[Asia Round-up] Airline industry booms in Southeast Asia

A passenger appreciates plants at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Changi International Airport has been decorated with lots of flowers and plants. It was named the world’s best again in 2013 by Skytrax, a website known for its reviews of the world’s airlines and airports. (Photo : Xinhua/NEWSis)

The airline industry in Southeast Asia has boomed in recent years as a result of rapid economic growth and a rising middle class. Low-cost carriers have captured a large part of the emerging air travel market by offering a variety of new flight routes throughout the region. With the economic opening of Myanmar, Southeast Asia is now more interconnected than at any time in the past four decades.

28
The total number of Indonesian airports that will open due to the ASEAN Open Skies agreement

30
The number of airports in Myanmar that need upgrading for the 4.2 million passengers

3,080
The number of airplanes that must be purchased between now and 2032 in the Asia Pacific

85 million
The number of passengers Singapore’s Changi Airport can handle yearly at the end of expansion in 2018