Indonesia Boosts Singapore Sales but China and India Are Quiet
The sales reach of Singapore's air show seems confined to southeast Asia
Dinesh Keskar (left), v-p of Asia Pacific and India sales for Boeing Commercial Airplane, shakes on a deal for 201 copies of the 737Max-9 with Rusdi Kirana, Lion Air president. (Photo: Mark Wagner)
Dinesh Keskar (left), v-p of Asia Pacific and India sales for Boeing Commercial Airplane, shakes on a deal for 201 copies of the 737Max-9 with Rusdi Kirana, Lion Air president. (Photo: Mark Wagner)

What did last week’s Singapore Airshow tell us about the state of air transport in the Asia Pacific region? Apart from highlighting Indonesia as being a pocket of pent-up demand for fleet modernization, the honest answer is not very much. Indonesia’s Lion Air confirmed a massive order for 201 of Boeing’s new 737Max-9 narrowbodies, plus 29 of the existing 737-900ERs—although this was no more than confirmation of a commitment previously made at the Dubai Air Show last November. However, Lion Air did also sign a fresh contract worth $610 million for 27 ATR72-600s (see Sales in Singapore Solidify Turboprop Backlogs).