Speaking at the Strategy Summit on March 6 in a panel session entitled What Asia Needs Right Now Is…, IATA Regional Vice-President Asia-Pacific and panel moderator Conrad Clifford said 100 million passengers were expected to enter into the Asia-Pacific market each year for the next 20 years.
However, members of the panel warned this prediction could fail to materialise unless the region’s problems with infrastructure were quickly addressed.
HK Express chief executive Andrew Cowen said: “Infrastructure is the biggest (issue). There’s a mismatch in our opinion… in the time line for airports.
“What we are all seeing, understand and accept is the LCCs in general are creating a lot of new demand that’s not really picked up in these bigger forecast models for future infrastructure.
“We really need to address that.”
Air Asia Philippines chief executive Joy Caneba added that better infrastructure would also make it easier for airlines to operate more effectively.
Cebu Air vice president commercial planning Alexander Lao agreed the issue needed resolving but warned airports not to pass on new problems to the airlines.
He said: “We do want to see a lot of private investors in airports but we do stand against commissions and runway fees and it becoming more expensive (to operate).”
Lao added airports also needed to consider capacity growth and the ability to deliver the required projects on time.
Mactan-Cebu International Airport chief executive Andrew Harrison said one way airports could keep costs down is by looking at including more commercial options at the facilities, such as increasing the number of shops, to keep costs down.
He added: “The airports need to work together to deliver projects and services that meet the clients’ requirements. They can’t be too expensive.”
Lao said the future needs of the growing market could also be met by not simply focusing on the region’s primary airports.
He added: “It is really critical for us to develop secondary airports.”
Lao argued this would also help airlines help keep ticketing prices down – a vital issue in a market known for its price sensitivity.”
