Air Asia expansion worries Philippines
MANILA, 17 December 2010- Philippine carriers said Friday they were bracing for tougher competition after Southeast Asia’s budget carrier boss, Tony Fernandes, announced plans to set up a joint venture airline in the country.
AirAsia Philippines, scheduled to fly in August next year, is expected to go head-to-head with the country’s top budget carrier, Cebu Pacific, and Airphil Express, the low-cost unit of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL).
AirAsia mulls Philippines venture
December 9, 2010 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
KUALA LUMPUR, 9 December 2010 – Southeast Asia’s biggest budget carrier AirAsia plans to launch a joint venture airline operation in the Philippines in 2011, an official involved in the negotiations said Wednesday.
“The partnership deal is with a consortium of Philippine business leaders including Antonio Cojuangco (former chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.),” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Cojuangco is president Benigno Aquino’s cousin.
Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia has set up similar joint ventures in Thailand and Indonesia and has previously announced plans to set up a unit in Vietnam. Read more
SEAIR flies to Singapore
December 9, 2010 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
MANILA, 9 December 2010 – Philippine budget carrier South East Air Lines said Wednesday it will begin overseas flights from next week, with a service to Singapore and added that it would introduce more routes in the New Year.
SEAIR will launch the service, 16 December, flying a leased Airbus A319 from its base at Clark Airport north of Manila, said its president Avelino Zapanta.
“The introduction of these new flights will create a welcome boost to the Philippine tourism industry and create more high-calibre local jobs,” said Zapanta, a former president of flag carrier Philippine Airlines.
Flights to Hong Kong, Macau and Bangkok are also planned to take of some time next year when SEAIR gets its second Airbus, the company said. Read more
Philippines’ airline safety check shelved
MANILA, 25 November 2010 – The Philippines said Wednesday its bid for a swift exit from blacklists of countries deemed to have unsafe aviation had suffered a setback after international regulators shelved a visit next month.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation suggested reforms undertaken since 2008 could be at risk over purported political interference, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAC) chief Alfonso Cusi said.
Philippines dumps tourism campaign
MANILA, 23 November 2010 – The Philippines said Monday it had abandoned a new tourism campaign that quickly turned into a public relations disaster amid allegations of plagiarism and links to pornography.
The tourism ministry announced it had ditched its “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” (Philippines What a Beauty) project after President Benigno Aquino added his voice to widespread criticism of the campaign.
PAL outlines negatives in bid for recovery
MANILA, 22 November 2010 – Philippine Airlines (PAL) has warned that a possible resurgence of bird flu and a rise in fuel prices could hurt its fledgling recovery from economic woes.
The warning comes as the national flag carrier is dealing with the fallout of a bloody hostage-taking in Manila in August that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
Philippines hopes to get off blacklist
MANILA, 15 November 2010 – The Philippines hopes soon to be removed from blacklists of countries deemed to have unsafe aviation, paving the way for its flag carrier to add US flights and return to Europe, a regulator said last Friday.
Philippine airlines were stopped from expanding services to the United States in 2008 and banned from Europe in March this year over concerns airline safety was not being overseen according to international standards.
Cebu Pacific expands in Asia
MANILA, 5 November 2010 – Budget Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific said Friday it would expand its Asian operations next month after taking delivery of new Airbus planes.
The airline raised 23.3 billion pesos (US$54.82 million) last month in the country’s biggest initial public offering in dollar terms, and will use some of the money to pay for the new aircraft.
Cebu said in a statement it would run five flights daily between Manila and Hong Kong, up from four a day, and the Singapore service would be boosted by seven flights a week to 32.
Cebu Pacific floats IPO
MANILA, 11 October 2010 – Budget carrier Cebu Pacific said Friday it hopes to raise up to US$620 million in what could be the Philippines’ largest initial public offering this year.
In a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange the airline said the final offer price would be 125 pesos per common share.
The company, the country’s largest budget carrier by fleet and sales, is selling up to 214.63 million common shares to raise funds to expand its fleet.
Government bans PAL strike
MANILA, 7 October 2010 – The government on Wednesday banned a planned strike by Philippine Airlines cabin crew and ordered the union and the flag carrier to submit to arbitration, a union official said.
“This means we cannot pursue the process we have initiated, and at the same time the company will not be able to do anything against the union members,” union leader Andy Ortega told AFP after receiving a labour ministry order.
