Asia's LCCs increasingly see room to serve both Macau and Hong Kong in the booming Pearl River Delta

AirAsia Philippines' two new international routes launched on 19-Jul-2012 were notable in that the services were to Hong Kong and Macau, 20nm apart and previously considered too similar to warrant service to both. But regional Asian carriers, and LCCs especially, are increasingly finding they can support service to both cities. Also on 19-Jul-2012, Asiana LCC subsidiary Air Busan opened a route to Macau, complementing its Hong Kong service.

While Hong Kong and Macau may be geographically close, the division by the South China Sea dictates different catchment areas, with Hong Kong also serving Shenzhen in mainland China while Macau can serve the mainland's Zhuhai, whose airport is only for domestic flights. The regions are not equals, and only Thai AirAsia has more capacity into Macau than Hong Kong. But as Asia's population and economy continues to grow, the Pearl River Delta's airports will be Asia's equivalent to the London, New York City or Sao Paulo airport networks.