The Chinese tourism boom will leverage the business growth of ATR, a leading manufacturer of commercial turboprop aircraft, throughout Asia-Pacific over the next 20 years, says its executive.
More point-to-point airports and short-distance routes across Southeast Asia are also expected to drive air travel growth.
Mr Janitza says Asia-Pacific will need 1,000 more turboprop jets over the next 20 years.
Laurent Janitza, the sales director based in Singapore, said the region is expected to need up to 1,000 turboprop jets in the next two decades.
"China will be a major factor driving growth as many more Chinese will travel overseas, particularly to Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia," Mr Janitza said.
The top 10 markets for ATR in terms of number of aircraft in service are Indonesia with 99, Malaysia 47, India 46, Myanmar 34, New Zealand 26, the Philippines 22, Taiwan 20, Thailand 20, Australia 16 and Pakistan 14.
He said Thailand has become more important after its parent company Airbus finalised investment in an aircraft maintenance centre at U-tapao airport on the Eastern Seaboard.
ATR offers customer services, spare parts, and training centres in other countries, mainly in Singapore.
The refurbishing of U-tapao airport and more planned airports in southern Thailand will help boost air travel in the country, said Mr Janitza.
Compared with other turboprops, ATR offers an advantage of 40% on fuel burn, 20% on trip cost and 10% on seat cost, whilst offering the lowest noise emissions, he said.
As a result, it already secured a 130-jet backlog for Asia-Pacific and is scheduled to deliver them in 3-5 years. Bangkok Airways is its biggest client in Thailand.
Bangkok Airways and ATR signed a contract for the purchase of four additional ATR 72-600s during the Singapore Airshow earlier this year, said Mr Janitza.
The deal is valued at over US$100 million and will enable the airline to continue the modernisation and harmonisation process of its regional fleet.
Bangkok Airways operates a fleet of 15 ATR aircraft, with nine ATR 72-600s and six ATR 72-500s that are being replaced with the new ATR 600s.
Delivery of these four additional aircraft, configured with 70 seats per jet, will take place between October 2018 and March 2019.
The airline has considerably increased its ATR fleet, from eight aircraft in early 2014 to 15 as it develops new routes and increases frequency.
Bangkok Airways is a good example of the suitability of the ATR aircraft for short-haul and inter-island operations in Southeast Asia, he said.
Since 2007, the number of ATRs operating in Asean has multiplied from 50 to nearly 250.
Last year ATR aircraft created some 70 new routes in Asian countries, generating over 1 million additional seats and revenue opportunities for their operators, said Mr Janitza.
