HONG KONG, China (CNN) --Asia's fledgling budget airline industry has finally grown wings with fresh commitments from the region's major carriers.
But whether the no-frills model in Asia will follow Europe and the U.S changing the face of holiday and business travel remains to be seen -- analysts are skeptical.
Singapore Air is teaming up with the founder of Europe's Ryan air to form Tiger Air and Australia's Qantas says it will deliver discount air travel with Jetstar next year.
Some in the industry see the rise of the low-cost carrier, in a region dominated by high pricing across the board, as a wake up call to the industry.
"I think it is awareness of the importance of efficiency. Other airlines in the region are still experiencing inertia from their old lives," Bong Mojica of Cebu Pacific told CNN.
Asia has no shortage of low-cost carriers, more than half a dozen are currently operating. Another four are being launched in 2004 and a number have been very successful.
Virgin Blue entered the Australian scene in September 2000. It now has 30 percent of the market and will float with a market value of $1.68 billion.
The success of AirAsia of Malaysia has led them to expand next door into Thailand, where Orient Thai now competes for scheduled commercial service.
A group of former Singapore Airlines executives plan to take off soon with ValuAir and Indonesia has two new carriers, Lion Air and Air Paradise.
Even though the Asian airline industry still remains highly regulated, governments have been supportive of the no-frills model.
"From a political or electoral perspective it's very popular if you are bringing people a significantly reduced cost for domestic transport," says Peter Negline analyst at JP Morgan.
But massive European-style price cuts are unlikely. Analysts suggest that it is because the regional players are already operating on the lean side.
"Already the operating costs for Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines are similar to that of Ryanair in Europe," says Philip Wickham, airline analyst at ING Financial markets.
He believes they will take over secondary or short-haul routes, but that the lack of a common market means that it is highly unlikely any budget airline will be able to operate a pan-Asian service.
But Cebu Pacific, which already flies to Hong Kong and Seoul, plans scheduled services in China and already has big international ambitions.
"We want to make Cebu Pacific part of the showcase of the Philippines," says Mojica.
The question is whether Tiger Airways and ValuAir can succeed in building up business in an expensive hub such as Singapore, as well as compete with rivals operating in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, where costs are a lot less.
