"We Make People Fly": Low-Cost Carriers, Economic Development, and Sustainability in Asia.

Keywords: Air Transport Geography, Transport Geography, Geography of Asia
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 24

Abstract

In “making people fly”, low-cost carriers (LCCs) have had far-reaching consequences in Asia and beyond. In this chapter, we map the geography of LCCs domiciled in Central, South, Southeast, and Northeast Asia – especially low- and middle-income economies (per the World Bank’s classification) in these subregions. We analyze airline networks for 2018 (i.e., before the COVID-19 pandemic) to identify patterns at the global, regional, national, and local level. We also assess the structure of LCC networks and how they differ from those of full-service network carriers. We then look at the broader consequences of the rise of Asian LCCs, including their implications for economic development at a variety of scales and their contribution to atmospheric emissions. As part of the latter analysis, we give particular attention to the fleets of budget airlines in the region and how those fleets are likely to change in the future. We end by sketching some of the early impacts of the COVID19 crisis on Asian LCCs and look to their potential role in the region’s recovery when the pandemic eases.