JOIN USIndigo and SpiceJet are in the top-five list of low cost carriers in Asia-Pacific region having the highest number of planes in its services, an analysis by an aviation think tank has said.
It also said that the low cost airlines in the region already have 992 planes and will cross the 1,000 mark this month. The carriers have placed orders for 1,591 planes.
While IndiGo is placed third with 73 planes as on December 2013, SpiceJet is a distant fourth with 56 flights, according to Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
In the Asia Pacific region, currently there are 47 low cost carriers, including 23 in south-east Asia, 16 in north Asia, six in south Asia and two in Australia.
The year-end analysis by CAPA also showed that the low cost carriers have 15 per cent of the total in-service commercial aircraft, which numbers around 6,800.
In the region, Indonesia’s Lion Air has the highest number of 94 planes followed by Malaysia’s AirAsia and Australia’s Jetstar Airways with 74 each planes ahead of Indigo and SpiceJet.
The analysis said that 2014 will see a record level of start-up activity as about 10 low cost carriers are being launched, which includes AirAsia India. Others are AirAsia X, Thai VietJet, NokScoot, Jetstar Hong Kong, Spring Airlines Japan, China United Airlines, Jiu Yuan, Tigerair Taiwan and a yet to be named LCC subsidiary of TransAsia Airways.
Last year, five low cost carriers–Golden Myanmar, Malindo, Hong Kong Express, Thai Lion and Vanilla Air–were launched. There were six such launches in 2012, including AirAsia Japan, which has now re-launched as Vanilla following the sale of the AirAsia stake to All Nippon Airways.