Opening ASEAN's Skies, the ASEAN Way : Lessons from the European Experience and the Prospects of an Integrated Aviation Market

In an integrated regional economy, connectivity is vital to facilitate efficient and expedited cross-border trade and travel. Hence, it was not surprising that the establishment of the common market in Europe and the ASEAN Economic Community in Southeast Asia have been accompanied by measures to establish a Single Aviation Market (SAM). Presently, the EU already has a fully integrated aviation market. ASEAN aims to achieve the same by next year but the prospects of it actually happening are not really bright. Thus, are there any lessons that ASEAN can take from EU's experience in establishing its own SAM within a landscape of regionalism and integration? Extending the concept of SAM, EU and ASEAN are now considering the possibility of having an open skies agreement between them. The proposed agreement, in itself, has the potential to change the landscape of the international aviation industry due to the huge market base of both regions and the growing importance of ASEAN in the global economy. With the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM) still not in place, what will then the future hold for the EU-ASEAN open skies agreement?