PAX at AvFest Asia
Keynote interview with Ajay Singh, Chairman and MD, SpiceJet and Danny Lee, Asia Transport Reporter, Bloomberg News
The conference at Singapore Suntec for this year’s Aviation Festival Asia was well attended with many companies exhibiting the latest technology for ticketing, bag handling, ground handling pricing and passenger management for airlines and airports.
India and the Sub Continent dominated the keynote speaking with discussions with the CEO of SriLankan Airlines and SpiceJet on the stage.
The news to come out of these chats was mainly around how airlines are coping with the exponential growth in this region. Shortages of aircraft and engines are hitting hard. For SriLankan, CEO Richard Nutall expressed the challenges faced by state-owned operators but declared Sri Lanka as an ideal hub that should be able to compete with the Middle East, particularly for the Southeast Asia market.
Ajay Singh, Chairman and MD, SpiceJet (left) and Danny Lee, Asia Transport Reporter, Bloomberg News (right) at AvFest
Ajay Singh, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director, was bullish about the growth trajectory. The fact that almost all of India’s air travel is now by low cost carriers was pointed out. With the demise of Kingfisher and Jet Airways, there is only Air India holding the legacy card—and it is also struggling through quality issues and problems with capacity through lack of aircraft.
All conversations point to the fact that India is the place to watch for the most dramatic changes coming in the near future.
