ATW editor-in-chief Karen Walker sits down with Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines director general Subhas Menon to discuss challenges faced by airlines, emerging markets in the region, network strategy and more. This interview was recorded at the Singapore Airshow.
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Karen Walker: Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us for Window Seat, our Aviation Week air transport podcast. I'm ATW and Aviation Week air transport editor-in-chief, Karen Walker. Welcome on board. Now, I'm recording this week's podcast from Singapore. Of course, everyone knows about Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport, among the most respected and innovative airlines and airports in the world. However, at the 2026 Singapore Airshow, the latest in aerospace technology from all around the world will be on display. And ahead of the airshow, there is a one-day Changi Aviation Summit that's being attended by air transport ministers and heads of organizations, airline and airport senior executives and industry leaders. And I've just moderated a panel at that summit. And among the panelists was Subhas Menon, a dear friend and the director general at the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines, or AAPA. That represents 18 airlines across Asia, including Australia and India and New Zealand. And it's an important lobbying organization for them and the wider industry. So, I'm delighted now to be joined by Subhas as the guest on this program. Subhas, welcome and thank you so much for joining us for Window Seat.
Subhas Menon: Thank you, Karen. Nice to be with you.
Karen Walker: Subhas took the helm at AAPA in 2020 after a long career at the Singapore Airlines Group, where he held multiple senior positions, including CEO at SilkAir. Under his leadership, new airlines have joined and major airlines have resumed their association membership. These include Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air, Vietnam Airlines, Air India, Air New Zealand, and Qantas. Subhas recently announced that he will retire from his position in April and hand the reins to Wong Hong, another very experienced aviation professional who has held senior roles at Singapore Airlines and Delta Air Lines. So Subhas again, it's always great to catch up with you, and I'm looking forward to this discussion as you approach another crossroads in your life. So let's start with a few reflections, may I? Key career moments for you, both at Singapore Airlines Group and as head of AAPA, what are some of the key things that you think are?
Subhas Menon: Well, I would say that my time at SilkAir will probably be my most eventful and also most enjoyable. So SilkAir is a subsidiary airline of Singapore Airlines. It's also a full-service carrier, but it was a regional airline. And it had a very homely appeal. And I was asked to head that airline, seconded from Singapore Airlines. And initially I was very apprehensive because I didn't think I was ready to run an airline, but my bosses said that, "Okay, you can do it. You'll be fine," and things like that. But when I went there, I actually enjoyed myself because it's the first time that I was acquiring P&L responsibility, as well as having a board to report to, and also trying to grow the airline on its own merits. So the brief given to me by the chairman of the airline, who later on became the chief executive of Singapore Airlines, was to take it in whichever direction you want, but grow it and make it profitable. So, it was quite exciting. And I had a fantastic team. The people at Singapore Airlines, they were not ... I wouldn't say that they were the best in terms of educational qualifications and experience and all that, but they were all tried and tested hands. They have worked up from the ranks, but I found them to be very creative, very intelligent, and prepared to do everything. So, my biggest task was to create an esprit de corps. And I was very glad that I was able to do it and it was very enjoyable. We all worked together. So, I would say that would be the highlight. And of course, the next highlight would be the regional vice president roles that I did in the Singapore Airlines group. There were six regions altogether, and I was regional vice president in four of the six regions. So those were the highlights. And of course, AAPA, totally different, never done anything like that, but I was appointed and I was appointed at the start of the pandemic, so that was quite challenging. But what I found throughout the first two and a half years is that the industry actually came together and that was a great relief. The whole industry came together. Airports and airlines were not fighting with each other anymore. They were talking to each other, the suppliers and manufacturers, they came together. The lessors, they came together, they helped the airlines. And IATA, ICAO, and all of us were working together. Every week we would meet to discuss how we're going to get past this. But at every moment, we were very sure that we will get out of this in two years and demand will still be there and the industry will survive, and it turned out to be true. So a lot of relief and satisfaction. And after that, of course, we've seen the airlines grow, that they managed to expand the airlines was also very satisfying because it was giving us the endorsement that this association plays a very important role for the member airlines and not only for the member airlines, but also for new members. And they have come because they feel that AAPA can be of help to them. So that was also a great highlight. And of course, it's a small team at AAPA, but a very good team, very efficient as you've seen at the assembly of presidents, they do a good job. And we work very well together, and we are, I would say, closely knit but externally oriented organization, which is not very common in this neck of the woods.
Karen Walker: It's always struck me when I'm covering events at AAPA—I mean, obviously these are all airlines that are very competitive, in a very competitive market, and that's obviously very important, but there's also such a wonderful atmosphere when they're all together, that they really are genuinely interested in each other as people. It's always really lovely to see. And those areas like safety, most of all, they really want to work with each other, help each other. And there are obviously a lot of industry issues that they're all facing, and an organization like AAPA can present them collectively. So, it's important. As I mentioned, under your leadership, we've seen some new airlines join and some return. Can you just talk a little bit to how important that has been to be bringing in some new airlines? I'm particularly thinking of India, but also to have airlines like Qantas come back.
Subhas Menon: Yeah. I mean, there's one of the things which struck me that India is such a big market, and we have never had an Indian carrier in the association. So, you could say it was a stone in my shoe. I mean, I was waiting for borders to reopen to try and approach Air India. Of course, when Campbell Wilson was appointed to Air India, it gave me the biggest opportunity because we were good friends and immediately-
Karen Walker: Did you work with [Campbell] when he was there?
Subhas Menon: Yeah. I worked with him in several capacities, and so I approached him and he could see the point of Air India becoming international and he wanted to be part of the international organization. So that was the start of it. Vietnam Airlines used to be a member. They had left for several years. So that was also one of my priorities to get Vietnam Airlines because Vietnam was an up-and-coming market, and I've always enjoyed my time in Vietnam. I started going to Vietnam I think in 1989, when we were looking for traffic rights to fly to Vietnam. I've always been enchanted by the country and I wanted Vietnam Airlines. And I flew Vietnam Airlines then, and I thought it was a fantastic airline. It was very basic, but it was a great airline, the old Tupolevs. So they came aboard. I mean, they were very scrutinized. They asked a lot of questions and they wanted to be convinced and we were happy to convince them. And so it was a lot of satisfaction. Beatrice and I worked on that project together and we were able to get Vietnam Airlines on board. And then Lion Air is also very important because it is a no-frills airline. And it was actually Lion Air who wanted to join AAPA because they felt that we could help them on the safety front, not because they were unsafe or anything like that, but they felt that they had a lot of areas that we could help them with and they came and joined us.
Karen Walker: That's an important one because it's Indonesia's low-cost carrier and bringing in those low-cost carriers is that's such an important part of this market out there.
Subhas Menon: Yeah. And Qantas and Air New Zealand was a personal project because I'm very associated with that region. I used to be a regional vice president there for Singapore Airlines. And I know a lot of people at Air New Zealand and Qantas, and I really felt that they will strengthen our association because Qantas and Air New Zealand, they never swallow their words. They speak correctly and they speak outrightly, and they can help the association move forward, improve in areas. So that was very important. And I was quite surprised how easy it was, when finally I got to speak to the right people. They joined Qantas and Air New Zealand. So I think the association is stronger because of that, but we can't stop. We need to get more members. More members we get the broader the voice that we have.
Karen Walker: When we look at some of the issues, and there are many, this is the fastest growing region in terms of airlines and passenger growth. And there's a lot of emerging markets that have huge opportunity, India, of course, but there are a lot across this market. We know that there are considerable challenges too. What would you say are some of the most effective steps that airports and maybe air traffic management organizations could do to help airlines become more efficient and reduce their costs?
Subhas Menon: Yeah. I mean, I think when we talk about hub and spoke, if we stop thinking of it in international terms, we think in terms of domestic terms, it is very important for hub and spoke to work within the hub airports of large countries, India, China, Vietnam, Thailand, it's all very important, Indonesia. So, I think there are a lot of new airport projects coming up in Asia, but not many of them had thought through this process, domestic to international transfer and vice versa. I think that is a fundamental area that they have to focus on, especially in countries where the airlines are burgeoning airlines, expanding, and want to provide services to the entire population. So they're coming from, as Peter said just now, from all nooks and crannies and hubbing at various airports, and how is the transfer facility and process made simple and made easy? Initially, they may not complain because this is better than what they were used to, but as they get wiser, they realize that things could be much better as it is in many other airports in the world. So that is a fundamental area that they need to focus on. ATM [air traffic management], I think we heard that discussion just now, but I think the most important thing is how we modernize the aviation, the air traffic management system, because if we can modernize it and we can use better technology to manage airspace, I think that's what it needs, because a country like India, for instance, it's growing so fast and the airlines want to grow very fast as well, but the infrastructure is not there. Regulations need to be modernized, and air traffic management and other systems also need to be modernized in order to be able to meet the ambitions of the airlines and its travelers.
Karen Walker: And it's complicated in this region because it's huge and there's lots and lots of different airspace management managers, aren't there? It's not like [it is] in the US and essentially one, a single airspace system, but that's not the same across Asia-Pacific. Does that cause issues or can it be an advantage in any way?
Subhas Menon: Well, it can lead to collaboration. As you have seen in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia—they have now come together and basically what they're trying to do is to give the pilots the authority to manage the route navigation themselves. So that is one way of doing it, but it shows that if different systems come together and they discuss how they can work together, there are solutions that can be very beneficial to airlines and traffic.
Karen Walker: So I believe you'll hand over in April, is that correct? Yeah. And so then the next AGM that'd be under Wong Hong, he's also very, very expert in the industry, but what's the thing you would wish for him as he takes over in this role?
Subhas Menon: Yeah. Well, I mean, I wish him all the support and cooperation from everyone that I got, a lot of support and cooperation from industry partners, the airlines and also our team. I hope he's able to tap the talent and expertise and support of the team because that will definitely put him in a good step. I hope he will be able to achieve the targets. Targets we set ourselves high targets. I hope he'll be able to achieve it. I'm very sure he has what it takes to do that because it's all about coalescing a common response and I think he can do that. I also wish that he could expand the membership because I think we have a few white spots, China being one of them, and I hope he can do that. The only advice I would give him is always start with the CEOs of the membership as the first point of consultation. What do they want the association to achieve? What are the priorities that they want the association to achieve because that is the best starting point. Once they have given you those priorities, when you pursue them, they'll be only too happy. Even if you call on them every now and then or ask them to also lend their support, because they will, because those are the priorities that they set you.
Karen Walker: They want to help and they want to give that input. Yeah, you definitely get that impression again that you're meeting. They know what their priorities are and they know the ones that they're going to be better if they do that through AAPA.
Subhas Menon: Very supportive. Yes.
Karen Walker: May I ask you, from a personal perspective, are you looking to retire or do you anticipate staying connected? Do you have any thoughts at this stage?
Subhas Menon: Well, I definitely want to retire. I mean, I actually retired in 2019 until I was forced by the executive search company. Then I thought, okay, I'm still a little too young. But I have been missing my family a lot. I have three brothers, no sisters, three brothers. They're all retired. They're older than me. So, they have been bugging me for a long time. And we usually make a trip every year, but they say, "Look, we can do more than that, four, five trips a year." I have two children. They're also in Australia. I don't see enough of them. Even my Singapore Airlines career out of 35 years, 21 were overseas and many years I spent away from my children. So I think I will definitely retire, but whether I will stay interested, of course I stay interested, but I won't bug anybody. I don't want to go, “Oh, please bug me.”
Karen Walker: I mean, yes, I mean, you do not just a lot of travel, but a lot of long-haul travel, which creates a lot of distance and everything. So that makes sense. And you totally deserve to put a bit of time into yourself.
Subhas Menon: I want to do other things than work and travel forward while I'm still active and healthy, which is the case now, but you can never take anything for granted.
Karen Walker: Good for you, Subhas. Well, thank you again for your time just now. I really appreciate it. Thank you also for being on our panel. And may I add my name to the very long list of people who acknowledge the incredible work you have done across Singapore Airlines and the AAPA and your dedication to this industry and passion for it, which is what we see so often, but you really are exceptional. So, well done and congratulations. I wish you every happiness and success and I'm sure you will stay connected. You've got too many friends in this industry.
Subhas Menon: Yeah. I mean, what Chumpong said that's now, I think it's very telling. He said he only decided to come on the panel because you were the moderator and that's the way we all feel about you, for the moderator.
Karen Walker: That's very kind.
Subhas Menon: Not just as a moderator, but you're a fantastic, fantastic friend of the industry. Thank you very much. And so thank you for that. And I'm sure my successor will also benefit.
Karen Walker: I'll be bugging him. Don't worry about that. Thank you again, Subhas. Thank you so much also to our producers, Guy Ferneyhough and Cory Hitt, and of course a huge thank you to our listeners. Remember you can follow all our coverage of the air transport news at Singapore Airshow. I apologize that this is a little clunky, but go to aviationweek.com/atw-on-location. And if that's way too unwieldy, it probably is, then just Google "ATW on location" and you'll find us. This is Karen Walker disembarking from Window Seat.
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