Asia-Pacific budget airlines AirAsia
Bhd. (AIRA) and Qantas Airways Ltd.
(QAN)’s Jetstar overtook full-service carriers in a brand-reputation survey
as more passengers in the region turned to cheaper options amid a global
economic slowdown.
Singapore
Airlines Ltd. (SIA) and Cathay
Pacific Airways Ltd. (293), among the world’s 10 biggest carriers by market
value, were ranked below the two low-cost air-travel operators, according to
the report compiled by Nielsen Holdings
NV (NLSN) and Campaign Asia-Pacific, a marketing industry magazine.
Global airline profits are set to
fall in 2012 by more than half to $3 billion from $7.9 billion last year,
according to the International Air Transport Association, as recessions in the
U.K., Spain and other European countries damp demand and erode gains from lower
fuel prices.
“It’s an economic reality,” Therese
Glennon, managing director of consumer insights for Asia Pacific, Middle East
and Africa at Nielsen, said in an interview yesterday. “As the demand for
budget travel increases, as the economic situation deteriorates, you see a lot
of these bigger airlines adjusting their business models.”
Nielsen asked 400 respondents in each
of 12 Asia-Pacific countries where it conducted the survey to name the top two
brands they thought were most trusted or had the best reputation in 14
categories, including travel and leisure, it said.
Shares
Rise
AirAsia shares rose 0.3 percent to
3.71 ringgit as of 2:53 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur,
set for the highest close in almost five months. Qantas climbed 0.9 percent to
A$1.11 in Sydney.
Cathay in May predicted
“disappointing” first-half earnings. The company has pared passenger-capacity
growth, cut flights to North America and Europe this year, imposed a hiring
freeze on ground staff and offered cabin crew unpaid leave.
“While we cannot comment on the
validity of this specific survey, being unaware of its exact methodology, we
can share that for more than 65 years, Cathay Pacific has been serving
travelers from around the world,” the airline said in an e-mailed response to
questions.
Singapore Air, which posted an
unexpected fourth-quarter loss of S$38.2 million ($30 million), started a
low-cost carrier that completed its first flight last month. Nicholas
Ionides, a spokesman for Singapore Air, declined to comment because he
hasn’t seen the report.
Other full-service airlines that were
ranked lower include Qantas, Australia’s largest carrier that forecast last
month annual profit may fall as much as 91 percent, and Korean Air Lines Co.,
South Korea’s biggest flier that slumped to a surprise first-quarter loss.
Samsung
Electronics Co. (005930), Apple Inc. and Sony Corp.
(6758) were the top three brands in the survey.
No comments:
Post a Comment