The great BY ERIC FETTERS-WALP outheast Asia contains more than 600 million people, several of the world’s largest S cities and thousands of islands, making air travel ideal for connecting the region’s countries with one another and the rest of the globe. It’s a region that attracts visitors from all over the world, a place with long, rich histories and diverse people and cultures. “What I know about the region and really cherish about it is there is no homogeneous nature to the countries here—they’re all different in history, culture, food and people,” said Skip Boyce, president of Boeing Southeast Asia and a former U.S. ambassador who has spent more than 20 years in the region. Located adjacent to China and India, two of the biggest developing economies on Earth, many of Southeast Asia’s nations also have a growing middle class that can more easily afford to travel by airplane. Which is why Boeing’s list of potential customers in the region is growing, said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of sales for Asia Pacific and India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Since 2009, capacity in the region has risen 80 percent, and passenger traffic has risen even more—so we predict the region will need almost 4,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years,” said Keskar, who is based in Singapore. “Low-cost carriers are booming, and the region has lots of aerospace suppliers, as well as a growing presence of Boeing services.” Southeast Asia, as defined by Boeing International, includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Boeing has customers in nearly all of those nations, with its regional business centered in the small but economically important city-state of Singapore. That nation’s air show, billed as Asia’s largest, takes place in February, and Singapore itself is home to a number of expanding Boeing facilities. “Southeast Asia is one of our core growth regions. It’s been a longtime customer on both the commercial and defense sides, and we see good economic growth ahead,” said Marc Allen, president of Boeing International. “We already have a meaningful business presence and opportunities across the region, especially in services.” Boeing and SIA Engineering Company recently formed Boeing Asia Pacific Aviation Services, a joint venture to provide engineering, repair and maintenance services for Boeing airplanes. Plans call for that business to eventually employ more than 200 people. Additionally, Boeing subsidiaries Aviall and Jeppesen have recently expanded their regional headquarters in the nation. “In an increasingly competitive market, our customers in this region are more open to adopting new Southeast Asia represents a growing market for Boeing 30 | BOEING FRONTIERS
Frontiers February 2016 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above