Paris-based Airsavings announced the opening of its new office in Singapore. The first Southeast Asian office for the French company opens at a time when the entire region has experienced significant growth in low cost carriers and an overall increase in general air traffic. Singapore’s booming economy and its free-market ‘Asian Tiger’ neighbors (Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea), along with its proximity to the Chinese mainland have propelled Airsavings’ entry into the market, where the company will serve the unique and growing needs of the region’s LCC’s. Airsavings, founded in 2001, provides ancillary revenue capability and group-buying services for low cost and mid-sized air carriers. With significant market presence in Europe, where clients include SkyEurope, VLM and Atlas Blue, Airsavings is now looking to capitalize on the expansion of similar LCC’s in Asia. Its online platform, AirlinesPlus, focuses on providing ancillary service and product offerings.

Airsavings aggressive expansion into Southeast Asia follows its established business model of keeping pace with macroeconomic trends within the industry. Airsavings was at the forefront of the LCC revolution in Europe, coming of age as Ryanair and EasyJet were just beginning to grab headlines. The company’s group buying methodology was the engine behind the rapid rise of low cost and mid-sized airlines, enabling these smaller carriers - by pooling their purchasing power - to engage in the same economies of scale once only available to the legacy carriers.

As internet booking engines have contributed to lower fares, Airsavings introduced AirlinePlus, a scalable interface to offer any number of unbundled ancillary services, effectively creating new revenue streams that are being adopted by almost every airline in Europe. Now, as Asia is opening to travelers in an unprecedented way, Airsavings offers its technological know-how, services and support to the very airlines that are leading the LCC movement within Southeast Asia.

Raphael Bejar, founder and CEO of the French company with more 15 years of airline experience, is understandably excited about the company’s expansion. “We view the Southeast Asian market as a new frontier for low cost carriers. We think the region’s flying demographic and the current economic conditions will continue to support both LCC’s and increased online booking in the years to come. In the spirit of being a market leader, we have established a base of operations in Singapore now rather than later, and look forward to serving the needs of the regions LCC’s and fueling their growth.”