The Philippine Star
By Mary Ann LL. Reyes (The Philippine Star) Updated August 07, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Lucio Tan-owned Airphil Express is projecting an increase in its domestic market share this year to 25 percent from 19 percent last year.
From 1.5 million passengers carried last year, Airphil is expecting this to increase to four million in 2011 as the carrier embarks on a major move to offer domestic and Southeast Asian routes from its just announced second hub in Clark.
Airphil is set to extend its operation base to Pampanga with the signing of a contract with the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) which operates the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).
Airphil senior vice president for marketing and sales Alfredo Herrera said this is all in line with their expansion process and consistent with their growth strategy to solidify their position as a key player in the local budget airline market.
With seven Airbus A320s, three Q300s and five Q400 under its wing, the company is increasing its fleet size with the acquisition of two more brand new A320s arriving before yearend and for more next year.
“As end-April this year. Our market share is already at 23 percent. We expect to end the year with 25 percent. Our objective is to be a strong number two,” Herrera said.
For the first half of 2011, he revealed that Airphil had better top and bottom line numbers compared to the same period last year. “Our revenues were better than target but our bottom line was lower than expectation due to higher fuel prices,” Herrera explained.
For his part, CIAC president and CEO Victor Jose Luciano said that with the Clark airport having a catchment population of 25 million from both Central and Northern Luzon, they are developing Clark as part of a twin airport system to complement the Manila airports especially now that NAIA is becoming full and congested. “We are preparing to make Clark in three to five years’ time an international gateway. This partnership between CIAC and Airphil is a big boost to this,” he added.
With more aircraft acquisitions recently, Airphil has been able to expand routes and has commenced its Manila-Tacloban flight and Cebu-Hong kong flight. It will soon launch its Manila-Ozamiz and Davao-Iloilo routes.
Currently, Airphil flies to 25 domestic and two international destinations along with selected domestic flights originating from Davao and Zamboanga.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
AirphilExpress eyes 25% market share by end-2011
Business Mirror
Sunday, 07 August 2011 18:07 Lenie Lectura / Reporter
WITH the scheduled arrival of new aircraft, new routes to explore, and a new hub, low-cost carrier (LCC) AirphilExpress (APX) intends to be a strong second player in the domestic travel sector.
With a market share of 23 percent at end-April, APX aims to increase this to at least 25 percent by the end of the year. It also targets to transport 4 million passengers this year from 1.5 million in 2010.
“We want to be a strong second LCC. We want to narrow that gap with [Cebu Pacific],” said senior vice president for marketing and sales Alfredo Herrera.
APX is 99-percent owned by the Lucio Tan Group of Companies. It is also Philippine Airlines’ budget carrier.
The company announced last week that its two new Airbus A320s are set to arrive this year and four more will come in by next year.
APX will also add domestic and international routes very soon as it expands its presence starting October??in Clark, Pampanga where it will put up a new hub. “AirphilExpress will soon be offering domestic and Southeast Asian routes based in the Clark international airport to serve the growing number of travelers based in the northern regions of the country,” said Herrera. “This is in line with our expansion process and consistent with our growth strategy to solidify our position as a key player in the local budget airline market.”
At present, APX operates from Manila, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga. It flies to 25 domestic and two international destinations—Singapore and Hong Kong. Its fleet is composed of seven A320s, three Q300s and five Q400s. It recently commenced Manila-Tacloban flight, and will soon launch Manila-Ozamiz and Davao-Iloilo routes. A Cebu-Hong Kong flight also debuted in July.
Herrera declined to identify the airline’s planned new routes. “We won’t announce it yet because if we do our competitors will start to bring down fares for those routes,” he said.
APX seeks to corner a considerable share of the budget airline market by offering travelers with more value propositions. Among them are free 15-kilo check-in luggage allowance plus seven-kilo hand-carry baggage that used to be standard among budget carriers.
The airline also offers 20-percent discount to students. It recently launched a customer loyalty program where loyal APX travelers can receive a free ticket after logging in 10 trips.
Sunday, 07 August 2011 18:07 Lenie Lectura / Reporter
WITH the scheduled arrival of new aircraft, new routes to explore, and a new hub, low-cost carrier (LCC) AirphilExpress (APX) intends to be a strong second player in the domestic travel sector.
With a market share of 23 percent at end-April, APX aims to increase this to at least 25 percent by the end of the year. It also targets to transport 4 million passengers this year from 1.5 million in 2010.
“We want to be a strong second LCC. We want to narrow that gap with [Cebu Pacific],” said senior vice president for marketing and sales Alfredo Herrera.
APX is 99-percent owned by the Lucio Tan Group of Companies. It is also Philippine Airlines’ budget carrier.
The company announced last week that its two new Airbus A320s are set to arrive this year and four more will come in by next year.
APX will also add domestic and international routes very soon as it expands its presence starting October??in Clark, Pampanga where it will put up a new hub. “AirphilExpress will soon be offering domestic and Southeast Asian routes based in the Clark international airport to serve the growing number of travelers based in the northern regions of the country,” said Herrera. “This is in line with our expansion process and consistent with our growth strategy to solidify our position as a key player in the local budget airline market.”
At present, APX operates from Manila, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga. It flies to 25 domestic and two international destinations—Singapore and Hong Kong. Its fleet is composed of seven A320s, three Q300s and five Q400s. It recently commenced Manila-Tacloban flight, and will soon launch Manila-Ozamiz and Davao-Iloilo routes. A Cebu-Hong Kong flight also debuted in July.
Herrera declined to identify the airline’s planned new routes. “We won’t announce it yet because if we do our competitors will start to bring down fares for those routes,” he said.
APX seeks to corner a considerable share of the budget airline market by offering travelers with more value propositions. Among them are free 15-kilo check-in luggage allowance plus seven-kilo hand-carry baggage that used to be standard among budget carriers.
The airline also offers 20-percent discount to students. It recently launched a customer loyalty program where loyal APX travelers can receive a free ticket after logging in 10 trips.
Friday, August 5, 2011
AirPhil eyes 25% market share, adds new aircraft
Domestic market seen to continue growth
By: Paolo G. Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:21 pm | Friday, August 5th, 2011
The Lucio Tan group is taking on Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific on all fronts, with budget unit AirPhil Express looking to take a significant bite out of the latter’s market share by the end of this year.
At a press conference Friday, AirPhil Express said it was set to add several more domestic and international destinations to its growing route network as it takes delivery of new aircraft.
Even as the airline industry struggles with high fuel prices, AirPhil Express, the sister company of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), said all airlines were expected to post healthy growth rates this year as more Filipinos start to travel by air.
“Our objective in the medium term is to become a strong number two budget carrier in the country. We want to close the gap with our rival,” AirPhil senior vice president for sales and marketing Alfredo Herrera said.
Cebu Pacific has a market share of 48 percent.
Herrera said AirPhil, for its part, ended last year with a 19-percent share of the local air travel market. By the end of this year, he said the company wanted this number to go up to 25 percent, or the equivalent of four million passengers.
He said the company was expecting to take delivery of two brand-new 180-seater Airbus A320 aircraft this year. Four more are slated to be delivered in 2012, adding to the company’s current fleet of seven jets.
He said industry growth continued to be driven by stiff competition among local players.
“People who have never taken the plane are now traveling by air as much as they can because prices are so reasonable,” Herrera told reporters.
AirPhil announced on Friday that it would put up a hub at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Freeport, Pampanga. Under its memorandum of agreement with Clark International Airport Corp., AirPhil will start operations at the facility by October this year.
Once in Clark, AirPhil will join other budget carriers like Cebu Pacific and Malaysia’s Air Asia that have chosen to put up major hubs at the facility north of Metro Manila. Air Asia’s local unit, Air Asia Philippines, has also chosen Clark as its local hub once it launches its operations later this year.
Aside from offering competitive prices, Herrera said AirPhil was also the only budget carrier that did not charge extra for baggage. The company allows passengers to have 15 kilos of free check-in luggage. It also allows seven kilos of free hand-carry baggage.
“This is an extremely important provision that has been taken for granted and now much appreciated by our passengers,” Herrera said.
By: Paolo G. Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:21 pm | Friday, August 5th, 2011
The Lucio Tan group is taking on Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific on all fronts, with budget unit AirPhil Express looking to take a significant bite out of the latter’s market share by the end of this year.
At a press conference Friday, AirPhil Express said it was set to add several more domestic and international destinations to its growing route network as it takes delivery of new aircraft.
Even as the airline industry struggles with high fuel prices, AirPhil Express, the sister company of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), said all airlines were expected to post healthy growth rates this year as more Filipinos start to travel by air.
“Our objective in the medium term is to become a strong number two budget carrier in the country. We want to close the gap with our rival,” AirPhil senior vice president for sales and marketing Alfredo Herrera said.
Cebu Pacific has a market share of 48 percent.
Herrera said AirPhil, for its part, ended last year with a 19-percent share of the local air travel market. By the end of this year, he said the company wanted this number to go up to 25 percent, or the equivalent of four million passengers.
He said the company was expecting to take delivery of two brand-new 180-seater Airbus A320 aircraft this year. Four more are slated to be delivered in 2012, adding to the company’s current fleet of seven jets.
He said industry growth continued to be driven by stiff competition among local players.
“People who have never taken the plane are now traveling by air as much as they can because prices are so reasonable,” Herrera told reporters.
AirPhil announced on Friday that it would put up a hub at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Freeport, Pampanga. Under its memorandum of agreement with Clark International Airport Corp., AirPhil will start operations at the facility by October this year.
Once in Clark, AirPhil will join other budget carriers like Cebu Pacific and Malaysia’s Air Asia that have chosen to put up major hubs at the facility north of Metro Manila. Air Asia’s local unit, Air Asia Philippines, has also chosen Clark as its local hub once it launches its operations later this year.
Aside from offering competitive prices, Herrera said AirPhil was also the only budget carrier that did not charge extra for baggage. The company allows passengers to have 15 kilos of free check-in luggage. It also allows seven kilos of free hand-carry baggage.
“This is an extremely important provision that has been taken for granted and now much appreciated by our passengers,” Herrera said.
Fuel costs trim airlines' earnings
Manila Bulletin
By JOHN HEILPRIN
August 5, 2011, 1:51pm
GENEVA (AP) – Sky-high fuel prices have hit the profits of the world's airlines though Europe's carriers recovered after suffering last year from a volcanic ash cloud that brought traffic to a standstill, the industry's main lobby group said.
The International Air Transport Association said early results from a sample of airlines globally show they will post $1.04 billion in profits for the second quarter of 2011, a big drop from the $2.88 billion in profits for the same quarter a year earlier.
"The sample is too small as yet to come to clear conclusions but Asian airlines appear to have been under (the) most pressure, whereas European airlines have improved operating profits (partly because second-quarter 2010 results were hit by the ash cloud last year),'' the Geneva-based group said.
Along with Europe's recovery, another bright spot for airlines is that air travel volume overall looks to be expanding at a rate of 4-5 percent a year, IATA said, though air travel and freight dipped lower in June.
But IATA said those sources of revenue have been more than offset by the rise in jet fuel prices above $130 a barrel on worries about supply, which partly reflects the ongoing civil war in Libya.
By JOHN HEILPRIN
August 5, 2011, 1:51pm
GENEVA (AP) – Sky-high fuel prices have hit the profits of the world's airlines though Europe's carriers recovered after suffering last year from a volcanic ash cloud that brought traffic to a standstill, the industry's main lobby group said.
The International Air Transport Association said early results from a sample of airlines globally show they will post $1.04 billion in profits for the second quarter of 2011, a big drop from the $2.88 billion in profits for the same quarter a year earlier.
"The sample is too small as yet to come to clear conclusions but Asian airlines appear to have been under (the) most pressure, whereas European airlines have improved operating profits (partly because second-quarter 2010 results were hit by the ash cloud last year),'' the Geneva-based group said.
Along with Europe's recovery, another bright spot for airlines is that air travel volume overall looks to be expanding at a rate of 4-5 percent a year, IATA said, though air travel and freight dipped lower in June.
But IATA said those sources of revenue have been more than offset by the rise in jet fuel prices above $130 a barrel on worries about supply, which partly reflects the ongoing civil war in Libya.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Tiger Airways remains grounded
Online business reporter Michael Janda
Updated August 01, 2011 12:59:41
Budget airline Tiger Airways will not resume flying until at least August 3, after a court hearing about its grounding was adjourned.
The Federal Court was due to hear an application by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to extend the Tiger grounding, but it and the airline have agreed to adjourn that hearing until August 3.
Both parties agreed to the adjournment to give them time to keep working through the safety issues raised by CASA that triggered the grounding at the start of last month.
Tiger Airways says neither it nor CASA see any point in holding the hearing while they are in ongoing discussions regarding the suspension.
The airline says the adjournment means it will be grounded until at least Wednesday.
Tiger says press reports that it will recommence flights on Friday August 5 are speculation.
The airline says it will make a formal announcement about the resumption of flights at the appropriate time.
Updated August 01, 2011 12:59:41
Budget airline Tiger Airways will not resume flying until at least August 3, after a court hearing about its grounding was adjourned.
The Federal Court was due to hear an application by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to extend the Tiger grounding, but it and the airline have agreed to adjourn that hearing until August 3.
Both parties agreed to the adjournment to give them time to keep working through the safety issues raised by CASA that triggered the grounding at the start of last month.
Tiger Airways says neither it nor CASA see any point in holding the hearing while they are in ongoing discussions regarding the suspension.
The airline says the adjournment means it will be grounded until at least Wednesday.
Tiger says press reports that it will recommence flights on Friday August 5 are speculation.
The airline says it will make a formal announcement about the resumption of flights at the appropriate time.
FAA upgrade essential for tourism growth
Philippine Star
August 1, 2011
There are some basics, not within the jurisdiction of the Tourism Secretary that must be delivered if we are to make any real headway in our tourism program. These are the same basics I have long referred to as the “homework” that must be accomplished even before the Tourism Secretary embarks on road shows abroad. I have said this during the time of former Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and I am saying it again now. Any tourism program foisted on us is just so much hot air unless these basics are met.
First basic requirement is successfully getting ourselves out of the US FAA Category 2 downgrade and taken off the list of countries with a substandard aviation regulatory environment and facilities by European aviation regulators. This Category 2 rating prevents our airlines from increasing their flights to the US or even changing the type of aircrafts our carriers use. Our downgrade also prevents us from getting more European tourists and our airlines from flying to Europe.
I understand that P-Noy has given the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) up to the end of the year to secure this upgrade. We are not holding our breath, however. The new charter for the authority supposedly grants it greater administrative autonomy, allowing it to hire the qualified experts and to change procedures to meet the regulatory standards sought by the FAA. But I understand its personnel are basically the same old incompetent people who caused our downgrade to begin with. The new law should have made it possible to fire everybody and start fresh. Now it seems we still have the same handicap of incompetent staff that may even have established rackets within the agency. We still have check pilots who are retired air force people who are not qualified to fly the planes they are supposed to be check pilots for.
The P-Noy administration may use as an excuse the time it took them to get rid of Ate Glue’s midnight appointee as CAAP head. But I hear from private sector sources dealing with CAAP that P-Noy didn’t do better. The new man he appointed to head CAAP, those in the know tell me, can hardly be described as someone who is up to the daunting challenge. His main credential, I am told, is being the personal pilot of P-Noy and his family in the past.
But things are supposedly moving… whether it is fast enough to matter is another question. A foreign consultant who is said to have helped some other countries successfully deal with a similar downgrade has been hired and is helping work through the requirements. I am also told that newly installed DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas has already met with Tourism Secretary Bertie Lim and both are cognizant of the urgency of getting the FAA credentials.
The urgency of the situation cannot be overemphasized. Because of the downgrade, Philippine Airlines is not allowed to increase its flights from the current 33 frequencies per week. PAL ordered 6 new B777 (370 seats) and delivery started in 2009. PAL could have theoretically deployed these fuel efficient planes to the US, where the Philippine carriers are allowed to fly to 28 points. The Category 2 downgrade prevents PAL from using these brand new airplanes even if these were all manufactured by an American company. The US has also issued an advisory warning US citizens in the Philippines to refrain from using Philippine-based carriers effective since 2008.
The European Union also banned Philippine registered carriers from European skies. The Europeans also warned EU citizens to refrain from using Philippine-based carriers effective from April 1, 2010. This ban caused mass cancellations of European tour groups and is still causing us problems in getting more European tourists to come because the ban prevents the tourists from getting travel insurance that covers domestic flights on Philippine carriers.
The failure of the Arroyo administration to address this problem, despite numerous press releases of deadlines Ms. Arroyo supposedly set, is a serious dereliction of their duty. As the Philippine Travel and Tours Association (PTTA) noted, “the downgrade cast a negative image of the country as an unsafe destination with untrustworthy facilities and infrastructure.” How can we have a tourism promotion campaign if we are officially tagged as unsafe by our current principal markets?
While this unfortunate observation about government aviation facilities and infrastructure may be partly true, in fairness to our airlines, they have been observing international safety standards. Our international pilots, for instance, are licensed by the US FAA and the aircrafts of our airlines are maintained by internationally respected entities like Lufthansa for PAL in a facility at NAIA and Singapore Airlines for Cebu Pacific in a facility in Clark.
PTTA has pointed out that the overall share of US arrivals in total Philippines arrivals between 2007 and 2010 has declined. For the PTTA, however, “the real impact of the FAA downgrading and EU ban is the opportunity cost of forgone traffic that could have been attracted had the downgrading and EU ban not occurred.” One of the biggest opportunity loss is the failure of PAL to deploy its new more fuel efficient B777 fleet to the US and fly to new cities in the US. Cebu Pacific also cannot start a trans-Pacific route with the downgrade in effect.
The FAA downgrade likewise prevents Philippine carriers with smaller aircraft to tap US territories such as Guam. Lance Gokongwei once told me he would have wanted Cebu Pacific to fly to Guam which is within the range of their A320 fleet. The EU blacklisting also prevents Philippine carriers from flying to Europe.
Then there is this other homework… the matter of visas to nationals of the two most important growth markets for travel and tourism in our region: China and India. For some shortsighted reasons, the DFA is said to be reluctant to lift visa requirements because visa fees are a good source of income for our consulates and embassies abroad. The Immigration Bureau is concerned about enforcement capability once the more nationals from these presently restricted nationals come. They should all see the big picture: the benefits expanded tourism will bring to our country.
PAL has started direct flights to New Delhi to start tapping this rich market. I understand the direct flights are nearly empty while those that stop at Bangkok have decent load factors until Bangkok. The Indian government is already giving Filipino nationals visas on arrival, thus promoting India as a tourist destination for Filipinos. But we are not taking advantage of the same opportunity for the return flight because of bureaucratic shortsightedness.
Of course there is the matter of congestion at NAIA, the third homework that must be attended to with a lot more urgency and I do not mean just the terminal buildings. More important, I am told by airline officials that there are no more landing/take off slots to be had at NAIA, which means our ability to increase our visitor numbers is now severely curtailed. We can and we should redirect them to Clark and other open skies airports but we aren’t doing much in that area too.
One last issue --- the common carriers tax is supposedly an irritant with the foreign carriers operating here. The DOF and the BIR have just reiterated the justification for retaining the tax in some form or another. Sources tell me that Bertie is unable to convince Secretary Purisima to see the situation his way… removing the tax will increase flights, bring in more tourists who will spend more and thus the BIR can collect more taxes from the tourism sector.
In a letter to Secretary Purisima, the airlines pointed out that because the tax discriminates against foreign airlines, it negates the potential benefits to the tourism industry of the liberal aviation policies of the Aquino administration. In the meantime, KLM, the only European airline operating a direct flight from Manila to Europe is reportedly seriously considering bypassing us too in exasperation.
As the private tourism sector emphasized to me, we need everyone working in one direction and it is not just the Tourism Secretary’s fault we are getting nowhere. As I have been saying… first things first… let us do our homework and remove the hindrances to a thriving tourism sector before anyone talks marketing on television or international road shows.
Guns vs women
Dr. Ernie E contributed these three top reasons why a lot of men prefer guns over women.
You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.
If you admire a friend’s gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.
You can buy a silencer for a gun.
August 1, 2011
There are some basics, not within the jurisdiction of the Tourism Secretary that must be delivered if we are to make any real headway in our tourism program. These are the same basics I have long referred to as the “homework” that must be accomplished even before the Tourism Secretary embarks on road shows abroad. I have said this during the time of former Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and I am saying it again now. Any tourism program foisted on us is just so much hot air unless these basics are met.
First basic requirement is successfully getting ourselves out of the US FAA Category 2 downgrade and taken off the list of countries with a substandard aviation regulatory environment and facilities by European aviation regulators. This Category 2 rating prevents our airlines from increasing their flights to the US or even changing the type of aircrafts our carriers use. Our downgrade also prevents us from getting more European tourists and our airlines from flying to Europe.
I understand that P-Noy has given the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) up to the end of the year to secure this upgrade. We are not holding our breath, however. The new charter for the authority supposedly grants it greater administrative autonomy, allowing it to hire the qualified experts and to change procedures to meet the regulatory standards sought by the FAA. But I understand its personnel are basically the same old incompetent people who caused our downgrade to begin with. The new law should have made it possible to fire everybody and start fresh. Now it seems we still have the same handicap of incompetent staff that may even have established rackets within the agency. We still have check pilots who are retired air force people who are not qualified to fly the planes they are supposed to be check pilots for.
The P-Noy administration may use as an excuse the time it took them to get rid of Ate Glue’s midnight appointee as CAAP head. But I hear from private sector sources dealing with CAAP that P-Noy didn’t do better. The new man he appointed to head CAAP, those in the know tell me, can hardly be described as someone who is up to the daunting challenge. His main credential, I am told, is being the personal pilot of P-Noy and his family in the past.
But things are supposedly moving… whether it is fast enough to matter is another question. A foreign consultant who is said to have helped some other countries successfully deal with a similar downgrade has been hired and is helping work through the requirements. I am also told that newly installed DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas has already met with Tourism Secretary Bertie Lim and both are cognizant of the urgency of getting the FAA credentials.
The urgency of the situation cannot be overemphasized. Because of the downgrade, Philippine Airlines is not allowed to increase its flights from the current 33 frequencies per week. PAL ordered 6 new B777 (370 seats) and delivery started in 2009. PAL could have theoretically deployed these fuel efficient planes to the US, where the Philippine carriers are allowed to fly to 28 points. The Category 2 downgrade prevents PAL from using these brand new airplanes even if these were all manufactured by an American company. The US has also issued an advisory warning US citizens in the Philippines to refrain from using Philippine-based carriers effective since 2008.
The European Union also banned Philippine registered carriers from European skies. The Europeans also warned EU citizens to refrain from using Philippine-based carriers effective from April 1, 2010. This ban caused mass cancellations of European tour groups and is still causing us problems in getting more European tourists to come because the ban prevents the tourists from getting travel insurance that covers domestic flights on Philippine carriers.
The failure of the Arroyo administration to address this problem, despite numerous press releases of deadlines Ms. Arroyo supposedly set, is a serious dereliction of their duty. As the Philippine Travel and Tours Association (PTTA) noted, “the downgrade cast a negative image of the country as an unsafe destination with untrustworthy facilities and infrastructure.” How can we have a tourism promotion campaign if we are officially tagged as unsafe by our current principal markets?
While this unfortunate observation about government aviation facilities and infrastructure may be partly true, in fairness to our airlines, they have been observing international safety standards. Our international pilots, for instance, are licensed by the US FAA and the aircrafts of our airlines are maintained by internationally respected entities like Lufthansa for PAL in a facility at NAIA and Singapore Airlines for Cebu Pacific in a facility in Clark.
PTTA has pointed out that the overall share of US arrivals in total Philippines arrivals between 2007 and 2010 has declined. For the PTTA, however, “the real impact of the FAA downgrading and EU ban is the opportunity cost of forgone traffic that could have been attracted had the downgrading and EU ban not occurred.” One of the biggest opportunity loss is the failure of PAL to deploy its new more fuel efficient B777 fleet to the US and fly to new cities in the US. Cebu Pacific also cannot start a trans-Pacific route with the downgrade in effect.
The FAA downgrade likewise prevents Philippine carriers with smaller aircraft to tap US territories such as Guam. Lance Gokongwei once told me he would have wanted Cebu Pacific to fly to Guam which is within the range of their A320 fleet. The EU blacklisting also prevents Philippine carriers from flying to Europe.
Then there is this other homework… the matter of visas to nationals of the two most important growth markets for travel and tourism in our region: China and India. For some shortsighted reasons, the DFA is said to be reluctant to lift visa requirements because visa fees are a good source of income for our consulates and embassies abroad. The Immigration Bureau is concerned about enforcement capability once the more nationals from these presently restricted nationals come. They should all see the big picture: the benefits expanded tourism will bring to our country.
PAL has started direct flights to New Delhi to start tapping this rich market. I understand the direct flights are nearly empty while those that stop at Bangkok have decent load factors until Bangkok. The Indian government is already giving Filipino nationals visas on arrival, thus promoting India as a tourist destination for Filipinos. But we are not taking advantage of the same opportunity for the return flight because of bureaucratic shortsightedness.
Of course there is the matter of congestion at NAIA, the third homework that must be attended to with a lot more urgency and I do not mean just the terminal buildings. More important, I am told by airline officials that there are no more landing/take off slots to be had at NAIA, which means our ability to increase our visitor numbers is now severely curtailed. We can and we should redirect them to Clark and other open skies airports but we aren’t doing much in that area too.
One last issue --- the common carriers tax is supposedly an irritant with the foreign carriers operating here. The DOF and the BIR have just reiterated the justification for retaining the tax in some form or another. Sources tell me that Bertie is unable to convince Secretary Purisima to see the situation his way… removing the tax will increase flights, bring in more tourists who will spend more and thus the BIR can collect more taxes from the tourism sector.
In a letter to Secretary Purisima, the airlines pointed out that because the tax discriminates against foreign airlines, it negates the potential benefits to the tourism industry of the liberal aviation policies of the Aquino administration. In the meantime, KLM, the only European airline operating a direct flight from Manila to Europe is reportedly seriously considering bypassing us too in exasperation.
As the private tourism sector emphasized to me, we need everyone working in one direction and it is not just the Tourism Secretary’s fault we are getting nowhere. As I have been saying… first things first… let us do our homework and remove the hindrances to a thriving tourism sector before anyone talks marketing on television or international road shows.
Guns vs women
Dr. Ernie E contributed these three top reasons why a lot of men prefer guns over women.
You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.
If you admire a friend’s gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.
You can buy a silencer for a gun.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Indonesia's Garuda airline pilots strike
Manila Bulletin
July 29, 2011, 3:55pm
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Pilots with state-run carrier Garuda Indonesia went on a 24-hour strike over pay and working conditions Thursday, but there appeared to be no major disruption in service.
The work stoppage was called after talks between the 600-strong union and management fell apart.
The airline's local pilots claim they earn up to 30 percent less than its foreign pilots and want that fixed.
"We just want to be heard,'' said Capt. Stephanus Geraldus, chairman of the Garuda's Pilot Association. "Not only are we underpaid, we're overworked.''
"The board of directors should know all this undermines safety.'' It was not clear how many pilots joined in the strike.
Geraldus said 500 initially agreed to take part, but some were eventually convinced to fly Thursday. He did not elaborate.
Garuda, which has 900 pilots and 395 flights daily, leased a new fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation last year but the planes were forced to sit in hangars for months because there were not enough pilots to fly them.
Rather than risking further financial losses, the airline brought in about 40 foreigners to operate the new planes and train new pilots.
Garuda, which also flies to Europe and the Middle East, said it would make sure operations continued to run normally Thursday.
There were enough non-striking pilots to keep things running, the carrier said, and it was ready to move pilots from administrative jobs to the cockpit, if necessary.
Flight instructors also were on standby.
There were no signs of long lines or stranded passengers at the main airport in the capital, Jakarta.
Ari Sapari, Garuda's chief operating officer, said while there had been a few delays across the country of 240 million, more than 50 flights had taken off normally by midmorning.
July 29, 2011, 3:55pm
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Pilots with state-run carrier Garuda Indonesia went on a 24-hour strike over pay and working conditions Thursday, but there appeared to be no major disruption in service.
The work stoppage was called after talks between the 600-strong union and management fell apart.
The airline's local pilots claim they earn up to 30 percent less than its foreign pilots and want that fixed.
"We just want to be heard,'' said Capt. Stephanus Geraldus, chairman of the Garuda's Pilot Association. "Not only are we underpaid, we're overworked.''
"The board of directors should know all this undermines safety.'' It was not clear how many pilots joined in the strike.
Geraldus said 500 initially agreed to take part, but some were eventually convinced to fly Thursday. He did not elaborate.
Garuda, which has 900 pilots and 395 flights daily, leased a new fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation last year but the planes were forced to sit in hangars for months because there were not enough pilots to fly them.
Rather than risking further financial losses, the airline brought in about 40 foreigners to operate the new planes and train new pilots.
Garuda, which also flies to Europe and the Middle East, said it would make sure operations continued to run normally Thursday.
There were enough non-striking pilots to keep things running, the carrier said, and it was ready to move pilots from administrative jobs to the cockpit, if necessary.
Flight instructors also were on standby.
There were no signs of long lines or stranded passengers at the main airport in the capital, Jakarta.
Ari Sapari, Garuda's chief operating officer, said while there had been a few delays across the country of 240 million, more than 50 flights had taken off normally by midmorning.
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