KUALA LUMPUR -- Emboldened by fuel-efficient aircraft and growing demand from a burgeoning middle class, Southeast Asia's budget airlines are showing ambition to fly long-haul routes beyond the region -- a high-cost sector dominated by full-service carriers.
Malaysia's AirAsia X and Vietnam's Vietjet Aviation ordered new aircraft this week at the biennial Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K., expanding their existing fleets anchored in the Asia.
