Emerging more confidently from the global recession than other regions, the Asian aviation market is forging ahead and appears to have coped better than expected with the recent economic down turn. Could this herald a trend for airlines operating in the Asian arena to be at the forefront of the latest look in interiors as operators gear up to meet the growing demand? Seen for many years by some experts, as the great hope for the civil aircraft and aerospace industry it does seem that the Asian aviation market is starting to fulfil these predictions. Statistics at the start of 2010 show Asian aviation’s freight and passenger growth to be looking quite healthy.
A proposed explanation offered by Murdo Morrison, Editor of Flight International, suggests that the reason why Asian airlines are flying so high, while the rest of the world tentatively waits for the clouds to part, is because they did not feel the impact of the recession as strongly as others in the first place. Indeed, it seems that starting with a significantly smaller base has allowed Asia, “more room to expand than the mature industries that we find in Europe and the United States,” said Morrison*.
This all makes good reading for the aircraft interiors sector, however any future success is crucially contingent upon the immediate efforts put in place to battle the economic downturn. Facing the current climate, many airlines have focused on introducing cost-reducing measures, such as sacrificing first class seating to accommodate for an expansion in the economy cabin area. Air Austral for example has been the first airline to order A380s in its all-economy seating version; the flag carrier of the island, Reunion, in the southern Indian Ocean has ordered two such aircraft for flights between Paris and the island. The industry is waiting expectantly to see what such an interior will look like in reality.
It remains to be seen however, whether low cost but longer haul usage will continue to fuel the market for years to come, or whether the business class sector will enjoy a resurgence. Of course it is possible that reconfiguring the seating and reducing the amount of more expensive tickets could prove counter-productive in the long term. Will passengers who have downgraded to more affordable premium economy options now be permanently reluctant to upgrade back to business class or, with confidence starting to return to the market, will business travellers start to return in greater numbers? Some airlines have certainly indicated a slight increase in demand again for business class.
For the Asian aviation market nevertheless, the future seems more certain and figures provided by the International Air Transport association (IATA), certainly seem to support this. Commenting on the statistics, Director General of the IATA, Giovanni Bisignani, found that in 2009 with 647 million recorded passengers “intra-Asia-Pacific travel…eclipsed the number of travellers in North America” making it the world’s largest aviation market. And, as home to two of the world’s top five most profitable airlines, with an extra 217 million passengers expected by 2013, for Asian aviation the sky really is the limit.
“All the major Asian airlines ensure that Aircraft Interiors Expo is on their exhibition calendar each year,” said Ian Crawford, Group Exhibition Director at Reed Exhibitions. “As with all our airline visitors they attend because they recognise our Hamburg event as the prime opportunity to get the low down on the latest and most innovative products and technologies that can really make a difference to their fleet’s interiors and passenger experience.”
Ends
*To hear more from Murdo Morrison about what lies ahead for the global aviation and interiors market in 2010 and beyond, please click on http://www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com/murdo
Aircraft Interiors Expo is the largest dedicated aircraft interiors event in the world and will see companies exhibiting the full spectrum of technologies and products for airline constructors and operators. www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com
For further information please contact Victoria Bailey or Carol Seath at CMS Strategic on Tel: +44 (0)20 8748 9797 or email info@cmsstrategic.com
About the organiser:
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 440 events in 36 countries. In 2009 Reed brought together over six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 35 fully staffed offices.
Reed organises a wide range of events, including trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and meetings. Its portfolio of over 440 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: aerospace & aviation, automobiles, beauty & cosmetics, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering & manufacturing, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, marketing, business services & training, medical education, printing & graphics, security & safety, sports & recreation, and travel.
Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.
Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2008, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £1,205 million on turnover of £5,334 million.
About the location: “Hamburg – The place for aviation”
Hamburg is one of the world’s most important locations for the civil aviation industry. Three key players, Airbus Deutschland, Lufthansa Technik and Hamburg Airport, along with more than 300 small and medium-sized enterprises, employing over 36,000 people between them, as well as a variety of scientific and technological institutions, all contribute their know-how and expertise. The Hamburg Metropolitan Region is widely considered to be an international centre of expertise in aircraft cabins and cabin systems. The city is also home to the annual Crystal Cabin Award, the first and, to date, only prize for innovation in the field of aircraft cabins. Aircraft Interiors Expo, which is organised in co-operation with the Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC), is being held for the ninth consecutive year at Hamburg’s premier events venue.