Followers of airline capability statistics will know Southeast Asia is the region lagging behind within the 100% COVID recovery race. In June, it was operating 17% fewer seats than in June 2019, with only Eastern/Central Europe and Southern Africa farther from pre-pandemic levels.
What are we talking about?
To get a clearer picture of what is occurring on this once vibrant region, Easy Flying turned to the worldwide schedules analyzer, OAG and its for June 2023. In June, Southeast Asia’s capability was 36 million seats, 17% fewer than the 43.6 million in June 2019 but 24% ahead of the 29 million on offer last 12 months.
Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock
The key aviation markets in Southeast Asia (SEA) are Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Together these six nations account for 98% of seats in SEA, with around 874,000 seats spread around the remaining of the region. Domestic capability accounts for 22.5 million seats (63%) and international 13.5 million (37%), down 14% and 23%, respectively, in comparison with June 2019.
Indonesia had the biggest seat capability in June, with 10.5 million, followed by Vietnam (6.7 million), Thailand (5.8 million), Malaysia (4.6 million), Philippines (4.4 million), and Singapore (3 million). Indonesia dominates the region with 29% of capability, although Vietnam was the one country in SEA to extend capability, adding 6% more seats in June.
Photo: KITTIKUN YOKSAP | Shutterstock
By way of post-COVID recovery, Vietnam is the just one ahead of June 2019 with a capability of 114%, followed by the Philippines (89%), Singapore (86%), Indonesia (84%), Malaysia (81%) and Thailand (69%). In SEA, total seats declined by 1% in comparison with May 2023.
The airlines leading the way in which
Provided that Indonesia is up to now ahead within the region, it’s no surprise that Lion Air tops the airline rating with 3.1 million seats. Reflecting the fast growth in Vietnam, the second and third-placed carriers are Vietnam Airlines with 2.7 million and Vietjet with 2.5 million seats.
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
The most important capability route in SEA is Hanoi to Ho Chi Min City with 927,000 seats, with six domestic routes ahead of the biggest international service from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore at 418,000 seats. Five of the highest 10 domestic routes are in Indonesia, 4 are in Vietnam, and one is the Cebu to Manila within the Philippines.
Emphasizing the importance of Singapore Changi as a hub for SEA, seven of the highest 10 international routes depart or arrive in Singapore. The highest 4 are between Singapore and other major SEA hubs, including Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Jakarta (CGK), Bangkok (BKK) and Bali Denpasar (DPS).