Budget airlines thrive amid gloom

Sunday 09th August, 05:10 AM JST

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11 Comments

pawatan at 09:48 AM JST - 9th August

People who fly AirAsia are fools. They have had several hushed-up maintenance and in-flight issues due to cutting corners. The Malaysian government censors the news there so most of this doesn't reach the papers. These airlines are cheap for a reason!

If I am in that region I always use one of the established and safe carriers such as Malaysian, Singapore, Thai, Cathay... It isn't worth saving money at risk of your life!
gaijintraveller at 09:54 AM JST - 9th August

Air Asia and Tiger, please extend your service to Japan.
NeoJamal at 10:06 AM JST - 9th August

I don't care if I don't get fed or the cabin crew look like dogs. Please deliver me to my destination safe and cheap.
Statistician at 10:27 AM JST - 9th August

The only way forward is to offer low fares.
kview at 10:27 PM JST - 9th August

There is no short cuts or cover ups. Air Asia earn their success with smart strategies and follow the market trend. It is here to stay.
vibly at 11:07 PM JST - 9th August

Flew Air Asia once and only once. My friend advised against it but I did not listen. :( Regret that! Just don't go there. The fare is 1/3 of other airlines but the quality/service/safety...everything else is also 1/3 of it. Ground air staff could not have been worse. Bad attitudes. Stay away, very far away. Has a 100% safety record.......for now.
seesaw at 11:30 PM JST - 9th August

There's no way I would use Budget airlines...my life is more valuable than cheaper airfare/airline which is not as safe. Jetstar incident was my latest warning sign.
gyouza at 12:20 AM JST - 10th August

I'm not aware of any low cost competition for BA on Tokyo or HK routes. If there was I might use it - but only if it meant a comfortable 12 hours!
sf2k at 03:36 AM JST - 10th August

after oil goes over $70 per barrel, the economic pressures to just break even become quite difficult. These carriers may last a little while more than a major carrier, but watch the majors for problems. I will assume this wikipedia list of defunct airlines (by country and year) will grow in the coming years: http://tinyurl.com/57jmfm
JeffLee at 03:57 PM JST - 10th August

I've flown Air Asia and Jetstar and both were great.
Monoflow at 05:03 PM JST - 10th August

Budget Airlines sounds to me like a car with no airbags and brakes. I'm maybe old-styled, but I prefer a little bit of quality (than quantity) from departure to arrival. Those who want to fly cheap carriers どよ。。。