I slightly disagree. There is a lot of fraud in the UK and consumer protection is very high - often at the expense of the merchant. Even if a cardholder is negligent, they are not responsible for transactions they didn't carry out. Chargebacks are much more likely. Yet UK LCCs never ask for CCs at check-in.

I think there is a cultural element. European carriers balance a level of lost revenue against service to customers. If Easyjet/Ryanair started asking for CCs at check-in, it would increase costs (labour being more costly in the UK) and there would be endless disputes with people who had lost their cards/forgotten them etc.

I feel Asian carriers struggle with the concept of risk assessment. They don't like any risk when it comes to not receiving money that is due. A bad debt is very visible. The "lost" business through a strict approach is intangible and doesn't show up in figures. Also, I feel Asian customers are just generally more accepting of bureaucratic procedures put upon them. They are used to getting stuff endlessly stamped, authorised, endorsed etc. A more suspicious attitude prevails.

Apologies for the stereotyping!