By Karamjit Kaur Aviation Correspondent, The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2014
This makes Singapore the most connected within the 10-member grouping when it comes to air links between the capitals. Kuala Lumpur is second with about 91 daily flights, followed by Jakarta with close to 70 flights.
Of the region's top five air links by frequency of flights, four are from Singapore; to Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila.
The fifth is Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta, based on data provided by industry consultancy Sabre and collated by consultancy OAG for advance flight filings by airlines for this month to December.
Air traffic liberalisation, which gives airlines access to more flights and new markets, has been good for Singapore and Changi, said industry experts. There will be more opportunities as the regional bloc continues to push for further liberalisation, they said.
In a recent milestone, Indonesia - the largest country in the group - signed a deal to allow ASEAN airlines to make unlimited flights to Jakarta.
Indonesia's "yes" after years of reluctance is significant, said aviation law academic Alan Tan of the National University of Singapore.
It follows a decade-long campaign to get the 10 ASEAN nations to remove all restrictions on flights from their countries and to push to become one aviation market - similar to the European Union's "single sky".
With Jakarta on board, aviation experts expect that other Indonesian cities will follow suit.
The Philippines' capital Manila is now the only ASEAN capital that has yet to join the agreement, although the country has already removed restrictions on flights by other ASEAN airlines to its non-capital cities.
The goal is to allow carriers from ASEAN countries to fly freely within the region by the end of next year.
So Singapore Airlines (SIA), for example, could fly as often as it wanted to any ASEAN city, instead of being restricted by government-to-government air deals.
The aim is also to allow carriers to fly beyond one capital to another, for example, SIA doing a Singapore-Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok flight.
Ultimately, the benefits of liberalisation are measured in terms of better outcomes for consumers, said Mr Andrew Herdman, director-general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.
In markets like Singapore-Jakarta, Singapore-Kuala Lumpur and Singapore-Bangkok, where liberalisation has led to more flights, including those by budget carriers, consumers have enjoyed fares of under $100 for a return flight - unheard of a decade ago.
Housewife Alice Wong, 49, said: "Holidays used to be a once-a-year or once-in-two-years thing but now it's common for people to take short breaks two, even three times a year because fares, especially for regional flights, are so attractive."
ASEAN must act quickly on a truly single sky
Grouping faces competition from improving China and India airlines
By Karamjit Kaur, The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2014
Grouping faces competition from improving China and India airlines
By Karamjit Kaur, The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2014
ASEAN has come a long way in breaking down the barriers that prevent airlines from flying freely within the region, with travellers the key beneficiaries.
Take the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur market, which just six years ago was a duopoly controlled by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysia Airlines.
Since 2008, when liberalisation threw open the doors to budget carriers and many more flights, return fares for the 45-minute sector have tumbled from about $400 to as low as under $100.
From Singapore-Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta, many other air links have opened up to more carriers and competition.
The idea of an ASEAN open skies has been talked about for a long time but it is only in the last decade that the pace has picked up.
A major breakthrough came recently when Indonesia, home to almost 40 per cent of the region's population of more than 600 million, agreed to allow unlimited flights by airlines from other ASEAN countries to Jakarta.
Given South-east Asia's great diversity and political structure, ASEAN's progress so far is commendable, but the wheels must turn faster, industry experts said.
It is not practical to expect ASEAN to operate the way the European Union (EU) does, said Mr Andrew Herdman, director-general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.
"It must be remembered that ASEAN is structured in a way that does not override the national sovereignty of its member states.
"Therefore, any agreements reached within ASEAN are subject to ratification by its individual member states."
He added: "Given the deeply embedded political and institutional relationships involved, the process of change inevitably takes time," he said.
Mr Herdman noted it took the EU more than two decades to develop the single aviation market, which is still a work in progress.
To be truly a single sky, there are other milestones ASEAN has to cross, like allowing an airline from Country A to operate domestic flights in Country B, as well as flying to a point in Country B and, from there, onwards to another destination outside ASEAN.
A single-sky concept also means an integrated air traffic management system which will allow the region to better handle a growing number of flights and avoid gridlock in the air.
ASEAN must move faster, especially if one considers the threats from improving airlines from China and India that have a huge market base to draw upon, said aviation law academic Alan Tan of the National University of Singapore.
To compete effectively, SIA, Thai Airways and other ASEAN carriers must be able to expand their market base with what the industry calls "seventh freedom" air rights, he said.
Such an arrangement, which exists within the European Union, would allow a Singapore carrier, for example, to operate services between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Without ASEAN functioning as a single market, its carriers are disadvantaged, said Professor Tan, citing a 2010 agreement between the 10-member group and China.
The pact effectively allows Chinese carriers to connect any point in China to any point in ASEAN states that accept this agreement.
But an ASEAN airline can connect only points in its own home with points in China. So SIA, for example, has unlimited penetration into China, but only from Singapore.
Prof Tan said: "This is an imbalance, but is created simply because ASEAN countries won't give each other the seventh freedom to fly to China."
For now, ASEAN's goal is to allow carriers from member states to fly freely, but only within the region and excluding "seventh freedom" air rights, by the end of next year.
There is little doubt this will be achieved. But beyond that, there is little that has been agreed on and this is where it will be a challenge to push further.
The huge disparity in size and bank balance between airlines in the region and the concerns governments may have that their national carriers will not be able to compete effectively in a truly open market are major stumbling blocks.
On the flip side, there is growing awareness that liberalisation stimulates economies, in particular, the tourism industry, and countries that do not embrace this risk losing out.
As ASEAN skies continue to liberalise and airlines can fly freely to destinations which may previously have been more difficult to access, there could be some impact on transit hubs like Changi Airport, UOB Kay Hian aviation analyst K. Ajith said.
To stay ahead, Changi must continue to expand its network and connections and ensure its charges and rates for airlines, among the highest in South-east Asia, are competitive.
"This will become more important as rival hubs like Kuala Lumpur International Airport continue to expand and narrow the gap in terms of connectivity and service offerings," he said.
In the end, open skies will benefit airlines and airports quick to seize the opportunities that come with liberalisation. For the traveller, though, it is a sure win.
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