South Asian countries have allowed private airlines to fly domestic routes, but the winds of liberalisation have not yet wafted over the region's international carriers. It is still as difficult as ever before to fly between South Asian countries.
Flip through any aviation trade journal today, and the coverage is dominated by the Asia-Pacific, the region with the fastest growing airline market in the world. There are gushing reviews of the annual air shows in Dubai and Singapore and gasps about the phenomenal growth of aviation in the region.
But a note of caution: when they say Asia-Pacific, they do not include South Asia.
As far as the international airline industry is concerned, South Asia is still that four hours of darkness between Burma and Afghanistan that you need to traverse on flights from East Asia to Europe.