THE budget boys are doing brisk business at Changi Airport.

To some extent, this development has been at the expense of the bigger carriers.

Despite the overall slowdown, Changi's low-cost carrier traffic grew by 21 per cent last month, compared with February last year.

In January, business increased by 48 per cent.

This growth confirms what the industry has been saying all this while - that airlines such as Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia and AirAsia will benefit as travellers downgrade.

At a time when bigger players such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific are dumping flights to avoid flying half-empty planes, low-cost carriers are quickly moving in to fill the gaps.

Tiger Airways, for example, started flying to East Malaysia and Indonesia recently. AirAsia Indonesia, an associate of the Malaysian budget airline, is also bumping up the number of flights out of Changi.

From March 24, it will offer services between Singapore and the Indonesian cities of Jakarta, Bali, Bandung and Yogyakarta.

To stimulate demand, the airlines have also been flooding the market with too-good-to-be-true deals.

Free seats are not uncommon, with passengers paying only taxes and other surcharges, which add up to about $100 for a return trip to nearby destinations such as Bali or Phuket.

Mr Yeo Teck Beng, 48, a manager in an aluminium factory, recently paid $490 for his family of five to fly to Kuala Lumpur on Tiger Airways.

He noted that low-cost flights are a good option for the budget-conscious.

KARAMJIT KAUR

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