Widebody LCC update - part one. Operations and orders are still expanding in Asia Pacific region

The trend of low-cost carriers adding widebody aircraft to their fleet mix is continuing to strengthen in the Asia Pacific region, although the concept has stalled in other regions such as Europe and North America.

Several Asian LCCs are growing their widebody fleets and have signalled their long-term confidence in this business model by placing major orders. The market dynamics and geography of the Asia Pacific region are proving well suited to widebody LCC operations.

In contrast, it has been much harder to make the model work in Europe and North America. The few LCCs in these regions still operating widebodies are not increasing this fleet type significantly - and in some cases they have retreated.

Widebodies offer multiple benefits for LCCs: they can be used to target more distant markets, to increase capacity on high-demand routes, and to maximise slot use at congested airports.

These varied priorities mean it is not correct to classify the widebody operations discussed here simply as long haul low-cost.

Larger aircraft also give airlines more flexibility to introduce premium cabins - thus blurring the lines of the traditional low-cost business model.

Part one of this analysis will compare widebody LCC use in different regions using data from CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG. It will also take a look at the widebody fleets of some of the Asian LCCs with extensive expansion plans, such as IndiGo, Vietjet and T'Way.

Part two will outline other Asian LCCs' widebody moves, as well as developments in this segment in other regions.