The Asia Pacific region is responsible for the largest share of the global air traffic, registering 36% of global traffic in 2018, followed by Europe and North America with 26% and 23% of global air traffic respectively.

Asia is now home to more than 56% of the global population and is quickly shifting from low to middle-income status within a single generation, making Asia the global centre of gravity and a fertile breeding ground for air carriers, particularly for low-cost carriers to flourish and prosper.

In this DCU collaboration, the operating environment's attributes and its influence on the performance of airlines in Southeast Asia are assessed through a comprehensive literature review and performance analysis. As a first step, the team assessed the capacity contribution of registered airlines in the Southeast Asia region, totalling 65 in 2019. Then, seven of the largest Southeast Asian airlines, representing 80% of total capacity in the region, are taken forward into an in-depth benchmarking and performance analysis.

The research pinpoints key differences between Full-Service Carriers and Low-Cost Carriers in the region through a series of 13 metrics applied in the POA. It was found that the region's FSCs scored better at Product Architecture, which includes convenience, comfort and connectivity, whilst the LCCs strength was in the Organisational Structure component, namely fleet and labour productivity, sales and distribution, and airport attractiveness, especially in the case of AirAsia.