Southeast Asia has become an increasingly lucrative market for narrowbody aircraft, with the growth of low-cost travel and relaxation of regulations helping to drive orders throughout the region - and fuelling fears of overcapacity.
Most of the existing fleet in Southeast Asia consists of widebodies, and several of the legacy airlines have continued to place orders to replace their ageing aircraft and reduce costs. However, narrowbody aircraft will account for the majority of deliveries in the coming years, analysis of Flightglobal's ACAS database reveals. Many of the major carriers in the region already have large backlogs of orders for both Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s, including the re-engined options that became available to order last year. And a handful of orders could be made this year, including one or two at the 2012 Singapore Airshow.
