HONG KONG - Southeast Asia's budget carriers are hoping the worst of the Middle East-driven fuel shock is behind them but face a difficult second half as margins remain under pressure and strained household budgets threaten demand, airline executives and analysts said.
The latest quarterly results from Malaysia's AirAsia , Singapore Airlines' budget arm Scoot and the Philippines' Cebu Pacific showed that efforts to recoup soaring fuel costs through higher fares fell short. AirAsia and Cebu Pacific reported net losses, while Scoot's operating loss nearly doubled.
