Word: airlinese
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It's only moments before takeoff when Tony Fernandes, CEO of high-flying budget airline AirAsia, rushes onto a plane destined for the Malaysian resort town of Kota Kinabalu. But there's no plum seat waiting for him. Even top managers at no-frills airlines don't get any frills...
Fernandes wouldn't have it any other way. "I love it when I struggle to find a seat," he says, beaming. With ticket prices as low as 29¢--yes, you read that right--seats have often been hard to find. Fernandes expects to fly 4 million passengers this year, twice...
He's not exaggerating. The cheap fares are luring Asians away from rickety buses, inefficient trains and traffic-choked highways. Laykha Boonlerd, 26, a bank employee in Kuala Lumpur, could never before afford to fly to Bangkok to see her family and instead made an excruciating 24-hour pilgrimage by...
The no-frills carriers have also been helped by the changing attitudes of Asian governments. Instead of defending national-flag carriers, officials are clued in to the possibility that budget airlines can invigorate underused airports and attract much needed tourist dollars. Singapore is building a new terminal as a hub...
Asia's major airlines will soon start feeling the pinch. Airline analysts and executives expect budget carriers to drag down fares throughout Asia. Both Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, Asia's premier airlines, deny they are cutting prices in response to this new threat. But they have...