Asia Pacific

While there were a handful of orders from Asia Pacific airlines announced at the 2026 Farnborough Airshow, other significant deals are still on the radar as carriers look to address long-term widebody replacement needs. Philippine Airlines was the major Asia Pacific representative amongst the Farnborough airline orders, although Vietnam Airlines and two of the smaller Japanese airlines also announced leases or orders. Some of the largest Asia Pacific airlines are in the process of discussing aircraft orders, but the timeline of these negotiations is uncertain. Some may be announced this year, and others will likely occur later. The order negotiation activity is driven by the extensive lead-times for widebody deliveries, meaning carriers have to act soon to lock in their long-term plans before delivery windows are pushed back further. There were no big narrowbody orders from Asian LCCs this time at Farnborough - although both AirAsia and VietJet Air have announced new deals over the pas

A decline in visitor numbers and airline capacity is causing another year of headaches for Thailand's tourist industry, which had not fully recovered from a slump in 2025. Many countries in the Asia Pacific region have seen travel demand soften due to the Middle East crisis that began in late Feb-2026. But it is particularly significant for Thailand, as tourism represents up to 20% of its GDP. Thailand's tourism was recovering well from the COVID-19 pandemic, but last year suffered a reverse when Chinese visitor numbers dropped dramatically following some high-profile incidents. Demand was once again on the road to recovery when the Middle East conflict began. High fuel prices have caused airlines to cut back capacity, with higher fares and increased cost of living also discouraging travel. This has been a factor in Thai tourism authorities discussing how to increase tourist spending and targeting higher-value tourists rather than volume (and stories of tourist misbehaviour don't help

Asia Pacific airlines are pulling every lever within reach in their efforts to counter the unpredictable swings in fuel prices that are continuing to complicate their planning. Short-term measures include trimming flights, redeploying capacity and hiking ticket prices and fuel surcharges. But the speed at which fuel prices are changing mean that these moves are generally not sufficient to offset the cost increases. Whether more drastic and longer-term structural measures will be needed depends on how long it takes to resolve the Middle East conflict, and the prospects for this are shifting constantly. So far, the cost increase has been the major problem Asia Pacific airlines are addressing. But they are well aware that fuel supply constraints remain a threat that draws closer the longer the crisis lasts. The Asia Pacific region's capacity is being pulled down by flight suspensions on routes to the Middle East, the temporary dip in service from Gulf carriers, and broader cost-related ca