SINGAPORE: Thailand's Nok Air and seven other Asia-Pacific airlines have forged what they call the world's largest low-cost carrier (LCC) alliance.
The creation of the Value Alliance (VA) was made official yesterday as the airlines pledged to complement each other's operations to drive ticket sales.
The partnership is expected to boost every member's airline revenue by 20% over the next two years.
The founding members are Cebu Pacific (including its subsidiary Cebgo), Jeju Air, Nok Air, NokScoot, Scoot, Tigerair Singapore, Tigerair Australia and Vanilla Air.
Through VA, customers will be able to view, select and book the best available fares on flights from any of the member airlines in a single transaction with a single payment, directly from any of the partners' websites.
This means more destinations, more routing options and greater convenience for customers, VA said.
Unlike typical technologies, the interface created by ABB, a British developer of the world's first dedicated multi-carrier interlining and booking system, lets customers take advantage of a full suite of ancillary choices rendered by the LCCs.
These include seat and meal selection, variable baggage allowances and other in-flight features across all partner airlines for a single itinerary.
The eight VA members together span a third of the globe, serving more than 160 destinations from 17 hubs with a collective fleet of 176 aircraft across the Asia-Pacific region.
The system is expected to strengthen distribution in their non-home markets, expand their sales networks via the provision of interline itineraries, retain their ancillary revenue opportunities and offer customers a better, one-stop-shopping experience, VA said.
The cooperation model is strictly confined to enhancing sales and ticket distribution among members, unlike the comprehensive airline alliances adopted by full-service airlines.
The model of groups such as Star Alliance, Oneworld and SkyTeam is far more extensive and includes cooperation in aspects like marketing, procurement and mileage transfer, along with common quality standards and service offerings.
"Those complex and cost-incurring exercises were frowned upon by LCCs, and that is not what we are pursuing," said Piya Yodmani, chief executive of NokScoot, one of Thailand's two long-haul low-cost carriers. "Our aim is to keep fares low."