "unimaginable a year ago", turning rivals into long-term allies, says Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Speaking in Kuala Lumpur ahead of AAPA's annual meeting of presidents, Mr Herdman said Asian carriers account for 40 per cent of global air cargo, reported Air Transport World of Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington, DC.

They have been hard hit by the reduced demand for air freight and the current cargo market weakness, he said.

But a "spirit of change" prevails across the region in the form of strategic realignments and multi-faceted airline offerings, with all carriers looking beyond traditional business models, he said.

Said Mr Herdman: "2012 is proving to be a pivotal year for the global air transport industry, with enterprising carriers from the Asia-Pacific region at the forefront of major developments. The new competitive landscape is providing consumers with a wide variety of new travel options and adding tremendous momentum to the rise of Asian carriers in the global industry.

"Asian airlines are continuing to invest in service innovation, adding new and more fuel efficient aircraft to deliver further efficiencies whilst meeting the projected future growth in travel demand," he said, adding that passenger traffic in the region remained robust with high load factors and strict control of operating costs.

The shift of global economic power eastwards is continuing, driven by the rapid development of China and India, with added momentum from other Asian economies including Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, Mr Herdman said.