Competition heats up for Southeast Asia-Europe corporate travel as market conditions improve

Corporate travel demand in the Southeast Asia-Europe market appears to be on the rebound but competition continues to intensify as more carriers jockey for a slice of the corporate spending pie. There are also signs of improvement in the much smaller Southeast Asia-North America corporate travel market, which has become more competitive as Singapore Airlines (SIA) pulls its exclusive non-stop services to Newark and Los Angeles.

Capacity levels for non-stop services between Southeast Asia and Europe are up only slightly on a year-over-year basis as Asian carriers have been focusing more on expanding regionally. But the number of players in the non-stop market is expanding while one-stop capacity via the Middle East continues to grow, putting pressure on the overall market.

The competitive pressures could keep premium and corporate fares from increasing as demand returns.