Airlines, Airplanes and Airports - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 21

niconepo

December 27th, 2006, 07:38 AM

An excerpt from the book "Airlines of Asia since 1920" by R.E.G. Davies. Paladwr Press. McLean, VA: 1997. pages 278-327.

"Today's Philippine Airlines can trace its heritage back to 1930. On 30 December 1930, the Philippine Aerial Taxi Company (PATCO) was organized by a group of investors, mainly American, but most notably Andres Soriano, president of the San Miguel Brewery. Soriano, a man of considerable influence in the Philippines, nevertheless maintained his Spanish citizenship, in common with many of the leading figures of Filipino society."

"PATCO was formed to carry bullion, personel, supplies, and equipment to the mines owned by the shareholders, but it began non-scheduled flights for the public on 31 March 1931, and converted the Manila-Baguio service to a regular schedule on 24 December 1931, using single-engined Stitson and Waco planes." Following the disappearance of a PATCO aircraft on 28 February 1938, the Philippine Bureau of Posts advised the company that it could not continue operations with single-engined aircraft. In September 1939, PATCO went into bankruptcy and ceased operations."

The Establishment of Philippine Airlines

"Late in 1940 Paul Gunn, A. Soriano's personal pilot, and with memories of PATCO in the 1930s, suggested to his employer that the time was right to start again. On February 26, 1941, Philippine Airways was incorporated. Of the 1000 shares, 225 were held by Soriano, who contibuted his personal Beech 18 plane; 495 by Juan Elizalde, who provided a Beech 17 Staggerwing. Other shares were held by members of the Soriano organization and Gunn was put in charge of operations."

"On March 10 1941, a contract was signed by the airline with Soriano and Cia for management services, at a monthly fee. This interlocking relationship would continue as a feature of Philippine airline life for many years, under different ownerships, and would later be the subject of investigation by the authorities for blatant abuse; but at this stage of early development, it seemed to be a sensible solution. On March 13 1941, the name had to be changed to Philippine Air Lines, because of a previous registration by a company of the Airways name in 1937, but which had not operated. But two days later, Paul Gunn piloted the first PAL flight, with a Beech 18, from Manila's Neilson Airport to Baguio. On March 17, Elizalde's Staggerwing began service to Legaspi, and with the delivery of a 2nd Beech 19, on April 9 the route network was expanded to include Daet, Naga, Masbate, Tacloban, and Cebu. Fares were set at P0.20 per mile, and gold bullion was flown into Manila from both Baguio and Paracale."

niconepo

December 27th, 2006, 07:58 AM

An excerpt from the book "Airlines of Asia since 1920" by R.E.G. Davies. Paladwr Press. McLean, VA: 1997. pages 278-327.

"With the approval of President Quezon, the Philippine government invested in the airline, through the National Development Corporation, whose 34% investment increased the capital to P1,000,000. With this funding, Soriano ordered two Lockheed Lodestars. But such plans, which included an overseas route to Hong Kong, came to nothing, as the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941."

"PAL's Beeches and other assorted airplanes became part of the famous "Bamboo Fleet" that evacuated US pilots to Australia and brought back medical supplies. Many heroic missions were made, including one by Paul Gunn himself who, after a crash landing in Mindanao, after an encouter with a Japanese Zero fighter, managed to repair and fly a B-17 bomber to Australia."

During the war, PAL Chairman Andres Soriano as the Finance Minister of the Philippine Government-in-exile was in the U.S. seeking investors for PAL after the war. TWA (Trans World Airlines) showed great interest.

niconepo

December 27th, 2006, 08:17 AM

An excerpt from the book "Airlines of Asia since 1920" by R.E.G. Davies. Paladwr Press. McLean, VA: 1997. pages 278-327.

PAL's main competitor in the 1940s was in the form of Iloilo-Negros Air Express (pre-war) and Far Eastern Air Transport Inc (post-war). Guess who owned the two airlines? Believe it or not, it was Eugenio Lopez of ABS-CBN fame! FEATI was actually bigger than PAL, and it started international flights to Hong Kong and Bangkok on May 1946, and used four-engined DC-4s to Cebu, Iloilo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, while PAL only had DC-3s.

Here's the story of PAL's fabled Trans-Pacific flight:

"Although the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board declined FEATI's application for a permament scheduled Trans-Pacific route, Lopez did begin non-scheduled sercice to Oakland, CA on Dec. 15, 1946. But this show of confidence was rudely shaken when following a DC-3 crash on 13 December with 13 deaths, and a DC-4 crash landing off Laoag with 6 people drowned, the FEATI fleet was grounded, and the door was open for Soriano to profit from his competitor's misfortunes."

"The old campaigner Soriano had not been idle. The 2 airlines had gone head to head in gaining the favor of air transport officials, and although PAL did not possess 4-engined planes, it took steps to begin operations with leased aircraft. In the elections of 1946, Soriano backed Senator Manuel A Roxas, but Lopez backed President Sergio Osmena. Both airlines were operating converted C-47s (military DC-3s), fitted with military-style bucket seating, primitive lavatories, no ventilation or soundproofing, and with food service consisting of sandwiches and vacuum-flasked coffee. Maintenance was in the open air and PAL's spare parts store was in the basement of a house near the airport."

"Because of some smart and prompt negotiations, Soriano and PAL were able to begin trans-Pacific, non-scheduled, but fairly frequent flights on 31 July 1946. DC-4s, fitted with 40 seats, were leased from TransOcean Airlines, the innovative and opportunist non-scheduled US airline based in Oakland, and headed by the inspirational Orvis Nelson, who recognized the opportunities offered by a US West Coast shipping strike. The 41-hour trip was routed via Guam, Kwajelein, and Honolulu, and was the first Trans-Pacific service by any Asian airline. Flown by a Transocean cre, the cabin staff were Filipinos who had to cook meals, clean the lavatories, and fend off the amourous advances of the passengers. The service improved to the status of a scheduled trans-Pacifi route on 3 December 1946. Pan American World Airways did not begin its post-War Trans-Pacific flights until 20 January 1947 with DC-4s."

niconepo

December 27th, 2006, 08:32 AM

An excerpt from the book "Airlines of Asia since 1920" by R.E.G. Davies. Paladwr Press. McLean, VA: 1997. pages 278-327.

By 1947, PAL was clearly the victory in the airline wars, with PAL gaining the Philippine government's support and became the designated scheduled air carrier for the Philippines in aviation treaties with other countries, while FEATI was relegated to non-scheduled status. PAL's fleet was bigger than FEATI's with 16 DC-3s, 3 Beech 18s, and 5 DC-4s.

"After the immediate postwar boom was over, the Philippine government made it clear that it would support only 1 airlines, and invited the 2 competitors to work things out-although the scales were heavily weighted on Soriano's side. Facing the inevitable, Eugenio Lopez sold FEATI to PAL for P3,400,000, and PAL promptly raised its capital to P10,000,000. The date of the critical merger was 3 May 1947, a doubly historic occasion, as on the same day, PAL now carrying the flag of the infant nation, inagurated service to Europe. The aircragt was a Transocean DC-4, again with Transocean flight crew and Filipino cabin staff, and was routed to Madrid, with overnight stops at Calcutta, Karachi, and Cairo. The journey took 3 days to complete, unpressurized, one-way."

niconepo

December 27th, 2006, 08:49 AM

An excerpt from the book "Airlines of Asia since 1920" by R.E.G. Davies. Paladwr Press. McLean, VA: 1997. pages 278-327.

PAL Spans the World

"Early in 1948, PAL began to move its operations from Nielson Field to Nichols Field. Nichols soon became Manila International Airport. On May 23, the first DC-6 arrived, and was put into trans-Pacific service 6 days later. Named Bataan, was dubbed Pacific Pacemaker and it cut the time across the Pacific from 41 to 30 hours, stopping at Wake Island instead of Kwajalein. The aircraft had 52 seats, alternatively 26 sleeping bunks. The 2nd DC-6, Leyte, was put into service on 26 May to Shanghai-a short-lived route as the disruption of daily affairs in China between the Nationalists and Communists led to the suspension of services to the city on 1 September 1948."

"But the loss of service to China was compensated for by the additional service to Europe. Rome was added as an intermediate stop and an extension was made from Madrid to London. Bangkok was also included in the route. The 5 DC-4s were sold and additional DC-6s were ordered. Of the corporation's shareholding, 70% was Filipino (53% Philippine government, 17% Soriano interests); and 30% American (7% of which was held by Trans World Airlines and 8% held by Transocean Airlines)."

"On 26 January 1949, PAL opened a service to Tokyo, with the DC-6 Manila. The following month, after 2 60-seat DC-4s were delivered, PAL offered the first coach-class service in Asia to Tokyo and Hong Kong. Things were going well. Soriano announced a good profit and continued to waive the management fees of his own company. In June, the capital was increased to -12,000,000, and Soriano acquired the Transocean shares, to become the dominant stockholder. The 4th DC-6 Mindoro, was delivered on 25 October 1949 and placed immediately on the European service; but in spite of a brave front, PAL's financial position was deteriorating, partly in the face of considerable activity by European airlines in providing service to Asia."

"PAL was considered to be well-established airline in Asia, that in July 1951 sent a delegation and a DC-3 to Japan to assist the country in its airline industry. PAL and Transocean helped train the Japanese technicians and specialists in starting up the postwar Japan Air Lines, and the PAL DC-3 was the first civil aircraft to operate a passenger service in Japan as it rose from the ashes of defeat"

...to be continued, unless anyone disagrees? I got these excerpts from my book: "Airlines of Asia since 1920" by R.E.G. Davies. Paladwr Press. McLean, VA: 1997. It was really expensive when I bought it in 2002 ($60), but it was worth the cost. An excellent history book on Asia's airlines. I was bored, so I posted the parts pertaining to PAL's history, and I will only such parts, unless you have a special request(i.e. the story of Singapore Airlines' Concorde service, the history of JAL, etc).

oz.fil

December 27th, 2006, 02:24 PM

oooh the concorde story would be nice... great story about PAL, was a great airline... and still kinda is ;)

kiretoce

December 27th, 2006, 02:51 PM

^^ PAL's steadily regaining it's place again in the aviation world....

The other factor that makes 2006 such a great year for Tan is the return to sustained profitability of Philippine Airlines. In the current fiscal year ending March 2007, PAL will register a profit for the third year in a row, thanks to savvy management by Tan’s chief financial officer, Jaime Bautista, the PAL president. PAL had eaten up about $1 billion of Tan’s money before Bautista engineered a turnaround. PAL made $17.6 million in fiscal year 2005 and $28.7 million in fiscal year 2006 and will probably hit a new level of income in 2007. It is undertaking a massive refleeting program intended to make Asia’s oldest airline into a carrier with one of the youngest fleets in the region.

nab_uang

December 28th, 2006, 02:50 PM

AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2006 - RESULTS

British Airways has been announced as the 2006 Airline of the Year in the World Airline Awards. In second place is Qantas .... with the 2005 winner, Cathay Pacific, ranked in 3rd position for 2006.

BRITISH AIRWAYS Commercial Director, Martin George, said ... "We are delighted to have won the prestigious accolade of airline of the year. The World Airline Awards are judged by the people whose opinions we value the most - our customers. We thank them for their continued support of British Airways. The award demonstrates yet again that British Airways is offering the service our customers expect and considered among the best performing and popular airlines in the world. We will continue to invest in our people and products to offer the excellent service our customers have come to expect".

THE WORLD'S TOP AIRLINES - 2006

AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2006

Rank

Airline

1 British Airways

2 Qantas Airways

3 Cathay Pacific

4 Thai Airways

5 Emirates

6 Qatar Airways

7 Singapore Airlines

8 A N A

9 Malaysia Airlines

10 China Airlines

© Skytrax Research

Commenting on the World Airline Awards, Edward Plaisted (CEO, Skytrax) said

......"the World Airline Survey is recognised across the globe as the leading independent monitor of passenger opinions - the survey process offering the only truly worldwide project, with open and uninfluenced results. The final total of 13.61 million eligible, completed survey interviews was beyond our expectations, and we extend a very big thank you to all those customers who participated."

"Our congratulations go to the 2006 Airline of the Year winner, British Airways. In contrast to several previous year surveys, we found that the level of nominations for British Airways by their premium passengers was proportionately much higher than that of other airlines in the Top 10 rankings - clearly they are doing something right in that particular market. An airline undergoing considerable changes and cutting product levels to compete across Europe with the low-cost airline competition, a key element to emerge in the passenger voting for British Airways was that it performs well in terms of general product and service consistency."

Contrasting with the higher support for British Airways from their premium customers, the final rankings for Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and Emirates were much more influenced by nominations from their Economy class customers.

"Qantas takes the 2nd place Silver Award, repeating their 2004/5 performance, and demonstrating that they are well-established amongst the top quality airlines in the world. A strong performer in other 2006 Category Awards, we will be watching with interest to see if they can push themselves into the top position next year!" added Plaisted.

The 2005 winner, Cathay Pacific, was ranked in 3rd position for the 2006 World Airline Awards, with Thai Airways in 4th place, and Emirates in 5th. Thai Airways enjoyed further success in the Awards, being named as Worlds Best Cabin Staff for 2006.

Continuing its upward rise in the Award rankings, Qatar Airways takes 6th position (up from 8th in 2005), ahead of Singapore Airlines (SIA) in 7th - SIA being a previous Airline of the Year winner in 2004. Qatar Airways strong performance extended to winning the Awards for Best Airline Middle East, together with achieving 2nd place worldwide in the Best Cabin Staff category.

Japan's ANA is another airline that improved on its previous-year ranking, moving into 8th place for 2006 (from 10th last year). A regular top 10 performer, Malaysia Airlines ranks 9th this year, slipping slightly from 6th position in 2005. The final Top 10 place goes to Taiwan's China Airlines, making a jump of 6 places from their 2005 ranking.

"We are already in planning for the 2006/7 World Airline Survey" said Plaisted, "and expect even wider coverage as more language options are offered up for online completion. This past year, we were able to provide English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese versions to our Business Research Group members, and clearly it is going to be beneficial to extend that across many more customers for the upcoming survey."

"The range of results published in the 2006 Awards are more extensive than ever before, and I hope you will take a few minutes to explore around the different categories. Like so many things in life, what is good for one is not for another .... what you like, I may not - but what I hope is properly represented across the World Airline Awards is the opinion of the majority" added Plaisted.

Source (http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Awards-2006/AirlineYear-2006.htm)

kiretoce

December 28th, 2006, 03:44 PM

AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2006

01 British Airways
02 Qantas Airways
03 Cathay Pacific
04 Thai Airways
05 Emirates
06 Qatar Airways
07 Singapore Airlines
08 ANA
09 Malaysia Airlines
10 China Airlines

:eek: Whoa! I'm surprised to see SQ has fallen out of the Top-Five rankings, does this mean that CX and TG now have far more superior products and services? :okay:

tigidig14

December 29th, 2006, 04:37 AM

^whats the abbreviated letter means?

aUen

December 29th, 2006, 05:35 AM

^^SQ is Singapore Airlines, CX is Cathay Pacific, and TG is Thai Airways International.

:eek: Whoa! I'm surprised to see SQ has fallen out of the Top-Five rankings, does this mean that CX and TG now have far more superior products and services? :okay:I wonder what made Singapore rank lower than Cathay, Thai, and Emirates. For sure, the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport was a plus for Thai. Singapore might make it to top five again next year because of the introduction of their new products.

3 OneWorld members on top 3, good job! Sadly, no Skyteam member made it to top 10.

kiretoce

December 29th, 2006, 03:26 PM

OneWorld rules! :righton: I like them better than Star or SkyTeam. I hope that PAL will join OneWorld in the future since they already have codeshare/interline agreements with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Quantas. :okay:

terrapinoy

December 29th, 2006, 04:56 PM

Amazing list. I wonder when the last time a US based airline cracked the top ten list. Right now, Continental or Hawaiian ,IMHO, are the only two that would even come close to top 20.

@kiretoce - You're right. The Skyteam alliance looks pretty weak with Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines. I only like Korean, Continental and KLM from their offering.

kiretoce

December 29th, 2006, 06:45 PM

^^ Northwest-KLM should have just stayed put since they were the first ever airline alliance anyway, but Air France took over KLM which brought the pairing into the SkyTeam fold, also Continental already has established agreements with Northwest, that made the decision to join more enticing, but it all worked out for the best. :colgate:

Skyblade

December 30th, 2006, 04:35 AM

:eek: Whoa! I'm surprised to see SQ has fallen out of the Top-Five rankings, does this mean that CX and TG now have far more superior products and services? :okay:
And it's just now one up from NH! I'm also surprised to see MH busted down to 9th as TG moving up! A sign that standards are continuing to move higher among other airlines and definitely a benefit for us travellers! :okay:

...but it all worked out for the best. :colgate:
Especially for us in the WorldPerks crowd. :D

Lili

December 30th, 2006, 04:55 AM

I'm surprised about British Airways. My legs were so cramped when I flew in one. And imagine, I'm petite. The British guy beside me had to sit sideways so the aisle can accommodate his long legs.

jef7

January 1st, 2007, 09:20 AM

I'm surprised about British Airways. My legs were so cramped when I flew in one. And imagine, I'm petite. The British guy beside me had to sit sideways so the aisle can accommodate his long legs.

Most definitely, any rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. In this case, Skytrax so called ranking is just a sham. How could China Airlines make it, while New Zealand didn't even make it to top 10? BA ahead of CX, and TG ahead of SQ?

I don't think so. In my opinion, this list is simply quite erroneous.

tigidig14

January 1st, 2007, 06:19 PM

baka meron silang poll o survey at yung personal perspective mo ay hindi part nun

btw pang ilan ang Phil Airlines PAL o ang cebupacific

nab_uang

January 1st, 2007, 11:46 PM

Philippines AirLines (http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/PR.htm) had received a ranking 3 STAR AIRLINES.

Full list of ranking 3 STAR AIRLINES (http://www.airlinequality.com/StarRanking/3star.htm)

And The "ultimate" ranking, 5 STAR AIRLINES, awarded to airlines with the highest Quality performance.

Cathay Pacific Airways
Malaysia Airlines
Qatar Airways
Singapore Airlines

Source (http://www.airlinequality.com/StarRanking/5star.htm)

tigidig14

January 2nd, 2007, 02:41 AM

they didnt include cebu pacific. why is that?

jef7

January 2nd, 2007, 03:51 AM

baka meron silang poll o survey at yung personal perspective mo ay hindi part nun

The methodology is outlined right here tigs.

http://www.worldairlineawards.com/main/mthds.htm

It is mainly a 'selective survey', thus a popularity contest, and the results are always subjective.

My main point is the suggestion to take surveys like this with great skepticism. In fact, the list is already old. Since its publication last June, some of the carriers have updated their premium offerings. As you probably already know, SQ for example has introduced its new First class seats, the biggest in the sky, with an unbelievble 23-inch high-resolution widescreen LCD monitor!

Lastly, you know there is something wrong with the list when British Airways' own frequent fliers take the top honor with disbelief and disgust :lol:.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=566486

nab_uang

January 2nd, 2007, 02:17 PM

they didnt include cebu pacific. why is that?

next year, we will see and rank cebu pacific under Low-cost Airline category...

nab_uang

January 2nd, 2007, 09:15 PM

PAL optimistic about 2007 with re-fleeting program
StarStar - Cebu
01/03/07

After taking a bruising from external challenges, especially volatile jet fuel prices, in 2006, Philippine Airlines (PAL) prepares to enter the new year with fresh hope that recently launched aircraft and product enhancements will strengthen its competitive position in 2007.

“It was a challenging year,” PAL president Jaime Bautista said.

From 2005 to 2006, oil price spikes has been the flag carrier’s biggest challenge as prices hit record-high levels.

The benchmark Mean of Platts Singapore price opened the year in the $70-per-barrel range, shot up to the high $80-to-$90 range in July and August, before dropping back the mid-$70s band again as 2006 ended.

As a result, fuel represented a bigger portion of PAL’s operating expenses in 2006 than in previous years.

To adjust to the situation, PAL implemented a fuel conservation program that yielded initial annual savings of about $2 million, an amount expected to grow over time.

PAL also embarked on a major cost-reduction and efficiency program encompassing all aspects of its operations.

Despite this and other challenges, the airline is expected to conclude its current fiscal year, which ends in March 2007, with a respectable net income. PAL entered rehabilitation in 1999.

PAL posted consecutive annual profits of $17.6 million in fiscal 2004 to 2005 and $28.7 million in 2005-2006.

The flag carrier is entering 2007 on a roll, having just kick-started its ambitious fleet modernization program in late 2006. It started with the single-aisle component last Oct. 20, unveiling the first of up to 20 brand-new Airbus A320-family aircraft.

Two more aircraft has joined the fleet and PAL is scheduled to take delivery of eight jets this year. By the time the major part of the re-fleeting is completed in December 2008, PAL will be operating one of the youngest narrow-body fleets in the world.

The upgrading of the wide-body fleet is not far behind. Last Dec. 7, PAL announced the acquisition of up to six brand-new Boeing 777-300 extended range aircraft over the next six years. The first deliveries will be in 2009.

The high-technology B777-300ER is the world’s largest long-range twin-engine jetliner and is an ideal complement to the Boeing 747-400, PAL’s long-range flagship, on the vital trans-Pacific routes to Hawaii, the US West Coast and Canada.
“The whole industry is poised for growth,” said Bautista.

For 2007, he said PAL will “keep (its) eyes focused on the bottom line.”

“Also, we should not lose sight of the top line — revenues, traffic and load factors,” he said. (PR)

xzibit31

January 3rd, 2007, 09:47 AM

i just talked with a friend regarding terminal 1....

he told me that talks are in progress with regrads to cebupac's taking over terminal 1 for their operations. this means that all domestic, regional, and international flights of cebupac will originate from terminal 1.

he also told me that 10 new a320's will be delivered to cebupac this year to agument their present fleet. this means that cebupac will have 22 planes. with cebupac having 22 planes, it is logical that they transfer to terminal 1. because if they stay at the present terminal, delays, congestion, and hot heads will happen. at its present state, cebupac is already experiencing delays in almost all of their domestic flights because of limited space at the domestic terminal.

what do you think? is this a good move for cebupac?

stephencua

January 3rd, 2007, 10:50 AM

you mean to say they are talking about this supposed takeover because terminal 3 will be operational this year?

ianers_ianized

January 3rd, 2007, 05:16 PM

kiretoce

January 3rd, 2007, 11:30 PM

Cusi announces P4.46 revenue collection; 15% up

Manila International Airport Authority posted a gross collection of P4.4 billion from January to October last year or 15 percent higher than 2005 figures.

General Manager Alfredo Cusi said the total earnings would reach by another P300 million with the entries of the two remaining months despite delays in imposing additional charges.

“Notwithstanding the non-implementation of the security, the net income after tax of the MIAA amounted to a noteworthy P608 million,” he said.

Meanwhile, the office said the P200-increase in the terminal fee was reset to Jan. 15.

During the same period that raked in a higher revenue take, international airport operations increased 2 percent for flight passenger movements and 1 percent for cargo handling.

Flight and passenger turnover for domestic operations increased 16 percent, versus cargo which decreased 7 percent against the previous year.

Cusi said the MIAA was able to collect from other private firms with deliquent accounts, including the Philippine Airlines which ballooned to P2.9 billion in aeronautical fees.

Apart from the improved coffers, he also cited improvement in facilities through the repair and upgrading of runway 13-31 for P313 million and the re-piping of irrigation at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal-2 and the purchase of additonal x-ray machines for the arrival and departure areas to beef up security.

kiretoce

January 3rd, 2007, 11:40 PM

Tiger Airways looks to retailing for business model
By Bradley Perrett 12/31/2006

Singapore's Tiger Airways is turning itself into a franchise business like a fast-food chain, sidestepping restrictions on traffic rights in Southeast Asia and, in effect, forming an airline alliance in which the affiliated carriers trade solely under the brand of the group, not under their own names.

Rivals AirAsia and Jetstar have already gone some way down the same road, but Tiger Chief Executive Tony Davis is pushing harder. He tells Aviation Week & Space Technology he's negotiating to set up at least five franchisees in other countries, adding to the first, a Philippine carrier that signed up last year.

Again like a fast-food chain, senior management will concentrate on running the group. "The responsibility for delivery will be with the local management teams," he says.

"Our role model is not the traditional airline industry," he adds. "It is looking at the retail industry; it is a focus on retailing and distribution."

The resulting airline franchise chain is "a bit like the alliance concept except taking the alliance brand to be the master brand."

To the customer this looks like a single airline with no obvious nationality. To the franchisees, it's a way to get scale efficiencies in a region of many small economies, each jealously regulating access to its own aviation market.

The idea isn't entirely new, even in Southeast Asia. AirAsia comprises three carriers: the main business based in Malaysia and two 49%-owned affiliates, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia. They all trade as AirAsia and integrate booking systems, marketing, aircraft acquisitions and maintenance, which is also how the Tiger franchise chain is intended to operate.

Similarly, Qantas budget carrier Jetstar has an affiliate, Jetstar Asia, based in Singapore.

The difference between Tiger and its rivals is that whereas AirAsia and Jetstar have flourishing home-market businesses and only small affiliates, Tiger has little choice but to fully embrace the franchise business model and turn itself into the head office of an aviation version of Burger King. Singapore itself is too small and too contested to support a big budget carrier.

And Davis, formerly the managing director of British budget carrier BMI Baby, is really thinking more about selling than flying. "The strength of the business model is in the distribution and the brand. Where we have an advantage is that at both the shareholder and management levels we believe we can franchise and partner with other [airline] operators in the region to help them to replicate the Tiger Airways model."

The names of those shareholders are one reason to take seriously the big plans of a little airline: Singapore Airlines; the family of Ryanair founder Tony Ryan; and Indigo Partners, an investment firm of Texas Pacific founder David Bonderman.

Davis won't say exactly how many partners he's lining up as franchisees, but confirms that "more than five and fewer than 10" is in the ballpark, and they're "very interested."

He's looking for aircraft for them, too. Tiger itself has nine Airbus A320s with IAE V2500 engines operating from Singapore and 11 on order. "We are negotiating at the moment" for more aircraft, he says, though he won't know how many he will need until he knows how many franchisees he has.

The first franchisee is Manila-based SEA Air. "We will be leasing two A320s to them to start a Tiger-branded operation in the Philippines" early this year, Davis says.

(A brewing theme is emerging in the region's budget airlines. Tiger is also the name of Singapore's most famous beer, just as Indian budget airline Kingfisher is named after a lager. The initials of Virgin Blue also go down well with Australians who enjoy a can of the popular local brew VB. Confusingly, Singapore itself is known as the Lion City.)

AirAsia is not standing still, taking delivery of its 50th aircraft last month. An airline representative says it is also negotiating for new franchise partners, though there is nothing firm. Most of the group's business is Malaysian domestic travel, but international services will grow faster, she says.

That may mean AirAsia and Tiger will gradually come to resemble each other as pan-Asian airline franchises. Jetstar, meanwhile, is focusing on long-haul wide-body international services launched from its Australian base in November, to handle weak routes that Qantas can't profitably serve.

AirAsia says the next stage in its business is to expand in Indochina, Indonesia, southern China and India. "The airline will focus on developing its hubs in Bangkok and Jakarta through its sister companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia," it says.

The company relies on Singapore Technologies Aerospace to service its aircraft but is thinking about switching to an unnamed maintenance business at Kuala Lumpur, for which it would be the anchor customer.

Meanwhile, as Davis works on his strategy to develop Tiger, he's picking up more ideas from retailing. "My marketing manager came from the fast-food sector," he says, noting that that background brought a little bit of inspiration to aviation.

Most airlines discourage excess baggage with penalty fees, but the marketing manager viewed it as a way to encourage extra spending. So Tiger passengers get a modest 15-kg. (33-lb.) baggage allowance, but for just S$25 ($16.3) extra they can supersize to 20 kg.

kiretoce

January 3rd, 2007, 11:57 PM

AIR TRANSPORTATION (http://news.balita.ph/html/article.php/20070102123058715)

In compliance with the directive of the President, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 built at a cost of US$ 400 million will be opened by the first quarter of 2007 but no full operations yet. It shall be capable of serving 10 million passengers per year.

The Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier, has expressed readiness to transfer to NAIA 3 after the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) allowed it to house both its international and domestic passenger terminal operations.

PAL's transfer to the new facility is considered important for the financial viability of the facility after the government open it to full operation commercially.

However, the national government will bid out the Terminal 3 to recover losses incurred in expropriating the facility, including an additional US$ 6 million (P300 million) to fund the additional construction and repairs. The expense incurred in the repairs will be part of the bid price.

In September 2006, the government made P3-billion initial payment to Philippine International Air Terminals, Inc. PIATCO) in order to be issued a writ of possession, which allowed the government to provide repairs, improvements and maintenance within the terminal.

The DOTC has given special attention to air sector to promote the Philippines as a transport trade and tourism center in the region, and, in particular, as an Asia Pacific hub for travel and cargo movements.

The liberalized environment that have been put in place in domestic air transportation served the country in good stead. In spite of the many fuel price increases, the airfares have remained within reach of most air travelers due to the mature market forces in the sub-sector.

The major expansion of the passenger terminal in the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) to accommodate 1.5 million passengers in the next five years could attract low-cost airlines carrying tourists and businessmen to sites in Clark in Pampanga.

Already, low-cost airlines service to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong and Macau.

The P6.2-billion new Iloilo International Airport (IIA) located in Cabatuan-Sta. Barbara which will be operational commercially in April 2007, will attract more tourists both local and international.

The new airport was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in March 2000 and was partly funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The DOTC has continued the work to improve the runway of the Awang Airport, popularly known as Cotabato Airport in Datu Sinsuat town in Maguindanao.

The 620-meter long and 18-meter wide portion of the runway is expected to proceed as funding of about P25 million out of the P67 million total budget allocation for the runway improvement recently bid out to start Phase II implementation.

Its component on rehabilitation involves the continuation of runway overlay and runway rejuvenation amounting to P67 million from November 2006 to July 2007.

On the other hand, the DOTC has allotted some P257 million for the airport improvement program of Zamboanga Airport. The runway overlay is 68 percent complete as of 2006.

Also, the runway widening and overlay of the Dipolog Airport is 15 percent complete.

The construction of the new Bacolod (Silay) Airport is 80 percent complete. Nearly 20 percent of the P19.5-billion new loan under the 24th Yen Loan Package has been alloted to the construction of the airports in Bacolod and Tacloban.

The development of the new Bacolod and the Tacloban Airports would lead to a marked improvement in their operational safety and their capacity to handle a bigger passenger volume.

The other airports being programmed by the Department either for development work on runway and construction of airports/terminal facilities are in Loakan and Bagabag Airports in BAguio City; the upgrading of the Laoag International Airport to full international standards; the extension of the Vigan Airport runway; the opening of the new airport in San Fernando, La Union; the upgrading of the existing Busuanga Airport; the construction of the El Nido Airport; the upgrading of the Caticlan Airport in Aklan; the Panglao and Tagbilaran Airport in Bohol; the construction of the Pagadian and the Balai Airport in Iligan.

The MIAA proposed that starting January 2007, all travelers would have to pay P200 more on top of the P550 terminal fee already being charged. The amount for the new airport fee is expected to reach P700 million annually.

The P550 terminal fee that is being collected at present is for passenger service charge while the additional P200 fee is for security and development charge.

In December last year, the President appointed the Secretary of the DOTC to approve the resolutions made by Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which used to be a function of the Office of the President (OP).

The CABA also approved the proposal that carriers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be allowed to enter the NAIA with unlimited capacity starting 2008.

The CAB and the ASEAN open skies policy allow unlimited flight frequencies and schedules between the four countries/cities (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore) would develop the local tourism sector.

xzibit31

January 4th, 2007, 02:10 AM

you mean to say they are talking about this supposed takeover because terminal 3 will be operational this year?

most probably....:banana:

Skyblade

January 4th, 2007, 08:15 AM

flypinoy7

January 4th, 2007, 08:35 AM

i rode that jet from kalibo to manila after my trip to boracay a few weeks ago...pretty impressed compared to pal's older lineup...

Skyblade

January 4th, 2007, 10:15 AM

i rode that jet from kalibo to manila after my trip to boracay a few weeks ago...pretty impressed compared to pal's older lineup...It definitely is a contrast compared to the 737 classics still in the fleet. Ironically on my outbound flight, I was on PR's last 734. I'm sure it's definitely my last flight on this type in PAL colors as the classics will be gone by Feburary (or at least this specific 734), thus ending the 737s' career with the airline.

Sinjin P.

January 4th, 2007, 01:38 PM

Key airport projects up in 2007
ILOILO, SILAY, ZAMBO AIRPORTS NEAR
COMPLETION; NAIA RUNWAY UPGRADED
By Lennie Lectura

Reporter

THE Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said on Wednesday that majority of the ongoing airport development projects will be completed this year.

In a report to President Arroyo, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said numerous infrastructure projects have already been completed last year. More projects, he added, would be completed and initiated this year.

The New Iloilo Airport is 97-percent complete and will commence commercial operations in April. The Bacolod (Silay) Airport Project is 80-percent complete and is targeted for completion by July 2007.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) upgrading and rehabilitation of Runway 13-13 has been completed, while the Zamboanga Airport runway overlay is 90-percent complete. The expansion of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport Passenger Terminal Building is ongoing and is targeted for completion by September.

Among the secondary airports, the upgrading and rehabilitation of the Plaridel and Tagbilaran airports were completed last year. The upgrading and rehabilitation of the Ozamis, Virac, Dipolog and Tuguegarao airports, meanwhile, are targeted for completion in 2007.

In the upgrading and rehabilitation of trunkline airports, the upgrading of the Kalibo Airport Air Navigation facilities is 43-percent complete while the Cotabato Airport runway overlay is 20-percent complete. Mendoza also reported that the construction of the San Antonio feeder airport is targeted for completion this month.

Meanwhile, the development of the roll-on, roll-off (RORO) transport network in the Siquijor, Maasin and Balanacan Port in Mogpog, Marinduque was finished. RORO upgrading of the Pantao Port is 85.3-percent complete; Dingalan Port, 71.38 percent; Lucena Port, 85 percent; and the Cawayan Port, 41.41-percent complete.

Under procurement are materials for the development of the Aroroy, Ezperanza, Maripipi, Naval, Limasawa and Mambajao Ports. For the development of gateway ports, the Batangas Port access road and flyover construction is 41-percent complete. The Iloilo Port is 92.4 percent, the Zamboanga Port 90.2 percent, the Jagna Port 80.52 percent and the Cagayan de Oro Port is 58.63 percent complete. The development of Davao Port as gateway port is ongoing.

Solblanc

January 4th, 2007, 01:47 PM

@Skyblade: Great a319 pics! I actually prefer the entertainment controls to be at the top rather than the side; I tend to smoosh the entertainment buttons with my ass. Emirates, though, has it in front under the PTV with something that looks like a detachable SNES controller (I think they're the same ones that NWA uses)

Tell us all about your trip! I'm in FCO right now, unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any pics on my cramped cx flight. I *really* hate cx in economy, I'm missing emirates. I also took CX and KA to PVG last november, and Dragonair impressed me! They may not have PTVs (on an hourlong flight, who needs 'em?) but they have in-seat power in virtually every economy seat, and they serve haagen-dazs, too!

I wish I took pictures, but I'm pretty shy when it comes to taking snapshots on a plane, especially when a flash is needed.

kiretoce

January 4th, 2007, 03:08 PM

Great photos Joe (Skyblade)! PAL's interiors looks clean, well since it's a fairly new plane and all. :okay:

terrapinoy

January 4th, 2007, 03:19 PM

Thanks for the pictures Skyblade. PAL's interior somehow looks better than 5J's A319. Maybe its the color and fabric of the seats.

I'll be posting a trip report after I get back from Hawaii and the last NW DC-10 flight next week.

Hey, make sure you post pictures here. I'm feeling nostalgic now. I loved those DC-10's going to Hawaii. My next flight is scheduled on a 767. It's good, but there was something about the Douglas jets. Gonna miss those big birds.

Skyblade

January 5th, 2007, 04:16 PM

Hey, make sure you post pictures here. I'm feeling nostalgic now. I loved those DC-10's going to Hawaii. My next flight is scheduled on a 767. It's good, but there was something about the Douglas jets. Gonna miss those big birds.
Will do. :) Getting this trip report finished has priority and I hope to finish it within the week or two. Northwest Flight 98 in two days will definitely mark the end of an era among the US legacies. :(

kiretoce

January 5th, 2007, 04:23 PM

^^ Are you back Stateside Joe? Or are you still in Japan?

kiretoce

January 5th, 2007, 06:01 PM

Philippine Airlines looks to cut debt 20%
By Clarissa Batino January 4, 2007

MANILA -- Philippine Airlines aims to trim its debt by at least 20 percent by 2009 in order to end a creditor monitoring arrangement that restricts its ability to grow.

The airline, the largest in the Philippines, plans to cut debt to less than $800 million from $1 billion by the end of next year, Jaime Bautista, president of the airline, said in an interview Jan. 2.

Philippine Airlines, the oldest carrier in Asia, wants to start flying six long-haul Boeing 777-300ERs from 2009. Ending the monitoring arrangement may allow the airline to obtain cheaper financing for its expansion plans, particularly the 777s.

"There is a probability we can get out of rehabilitation in 2008," Bautista said. "We haven't discussed the plan with our creditors. It will be easier to discuss when we've reduced our debt."

Philippine Airlines, controlled by Lucio Tan, entered the monitoring arrangement in 1999, after it nearly collapsed under $2.3 billion of debt in June 1998. The agreement means creditors have to approve major expenses, like new planes.

The airline has received offers from at least four banks and leasing companies as it seeks financing for five Airbus A320s, Bautista said. By the end of next year, the carrier plans to have bought 12 A320s, leased four more and also leased four A319s.

The 777s are more difficult to secure financing for because they are about three times more expensive than A320s. The airline agreed to buy two 777-300ERs from Boeing last year. It also plans to lease two more from GE Commercial Aviation Services and then lease or buy two others.

A 777-300ER costs as much as $264.5 million, Boeing said on its Web site. The plane can carry as many as 365 passengers and has a range of about 14,600 kilometers, or about 9,000 miles. Airlines usually pay less than list prices, as they negotiate discounts.

Newer aircraft would also allow Philippine Airlines to cut its fuel usage, which accounts for 35 percent of its costs, said Bautista.

Baguio Gold, a listed company controlled by Tan, the second-richest man in the Philippines, could soon complete the acquisition of six companies that own four-fifths of Philippine Airlines, Bautista said.

The new parent, which will be renamed PAL Holdings, or its owners, would likely sell shares in the first half of this year, as stock exchange rules require listed companies to maintain a float of at least 10 percent, Bautista said. Baguio Gold might sell about 400 million new shares to existing investors.

"Baguio Gold can be a source of funding for Philippine Airlines' modernization," Bautista said.

Sinjin P.

January 6th, 2007, 07:07 AM

Cebu Pacific plans flights to Taipei

Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific), the country’s second biggest carrier owned by the Gokongwei Group, is planning to offer low-budget flights to Taipei starting end-January.

Gerard Panga, Philippine tourism representative to Taiwan, told reporters that Cebu Pacific has already informed the Manila Economic Cultural Office (MECO) of its plan, the Philippine government’s representative office in Taipei.

To date, there are 38 flights a week between Manila and Taipei.

Should Cebu Pacific push through with its low-fare no frills flight to Taipei, it will be the company’s latest regional destination.

Cebu Pacific is already flying to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Cebu Pacific also flies to Incheon, South Korea, via Subic.

Meantime, Cebu Pacific marketing director Candice Iyog said the planned flights to Taipei have yet to be finalized as the airline company still has to secure the necessary permits and licenses.

"There’s no confirmation yet. Permits are still being processed," Iyog said.

Another company official also said that Cebu Pacific is yet to secure a route license from the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Nonetheless, Philippine officials in Taipei are optimistic that Cebu Pacific will pursue with the plan as this would further spur tourism inflows for the Philippines.

This augurs well for the projected seven percent increase in tourist arrivals from Taiwan in 2007.

The tourism official said they will now promote Bacolod as one of the major destinations for Taiwanese tourists. This, he said, will require the upgrading of the local airport.

In 2006, there were about 117,000 Taiwanese tourists in the Philippines, slightly lower than the 123,000 Taiwanese tourists which arrived a year earlier.

brownman

January 6th, 2007, 08:43 AM

so what will happen to the current domestic terminal? when T3 will be operational this 2007 and PAL will move there from T2 while T2 will become the new domestic terminal. and T1 will be for cebupac's?

i think it would be nice kung they'll design on a new terminal ulit on the location. the current domestic airport is very chaotic. is there any room for expansion pa ba for a large airport on that site?

The Cebuano Exultor

January 6th, 2007, 09:05 AM

Personally, I've always loved Terminal 1's classic look.

Terminal 1, with some major overhaul, would serve Cebu Pacific's operations well.

That'd make NAIA seem like New York's JFK in that entire terminals are specifically serving one brand of airline or airline company.

So that'd be:

Terminal 1 (Cebu Pacific)
Terminal 2 (Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines)
Terminal 3 (other domestic airlines, foreign airlines)

Nice. :banana: :applause: :cucumber: :cheers2:

aUen

January 6th, 2007, 09:31 AM

^^Yes, it really needs a major renovation. It's going to be very convinient especially for transit passengers if Cebu Pacific actually takes over T1. I'd feel sad for the modern T2 though, it'll be quite empty until the other airlines buy new planes or the revival of the other Filipino airline (I forgot the name).

Thanks for the photos, Skyblade! The new interior looks nice though I can't believe that's what they call "state-of-the-art". If that is state-of-the-art to PAL, we shouldn't expect a lot from their upcoming new long-haul products.

xzibit31

January 6th, 2007, 12:51 PM

^^
terminal 1-cebu pac (which in turn lease certain parts of the terminal to the small players like, asian spirit, sea air, and the like)
terminal 2-pal and airphil
terminal 3-other international airlines
old domestic terminal-it will be demolished...no plans yet on what to put there...
(with the old domestic airport there, airlines cannot fully utilize 13/31. as we all know the threshold has bee displaced because of the presence of the terminal and parked planes. with the old terminal out of the way, the full length of the runway can be used)

tigidig14

January 7th, 2007, 01:18 AM

^they shud demolish and relocate those squatters or dilapidated houses living by the wall of the airport. thats what they shud do, i saw clothes being hanged along w/ tires, garbage and dogs at their rooftop

e-n-way, i thought PAL is gonna utilize the naia 3 all the way through

MetropolitanBoy

January 7th, 2007, 03:56 PM

[QUOTE=aUen;11173167 it'll be quite empty until the other airlines buy new planes or the revival of the other Filipino airline (I forgot the name).
QUOTE]

Would that be Grand Air? Or the even older Manila Air?

FrancisXavier

January 7th, 2007, 04:33 PM

i remember grand air using only one aircraft for its Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro flights. And it used the Philippine Village Hotel in Nayong Pilipino as their terminal.

Skyblade

January 7th, 2007, 10:34 PM

^^ Are you back Stateside Joe? Or are you still in Japan?
Indeed I am stateside. Paid a visit to Japan on my trip to the Philippines last week though. TR coming soon. :D

@Skyblade: Great a319 pics! I actually prefer the entertainment controls to be at the top rather than the side; I tend to smoosh the entertainment buttons with my ass. Emirates, though, has it in front under the PTV with something that looks like a detachable SNES controller (I think they're the same ones that NWA uses)

Tell us all about your trip! I'm in FCO right now, unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any pics on my cramped cx flight. I *really* hate cx in economy, I'm missing emirates. I also took CX and KA to PVG last november, and Dragonair impressed me! They may not have PTVs (on an hourlong flight, who needs 'em?) but they have in-seat power in virtually every economy seat, and they serve haagen-dazs, too!

I wish I took pictures, but I'm pretty shy when it comes to taking snapshots on a plane, especially when a flash is needed.
The EK concept of putting the IFE control on the seatback is among my favorites as it completely frees the armrest of such duties, though it makes it just slightly thinner. Just wish more airlines can do that instead of putting it in the armrest. :D NW does use a similar control on J in both the 747-400s and A330s as well as Y in the 330s but they still are attached/detached from the armrest. :/ As for KA, one of it's definite perks is the in-flight Haagen Dazs, can't go wrong with that. :D Were you onboard a A330 or was it on one of their A320s/A321s?

The reluctance to take in-flight pics is definitely understandable...esp. considering the passengers that look at your way when you take the picture. <<

I hope you have a safe stay in FCO! :D

Personally, I've always loved Terminal 1's classic look.

That'd make NAIA seem like New York's JFK in that entire terminals are specifically serving one brand of airline or airline company.

So that'd be:

Terminal 1 (Cebu Pacific)
Terminal 2 (Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines)
Terminal 3 (other domestic airlines, foreign airlines)

I agree, though the terminal really does need some TLC. Indeed having a consolidated operation is efficient and more convenient for the travller but if, in the event that PAL reconsiders and wants to stay, it's imperative that terminal 2 should be expanded, esp. considering the fleet growth this airline is going through as well as having 2P onboard as well.

Today's the day for Northwest's last commercial DC-10 flight...can't believe it's happening already. :ohno: Again, I'll take as many pics as possible and I HOPE this time I'll keep the camera steady. :nuts: I'll just finish this post off with an article contribution...:D

_________________________

Airlines score flight delays at NAIA
By Nikko Dizon
Inquirer
Last updated 03:24am (Mla time) 01/08/2007
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=42132

MANILA–Airline companies operating out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are blaming the long queues at the departure immigration counters and a defective baggage facility for the delays in outbound flights.

Officials of the Airline Operators Council (AOC) said that given the “deluge in passengers,” government authorities should ensure that services and the facilities could respond efficiently.

“There is congestion at the airport. But this happens every year. Our point is, there should be better services and facilities should be improved,” Ed Monreal, AOC vice chairman, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview.

Monreal said that Cathay Pacific alone counted a total delay of 131 minutes at the immigration counter and 18 minutes because of the baggage belt failure on Jan. 1-4.

AOC chairman Leoncio Nakpil said that Cathay Pacific had experienced an hour-long flight delay while other flights had a minimum of 10-minute flight delays due to the congestion at immigration counters.

Nakpil said that airlines have noticed only a few immigration officers are manning the counters at the immigration departure despite the increased volume of passengers.

“As we speak, the lines are very long at the counters and I counted only seven immigration officers,” Nakpil told the Inquirer in a phone interview shortly after noon on Saturday.

Ferdinand Sampol, head supervisor of the NAIA Bureau of Immigration, admitted that the queues were longer at the departure immigration of NAIA 1. He also said more officers were being assigned to NAIA from this week on.

“We anticipated that there will be an increased number of passengers but we did not expect that it would be this much,” he said, pointing out fully booked flights seemed to be departing all at the same time.

As for the defective conveyor belt at NAIA’s west baggage buildup area, the AOC complained that it had broken down three times after a near month-long repair during the holiday season.

“It is definitely affecting our operations,” Monreal said.

AOC officials pointed out that the manual loading resorted to during the emergency defeated the purpose of having a sanitized luggage because a third party—the person loading the bags in the buildup area—had already touched the bags.

Octavio Lina, MIAA operations chief, admitted the delay in the completion of the baggage conveyor belt repair which was outsourced to a contractor. “It’s still on initial operation after the rehabilitation. It’s still adjusting,” Lina said in a phone interview.

In a statement, the MIAA has advised departing passengers to check in early for their flights because of the passenger congestion at the airport terminals. The MIAA anticipates 12,000 passengers to depart from the NAIA daily this month.

aUen

January 7th, 2007, 11:08 PM

Would that be Grand Air? Or the even older Manila Air?I was talking about Philippine International Airways (Pil-Air). I had to look for the article from the last thread, hehe. Here it is.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=10815525&postcount=474

habagatcentral1

January 8th, 2007, 03:48 AM

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/DSCF0227.jpg
It was rainy in the Visayas. (CebuPacificAir)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/DSCF0226.jpg
And this is what I love about taking first flights of the day. :)

bustero

January 8th, 2007, 09:16 AM

^^nice, happy new day (and year!)

hope to hear of more new developments with regards to new planes and services.

portludlow

January 8th, 2007, 09:21 AM

Three-front war between low-cost airlines heats up and benefits the public
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/17/yehey/top_stories/20061217top1.html
Budget-fare dogfight boosts
economy, but sinks shipping firms

By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter

AS the three-front war between low-cost airlines heats up into a dogfight, the traveling public benefits and the Philippine economy—especially the tourism industry—gets a big boost. The shipping companies, however, are suffering grave damage.

This is a three-front war because, (1) it is being fought by the budget airlines against each other, (2) by the budget airlines against the regular and established local carriers (mainly PAL and Cebu Pacific) and (3) between the airlines and the shipping companies.

The airlines even hope to get some of the shipping companies’ cargo business.

The war involves big bucks. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reports that the Philippines’ air transport sector contributed some 5.3 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2005. During the period GDP amounted to P5.42 trillion.

The CAB estimates that the revenues of the Philippine Airlines industry in 2005 reached US$100 million or about P5 trillion.

The war involves at least 27,000 workers, which is the total number of persons employed as of July 2005 in the commercial aviation sector, according to a study of the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP SOLAIR).

The report titled “Bombing Aboitiz, Sulpicio and Negros out of the water” details how the shipping industry is being hurt by the budget airlines and the airfares war.

The shipping companies are fighting back by offering promotional discounts to match the airlines’ budget prices. In the past two years, however, shipping companies have lost a great lot of their passengers to airlines. There could be a change in cultural norms and customs as more and more Filipinos turn to cheap air travel from the usual ferry and ship trips to reach inter-island destinations.

Singapore and Malaysia

Budget travel began in the Philippines when in April 2005 the Philippine government permitted low-cost carriers Tiger Airways of Singapore and Air Asia Berhad of Malaysia to operate at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga. The decision was made to improve Philippine tourist arrivals.

The budget airline is an American invention. Soon the no frills, no extras, no food just low fare a business model for airlines caused a revolution in the Philippine airline industry. PAL, Cebu Pacific and other airlines had to do something about drastically lowering their fare.

The Philippine Airlines (PAL), owned by tobacco and beer magnate Lucio Tan, and Cebu Pacific, owned by John Gokongwei’s JG Summit Holdings Inc., are the established airlines.

Cebu Pacific itself went into the budget-fare business. And PAL not only reduced its own prices but operated its subsidiary, Air Philippines, a low-cost airline.

The Civil Aeronautics Board estimates that air travel prices have gone down by at least 20 percent since budget airlines began operating here.

While Cebu Pacific and PAL continued to offer low fares aggressively, Butch Rodriguez, Asian Spirit Inc. vice-president for commercial operations, said since the cheap fares were introduced in the domestic market, the market share of Asian Spirit went down for the simple reason that the airline was forced to stop its operations to some destinations (like Puerto Princesa), or restructured its flight frequencies.

“Such developments were due to the negative effect of low fares in the operational profitability of the airline where it has become very difficult to break-even on operating costs inspite of the fact that passenger load has increased,” Rodriguez added.

He noted that Asian Spirit will have a hard time competing directly with budget airline carriers, specially in the face of rising cost of operations.

Rodriguez, however, said that the airline company benefits from the arrival of foreign tourists who connect or take Asian Spirit flights to other destinations such as Boracay (Caticlan) or Davao.

Asian Spirit’s plans to operate new regional destinations, like Clark-Macao, will contend with Tiger Airways and Air Asia with some difficulty.

“The operations of foreign budget airlines is definitely a threat to local carriers. These foreign budget airlines are bigger in terms of financial resources and support they get from their governments,” Rodriguez said.

He also stressed that Asian Spirit offers promo fares and incentives for domestic and international destinations to counter the pressure of low-fares given by its rival airline carriers.

For instance, for its Boracay flights (Caticlan), Asian Spirit has been offering a promo fare of P1,950 one-way, applicable to specific flights, as compared to the regular fare of P2,790.

The airline company has 18 daily flights to Boracay using 50-seater aircraft including the BAe146 jets, and the promo fare is applicable to 6 specific flights daily in the morning and afternoon.

In the case of Palau, the airline has offered a round-trip promo fare of $330 on the route Manila-Palau via Davao; and $230 on Davao-Palau. “These promo fares are very competitive considering that the price of Continental Air on the route Manila-Palau is almost $600 round-trip,” Rordiguez said.

Air transport market gets bigger

Data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed that domestic passenger traffic carried by the top three airline companies grew by 16 percent to 5.7 million for the first nine months of the year from 4.94 million in the same period in 2005.

Of the total, PAL carried 2.87 million from 2.80 million; Cebu Pacific, 2.13 million from 1.52 million and Air Philippines with 723,086 from 623, 992.

On the other hand, Asian Spirit carried 299,586 and South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) with 177,522 as of August this year.

Zapanta, former PAL chief who is now the new chief executive officer of South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR), said that the aviation market is expanding because of the new market that was being created because of the low-cost fare being offered by the local carriers.

He said that 70 percent would be coming from the new markets that will be created by people who never even thought of flying a year ago.

The other 20 percent to 30 percent, Zapanta said, would be enticed from other carriers, mainly ships.

The former PAL president explained that the traditional airline market is limited to the high end of traveler that are willing to pay the high price of the travel. “But with the concept of budget airlines, suddenly the limited market become almost unlimited. Therefore the opportunity of operating a low level of fares, but considerably big traffic could give you economy of scales and profitable operations,” he added.

Cebu Pacific has gone into a massive refleeting program to meet the growing market demand.

Edilberto R. Medina, Air Philippines president and chief executive officer, said the company is adding more B737-200 aircraft to improve operating efficiency and allow it to compete aggressively with other carriers and to be the preferred low cost carrier in Asia.

The article “PAL and CEB, the old big players, are shooting back” details how both are fighting not just to retain their supremacy but also to make more and more money.

And the report “Government welcomes more budget airlines to meet tourist-arrival targets” recounts how the Philippines is virtually opening its skies to make tourism as profitable as it is in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Rajah_Soliman

January 9th, 2007, 12:44 AM

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/150/342162150_b34d6d1163_o.jpg

Rajah_Soliman

January 9th, 2007, 01:27 AM

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/136110730_8966d9d1f2_o.jpg

xxpmrong

January 9th, 2007, 01:38 AM

ok yung basco airport ah! san sa pilipinas yan?

kiretoce

January 9th, 2007, 02:27 PM

jameslab8470

January 9th, 2007, 08:49 PM

CooL ang terminal!! hehe... nice... Asian Spirit lang ba ang may flight papuntang basco? how bout PAL

kiretoce

January 9th, 2007, 09:05 PM

^^ PAL used to fly there via Laoag, but sadly these days they don't serve that destination any longer.

ianers_ianized

January 11th, 2007, 05:16 AM

Got a chance to try out PR's 2nd A319 on flight 144 from MNL to ILO back in December 22. First time in AGES that I got to enjoy a faint scent of "new plane smell". The audio entertainent was also enabled though you have to BYO headphones. Again sorry for the picture quality...couldn't help the tremors. :/ I'll be posting a trip report after I get back from Hawaii and the last NW DC-10 flight next week.

Boarding
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/DSCN0962.jpg

View of the Y cabin after the flight.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/DSCN1004.jpg

The new Mabuhay Class seat
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/DSCN1002.jpg

Seat 2C's seatback PTV (the Japanese Hiragana says "Youkoso" or welcome)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/DSCN1003.jpg

Well its amazing to see this come true like the PTV on business class, I'd wish all A320/A319 series will have a auto demo of safety features of the flight through the TV screens like their A330.
Are are demo is still manual in this flight?

I'm quite dissappointed that the real color of the seats were cornflower blue, not the cyan color that were in the previous pictures that were shown here. Only the bus. class seats were in cyan colors. The Y seat design really capture the wave of the seas on beaches but I think the previous petal-designed lavender seats were better than these blue waves. But they are still decent one. Quite cooling. Don't you think it would be much better if it is in cyan color.. or it would just an eyesore.

I like the imitation of flecks of sand designed on bus. class seats... it really captured the Sun, Sea and Sand concept... but those palm tree tropical designs on dividers were a;ready in their other aircraft designs only this time were in cyan color while those were in indigo.

brownman

January 11th, 2007, 09:10 AM

^^ Isn't Basco the provincial capital of Batanes? That was an educational guess on my part, since the facade of the terminal building is made of stone, and from what I've seen and heard is that the structures in Batanes are mostly made from that material because of the harsh climate conditions there. The terminal (though small) is pretty good and not at all unpleasant to the eyes. :colgate:

yes, basco is the capital of batanes province. the province is touted 'the scotland of the philippines' with it's rolling green hills and jagged cliffs.

and yes PAL used to fly there via laoag and LIA also used to fly there before going out of business.

btw, i've heard something about renovating the sleeping airport in vigan. if the plans will push thru, sabi nila it'll be an alternate route instead of manila-laoag direct manila-vigan na. as of the moment kasi, tourists and locals alike flies the manila-laoag route and then will have to catch a 1 1/2 bus ride going south. hirap kaya nun. so hopefully matuloy

kiretoce

January 11th, 2007, 04:40 PM

Russian airline to establish routes within the BIMP-EAGA region
By Rahmat bin Haji Abdul Rahman

Mindanao's airline and tourism industry has taken another big leap as a Filipino-Russian owned airline company, Mosphil Aero Incorporated, will set direct flights from the BIMP-EAGA region to the Republic of Palau.

According to Mr Joseph S. Lacaste, Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel Attorney of the Mosphil Aero Incorporated base at the Zamboanga International Airport, the airline company will put up international and domestic flights that will primarily service passengers and cargoes in the island region of the so-called "Missionary Routes" on a non-scheduled basis.

The airline can also arrange for chartered flights to other countries by "Wet Leasing" appropriately for larger aircrafts from international airlines.

Mr Joseph also said that Zamboanga, Jolo, Tawi-Tawi, Davao, Sandakan and Brunei Darussalam are the key areas being targeted by Mosphil Aero Incorporated in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Mosphil Aero Incorporation stressed that establishing more domestic and international air links are vital in accelerating economic activities and promoting tourism for the entire island region.

"Mindanao is a strategic place for airline investments due to the increasing number of domestic and foreign tourists and investors along with the existing BIMP-EAGA economic cooperation," Secreatary Dureza said.

He also said that the government and business sector are working closely to promote flights with the four member countries of BIMP-EAGA.

At present, the BIMP-EAGA roadmap to development is currently aimed at increasing trade, investment and tourism in the sub-regional cooperation within a period of five years.

The decision to fly to Jolo in Sulu is to fulfill the airline's commitment to serve the interest of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), and in response to the request of private and government sectors to provide better airline service in the communities, according to a statement from Mosphil Aero, Inc.

It also stated the airline company has appointed Fathie Loong of the prominent Loong clan to be the airline's General Sales Agent for Zamboanga-Sulu and Tawi-Tawi areas.

Glenn Lamela, the airline's director for sales and marketing, announced the company's passenger sensitive marketing strategies, which include more affordable fares and better flight connectivity. The launch fare to Jolo, including all surcharge is pegged at P2,188 based on unlimited seat schedule.

Flights to Jolo, the capital of Sulu, are dynamically designated to offer business convenience; hence, the Monday and Wednesday flights were placed on morning slots and the afternoon slots were for flights on Friday and Sunday.

Mosphil Aero Inc. said the airline is fully committed to support the expansion and growth of the province to bring about peace and development in the area.

The expansion in Mindanao is part of the company's mission to provide air travel and cargo services to destinations in need of reliable means of transportation.

The Mosphil Aero Incorporation also expressed its concern on the airline's capability to provide the necessary equipment to support the needs of the various communities it will be serving.

With the entry of Mosphil Aero Inc., there will be two airline companies that will be flying the Zamboanga-Jolo route. The other airline company that has been serving the Zamboanga-Jolo route on a daily flight is the Southeast Asian Airline (Seair)

Further to this, the 48-seater Mosphil Aero Incorporation aircraft is expected to touch down at Brunei International Airport from Zamboanga sometime in the third week of this month, as stated by Mosphil's Aero Incorporation office at Zamboanga International Airport.

oz.fil

January 11th, 2007, 04:53 PM

Seat 2C's seatback PTV (the Japanese Hiragana says "Youkoso" or welcome)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/DSCN1003.jpg

why in the world does pal have 'Welcome' in japanese for? its not a japanese airline!

kiretoce

January 11th, 2007, 04:57 PM

^^ Oh but they do cater to the lucrative Japanese travel market. :colgate:

kiretoce

January 11th, 2007, 06:21 PM

It's been a while since I did this....(from Skytrax)

Philippine Airlines - by Maulana Dickman

9 January 2007

CGK - MNL return with A330, Y Class. Friendly cabin crew although the food served on both sectors is average. Surprised with the Ninoy Aquino airport in Manila (Philippine Airline terminal), which does not represent as International Airport or main gate to the Philippines, since looks shoddy and crowded. Agree with the 3 star given to this airline, and would fly Philippine Airlines again in the future.

Philippine Airlines - by Guy Behrick

3 January 2007

Business Class LAX to MNL and back. Bad start when the ticket agent said the LAX lounge was closed for renovation until 2008. The outbound plane was an old hybrid 747 in which the footrest was broken. Cabin attendant tried for about five minutes to manually deploy it but was of no use. Cuisine was acceptable if not exceptional. However we arrived on time if a little the worse for wear. The lounge in Manila was crowded to capacity but we were able to relax. Finger foods quite decent in the lounge. On return flight one attendant was helpful while another was poker faced the whole time. On both flights, cleanliness in the lavatories was unacceptable. I don't think any attempt was made to deal with this by the staff. Overall, PAL is lucky with the three-star rating. Hopefully this will improve when First and Mabuhay Class are renovated.

Philippine Airlines - by Elwyn Mallari

3 January 2007

Business Class San Francisco to Manila return. Dedicated Business Class check in counter in SFO, check-in took less than 10 minutes for me and my wife. We spent a little more than two hours in the Philippine Airlines Business Class lounge in SFO. The lounge has two adjacent rooms, wide-screen tv., comfortable seats, and self-serve food and drinks. They need to seriously reconsider serving Manhattan clam chowder. As someone has mentioned on this forum, PAL is an Asian carrier and I don't understand why it is serving Manhattan clam chowder. PAL's Airbus A340-300's Business Class seats are wide, with enough space between seats but seats are showing their age. The seats are hard, I had to use my pillow as a seat cushion to make myself comfortable and I'm not a heavy person. The seats are manually operated. The biggest disappointment was the lack of recline of their Business Class seats on Airbus A340 planes. I felt like I was flying in coach and consequently did not manage to sleep the entire trans-Pacific flight from SFO to MNL The inflight food was acceptable given the lower price of PAL's Business Class tickets compared to other carriers flying the same route. The meal was served on white linen, starting with the appetizers, main meal, then 2 desserts. Their coffee was awful. The mid-flight Arroz Caldo soup was lukewarm and I had to return it. FA's service was fast, a little robotic, they had little interaction with the passengers, and you only hear occasional thank you. Returning, PAL's newish dedicated terminal in MNL is modern. There were no lines in the dedicated Business Class counters, check in took about 10-12 minutes. We went to the Business Class lounge and was a big disappointment. I was expecting a bigger lounge since MNL is PAL's hub. It was crowded. The food was just acceptable, but their Arroz Caldo soup delicious. They have sofas, but most of the seats are the uncomfortable cafeteria-style chairs. The plane for this flight was a Boeing 747-400, and Business Class is upstairs. 3-4 FA's serving this section. The seats look the same as on PAL's Airbus A340 but the Boeing 747-400 Business Class seats lean further thus giving more comfort. The individual in flight entertainment is not on-demand. So if you miss the start of the movie, you'll have to wait until it starts all over again. The inflight food was a little better on the flight back to SFO. The service efficient, and FA's a little friendlier. The pre-landing breakfast was filling and tasty. First Class and Business Class passengers were allowed to leave first. Our luggage came out within fifteen minutes of landing. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by PAL's Business Class service. If they keep their price lower than their rival airlines, I would gladly fly with them again in the future.

kiretoce

January 11th, 2007, 06:26 PM

....again, from Skytrax.

Manila Ninoy Aquino by Elwyn Mallari
19 January 2007

Terminal 2 being used exclusively by Philippine Airlines for its international and domestic flights is much better than the old Terminal 1. Terminal 2 is modern, commodious, well lit, and clean. Boarding areas can get very crowded. Security is very tight. Passengers and luggage are x-rayed and screened three times! PAL's business class lounge is too small and located in one corner and can be inconvenient for some passengers. Public restrooms are clean, snack bars are conveniently located, announcements are made in English.

Manila Ninoy Aquino by Andy Healey
15 December 2006

NAIA is without doubt the worse airport I have been in this year - not only do you have to show your ticket to a security guard before you are allowed into the building, (Very inconvenient when you have booked over the net and not able to print a ticket). You go through security (again) once through the door, and then on some airlines you are screened again before you even get to the check in. Immigration is slow and booths are frequently closed even when the immigration hall is full. Once through immigration - another security screening and then onto half a dozen tired looking shops, the first time I flew out I was waiting in a depressing departure lounge for 3 hours (flight delay), the second time at least I had access to the KLM lounge it made it much more pleasurable.

Manila Ninoy Aquino by Norman Sutherland
13 October 2006

Hadn't been through NAIA-2 for some time, but quick and efficient in both Immigration and Baggage, and I was out the door 15 minutes after getting off the plane - which is really what you want to be doing in NAIA. And the last thing you want to be there is to be in a hurry.

Manila Ninoy Aquino by Robbie Francisco
12 October 2006

Departing from the Ninoy Aquino Centennial Terminal Two can be frustrating starting from check-in. Being on an early morning flight means that there were only 4 counters open out of more than a dozen that seemed to be for display purposes. This simple layout though is convenient but gets to be boring for passengers who arrive early for their departing flight. A small duty-free can be found after entering the waiting hall. Tacky glass tint destroys the look of the central core where the Mabuhay Lounge can be found. So much for showing off the interior gardens and architectural elements of this ill-maintained airport. But this is way better than the older airport (NAIA 1) that seems to fall apart by the day and seems to harbor cockroaches and rats. After the violent typhoon, NAIA 1, had so many plastic buckets (to catch water from the leaking roof) that passengers would look into them as if they were about to drop coins and wish for a safe flight!

Manila Ninoy Aquino by Steve Corry
10 October 2006

Arriving at the newer Philippine Airlines terminal in May I found the queue at immigration to be about an hour, on Oct 2 at the older terminal a lot better. Airport taxis are an institutionalised rip off at about four times the metered price. Walk up the stairs to arrivals (ask if you cannot find the stairs) and hop in one that someone has gotten out of - nobody will care. Go by the meter and add a few extra Pesos. When heading to the airport make sure you tell the taxi driver which terminal, if you go to the wrong one it is another taxi ride across to the correct one. The Philippine Airlines terminal is much newer and cleaner. The old one (NINA) is well past it's use-by date. Check in involves a long disorganised queue. Once past security there are a couple of tiny food & beverage outlets and tired looking shops, but the less time spent waiting there the better!

Manila Ninoy Aquino by John Kirkman
5 October 2006

Used the airport twice the first time after a MAS flight was standing outside terminal in 15 minutes taxi ride to Domestic terminal security check pat down into terminal no problems. On way out many security checks xrays pat downs bag searches modern day traveling. Second time used it complete nightmare just transfering flghts - three 747'slanded one after the other a huge crush of people trying to get through customs and passport area. Then taxi to next terminal were you joined the scrum again to go through the many security checks to next flight - took a frustrating four (4) hours to tranfer flights. With the many budget airlines now operating in the area perhaps the new airport terminal is surplus to requirements . This year trying Clark Airfield as an alternative.

kiretoce

January 12th, 2007, 02:19 AM

Some more from Skytrax....

Cebu Pacific - by Daniel Tan

3 January 2007

MNL-LAO on new A319. Although I prefer Cebu Pacific services onboard, I prefer Philippine Airlines in terms of seat comfort. Cebu Pacific's seat cushions are terrible. Very small leg room, not ideal for tall passengers. Hence the aircraft is less than a year old, my seat was slightly broken. A great domestic airline.

Cebu Pacific - by Andy Healey

15 December 2006

Flown frequently this year, internally in the Philippines, no problem, always on time. Internationally (mainly MNL-HKG return) very poor timekeeping, and disorganised loading procedures, check in staff seem slow in processing so arrive early, and if you are tall (anything over 6 foot) and are not in the exit row or the front row prepare for an uncomfortable flight.

Sinjin P.

January 12th, 2007, 03:22 AM

DoTC: New Iloilo and Bacolod airports almost complete

By JC BELLO RUIZ

The new Iloilo and Bacolod airports are almost finished and are expected to start commercial operations by April and July this year, respectively, according to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC).

DoTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza, in his report to President Arroyo detailing DoTC’s completed and ongoing infrastructure projects last year, said construction of the New Iloilo Airport is 97 percent complete while the Bacolod airport in Silay is already 80 percent finished.

Mendoza said the infrastructure projects have generated employment for many Filipinos and, once finished, are expected to promote growth in commerce, tourism, and agriculture.

He also cited the completion by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) of the upgrading and rehabilitation of Runway 13-31, and the expansion of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport Passenger Terminal Building due to be completed by September, 2007.

The DoTC chief added that the upgrading of secondary airports in Plaridel and Tagbilaran have already been completed while still ongoing are the upgrading of the secondary airports in Ozamiz, Virac, Dipolog, and Tuguegarao, which are targeted for completion this year.

According to Mendoza, in 2006, the DoTC also started the rehabilitation of trunkline airports with works on the Puerto Princesa Airport already completed.

Upgrading of the air navigation facilities of the Kalibo Airport is 43 percent complete, while the runway overlay undertaken in the Cotabato Airport is 20 percent finished.

Mendoza said the government will continue to pursue many strategic infrastructure projects this year even as it has completed and started many other projects last year which are vital to the country’s economic and social progress.

The DoTC chief also reported that the construction of new feeder airports such as the M’lang Airport has been completed, while the San Antonio Airport is targeted for completion by January, 2007.

Crazy4Airplanes

January 12th, 2007, 04:32 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/DSCN1002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Skyblade04/DSCN0963.jpg

Umm...i just noticed something from these pics. Shouldn't PALs new A319s be AVOD capable? Then how come the pictures show that the aircraft has the primitive type of IFE controllers? The built-in the seat type with just the volume and the chanel controls. I've been on Airlines that offer AVOD and they all have these family computer controllerlike type of controllers for their IFE. Im not sure what they're called but the other side of that controller is the phone that passengers can use on board. PAL has one in one of their B744s, the one that has PTVs installed in all seats.

flypinoy7

January 13th, 2007, 08:31 AM

from what i remember, those controls shown in the 2nd pic are located in the fiesta class section, where there is no avod, just the flip down screens...im sure the mabuhay class has those kinds of controllers if not touchscreens...

Crazy4Airplanes

January 14th, 2007, 07:59 AM

the seats shown in the first pic are mabuhay class pics. where are the controllers? its usually located either below the ptvs or in the armrests. if you'd notice, in that particular pic, the seat recline of the window seat is at the right armrest. which would mean that the controls would logically be at the left. unfortunately its not shown at the angle from where the pic was taken. another more puzzling note, the buseness isle seat, the seat recline button is nowhere to be seen at the right armrest. So this means that its at the left armrest. But if it is indeed at the left, where the hell is the controller, diba dapat kita from the angle of the picture kasi its logical na nasa right armrest dapat nung isle seat yung controller? And it cant be both in the left otherwise its not gonna go with the flow. On all the airlines that ive been with. lahat sila, either the recline button and the ife controller are at the same side of the seat or they are opposite one another.

feeling ko press release lang yang AVOD na yan.

ewh1

January 14th, 2007, 08:25 AM

They are touchscreens.

Kaze

January 15th, 2007, 02:14 AM

SeaAir seeks BoI perks for aircraft buyhttp://www.mb.com.ph/images/spacer.jpg

By FIL C. SIONIL

Southeast Asian Airlines (SeaAir) will seek for the incentive package under the Board of Investments’ (BoI) Investment Priority Program (IPP) for its acquisition of two new aircraft, a move that would reduce its operating expense.

In an interview with a select group of reporters, SeaAir President and Chief Executive Officer Avelino L. Zapanta disclosed the airline management is seriously considering applying for BoI registration to avail of the perks granted by the BoI under the IPP.

"We are looking into that, conceivably to reduce our operating cost," said Zapanta.

In 2006, BoI opened-up incentive package to tourism and other tourism-related sectors and facilities under the IPP.

Already, two airline firms, Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have filed their respective application before the BoI to take advantage of the package of incentives and other privileges, which include tax holidays.

SeaAir is currently wrapping up negotiations for two Airbus 320 with Air Asia under lease agreement as part of its expansion program that will improve its market share.

Zapanta explained SeaAir is awaiting for the approval from the regulators, namely, Civil Aviation Board and Air Transport Office, among others, tariff schedules.

The target is to complete all the necessary documentation requirements within the month.

"Our target is before the end of the month to finish our filings. Then, we can enter into lease contract agreement," he said.

Roll-out is tentatively scheduled sometime next month.
The two aircrafts would increase its passenger capacity.

A320 has a seating capacity of 180. SeaAir has 19 aircraft in its existing fleet.

It, too, will pave the way for SeaAir’s offering "low-cost" flights to Singapore and Macau out of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in the former US –military stronghold, Clark Airbase.

At the onset, Zapanta said the plan it to offer flights to Singapore and Macau out of Clark three to four times a week.

"But, we want to buildit-up into daily flights," he added.
SeaAir will, likewise, be flying to Cebu and Davao out of Clark Airbase.

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2007011584666.html

Skyblade

January 19th, 2007, 06:42 PM

Cebu Pacific to increase capacity for Manila-Singapore route
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=63586

Cebu Pacific, the country's second biggest airlines, said on Thursday that it will increase the capacity of its Manila-Singapore service by almost 20 percent when it starts using bigger airplanes in March.

The airline currently utilizes A319 aircraft which has a seating capacity of 150. Beginning March 22, Cebu Pacific will use A320 model which provides seat to 179 passengers.

Cebu Pacific, which is a unit of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, flies daily to Singapore.

Its Manila-Singapore service leaves Manila at 8:30pm, arriving in Singapore at 11:55pm and departs from Singapore at 12:40am the following day to arrive back in Manila at 4:05am. The lowest ‘Go’ fare for the Manila-Singapore service starts from P2,499 one-way.

"We are looking forward to upgrading this service to the A320 because we can see that this is a market that can be stimulated further with our low fare offering. The additional capacity will also mean that we will be able to provide more low fares to the public," said Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific marketing director.

Last December, the carrier also announced the increase in frequency from 4 to 6 times weekly for its Cebu-Singapore service starting January 25, 2007.

Sou-jiro

January 19th, 2007, 11:14 PM

Here's an Interesting read

Singapore Girl faces makeover as airline looks to update image
JAN DAHINTEN
IN SINGAPORE
SHE is Asian, wears a figure-hugging uniform, smiles gently, and looks nowhere near her 35 years. Now the Singapore Girl, an airline industry icon, may be about to get a more contemporary look.

In one of the world's longest running advertising campaigns, Singapore Airlines' flight attendants have become instantly recognisable corporate symbols and are the focus of the South-east Asian carrier's advertising.

But the advertising firm that created the campaign and the slogan "Singapore Girl - You're a great way to fly", now faces the risk of losing the lucrative deal.

This month, Singapore Air invited rivals of Batey Ads, which has held the contract since the airline was formed in 1972, also to submit bids and the outcome could change the Singapore Girl.

Despite her success, critics complain the Singapore Girl concept is sexist, outmoded and largely intended to serve male passengers' fantasies of desirable, subservient Oriental women.

The Straits Times once quoted a Qantas Airways chairman referring to the campaign as "massage parlour in the sky ads".

Richard Pinkham, of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Singapore, said that while the girl's image may be outdated, much of the airline's cachet is a result of its cabin crew.

"It's possible that they will de-emphasise the name - it is a bit passé to refer to professional women as 'girls' - but maintain the flight attendant image as a central point of focus in their advertising. It certainly does capture attention more than a photo of a chair would."

Recent adverts for Singapore Airlines feature the company's ultra-modern aircraft, updated seats or inflight food. But the perfectly groomed Singapore Girl still features prominently, gently tucking in a sleeping passenger or offering meals.

Former flight attendants reject the sexism charge and many take pride in a profession that has lost much of its glamour since air travel became an everyday matter.

A former Singapore Girl, who asked to be identified only as Nancy, said the airline should hold on to the campaign and not "put their crew into dull business suits".

"When I put on the uniform, I represented Singapore, not just the airline. It made me so proud and we would get a lot of positive feedback," she said.

Nine out of ten of the female cabin crew are Singaporean or Malaysian, while the remainder are hired from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan for their language skills.

They follow strict rules, down to the way they wear long hair - never loose - and the colour of nail varnish or lipstick.

Ironically, the airline relied on white European men - advertising mastermind Ian Batey and French designer Pierre Balmain - to come up with the idea of the graceful Asian girl in a batik uniform, known as sarong kebaya.

The bidding for what is one of the most coveted advertising deals in the industry will be a tough race, particularly in the light of Singapore Airlines' known focus on costs.

Advertising industry experts do not expect her to be ditched, but merely refreshed.

"It's been incredibly successful and you don't just give up such a truly iconic symbol having spent 30 years to build it," one executive at a large international agency said.

A spokesman for the airline denied that the review of its advertising agency could necessarily put an end to the Singapore Girl.

"There's no intention to change what is a recognised representation of our brand internationally. The custodian of our brand is us, the airline, not any ad agency."

This article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=97702007

terrapinoy

January 19th, 2007, 11:32 PM

Have they started flying? I read that they were planning to start "mid-January". 747-300 and a DC-10 ang fleet daw.

http://www.tairairways.com/images/asia%20route.jpg

tigidig14

January 20th, 2007, 12:51 AM

1st time hearing about that airlines so i wikipedia it and this is what i found

Airlines of the Philippines

Philippines Passenger
Air Philippines · Asian Spirit · Cebu Pacific · Interisland Airlines · Philippine Airlines · South East Asian Airlines · Tair Airways

btw i didnt know either that we have interisland airlines

terrapinoy

January 20th, 2007, 12:58 AM

tigidig14

January 20th, 2007, 01:20 AM

It's been a while since I did this....(from Skytrax)

sana nakapag comment din ako,
pag dumating ka sa naia 2, hindi ka pedeng pumara ng taxi'ng taga labas. kailangan yung franchise yata ng airport. then i ask a sekyu, sabi nya dun daw sa labas makakakuha so naglakad pa ko ng kalayo-layo dala dala yung mga durian :lol: ( i was coming from davao first of all). sa tagal makakuha ng taxi. d' syempre nagjeep na lang ako. so, nag jeep ako papuntang baclaran. pagdating naman sa baclaran e, dun pa sa part na nde ko alam. alam ko lang kasi dun sa simbahan at dulo ng lrt. haaay naku sobrang haggard :lol:

syempre ok lang sakin e kung ibang lahi o matatanda o babae, naku katakot- takot ang stress :

kaya ang payo ko e, dun na lang kayo sa old domestic erport :lol:

xxpmrong

January 20th, 2007, 05:08 PM

^^^ tigs, pwede ka umakyat sa departure... may mga taxi dun na nababakante... pwede metered o plus 50 para pumayag.. either which.. laki ng minura! pero dabest pa rin ang davao! may sukli till the last 50 cents!

Rajah_Soliman

January 20th, 2007, 10:38 PM

^^ First time I heard of Interisland too..

Here is their website (http://www.interislandairlines.com/). Primarily a charter airline, but serves Caticlan and Tablas. They proclaim that they fly a Yak-40 36 seater jet. Anyone flown on a Yak?

http://www.interislandairlines.com/images/yak-40-00.jpg

i havent, but yak must be a good plane... yak is russian ... in ww2 russia had a big fleet of yak fighters (their bombers were then the illyushin or il --- a commercial plane version of the illyushin is being used by moshpil air for the sandakan-zamboanga stretch) :cheers:

terrapinoy

January 22nd, 2007, 12:49 AM

Business Traveler magazine's Best in Business Travel Awards for 2006:

Airport,world -- Singapore Changi

Airport, U.S. -- Denver International

Flight attendants, world -- Asiana

Flight attendants, U.S. -- Continental

Overall airline, world -- Singapore

First class, world -- Emirates

Business class, world -- Virgin

Economy class, world -- Singapore

Low-cost carrier -- Frontier

Frequent-flier program -- Delta

kiretoce

January 22nd, 2007, 04:02 AM

^^ SQ and Changi still rules the skies I see! :cheer:

whyte

January 22nd, 2007, 05:00 AM

sana nakapag comment din ako,
pag dumating ka sa naia 2, hindi ka pedeng pumara ng taxi'ng taga labas. kailangan yung franchise yata ng airport. then i ask a sekyu, sabi nya dun daw sa labas makakakuha so naglakad pa ko ng kalayo-layo dala dala yung mga durian :lol: ( i was coming from davao first of all). sa tagal makakuha ng taxi. d' syempre nagjeep na lang ako. so, nag jeep ako papuntang baclaran. pagdating naman sa baclaran e, dun pa sa part na nde ko alam. alam ko lang kasi dun sa simbahan at dulo ng lrt. haaay naku sobrang haggard :lol:

syempre ok lang sakin e kung ibang lahi o matatanda o babae, naku katakot- takot ang stress :

kaya ang payo ko e, dun na lang kayo sa old domestic erport :lol:

^^^ tigs, pwede ka umakyat sa departure... may mga taxi dun na nababakante... pwede metered o plus 50 para pumayag.. either which.. laki ng minura! pero dabest pa rin ang davao! may sukli till the last 50 cents!

yup. yan palagi ang ginagawa ko.paglabas ng arrival lobby kakanan agad for the elevator paakyat sa departure tapos labas and wait for taxi :D

okay na ang konting patong na 20-30pesos kesa "holdapin" ka ng airport taxi o kaya maglakad.

------

though mas ok nga ang arrival sa domestic (in terms of getting a "cheap" taxi) kasi paglabas mo andyan agad.pero last ang HABAAAAAAAAAAA ng pila.halos magkasabay ang pagdating ng mga eroplano esp pag umaga.suggest ko paglabas mo pila ka agad.

Francis20

January 22nd, 2007, 10:16 AM

xxpmrong

January 22nd, 2007, 01:33 PM

I hope so too! minsan nga iniiwan ko na lang yung sukli sa Davao drivers... pero naisip ko rin na baka masanay sila... dapat siguro ganito, kunin mo muna yung sukli then bigay mo yung tip... pero parang ganung rin eh hehehe

tigidig14

January 22nd, 2007, 10:38 PM

baguio taxi rin binibigay lahat ng sukli

ey i did went up there and they (tazi) started jacking the price up, so i felt that i was being bullied instead i went the other way around, and headed what that sekyu told me: jeepney and busses and cheap taxi

killmart

January 23rd, 2007, 04:36 AM

kiretoce

January 23rd, 2007, 05:34 AM

Cagayan de Oro-Manila air route: PAL still reigns but market share slips

Philippine Airlines continues to dominate the Cagayan de Oro-Manila air route but recent data indicates its market share is slipping in one of the country’s busiest trunk line air routes.

Data compiled by the Air Transportation Area IX office based in Lumbia Airport, this city, show PAL (PR) still retains the lion’s share of the market with 51% of the 529,442 passengers recorded for the period January-November 2006. However, discount fares offered by its main rivals appear to have made inroads into PAL’s market share which declined significantly from 63.8% in 2005.

Air Philippines (2P) and Cebu Pacific (5J) had already both exceeded their 2005 total passenger traffic on the route by the end of November, 2006, combining for 86,624 more passengers that represented a 52.5% growth over their total for 2005. Since growth for all three airlines during the January-November 2006 period was only 8.2% (+40,143 passengers) compared to 2005, this data indicates 5J and 2P attracted an additional 40,143 new passengers by themselves on top of the 46,481 passengers lost to PAL for this period from last year.

In fact, both airlines turned in their best performance on the route since 2000, with Air Philippines Cagayan de Oro Station being recognized as the “Most Outstanding Station” of the airline for the first semester of 2006.

“Our performance was evaluated through a number of parameters including sales/revenues, customer service, and accounting, but attaining an 87% passenger load factor for the period helped a lot,” said Roland Salaver, Air Philippines Cagayan de Oro branch manager. In fact, 2P already exceeded its previous year total of 44,221 passengers by the end of November, 2006 with a 48% increase to 65,598 passengers, its highest since 2000.

Cebu Pacific Air (5J) was even better, booking 185,879 passengers for the first time ever and exceeded its 120,632 total in 2005 by 54% or 65,247 passengers in the first 11 months of 2006 alone.

Eleanor Lim, general manager of Summit World Philippines, Inc., the general sales agent (GSA) for 5J in Region 10, attributes their growth to the deployment of bigger capacity Airbus 319 and 320s (which can carry 40-70 more passengers than the phased out DC9-32s) since October 2005; the one week promos last year which offered from P1-10 fares; the year round “Go” promo fares which offered fares as low as P99; and the additional evening flight.

Industry sources indicate the cut-rate discount fares offered by the two airlines throughout 2006 could have been the key factor in accounting for the additional growth as travelers who usually took the boat opted to fly instead.

Air Philippines slashed its airfares by an average of 45 percent for all destinations nationwide in response to 5J's “GO” Fares. Dubbed “Super Tipid,” the cheap fares are sold year round and applicable even during peak passenger season, but available only for limited seats.

Statistics from local shipping ticket outlets show the five inter-island shipping lines serving the Cagayan de Oro-Manila sea route only booked 95,671 passengers last year, which is approximately 1:3 in favor of the airlines 275,733 bookings for January-December 2006 on the Cagayan de Oro-Manila route alone.

PAL has traditionally dominated this air route, steadily increasing its passenger traffic to 324,446 by 2005, or by a cumulative 37% over the last six years. PAL also upped its market share from 50% in 1999 to 63.8% by 2005, not even once giving up the pole position with an average annual growth rate of 6.2% for the six-year inclusive period.

PAL previously used a mix of B737-300s which could seat 120 passengers and the Airbus A320-200 (which could seat 156 in mixed-class and up to 177 in monoclass) but Licerio Cruz, Cagayan de Oro branch manager, said they are now exclusively fielding PAL’s A320-200s and A319s as the airline goes upmarket with its goal to offer business class in all domestic flights.

Cebu Pacific has fielded on this route its brand new Airbus A319-100 aircraft (which can carry a maximum of 150 passengers in mono class) and A320 (180 passengers max in monoclass) to replace the phased-out DC9-32s (limited to 110 max) while AirPhil uses the venerable Boeing 737-200 (118 passengers).

Air Phil's multi-tiered discount fares is part of a two-pronged market offensive crafted by the Lucio Tan Group of Companies which controls both PAL and Air Philippines. Air Phil has been positioned as a low-cost, budget airline to directly compete with 5J along its routes. In fact, both airlines coordinate their bookings in areas where both fly to.

Air Philippines is 70-percent owned by Tan and 30 percent by William Gatchalian and his Wellex Industries. Tan acquired the majority stake from Gatchalian in 1999.

The year round availability of 5J's “Go” fares and Airphil's “Super Tipid” fares are expected to perk up air traffic along this busy air route since the difference with boat fares along the same routes have become marginal. However, the inexorable rise in aviation fuel prices could put a damper on this party since the cut-rate fares offered by these two airlines would always be contingent upon the world prices of aviation fuel.

bagel

January 24th, 2007, 01:47 AM

NAIA III -- Already built, already outdated, not yet open.

From BusinessWeek:

Article: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2007/id20070123_741706.htm

Slideshow: (COOL)
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/01/0123_wowairport/index_01.htm?chan=home+page+slideshows
Airport Design Takes Off
With global terrorism, environmental concerns, and increasing numbers of passengers, airports must change to meet new needs

by Helen Walters

There's a memorable scene in the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie, Catch Me if You Can. Leonardo DiCaprio, as a Pan Am pilot, is striding through an airport, trailed by a bevy of skittish air hostesses. Their elegant uniforms, the refined atmosphere of the terminal, the general air of optimism—it all reflects a bygone time, a golden age of air travel, and a striking contrast to today's airport experience.

There are many reasons for the change, not least of which are two of the biggest issues of our time: fluctuating oil prices and the threat of global terrorism. The need for increased security checks not provided for within the original architectural design of airports has led to bottlenecks and retrofitting. Add to that, "People are going through security well in advance of their flights and this has an enormous effect on a facility," says Ron Steinert, principal at aviation architectural design specialist, Gensler, and a long-time observer of the industry.

In other words, more passengers checking more bags and waiting for longer means a need for more luggage storage, more seating, better food, and better entertainment and retail. "How many T-shirts or souvenir mugs do you really need to buy?" Steinert asks. "Passengers are looking for a broader variety of specialty retail—and asking for it to be street priced. So I can go to the airport and pay the same price for a Swarovski necklace for my wife as I would downtown. All of this takes space."
Major Delays

Many of those problems can only get worse. Take the number of travelers, which continues to rise exponentially. "Seven billion passengers will use the world's airports by 2020," Robert Aaronson, director general of the Airports Council International, said in December. "But given the current pace of construction and constraints on airport capacity, airports globally are likely to be equipped to handle only 6 billion passengers. A 1 billion shortfall in passenger capacity means extreme congestion, or turning away customers, at certain airports—a poor choice indeed for a vital industry," he added.

And the airport infrastructure is aging. In the U.S., Denver has the only major new airport to have been built in the past 30 years. In Europe, only Athens and Oslo built new airports in the last decade. Even terminal extension is a slow process. It took six years for Terminal Five at London's Heathrow to get the thumbs up, seven years for the approval of a second runway in Auckland, New Zealand. "In Narita, it took over a decade for a new runway, and when it was finally approved, it was too short for movements of any aircraft larger than a Boeing 767," says Aaronson.

"Everywhere but the U.S. has embraced either a privatization of airports or a public/private relationship where airports are companies set up to provide an airport—and the airlines fly there or not," says Steinert. "Elsewhere, airports are run as businesses and become self-supporting—and can make a profit. It's illegal to have a privatized airport in the U.S."
It's Just Business

A bill going to Congress in September, 2007, may change at least some of the funding mechanisms, with airports hoping that the current cap on the Passenger Facility Charges (a per ticket charge paid in addition to ticket tax which remains within the airport itself) will be lifted, or even removed altogether. "We need to take the funding of airport infrastructure out of the hands of airlines and put it into the hands of airports," says Steinert.

"There has been a real sea-change towards this. In the old days, the airlines thought of airports as a service industry that provided space to them and their passengers. Now, airports see airlines as providing a service to their customers. It's a total change in the way airports are looking at themselves. They're realizing that they have to run themselves as businesses, to make money and provide a high level of service, or passengers will go elsewhere. Take the East Coast of the U.S.: There's an airport virtually every 10 miles. If you don't like one, you'll go to another."

As such, design is playing a part within airports eager to distinguish themselves from the competition. Korea countered Japan's island-based airport at Kansai with its own, at Incheon. Japan came back with another at Narita. Dubai is currently betting big ($4.1 billion) on becoming the largest airport in the world, with a terminal dedicated to processing the superjumbo plane from Airbus.
Green Design

The biggest growth in the industry is definitely to the east. The domestic market in Asia Pacific is predicted to surpass that of North America (the largest market since the outset of commercial aviation) by 2025. As a result, it's no surprise to see much of the construction activity is taking place in that region. China has fast-tracked airport construction, with plans to build 48 new airports in addition to Norman Foster & Partner's massive new facility in Beijing, slated to open in time for the 2008 Olympics. India's Minister of Civil Aviation indicated recently that he will support the development of new routes and new city pairings to help relieve congestion.

But it's not a simple matter of supplying more planes and more flights. Quite rightly, there's also increased pressure from environmental groups to cut down on the emissions and footprint left by both airplane and airport. "We have to find solutions that can make an airport process people faster and find better and more efficient ways to get planes on and off the ground," says Kent Turner, senior principal at the New York City office of architectural firm HOK.

Turner recently concluded six years work on Boston's Logan Airport, the first U.S. airport to receive LEED certification for conforming to sustainable design principles. "I don't know if it will take a great leap of technology but it's hard to imagine that the classic jet engine burning tons of fuel will be happening years down the road."
Vision vs. Reality

In many cases, airports have taken the marquee architect approach: Foster in Beijing; Richard Rogers in Madrid; Renzo Piano in Kansai, Japan; Helmut Jahn in Bangkok, Thailand; and Frank Gehry, who has an as-yet unapproved design in the woks for Venice, Italy. It's a tactic that hasn't met with resounding approval from all within the industry, who argue that every airport should be unique to its locale, rather than simply the newest feather in an architect's cap.

Sometimes, the architect's vision remains unrelated to reality—Kansai is all but empty, leaving the majestic halls which Piano envisioned thrumming with travelers feeling a little deserted. There have been complaints of too few practical necessities, such as restrooms and concession stands, as well as non-intuitive foot traffic patterns at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.

"In Europe and Asia, 'black cape' [big name] architects are a desired commodity because the owners of those airports think that it will make them better than their competitors," says Gensler's Steinert. "But these are grandiose, Taj Mahal types of statements. All too often, those architects provide an image and another firm tries to execute the design."

Of course, Steinert would say that—Gensler has designed 44 terminal buildings around the world, including the forthcoming JetBlue-specific terminal at JFK in New York and Terminal Five at Chicago's O'Hare, and yet is hardly acknowledged in the same breath as the big-name architects mentioned above. But he makes a valid point: Superficial design that looks impressive, but doesn't serve the needs of the customers, isn't what is required here.
Function First

A grand architectural statement may not, in the case of airports, be what is called for. "It has to work functionally first, with the outside a reflection of what is going on in the inside," concludes Steinert. "Who really sees the outside of the building? The pilots? Better to have a nice ceiling inside so that millions of people can experience it."

One thing's for sure, air travel isn't going away—and the challenges it presents can't be ignored. Airports continue to be important contributors to local coffers (the regional economic impact of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airports is more than $18.7 billion a year) and employment (airports worldwide employ over 350,000 people directly, over 4.5 million in related jobs).

So we took stock, rounding up some of the world's most interesting airport designs of today (with a few from tomorrow). Check out the slide show here.

Walters is the deputy channel editor for BusinessWeek.com's Innovation and Design Channel.

bustero

January 24th, 2007, 03:59 AM

I disagree that Naia 3 is outdated. Traffic patterns here and accomodated in the naia 3 design , take stock that people here tend to wait in airports much longer hence the greater floor space already integrated in the design. Lots of shops, bigger space. Remains to be seen if management will take advantage of the way it's designed. FRaport was supposed to run it , too bad but now Naia will and am sure they will insist on keeping people out of the airport as they still do with all terminals. The idea: to keep people away from airports by making it as intollerable to wait in as possible, instead of the more forward thinking , let's accept the culture of filipinos and give them a place to wait.

Here's an interesting development to PR's listing.

SEC approves PAL backdoor listing

Inquirer
Last updated 04:33am (Mla time) 01/24/2007

THE Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a backdoor listing of Philippine Airlines (PAL) via a holding firm owned by tobacco and beer magnate Lucio Tan, the majority owner of PAL, the Philippine Stock Exchange announced.

The SEC has approved a change in name of the holding company, Baguio Gold Holdings Corp., to PAL Holdings Inc., the stock exchange said.

The commission also approved an increase Baguio Gold's capital to P20 billion from P400 million, divided into 20 billion shares with a par value of P1, the announcement said.

Both approvals have effectively made PAL a listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Baguio Gold last year announced that it would pay P136 million, or P1 a share, for 82 percent of PAL shares within a year from the date of acquisition of those shares.

PAL Holdings has assumed the debts of six holding companies in Tan’s group that together own 82 percent of PAL, namely, Ascot Holdings Inc., Pol Holdings Inc., Cube Factor Holdings Inc., Sierra Holdings and Equities Inc., Network Holdings and Equities Inc. and Maxell Holdings Corp.

According to their latest available financial statements, the six holding companies had liabilities ranging from P640 million to P3 billion.

PAL Holdings will issue shares of its stock to the creditors of the six holding companies -- in effect a debt-for-equity swap.

The six companies’ major creditor is Trustmark Holdings Corp., also a Tan company, which owned 69 percent of Baguio Gold.

PAL reported a net income of $29 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, up 63 percent from the previous fiscal year.

For the present fiscal year, ending March 2007, PAL said it expected its profit to drop to $18 million because of increased fuel costs. Daxim Lucas, with INQUIRER.net

kiretoce

January 26th, 2007, 01:30 AM

PAL undercuts CebuPac lower-fare claim in HK

Embattled market leader Philippine Airlines has quietly been undercutting Cebu Pacific’s lower-fare advertising blitz, at least in the busy Manila-Hong Kong route.

PAL’s Web site booking on Tuesday quoted a P22,726 economy fare for two, leaving first flight tomorrow morning and returning on the last flight out of the Chinese colony Monday night.

Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, quoted also on Tuesday a P23,854.36 economy fare also for two on its first flight tomorrow to, and last flight Monday out of, Hong Kong.

Yesterday morning as the flight and apparently packed weekend neared, PAL’s online site was quoting a higher P26,948 fare, while Cebu Pacific had ratcheted the fare to an even higher P29,854.36 for the 11th-hour travelers.

And Cathay Pacific?

Forget about it. Not only were all five flights sold out on Saturday except for the 5:45 p.m. departure, the Hong Kong flag carrier’s online restricted-economy fare for two quoted an eye-popping P46,586!

To siphon off more passengers from the competition, PAL has even fielded its trans-Pacific Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A330 for all the three Manila-Hong Kong flights tomorrow, against Cebu Pacific’s regional-range A319.

For its Cebu-Hong Kong cannonball run, which is actually operated jointly with Cathay Pacific, the PAL-CX combine is deploying an equally humongous A340 for the one-and-a-half hour flight.

Moreover, the Lucio Tan airline has this month improved its Internet booking facility, shortening the last-minute online purchase from a minimum of three days down to only 12 hours prior to flight time, similar to the Gokongwei airline’s.

Other difference: PAL serves free hot meals and drinks while Cebu Pacific, to cut operating costs, offers pay-as-you-go snacks.

For instance, a sachet of instant 3-in-1 coffee in Cebu Pacific costs P50. And, of course, the coffee is sourced from sister-company Universal Robina, along with the other merienda items.

Dodging questions about price undercutting, PAL spokesman Rolando Estabillo would only say that his airline has been offering “attractive” rates not only to Hong Kong but also to other regional routes since, this he admitted, most likely the regional routes like Hong Kong feed passengers into the PAL’s domestic destinations as well.

On the other hand, Cebu Pacific may have fumbled on its price-cutting ability for the Hong Kong sector but in the premiere Manila-Cebu route, the Gokongwei airline has maintained its low-fare grip in its home base, at least for this weekend.

A roundtrip Manila-Cebu economy fare for two, leaving first flight tomorrow and returning last flight Monday, was quoted at Web site rate yesterday morning at P7,058.24, a hefty one-third lower than PAL’s P10,150.

“Gee, I don’t know how they could make money,” a stumped Estabillo could only say.

kiretoce

January 26th, 2007, 01:36 AM

Cebu Pacific Air to hold public shares sale

Cebu Pacific Air, the second-largest carrier in the Philippines, plans to sell shares in an initial public offering at the end of the year, or in early 2008.

Selling shares may help fund the carrier's expansion plans. Cebu Air plans to increase its fleet to 25 aircraft in five years, from the current 14, the airline's president, Lance Gokongwei, said Wednesday.

Adding new planes could enable the airline, controlled by the snack food and property tycoon John Gokongwei, to expand to compete with full-service airlines as well as 18 discount carriers that have started operating in the region since 2001.

xXx carlos xXx

January 26th, 2007, 10:41 AM

Seair inks deal to acquire 2 Airbus A320 jets
01/26/2007 | 03:38 PM

South East Asian Airlines (Seair) on Friday said it has signed a lease purchase agreement with Airbus for two new A320 planes it will use to fly to new foreign and local destinations, including Singapore and Macau.

"We have just concluded the lease contract. In fact, we have informed the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) already," Seair president Avelino Zapanta said.

Zapanta said the two A320s will be delivered as soon as the carrier secures a nod from the CAB.

The twin-jet A320 can carry up to 180 passengers. Seair at present operates propeller-driven light aircraft, including four 32-seater Dornier-328 and nine 19-seater LET-410.

"When we have CAB approval, the aircraft will be delivered and we hope to launch as early as February barring lengthy CAB deliberation and approval by Singapore and Macau aviation officials," he added.

Zapanta said the airline will be suing the A320s to fly primarily to Singapore and Macau, and possibly also to Okinawa in Japan, Taiwan, Cebu and Davao.

Seair is 60 percent owned by Tommy Lopez, Alma Inocentes and Gai Olivarez.

It is the first and only passenger airline based in Clark, Pampanga. It currently flies to 18 destinations within the country.

Zapanta said financing for the acquisition will come from internally-generated funds. Late last year, he had said existing shareholders planned to infuse fresh investments into the airline to bankroll its long-term expansion plans.

"The lease is to be paid monthly from funds from operation. It will not wait for capital infusion since that is not time bound," Zapanta said Friday.

A CAB official confirmed that Seair wrote to the board early this week about the conclusion of the lease contract.

The same CAB official, however said Seair has yet to secure an approval from the board to fly to the new destinations. Seair earlier said it would file its application to fly to Singapore and Macau by February.

"We expect anytime soon that they will file their application. Normally, there will be other carriers that will oppose the petition. This will be resolved through the public hearings that we will schedule as soon as Seair files its application to fly new routes," the official said. -GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/28257/Seair-inks-deal-to-acquire-2-Airbus-A320-jets

habagatcentral1

January 26th, 2007, 04:52 PM

Sinjin P.

January 27th, 2007, 03:58 AM

New Iloilo Airport to spur Visayas dev’t — Drilon

ILOILO CITY — The new airport here, to open this April, will provide a new gateway to the Visayas for air travelers not only in the Philippines, but worldwide. It will offer opportunities for businesses, employment and economic growth to the whole of Eastern Visayas.

These primary benefits from the opening of thje new airport were cited by Sen. Franklin M. Drilon at his speech at the topping ceremony for the new air terminal yesterday, which coincided with the start of the Dinagyang Festival in the province.

"This infrastructure project serves as a gateway that welcomes large-scale business transactions and visitors into the region while providing access to the citizens and businesses in Iloilo to the larger economy," said Drilon, also president of the Liberal Party.

Drilon hailed the development of the new airport as the springboard for economic growth in the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental.

According to a report of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC), "the annual passenger movement between Iloilo and Manila is expected to exceed 800,000 in the year 2010, and wide-bodied jet aircraft such as A330 is very much likely to be operated."

"This will meet the needs of the traveling public for generations to come," Drilon said.

The new airport, equipped with modern facilities, will cater to the increasing number of air passenger and cargo traffic in Iloilo and its neigbor provinces to boost economic development of the Visayas regions, the latest DoTC project status report said.

Construction of the New Iloilo Airport started in 2004 and will be completed by March 18 this year. The three-story passenger terminal is about 12,000 sq. meter in floor area. The airport can accommodate six aircrafts simultaneously parking at a time.

The DoTC said that the new airport is the first to have the latest technology belonging to Category F as determined by the International Civil Aviation (ICA) Organization. This means that the airport is accredited as a qualifier for international standards.

The airport complex has a six-hectare regulating pod, bigger than the Burnham Park in Baguio, that can hold even a year’s continuous downpour, to prevent flood at the airport runway.

Drilon, a native of Iloilo, played a lead role in the completion of the P8.7-billion Iloilo Airport project in the past eight years. He was part of the steering committee which oversaw the project’s implementation.

In November 1998, then President Joseph Estrada issued a memorandum creating the Iloilo Airport Coordinating Committee, with Drilon as adviser.

The airport is at a 188-hectare area in Sta. Barbara-Cabatuan, 19 kilometers north of Iloilo City.

kiretoce

January 27th, 2007, 04:02 AM

A Preview of the New Iloilo Airport of International Standards
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/369597365_ca814d06b9_o.jpg
Photo Courtesy of ExploreIloilo.com and Chymera00.

Coming this 2007

Are there photos without the trees and street lamps obstructing our view of the terminal? Thanks! :colgate:

ianers_ianized

January 27th, 2007, 06:14 AM

Bella! Bella! :applause: I can't wait to come home to our province in April!

A Preview of the New Iloilo Airport of International Standards
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/369597365_ca814d06b9_o.jpg
Photo Courtesy of ExploreIloilo.com and Chymera00.

Coming this 2007

IAMME

January 27th, 2007, 05:33 PM

Are there photos without the trees and street lamps obstructing our view of the terminal? Thanks! :colgate:

From Iloilo thread:
hehe naunahan mo ko post :)

New Iloilo Airport 2007 update
http://www.exploreiloilo.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=360

The test flight is scheduled today, Franklin Drilon is going to grace the event since the airport is his pet project since the beginning.

ByPass in the Sta. Barbara Highway (they are still not expanding the highway from St. Barbs to Iloilo City ... they should have done this before the airport opens, it's a bit disappointing to still have to pass by the 2 lane "highway")

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/369597459_f6b686254e_o.jpg

Control Tower

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/369597275_8c2b212010_o.jpg

Control Tower with Passenger Terminal

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/369597167_a2d831be02_o.jpg

12,000sq.m. 3 storey passenger terminal (Glass walls!)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/123/369597086_2bd3d41f6f_o.jpg

3 aero bridges ... 6 planes can be accommodated at one time

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/369596992_c978ef0ac9_o.jpg

medyo indi clear ang colors ... pa stealth effect pa ngadaan inside the car

jameslab8470

January 27th, 2007, 06:04 PM

cooL! nice airport! i hope ing ana pod ang design sa butuan airport

kiretoce

January 27th, 2007, 07:08 PM

Thanks @IAMME! :okay: Iloilo airport does look like an "international" airport, I wonder what foreign carriers would start services there?

BoNduRanT

January 27th, 2007, 07:16 PM

Hey, nice airport and those air bridges look good. The best looking ones in the country in my opinion.

tigidig14

January 27th, 2007, 10:06 PM

ya it looks way better than the one we have in manila :(

oz.fil

January 28th, 2007, 12:35 AM

that last pic ^^ reminds of the 'wing' design of the island airport in osaka

kiretoce

January 28th, 2007, 05:27 AM

Palau, RP to expand air service
Sunday, January 28, 2007

KOROR -- Palau has agreed to expand its air service agreement with the Philippines, in a move that will open up flights to Cebu, Philippines and eventually to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

Edward Pagunsan, Undersecretary of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communications, who led the delegation, said the Palau panel headed by Trade and Commerce Minister Otoichi Besebes accepted the expansion proposal.

Pagunsan said since there is an existing aviation agreement between the two governments, the proposed expansion will be sent through diplomatic channels and can be signed even without the presence of the representatives who attended the exploratory talks.

Marianas Variety reports under the amendments, flights coming in from the Philippines to Palau would be increased.

Although the amendments have not been finalized yet, Palau also agreed to allow any Philippine based airline to utilize Koror as a hub en route to Yap or any of the FSM islands.

Pagunsan said the expansion would also increase the number of tourists coming from Davao, Cebu and Manila.

nab_uang

January 29th, 2007, 06:18 PM

Iloilo international airport to open in April
Inquirer

ILOILO CITY -- The Iloilo international airport will be open to commercial flights in April and is expected to boost the tourism industry and economy in Western Visayas.

The P8.759-billion project is 97-percent complete and the first commercial flight will land there on April 18, according to Senator Franklin Drilon, who inspected the site with Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza on Friday.

“This will spur the economic growth of Iloilo and Western Visayas,” Drilon said. He said the airport will serve as a “new gateway for the Visayas.”

The number of Iloilo-Manila and Manila-Iloilo passengers is expected to reach more than 800,000 by 2010, according to a forecast of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC).

The current airport in Mandurriao District here is the fourth busiest in the country in terms of number of passengers, next to the Ninoy Aquino, Mactan-Cebu and Davao international airports.

Construction of the Iloilo international airport started in 2004 and will be completed on March 18. The airport is being built on a 188-hectare area straddling Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan towns, 24 kilometers west of here.

It is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including a modern three-story terminal with a floor area of about 12,000 square meters, control towers, a cargo terminal, and landing and navigation systems. It can accommodate six aircraft parking simultaneously.

Funding came from a P5.259-billion loan from the Special Yen Loan Package of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a Philippine government counterpart fund of P928 million.

The Taisei-Shimizu Joint Venture will turn over the airport to the DoTC on March 17.

With the opening of the airport, the 54-ha site of the current airport would be converted into a commercial and light industry complex, Drilon said. The Department of Finance has placed the area’s market value at P1 billion.

The P5.751-billion international airport in Silay City in Negros Occidental province will be open in July next year.

The government has allotted P179 million for the improvement and expansion of the Kalibo airport in Aklan, the gateway to the world-famous resort island of Boracay. It will be completed in April 2008.

Visitors to central Philippines reached 4.23 million in 2005, or 28 percent of the country’s total regional travelers.

aUen

January 30th, 2007, 02:51 AM

From Iloilo thread:hehe naunahan mo ko post :)

New Iloilo Airport 2007 update
http://www.exploreiloilo.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=360

The test flight is scheduled today, Franklin Drilon is going to grace the event since the airport is his pet project since the beginning.

ByPass in the Sta. Barbara Highway (they are still not expanding the highway from St. Barbs to Iloilo City ... they should have done this before the airport opens, it's a bit disappointing to still have to pass by the 2 lane "highway")
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/123/369597086_2bd3d41f6f_o.jpg

3 aero bridges ... 6 planes can be accommodated at one time

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/369596992_c978ef0ac9_o.jpg

medyo indi clear ang colors ... pa stealth effect pa ngadaan inside the car
Awesome! Now that's an international airport, hehe. I agree with oz.fil, it reminds me of Kansai. I think it's great that there's a seperate arrivals level. That would be very helpful by the time the passenger movement increases. What's the annual capacity of the terminal, BTW?

Did chymera00 mean that the gates have dual (?) jetways so it can accommodate up to 6 narrowbodied aircrafts at a time?

ewh1

January 30th, 2007, 03:33 AM

3 Aircraft can be handled at the jetways
while 3 can be accomodated in remote stands.

oz.fil

January 30th, 2007, 06:40 AM

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/369962937_9f5763ed23_o.jpg
that is the airport in vietnam... dont know whther its in saigon or hanoi but its freakin modern!!! their new terminal is close to completion too i hear and its looks good too

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/369962924_aff8867a5c_b_d.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/369962922_6e5301a61d_o.jpg

:nuts:

kiretoce

January 30th, 2007, 06:49 AM

^^ Tan Son Nhat International Airport is in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon/SGN). :colgate:

MarkiiBoi

January 30th, 2007, 06:54 AM

Thailand's new international airport off to a rocky start

Associated Press
Last updated 12:02pm (Mla time) 01/30/2007

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The taxiways are cracked, the terminal has leaks and some airlines even wonder whether it's safe to fly into Thailand's new international airport.

Bangkok's sleek and modern Suvarnabhumi Airport, which opened to great fanfare in September, was supposed to transform the Thai capital into Southeast Asia's leading air hub. To say it has had a rocky start would be an understatement. Full Story (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=46442)

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7010/markiiblacksiggyjg0.png

MarkiiBoi

January 30th, 2007, 06:56 AM

AirAsia wants more flights to Philippines

Inquirer
Last updated 06:34am (Mla time) 01/30/2007

MALAYSIAN budget airline AirAsia has expressed interest in expanding operations in the Philippines.

In a briefing on the sidelines of the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, AirAsia chief executive officer Anthony Fernandes said he was “a big fan” of the Philippines. “If I can get the rights, I would love to also operate flights from Cebu and Davao,” he said.

Fernandes said he was bullish on tourism prospects of the Philippines, with a lot of sites to offer, but “it is just that it can be difficult to fly to the country."

AirAsia flies to Clark in Angeles City from Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “My plan is to go as far as the government will allow me to go,” Fernandes said.

He said AirAsia had elicited the support of the Malaysian government to talk with its Philippine counterpart on the possibility of getting more flights for the airline.

AirAsia was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001, offering more than 100 domestic and international flights to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7010/markiiblacksiggyjg0.png

bustero

January 30th, 2007, 07:10 AM

^^ sananga bt the local guys will block him preventing tourism from taking off

tigidig14

January 30th, 2007, 07:25 AM

i would have to say that Ilo Ilo has the best airport in the Philippines. as of now, its actually looks nicer than naia 3

stephencua

January 30th, 2007, 10:14 AM

taken from inquirer.net..

PAL eyeing four flights to Davao City daily

By Judy Quiros
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 03:56pm (Mla time) 01/30/2007

DAVAO CITY, Philippines -- The country's flag carrier Philippine Air Lines (PAL) vowed to upgrade its operations here this year due to an impressive performance in 2006, PAL president Jaime Bautista said.

The number of passengers and cargo carriage in the Manila-Davao route significantly increased last year, Bautista announced during the 39th Annual Installation of Officers and Trustees of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) on Friday.

"This performance reinforced our leadership position in this important market. We would like to return the favor by enhancing our service and upgrading our operations here," Bautista said.

PAL was seriously considering providing four daily flights using its new Airbus A320 and a fifth flight during peak travel months, he said. Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines and Asian Spirit also have flights to Davao City everyday.

Bautista said the extra capacity would help boost the city's fishing and agri-business industries.

"We are talking an additional seven tons of cargo daily that can be available to the fishermen, farmers, fruit growers and exporters of Davao," he said.

The expansion, he added, would translate to more economic opportunities for Davaoeños who depend on the sea and land for livelihood.

Bautista said PAL was eyeing to establish a regular service between Davao and Hong Kong soon.

kiretoce

January 30th, 2007, 02:55 PM

Bautista said PAL was eyeing to establish a regular service between Davao and Hong Kong soon.

This is very good news! :okay:

The Cebuano Exultor

January 30th, 2007, 03:02 PM

How many aero-bridges does this new Ilo-Ilo (international-standard) Airport have? :?

MarkiiBoi

January 30th, 2007, 03:08 PM

^^ three

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7010/markiiblacksiggyjg0.png

xxpmrong

January 30th, 2007, 03:41 PM

wow! magkakaroon na rin ng dvo-hk!

IMPRESARIO

January 30th, 2007, 05:02 PM

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/1651/airporttnmv8.jpg
The three Airbridges of the New Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan-Sta.Barbara :)
pic from:the news today online http://www.thenewstoday.info/

The Cebuano Exultor

January 30th, 2007, 05:46 PM

They should open this airport a.s.a.p.! I mean, the current airport at Mandurriao is way outdated and overcrowded.

*******************************************************************************

@ Markiiboi:
Thanks. :cheers2:

habagatcentral1

January 30th, 2007, 05:51 PM

They should open this airport a.s.a.p.! I mean, the current airport at Mandurriao is way outdated and overcrowded

I really really really agree with you migs! :okay: Mandurriao cannot cope with the increasing passenger volume (right now, the trend is going over cheap airfare).

April 18 2007 is the expected opening of NIA or New Iloilo Airport of Int'l Standards.

ewh1

January 30th, 2007, 08:52 PM

mmmm
can't we just call it the Iloilo International Airport
Iloilo Airport of International Standards somehow sounds weird.
unless there is something i don't know.
no offence.

terrapinoy

January 30th, 2007, 11:37 PM

AirAsia wants more flights to Philippines
In a briefing on the sidelines of the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, AirAsia chief executive officer Anthony Fernandes said he was “a big fan” of the Philippines. “If I can get the rights, I would love to also operate flights from Cebu and Davao,” he said.

Anthony Fernandes is also an OPM fan since he was the former president of Warner Music Asia. I wonder if AirAsia plays OPM music on its planes today.

From August 2005 Manila Bulletin

AirAsia big boss is big OPM fan
By JOJO P. PANALIGAN

If AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes would have his way, passengers would be listening to piped-in Original Pilipino Music (OPM) during flights in any of the 100 Airbus A320s the airline would gradually introduce into its operations come end of this year.

"Regine Velasquez, Slapshock, Nina, Barbie’s Cradle, Side A, Jose Mari Chan and Freddie Aguilar albums are quality Filipino acts that all of Asia must hear," said Tony to Manila Bulletin on a chartered flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur.

The plan, should it come to pass, would be a big boost to OPM. AirAsia, after all, has serviced no less than 11 million passengers to over 32 destinations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Macau, China and Philippines since successfully introducing its low fare, no frills concept in 2001.

Original Pilipino Music holds a special place in Tony’s heart. He used to be the regional president of Warner Music record label who closely interacted with key people from Warner Music Philippines then.

The part-Portugese, part-Spanish millionaire (said to be the third wealthiest man in Malaysia today) was, in fact, responsible for discovering Joey Generoso of Side A as well as co-producing the debut album of Barbie’s Cradle.

"Too bad I was driven out of the business by rampant piracy," he said. "It was disheartening to build up an act only for legitimate efforts to be undermined by thieves."

Still, Tony harbors no regret over his decision to quit the music business and shift to another field. From initial investment of just a few pesos, he was able to expand AirAsia into a billion dollar business today. AirAsia is now Malaysia’s second national airline and rivals the U.S.’s Southwest Airlines and Dublin’s Ryanair Airlines in terms of offering fares 80% lower than traditional full-serviced competition.

In the Philippines, half of the 148 passengers that any AirAsia 737-300 could accommodate in their regular flight from Clark to Kuala Lumpur are almost always numbered by Overseas Filipino Workers. Notwithstanding balking provision of complimentary meals and drinks, frequent flyer miles or airport lounges, it has become a big hit among the lower and middle class; truly living up to its tagline "Now anyone can fly!"

"Only over a thousand pesos is what one needs to get from Clark to Kuala Lumpur while enjoying the same convenience others offer. Plus, you can book your flights just by logging on to our website—and no need to collect tickets! We are also working out direct flights from Clark to Hong Kong. Aren’t all these great?" he said.

Despite being the leading low fare airline in Asia, AirAsia doesn’t rest on its laurel. Recently, they flew in journalists from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore to Hong Kong to witness representatives and players of Manchester United, the biggest football club in the English Premier League, ink a historic endorsement deal with them.

"As Filipinos are not big on football as their Asian brothers, we plan to hold exhibition games between Manchester United and your national football team next year to increase the popularity of the sport in that former American colony," Tony declared jokingly during the press conference held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong.

Then again, once a musician, always a musician. Despite the demands of his perpetually expanding business, he still devotes time to his first love by playing the keyboards once in a while and, of course, keeping abreast on the latest music goings-on.

Tony, particularly, is keeping an eye on the Filipino music scene and still dream dreams for the industry.

"When I was younger, the Philippines was Number One all over Asia. It was the acknowledged jewel of the east, so to speak. Everyone else was far behind. I’d like to see that happen again beginning with your musicians," he ended.

Tony Fernandes recently received the Airline Business Strategy Award 2005 for Regional and Low Cost Leadership by Airline Business

kiretoce

January 31st, 2007, 01:23 AM

mmmm
can't we just call it the Iloilo International Airport
Iloilo Airport of International Standards somehow sounds weird.
unless there is something i don't know.
no offence.

The moniker Iloilo International Airport indicates that the airport is being serviced regularly by foreign carriers with international flights that connects Iloilo with other cities overseas. But when you say "of international standards," it just means that the airport/terminal is capable of handling international flights (ie. having customs and immigration facilities) should one arrive or depart.

phenom

January 31st, 2007, 04:25 AM

^^
So why not just call it Iloilo International-ready (0r International-capable) Airport since Iloilo Airport of International Standards sounds cumbersome and Iloilo International Airport will likely be a misnomer.

Anyway, there are precedents for an airport to be called International when they have CIQ facilities but hardly - if ever - any direct international flights.
Case in point: Northern Thailand's Chiangrai currently (none previously) have only ocassional direct international landings & takeoffs but kept their CIQ busy by having their Bangkok international passengers transfer directly to/from connecting domestic flights and have their disembarkment/embarkment procedures processed in Chiangrai instead of in their arrival city of Bangkok. Its actually a good idea as they kept the relevant officials occupied whilst taking some load off overcrowded Bangkok.

whyte

January 31st, 2007, 09:42 AM

whyte

January 31st, 2007, 09:45 AM

repost lang po :D

c/o CHYMERA
www.exploreiloilo.com

NEW ILOILO AIRPORT
Sta. Barbara-Cabatuan, Iloilo

Opening April 2007

The Main Access Road
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/369597459_f6b686254e_o.jpg

Control Tower
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/369597275_8c2b212010_o.jpg

Control Tower with Passenger Terminal
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/369597167_a2d831be02_o.jpg

12,000sq.m. 3 storey passenger terminal (Glass walls!)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/123/369597086_2bd3d41f6f_o.jpg

3 aero bridges ... 6 planes can be accommodated at one time
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/369596992_c978ef0ac9_o.jpg

habagatcentral1

January 31st, 2007, 10:21 AM

flymordecai

January 31st, 2007, 12:14 PM

Are there any pictures of the Bacolod/Silay Airport in construction?

SamwiseGamgee

January 31st, 2007, 03:32 PM

:D

Personally, if the new Iloilo airport would NOT be named as ILOILO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT then I should suggest go for the simplest ILOILO AIRPORT.
no other words inserted :lol: then if international flights become regular then just add INTL

Right! :)

IMHO, New Iloilo Airport of International Standards is just the project name, just like when you are writing a book or conceptualizing a new sitcom, you have a working title.

I'd be happy if it will be officially known as Iloilo International Airport, as mentioned in the DOTC's 2006 Yearender Report dated January 2, 2007.

http://news.balita.ph/html/article.php/20070102123058715

But even if it will be known simply as Iloilo Airport, I'd still be very happy, knowing that it will be one of the best, if not the best we have in the country at the moment...

ianers_ianized

January 31st, 2007, 04:40 PM

Wow it looks great... i think it improved more since my last visit last May. I'm looking forwrd to be in this airport wen it opens, Vietnam deserves it, the'r economy and tourism is boosting. This is a good news to every traveler.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/369962937_9f5763ed23_o.jpg
that is the airport in vietnam... dont know whther its in saigon or hanoi but its freakin modern!!! their new terminal is close to completion too i hear and its looks good too

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/369962924_aff8867a5c_b_d.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/369962922_6e5301a61d_o.jpg

:nuts:

habagatcentral1

January 31st, 2007, 06:28 PM

http://img227.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0532rj4.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/375604826_4afb0dfeec_o.jpg

This old lady will retire in April 2007 after serving the Ilonggo public for more than 50 years. :goodbye:

kiretoce

January 31st, 2007, 07:30 PM

^^ What are the future plans for the old Iloilo airport?

IMPRESARIO

January 31st, 2007, 07:36 PM

^^It will be sold to Private Developers, a New CBD.

kiretoce

January 31st, 2007, 07:43 PM

Cebu Pacific brings Manila a little closer

Starting Wednesday, the Philippines will be a little closer to Indonesia with the arrival of a new budget airline, Cebu Pacific Air, serving the Jakarta-Manila route direct three times a week.

The Manila-based airline marks its first direct flight Wednesday from Jakarta to Manila. By comparison, Cebu Pacific's rival, national carrier Philippines Airlines, has a transit stop in Singapore.

Lance Gokongwei, CEB president and CEO of Cebu Pacific Air said: "We are proud to be the only Filipino carrier operating a direct Manila-Jakarta service. Furthermore, we will be the only airline offering a direct, non-stop service."

Back in 1996 when it was first launched, Cebu Pacific Air only served local destinations. In 2001, it opened its first international routes to Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea, though it was not until late 2006 that its Jakarta service was launched.

With fares as low as Rp 1,770,400 net for a round trip between Jakarta and Manila, Cebu Pacific Air is hoping to do a brisk trade.

"We hope that our trademark low fares will further stimulate business and leisure travel to and from this destination because this will benefit the economies of both countries," Gokongwei told The Jakarta Post.

Cebu Pacific Air's marketing director Candice A. Iyog added, "We are flying more and many people are flying for the first time. Gone are the days when flying was the mode of transportation of the elite."

From the capital city Manila, Indonesians can catch connecting flights to 20 destinations within the Philippines, including Boracay, Bohol and Cagayan de Oro, which offer marine life, diving, nightlife and adventure. All these exciting destinations can be booked at www.cebupacificair.com.

kiretoce

January 31st, 2007, 07:47 PM

New Iloilo Airport now ready for test flights

The new airport which is of international standard is expected to start commercial operations by April this year.

Other officials like Presidential Adviser for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela, Representative Arthur Defensor of the third district, Governor Niel Tupas Sr., and Air Tranportation Office Manager Allan Java also joined the activity.

The group aboard a convoy of vehicles toured the airport's 2.5 kilometer runway and then had a glimpse of the airport's state of the art passenger terminal.

NIADP project manager Eduardo Mangalili said the entire structure is 97 percent completed and will be ready for test flights in the next few days.

Upon seeing the progress of the works, all Drilon could say was: "I feel fulfilled."

Drilon along with then Governor Defensor was very instrumental in the initiation of the project.

For Defensor the NIADP is a "dream come true."

"After all the troubles, problems and challenges we now see the fruit of our hard work," Defensor said of the new airport which was initiated during his term and was implemented during the time of Governor Tupas.

Secretary Mendoza, on the other hand, expressed that the new airport would spur the development of Iloilo and the entire Western Visayas.

"Aside from passenger traffic we also expect a big volume of seafood cargo going direct to countries like Canada and the United States," Mendoza said.

Equipped with modern equipment, the NIADP which will be operational 24 hours a day could accommodate bigger aircrafts like Airbus 330 and Airbus 340 and even Boeing 747.

Mendoza said, initially the airport would accommodate domestic flights but it will be opened to international flights later.

Disposing old airport site

Meanwhile, the Asset Disposition Committee (ADC) of the Department of Finance is now on the process of disposing the existing 54-hectare Iloilo Airport site in Mandurriao district which will eventually be closed when the new airport starts operation.

Drilon said ADC will open the property for public bidding.

Initially, the senator said, the proposal is to develop the old airport site into a second urban center in the city of Iloilo. This means the area will be converted into a commercial complex.

Drilon, however, warned officials of the Air Transportation Office to ensure that the airport site will not be intruded by squatters once it is already vacated.

Need for stable energy

Further, Drilon expressed the province's need of a stable power supply to complement the expected entry of investors in the city and province of Iloilo.

Drilon noted the present problem on energy as the province is dependent on power coming from diesel plants of the National Power Corporation.

Drilon said there is an immediate need to attract investors in the power sector to address this problem.

nab_uang

January 31st, 2007, 08:08 PM

It's good to have competitors so that some Airliners would be forced to drop down their fares.... it's good news for all frequent flayers...

==========================================================

Budget airlines up market share
The Freeman

Philippine Airlines continues to dominate the country's air route but discount fares offered by its main rivals appear to have made inroads into the flag carrier's market share.

The Civil Aeronotics Board (CAB) reported that prime domestic jet routes are the subject of "intense competition", with many routes contested by three or four airlines.

The Board cannot validate the individual reports or claims of airlines but CAB figures on domestic passenger traffic show that PAL still retains the lion's share of the market with 2,596,698 persons carried from January-August 2006, against Cebu Pacific's (CEB) 1,855,756 and Air Philippines (AirPhils) 541,489.

However, PAL's market share may be slipping in some of the country's busiest trunk line air routes according to figures from low-fare airline CEB.

Based on a number of parameters including sales/revenues, customer service and accounting, rivals CEB and AirPhils turned in their best performance last year.

Cebu Pacific registered a 57% growth in passenger traffic for 2006 against 2005.

2006 was a "milestone year" for the budget airline with the near-completion of its ($670 million) re-fleeting program and the continued expansion of its operations both in the domestic and regional markets, CEB President Lance Gokongwei said.

In response to CEB's "GO" Fares, AirPhils slashed its fares by an average of 45 percent for all destinations nationwide. Dubbed "Super Tipid," the cheap airfares are sold year round and applicable even during peak passenger season, but available only for limited seats.

AirPhils multi-tiered discount fares is part of a two-pronged market offensive crafted by the Lucio Tan Group of Companies which controls both PAL and Air Philippines. AirPhils has been positioned as a low-cost, budget airline to directly compete with CEB along its routes. Both airlines coordinate their bookings in areas where both fly to.

The year round availability of CEB's "Go" fares and AirPhils' "Super Tipid" fares have also perked up air traffic along busy air routes since the difference with boat fares along the same routes have become marginal.

The cut-rate discount fares offered by CEB and AirPhils throughout 2006 could have been the key factor in accounting for the additional growth as travelers who usually took the boat opted to fly instead.

In Cagayan de Oro, statistics from local shipping ticket outlets show the five inter-island shipping lines serving the Cagayan de Oro-Manila sea route only booked 95,671 passengers last year, which is approximately 1:3 in favor of the airlines 275,733 bookings for January-December 2006 on the Cagayan de Oro-Manila route alone.

PAL has traditionally dominated this air route, steadily increasing its passenger traffic to 324,446 by 2005, or by a cumulative 37% over the last six years. PAL also upped its market share from 50% in 1999 to 63.8% by 2005, not even once giving up the pole position with an average annual growth rate of 6.2% for the six-year inclusive period.

"Today, we have the most domestic destinations, flights and routes. We also offer the lowest fares and operate the youngest fleet in the country, and one of the youngest in Asia", Gokongwei said in a keynote address at the 4th Low Cost Airline Congress in Singapore this week.

Gokongwei disclosed that the airline carried a total of 3.5 million passengers for 2006 with a year-round average load factor of 75% compared to 2.2 million passengers with a year-round average load factor of 64% in 2005.

CEB has been aggressively expanding its regional and domestic operations with the launch of six new regional routes and five new domestic destinations over the past seven months.

"With the arrival of our 13th aircraft last week and our 14th aircraft in February, we will continue opening new routes and serving new destinations. We start our second daily frequency to Dumaguete on January 25, we are increasing our frequency to Korea from 10 times weekly to 17 times weekly, and we also start flying to Jakarta by the end of the month", Gokongwei said.

CEB is expecting to carry more than 5 million passengers in 2007 but PAL appears unfazed by competition.

In a faxed communication to The Freeman, PAL said it is "cementing its relationship with its clientele by providing services that exhibit a sincere concern for their comfort and convenience."

ATW Magazine reported that Philippine Airlines had placed firm orders for two 777-300ERs plus two options and signed a letter of intent with GE Commercial Aviation Services to lease two more dash 300ERs. PAL said deliveries of the purchased and leased dash 300ERs will begin in the 2009 third quarter and continue through 2010. The aircraft on option will be delivered in 2011 and 2012. The airline said it will operate the aircraft in a two-class configuration seating up to 368 passengers.

"The acquisition of the 777-300ER allows PAL to expand direct services between the Philippines and the United States," President Jaime Bautista said in a statement to ATW Daily News. "Our passengers will also benefit from the higher level of comfort and amenities that this high-technology aircraft brings."

Interviewed by The Freeman earlier, PAL's Bautista declared: "We carry the number of passengers that allows us to recover costs and not lose money. We are profitable."

Now in its 11th year, CEB operates 13 brand new Airbus aircraft with an average fleet age of less than a year, to its 20 domestic and seven regional destinations.

Air Philippines is 70-percent owned by Lucio Tan and 30 percent by William Gatchalian and his Wellex Industries. Tan acquired the majority stake from Gatchalian in 1999.

CAB reported a "healthy competition" among airlines despite external challenges, the prime challenge being the high cost of aviation fuel. (RHB/MB)

whyte

February 1st, 2007, 03:33 AM

Please refer to my SIGNATURE regarding the location of the existing airport (and directions on the upcoming one) and see/think what could be the best thing it can be transformed into upon its sale :)

whyte

February 1st, 2007, 03:40 AM

Right! :)

IMHO, New Iloilo Airport of International Standards is just the project name, just like when you are writing a book or conceptualizing a new sitcom, you have a working title.

I'd be happy if it will be officially known as Iloilo International Airport, as mentioned in the DOTC's 2006 Yearender Report dated January 2, 2007.

http://news.balita.ph/html/article.php/20070102123058715

But even if it will be known simply as Iloilo Airport, I'd still be very happy, knowing that it will be one of the best, if not the best we have in the country at the moment...

Correct!

I'd "die" of "humiliation" if I go home and the plane "arrives" at
ILOILO AIRPORT OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
or
ILOILO INTERNATIONAL-READY AIRPORT

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Maybe Ill just "reroute" and take the flight to ROXAS CITY

that is if the Panay Railways rehab pushes through
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

bustero

February 1st, 2007, 04:28 AM

nice airport. I hope they manage it correctly. As we know many time we have good infrastructure built but the soft side is still run the same old antiquated system, organization and people who do not use the airport as designed but use what they know (my analogy is a high tech bathroom with automatic sensors with a pail and tabo on the side). I'll miss the old airport though!

whyte

February 1st, 2007, 05:35 AM

^ :lol: good analogy

yup.the old airport will be missed :(

SamwiseGamgee

February 1st, 2007, 06:39 AM

Correct!

I'd "die" of "humiliation" if I go home and the plane "arrives" at
ILOILO AIRPORT OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
or
ILOILO INTERNATIONAL-READY AIRPORT

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Maybe Ill just "reroute" and take the flight to ROXAS CITY

that is if the Panay Railways rehab pushes through
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

And you have to synchronize your ETA with the train's schedule... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Skyblade

February 1st, 2007, 07:55 AM

They should open this airport a.s.a.p.! I mean, the current airport at Mandurriao is way outdated and overcrowded.

Seriously... Poor Mandurriao has seen better days but it really is old. I'm going to miss it though esp. when driving around the runway to get to the terminal...good times. :D This definitely is going to be a big moment for Iloilo so I'm split between going to an aircraft interiors convention in Germany at April or being down there to see the opening of the new airport. Airport openings don't happen often but I REALLY want to see first hand what's the latest and the greatest in cabin technology...if I only had unlimited frequent flier miles and time. :(

whyte

February 1st, 2007, 10:33 AM

And you have to synchronize your ETA with the train's schedule... :lol: :lol: :lol:

yup will REMEMBER that. http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/images/smilies/hihi.gifhttp://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/images/smilies/hihi.gifhttp://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/images/smilies/hihi.gifhttp://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/images/smilies/hihi.gifhttp://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/images/smilies/hihi.gif

------------

yup.mandurriao airport had "her" "heydays" and despite its age its the 4th busiest airport in the country as per dotc.

FrancisXavier

February 1st, 2007, 05:16 PM

:D

Personally, if the new Iloilo airport would NOT be named as ILOILO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT then I should suggest go for the simplest ILOILO AIRPORT.
no other words inserted :lol: then if international flights become regular then just add INTL

GES Airport is also of international standars i guess.. but they're not refering to it as INTERNATIONAL, because of the absense of international flights perhaps..

But this new ILO airport should be named INTERNATIONAL, regardless of the availability of regional flights.. After all, this awesome facility deserves it, One of the best, if not the best in PI. :)

oz.fil

February 1st, 2007, 09:49 PM

^^^ Canberra (Capital of Australia) International Airport is called international even though they have no international services at the moment

sandrn

February 1st, 2007, 09:59 PM

DOTC focuses on 6 North Luzon airports
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view_article.php?article_id=46814
By Riza T. Olchondra
Inquirer
Last updated 03:09am (Mla time) 02/01/2007

SIX airports in Northern Luzon were tagged priority projects by the Department of Transportation and Communications in connection with the government’s super regions program, according to a DOTC report.

The report, made by Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, said the department was focusing on the development of the government’s super regions to accelerate the economic development of the country.

Airport projects

Mendoza said the six airport projects are Basco and Itbayat airports, both in Batanes; Bagabag airport in Nueva Vizcaya; Lallo airport in Cagayan; Casiguran airport in Aurora; and the Poro Point International Airport in La Union.

Mendoza said the six airports would encourage tourism, business, agricultural and industrial development in North Luzon.

President Macapagal-Arroyo earlier urged the DOTC to “remain steadfast” in its task of developing airports in the super regions.

The Basco project is scheduled for implementation from May 2007 to June 2008, Itbayat from May 2007 to June 2008, Bagabag from March 2007 to December 2008, Lallo Airport from December 2007 to July 2009, Casiguran Airport in February.

The Poro Point International Airport in La Union was scheduled for bidding this month. Its design was completed last Jan. 5.

kiretoce

February 2nd, 2007, 05:39 AM

PAL reschedules flights to Jakarta
The Jakarta Post

To set itself apart from its competitors, Philippine Airlines (PAL) is to change its flight schedule between Jakarta and Manila so as to better suit the market.

PAL president Jaime J. Bautista said Wednesday that starting March 1, the airline would operate a same-day schedule for its four weekly flights to Jakarta, with one aircraft departing every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7.30 a.m. from Manila and arriving in Jakarta at 12.30 p.m.

The return services depart Jakarta on the same days at 1.20 p.m. and touch down in Manila at 8.45 p.m. All flights have a one-hour stopover in Singapore.

Currently, PAL operates a split schedule, with flights arriving from Manila late in the evening and departing Jakarta early the next morning.

"The earlier arrival and later departure from Jakarta benefits tourists traveling to Indonesia's popular interior destinations, such as Bali and Borobudur," Bautista said in a statement.

He said the new timetable would also better suit passengers traveling from Jakarta and transferring to PAL's trans-Pacific services to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

PAL first flew to Jakarta nearly 30 years ago using Douglas DC-8 aircraft. Flights were suspended on June 4, 1998, following operational and financial difficulties resulting from the Asian currency crisis.

Services were resumed on Dec. 2, 2000, with the current four-times-weekly schedule via Singapore.

On March 25, 2001, PAL and the Indonesian national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, implemented a code-sharing agreement, with Garuda receiving seat allocations on PAL flights serving the Jakarta-Manila route.

whyte

February 2nd, 2007, 05:55 AM

GES Airport is also of international standars i guess.. but they're not refering to it as INTERNATIONAL, because of the absense of international flights perhaps..

But this new ILO airport should be named INTERNATIONAL, regardless of the availability of regional flights.. After all, this awesome facility deserves it, One of the best, if not the best in PI. :)

most probably that's what I see happening.

naia centennial is the most modern operating airport terminal as of now and yes iloilo's terminal is actually at par design-wise

and kahit mahal ang PAL sa next kong pag uwi sa iloilo PAL ang sakyan ko para parehong "maganda" ang airport :D

ayoko ng air phil though suki ako ng CEBPAC :lol:

bustero

February 2nd, 2007, 06:29 AM

Hey you guys should be posting these new airports in the transportation sub forums under philippine airports para mukhan naman tayong progressive! We have a lot of good new airports open, with spanking brand new design. I'm not sure if even Davao is there.I'm talking about the international infrastructure subforum, where the trains, bridges, ships, airplanes etc is. Pasiklaban doon. These new airports we have are as good as any even if they're smaller. Great things come in small packages too!

lex_99

February 2nd, 2007, 09:10 AM

The new Iloilo airport design is quite similar to the Cedar Rapids Airport in Iowa... Nice! :)

kiretoce

February 2nd, 2007, 11:32 PM

Cebu Pacific upbeat on Manila-Jakarta service
The Jakarta Post

Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific is upbeat that the airline's newly launched Manila-Jakarta service will become popular among travellers between the two cities.

"Since we are the only carrier that provides direct flights between the two countries' capitals, we are optimistic we will be able to achieve an average 80 percent load factor this year," Cebu Pacific Airlines country manager Eduardo C. Novillas told reporters Thursday.

He said that the airline would not only target the growing Philippine community in Indonesia, but also tourists and businesspeople.

Cebu Pacific offers a fare of only Rp 1,770,400 (US$194) net for a round trip between Jakarta and Manila.

The first Cebu Pacific plane flying from Manila to Soekarno-Hatta Airport touched down in Jakarta late on Wednesday evening.

The new route is served every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Novillas said the low-cost carrier, a subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings, operates a fleet of 13 new Airbus aircraft, with the average aircraft age being less than one year.

Cebu Pacific serves 20 domestic and six regional destinations -- Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Jakarta.

"This year, we plan to expand our regional destinations to three more cities, Taipei, Macao and Shanghai," said Novillas.

He added that the company was also considering opening a Manado-Tabao route, which would take less than an hour's flying time.

Novillas said that in 2006, the carrier had a 40.9 percent share of the domestic Philippine market. Last year, it flew a total of 3.4 million passengers, and expected the figure to increase this year to 5 million.

Cebu Pacific faces competition on its new route from the Philippine flag-carrier, Philippines Airlines, which serves Jakarta through Singapore.

-=+cZaRiNa+=-

February 3rd, 2007, 10:59 AM

mmmm
can't we just call it the Iloilo International Airport
Iloilo Airport of International Standards somehow sounds weird.
unless there is something i don't know.
no offence.

Iloilo Airport of International Standards - sounds cheap, trying hard and sucky. IMHO.

habagatcentral1

February 3rd, 2007, 11:06 AM

Iloilo Airport of International Standards - sounds cheap, trying hard and sucky. IMHO.

Cha, if you don't want to instigate war between us Ilonggos and Cebuanos, just be careful with your words, please. This is the 3rd time you're trying to destabilize the good relationship that Cebu and Iloilo is having right now. Ni hindi nga namin kayo nilait sa mga natatamo nyong tagumpay eh! Immature kaayo nga mga words nimo gipilian, makalagot gyud bisan kinsa nga Ilonggo na muatbang nimo.

The words to describe it are equivalent to insult in our part: "cheap, trying hard and sucky". Tignan mo muna ang sarili mo bago ka mang-husga.

In other words, these words you've uttered in Post 211 are offensive to us Ilonggos.

Please be enlightened before making judgement.

SamwiseGamgee

February 3rd, 2007, 11:12 AM

^^ Bern, sin-o na upod mo, si ______ ______? Kamo na? :)

FrancisXavier

February 3rd, 2007, 11:32 AM

Cha, if you don't want to instigate war between us Ilonggos and Cebuanos, just be careful with your words, please. This is the 3rd time you're trying to destabilize the good relationship that Cebu and Iloilo is having right now. Ni hindi nga namin kayo nilait sa mga natatamo nyong tagumpay eh! Immature kaayo nga mga words nimo gipilian, makalagot gyud bisan kinsa nga Ilonggo na muatbang nimo.

The words to describe it are equivalent to insult in our part: "cheap, trying hard and sucky". Tignan mo muna ang sarili mo bago ka mang-husga.

:okay:

SamwiseGamgee

February 3rd, 2007, 11:32 AM

Iloilo Airport of International Standards - sounds cheap, trying hard and sucky. IMHO.

^^ IMHO, Reply No. 187 below may enlighten you...

... IMHO, New Iloilo Airport of International Standards is just the project name, just like when you are writing a book or conceptualizing a new sitcom, you have a working title.

I'd be happy if it will be officially known as Iloilo International Airport, as mentioned in the DOTC's 2006 Yearender Report dated January 2, 2007.

http://news.balita.ph/html/article.php/20070102123058715

But even if it will be known simply as Iloilo Airport, I'd still be very happy, knowing that it will be one of the best, if not the best we have in the country at the moment...

habagatcentral1

February 3rd, 2007, 11:41 AM

We never said that the new Airport would accommodate international flights ASAP. As a matter of fact, the big neon sign in the new airport is only indicated as "ILOILO AIRPORT" and not "ILOILO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT".

It became an Airport of Int'l Standard since it can accommodate wide-bodied aircraft and passenger volume than the old domestic/trunkline airport that we have right now.

We'll be happy to see it with the word "International" in the neon signs sooner or later but now we are contented that we have a new airport that is comfortable and new and will foster economic growth in Panay Island.

ianers_ianized

February 3rd, 2007, 05:22 PM

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/1651/airporttnmv8.jpg
The three Airbridges of the New Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan-Sta.Barbara :)
pic from:the news today online http://www.thenewstoday.info/

3 airbridges is like bitin...sna mga at least 5 airbridges pra for future air traffics in iloilo. Well, congrats to iloilo, they deserve a new airport. Truly its sad that the old airport needs to retire, but it will be replace by a milestone achivement for ilonggos. And time has come for the pax to feel convinience and world-class facility. 'hOpe the managed it well and I can't get to arrive there in April.

tigidig14

February 3rd, 2007, 11:54 PM

i saw lakbay tv earlier and how they advertise naia 2
its very nice...anyone has the youtube

docz

February 4th, 2007, 03:24 AM

Last week I was in Iloilo for a series of lectures during which I was invited by the ATO and DOTC for a tour of the new airport. Since I only had a cell phone camera, the pictures are not too good. Nonetheless, they should give you an idea of what some parts of the terminal look like inside. I did not take very many pictures because my hosts were busy explaining things to me, and I felt that if I took pictures and did not pay attention to them I would offend them.

This is me standing in front of the terminal underneath one of the ramps to the loading bridge. The consultants were telling me that unlike other airports, this one is mostly glass and naturally lighted.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/docz/Image048.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/docz/Image047.jpg

We entered through the airside through a corridor that leads to the check-in counters which has a raised floor. In front of this was the first security area.
The baggage claim area was to the right of us, and in-between is an atrium with the glass elevator in the middle. The garden in this atrium as shown in the picture below is not yet finished.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/docz/Image042.jpg

We went up two sets of stairs with the escalator on the left which was not turned on. At the top is the entrance to the departure area. Shown below is the area where the second inspection into the pre-departure lounge is conducted.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/docz/Image043.jpg

The departure lounge is just slightly smaller than the one at NAIA2. It also has the cylindrical airconditioning vents, as well as the vents on the partitions.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/docz/Image044.jpg

There are a number of gardens within this lounge very similar to the ones in NAIA2. There are large sky lights over these gardens. The plants however look somewhat plastic to me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/docz/Image045.jpg

Some more picture of the lounge. Like NAIA2 the stores, restaurants are in the partition facing the tarmac and runway.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/docz/Image046.jpg

Overall, the workmanship of the construction is very good, particularly the flooring which is all granite. They told me that they hope to open the facility in May. Most of the buildings were nearly completed but were still unpainted.

garzland

February 4th, 2007, 04:34 AM

kiretoce

February 4th, 2007, 04:35 AM

Nice photos @docz! Thanks for giving us an insider look into the new Iloilo Airport. :okay:

garzland

February 4th, 2007, 04:37 AM

Iloilo Airport is realy gradeuso!!! Another step towards prosperity... I notice nowadays that we have lots of realized big infrastructure projects .... Surely, we're taking off...

allan_dude

February 4th, 2007, 03:49 PM

3 airbridges is like bitin...sna mga at least 5 airbridges pra for future air traffics in iloilo.

i think it would be enough to serve southern panay. soon there'll be negros international airport and another international airport in carabao island (romblon) for boracay/ northern panay.

JustHorace

February 4th, 2007, 04:35 PM

Wow! It does look like an NAIA-2. Aeroports de Paris rin ba yung project designer?

WawaY[625]

February 4th, 2007, 04:49 PM

IMPRESARIO

February 4th, 2007, 05:48 PM

^^pakighilawas
hehehe:naughty:

@docz,thanks for the iloilo airport pics!

docz

February 5th, 2007, 01:02 AM

I dont think ADP was involved in the new Iloilo airport. However, I do know that Japan Airport Consultants were involved in the design and probably the construction management.

I agree that in its present state, the passenger terminal is designed to handle domestic passengers only. I also think that a separate terminal will have to be built specifically for international passengers, as it would be very difficult to modify the current layout to simulataneously handle both domestic and international passengers. I think that the description "international" refers to the fact that the navigational and support facilities (fire station, maintenance, cargo, etc) are compliant with certain ICAO specifications. At present, I doubt if the 2500m runway can handle a 747-400, although definitely it can handle a A330/A340.

One of my observations is that the check area is a bit small when compared to the rest of the facilities. I would estimate the number of check in counters to be between 10 to 12. Another issue that came to mind is that if plane is in a parking bay without a loading bridge, how does a passenger get to the plane from the third floor departure lounge? Unlike NAIA2 where gate S4 has a set of stairs going down to the tarmac, this airport does not seem to have a connection between the departure lounge and the tarmac.

absent-minded

February 5th, 2007, 01:34 AM

wow... the new Iloilo airport looks great! I love the fact that it's been designed with fully separate arrivals/departures levels in the airside, so there's no longer that corridor fronting the outermost length of the departures lounge (as in NAIA-T2 and the new DVO terminal).

@docz - I was wondering if there's any space for airline lounges in the new terminal. if PAL did decide to put up a Mabuhay Lounge, would it simply take up one of the spaces meant for restaurants/shops? did they mention whether or not PAL was planning to put up a lounge at the new airport?

also, you mentioned the baggage claim area was beside the check-in area. how do they separate the departures/arrivals in the landside or that level of the terminal? is there going to be a glass wall or one of the pocket gardens or something?

shyaman

February 5th, 2007, 01:48 AM

xzibit31

February 5th, 2007, 01:56 AM

Nice observation @docz. Is it because the new airport does not support any on-ground loading of passengers that's why there's no access stairs from the departure lounge to the tarmac?

One more thing @docz, does the new airport has an ILS?

it will have...but like at the gensan airport, only one end will have ILS...which end, i do not know....

lewdsaint

February 5th, 2007, 02:37 AM

Do you know the meaning of small-minded?

Kung hindi mo alam ito 'yong meaning para makilala mo ang sarili mo.

small-mind·ed (smôl'mīn'dĭd)adj.
- Having a narrow or selfish attitude.
- Characterized by pettiness or selfishness.
:ohno:

Iloilo Airport of International Standards - sounds cheap, trying hard and sucky. IMHO.

kiretoce

February 5th, 2007, 02:42 AM

^^ Now that you've said your piece, let's not fuel a word war here. Thank you. :colgate:

MarkiiBoi

February 5th, 2007, 02:44 AM

^^ pagpasensyahan mo na. galing kasi ng PEX. :nocrook: :D

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7010/markiiblacksiggyjg0.png

bustero

February 5th, 2007, 03:06 AM

nice docz!

does anyone have a list of all new airports/terminals with pix. ty

Skyblade

February 5th, 2007, 03:14 AM

Thanks for posting docz! Man seriously look forward to using that terminal once it opens! :D

whyte

February 5th, 2007, 03:18 AM

DOCZ
thanks for the the ILOILO AIRPORT updates with pictures
hopefully they will open this April as earlier reported

normandb

February 5th, 2007, 03:35 AM

I red the previous posts on this thread and I think Cza is refering to the name of the airport given by one of the forumer and not to the airport structure itself. Ilo-Ilo Airport or Ilo-Ilo International Airport sounds better than Iloilo Airport of International Standards :D I believe she means no harm...

In fairness mas maganda anf Control Tower ng Il-ilo airport kumpara sa NAIA. Buti pa to sureness to the max na ang opening pero ang NAIA still in limbo.

lewdsaint

February 5th, 2007, 04:01 AM

ncbmandy, meron nang history 'yang si *SHE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED* with regards to creating conflict on both cities.

I red the previous posts on this thread and I think Cza is refering to the name of the airport given by one of the forumer and not to the airport structure itself. Ilo-Ilo Airport or Ilo-Ilo International Airport sounds better than Iloilo Airport of International Standards :D I believe she means no harm...

In fairness mas maganda anf Control Tower ng Il-ilo airport kumpara sa NAIA. Buti pa to sureness to the max na ang opening pero ang NAIA still in limbo.

stephencua

February 5th, 2007, 05:39 AM

taken from inquirere.net.. hope 5j opens up more international flights..

RP to push air talks with 11 countries this year

PAL wants Canada, CebuPac eyes more Korea flights
By Riza T. Olchondra
Inquirer
Last updated 07:45pm (Mla time) 02/04/2007

THE PHILIPPINES has initiated air talks with Macau, Palau, South Korea, Canada, Russia, Oman and Libya to forge reciprocal air travel agreements, according to an official of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

CAB deputy executive director Porvenir P. Porciuncula said the negotiations would be intensified within the year.

The official said Russian negotiators were expected to be available for discussions within February or March and talks with the other countries would be lined up soon.

The government particularly wants to secure flight frequencies to Oman, Libya and areas in the Federated States of Micronesia such as Palau because of the large number of Filipinos there, he added.

As for Canada and South Korea, Porciuncula said the talks were initiated at the request of local carriers.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines wants to fly to Canada and has also signified intentions to fly to Cambodia while Cebu Pacific wants to increase frequencies to South Korea up to 20 times weekly, Porciuncula said.

Discussions with Macau, meanwhile, are being initiated following the Macau Civil Aviation Authority’s rejection of Asian Spirit’s request to serve the destination with charter flights from Clark and Davao.

The rejection reignited air liberalization issues concerning reciprocity, Porciuncula said.

"This raised the issue of reciprocity in EO 500 because we (CAB) have given permission to Tiger Airways to fly between Macau and Clark. Asian Spirit has now requested that we start air talks with Macau," Porciuncula said, adding that other airlines shared the same sentiment that there should be reciprocity on permits.

He added that the talks were expected to progress within the year but there was no definite timetable yet because the availability of officials from all sides was still being worked out.

kiretoce

February 5th, 2007, 05:46 AM

whyte

February 5th, 2007, 06:53 AM

ncbmandy, meron nang history 'yang si *SHE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED* with regards to creating conflict on both cities.

off topic

pati rin pala dito papansin din yan? :bash:

:lol:

habagatcentral1

February 5th, 2007, 07:03 AM

off topic

pati rin pala dito papansin din yan? :bash:

:lol:

Guys, lets just change topic for the better na lang.

Anyway, Iloilo deserves a new airport to be constructed as passenger volume increases by the year. This is a privilage that Ilonggos cannot be deprived with.

Anyway, A319 bound for Bacolod (5J) from Cebu
This is the shortest jet flight that I've been so far. Only 25 minutes (including making a taxi in the runway).

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c121/berniemack/SSC/DSCF0386.jpg

FrancisXavier

February 5th, 2007, 07:08 AM

what's the difference between A319 and A320? lenght?

WawaY[625]

February 5th, 2007, 08:05 AM

it will have...but like at the gensan airport, only one end will have ILS...which end, i do not know....
how about DIA? i noticed though na yung ILS sa may damosa extends beyond the airport property at umabot na sa subdivision sa kabilang side :lol:

Sinjin P.

February 5th, 2007, 08:08 AM

ncbmandy, meron nang history 'yang si *SHE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED* with regards to creating conflict on both cities.

off topic

pati rin pala dito papansin din yan? :bash:

:lol:

Yeah so please don't make that a big issue. Czarina has already received the equivalent sanctions ;)

psionic

February 5th, 2007, 08:27 AM

;11637968']how about DIA? i noticed though na yung ILS sa may damosa extends beyond the airport property at umabot na sa subdivision sa kabilang side :lol:

what do you mean? lumampas sa property. hindi naman po ah. nasa loob po ng property ng DIA and ILS. kitang kita ko po.

WawaY[625]

February 5th, 2007, 08:58 AM

lampas bai, umabot sa subdivision sa kabilang side ng mamay road

xxpmrong

February 5th, 2007, 09:23 AM

what's the difference between A319 and A320? lenght?

mas marami atang seats ang A320... hmm.. so mas mahaba siguro..

FrancisXavier

February 5th, 2007, 09:29 AM

i cannot distinguish w/c is w/c.. i know PAL is using A320.. pero parang walang pinagkaiba eh..

psionic

February 5th, 2007, 09:32 AM

;11638358']lampas bai, umabot sa subdivision sa kabilang side ng mamay road

kung hindi po ako nagkakamali, ang nakita mo po sir waway ay ang ALS ng DIA.
Yung ILS localizer ay kulay orange na nasa loob ng property ng DIA. Yung lumagpas ay ang mga approach lighting system ng DIA.

WawaY[625]

February 5th, 2007, 09:42 AM

ah yun nga yung ALS pala yun :D my bad

BYAHILO

February 5th, 2007, 10:14 AM

dunno if im in the right thread..

im jaz wondering what will happen to don muang airportn in BKK?

habagatcentral1

February 5th, 2007, 10:19 AM

i cannot distinguish w/c is w/c.. i know PAL is using A320.. pero parang walang pinagkaiba eh..

If you put A319 and A320 together, A319 is shorter than the latter.

shyaman

February 5th, 2007, 10:35 AM

The Philippines has 72 airports utilized for civil (commercial and private) and military aviation, circa 2006:

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/9186/airportgp2.jpg

Data does not include figures for new airports that are still under construction (eg Iloilo and Bacolod).

Gibb

February 5th, 2007, 11:09 AM

definitely a Bonifacio Global City for the NAIA.

docz

February 5th, 2007, 11:26 AM

Here are the answers to the questions about the New Iloilo Airport.

1). The airline lounges are on the third floor (or at least that is what I understood from what was described to me in Ilonggo). These two lounges overlook the greeters and well wishers plaza on the landside. The second floor is mostly offices except for the arrival corridor on the airside.

2). The arrival area is occupies the entire left side of the building and is made up of two rooms divided by a glass wall. The baggage claim area is two floors high with stairs on the left side of the room from the second floor arrival corridor to the carrousels on the first floor. After the glass wall is a arrival lobby which then goes out to the greeters plaza on the landside. To right of the arrival lobby is the garden with an elevetor in the middle. This also fronts the landside plaza. The rightmost part of the building the check-in lobby with the stairs and escalator going up to the second and third floor. Behind the check-in counters were airside offices which I think are related to the airport operations.

3). There is one ILS as was shown to me. From the terminal facing the runway it is located on your left. The designation of the runway is 02-20 which is the same as current airport.

4). Unlike NAIA2 AND NAIA3, this airport does not have a docking system. A person guides the pilot to align the plane with present markings on the tarmac and the loading bridge moved into place.

bustero

February 5th, 2007, 11:44 AM

dunno if im in the right thread..

im jaz wondering what will happen to don muahang airportn in BKK?

ah yes you should go to the thai forum

what's the difference between A319 and A320? lenght?

yes basically, a 319 will ussually have a 150 pax config and a 320 a 180 pax config. A 320 will need 1 extra cabin crew with the min 1FA : 50Pax ratio, so a 319 has 3 cabin crew. Since it's essentially the same craft, a 319 with less pax has a longer operating range.

If the ILS are those control towers with lights then yes, DAVAO has it's outside , I know because they're standing on my property!

xxpmrong

February 5th, 2007, 03:06 PM

^^ pano yun binabayaran ka ng DIA for the rent? hehehe
ILS is I? Landing System?

habagatcentral1

February 5th, 2007, 03:14 PM

Here are the answers to the questions about the New Iloilo Airport.

3). There is one ILS as was shown to me. From the terminal facing the runway it is located on your left. The designation of the runway is 02-20 which is the same as current airport.

At least the new airport has an ILS unlike the old one.

Mithril Cloud

February 5th, 2007, 03:14 PM

^^ pano yun binabayaran ka ng DIA for the rent? hehehe
ILS is I? Landing System?

Instrument.

-=+cZaRiNa+=-

February 5th, 2007, 04:42 PM

off topic

pati rin pala dito papansin din yan? :bash:

:lol:

Dalhin ba ang away natin sa PEx.

I red the previous posts on this thread and I think Cza is refering to the name of the airport given by one of the forumer and not to the airport structure itself. Ilo-Ilo Airport or Ilo-Ilo International Airport sounds better than Iloilo Airport of International Standards :D I believe she means no harm...

In fairness mas maganda anf Control Tower ng Il-ilo airport kumpara sa NAIA. Buti pa to sureness to the max na ang opening pero ang NAIA still in limbo.

What the? What happened?:lol:

Just read again my post. Iloilo Airport of International Standards - sounds cheap, trying hard and sucky. IMHO. Look at the word sounds. May ibig sabihin ba akong panget ang airport? The adjectives cheap, trying hard and sucky imply to the name of the airport, not to the airport structure itself. Goshness darlings.:D

How could I even judge the airport? Hindi ko pa nga nakita ng personal ah.:ohno:

---

Btw, about warnings... Hmmm, that's ok. Maybe I should choose the proper words that "would praise". What would you like to hear - that's so damn beautiful elegant man!:lol: Sige tapos na kung tapos.:banana:

WawaY[625]

February 5th, 2007, 08:48 PM

^^ cool ka lang..hehe kiss ko beh :jk:

jef7

February 5th, 2007, 09:09 PM

i cannot distinguish w/c is w/c.. i know PAL is using A320.. pero parang walang pinagkaiba eh..

How to tell by just looking at the aircrafts? It should be quite easy. Look at the window exits. An A320 has two, while the A319 has only one.

Now, how do you differentiate the A320/319s from the B737s?

The tail reveals their distinction. While the airbuses have 'regular' tails, the boeings' tails have a noticeable 'widening' towards the base.

nab_uang

February 5th, 2007, 09:24 PM

Sun.Star

DOMESTIC carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) will increase its Cebu-Zamboanga flights from four times to five times weekly starting Feb. 21.

CEB is offering a P99-seat sale for the Cebu–Zamboanga service.

The selling period for the P99-seat sale will be from Feb. 2 to 8 and is good for travel from Feb. 21 to March 31.

Arrival

The Cebu-Zamboanga additional service is scheduled to operate on a Saturday and departs from Cebu at 1 p.m. and arrives in Zamboanga at 1:55 p.m. It will leave Zamboanga at 2:25 p.m. and will arrive in Cebu at 3:20 p.m.

Meanwhile, CEB will also increase its Zam-boanga-Davao flights from three times to five times weekly starting Feb. 21.

The Zamboanga-Davao additional services are scheduled to operate Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Schedule

The flight departs from Zamboanga at 8:05 a.m., arriving in Davao at 9 a.m.

The Davao-Zamboanga service departs from Davao at 9:30 a.m., arriving in Zamboanga at 10:25 a.m.

“We are effectively increasing our Cebu-Zam-boanga capacity by 25 percent and Zamboanga-Davao capacity by 67 percent to further boost inter-island travel and provide more options for both business travelers and tourists.

Fares

The additional flights will also mean that there will be more low fares available for everyone.” said Candice Iyog, CEB marketing director.

The P99-one-way fare is for immediate payment upon booking and is exclusive of surcharges and government tax.

“CEB’s increase in capacity for Cebu is a show of support and confidence in region’s growth and potential. By doing this, we hope to stimulate more travel between Cebu and other key provinces,” she added.

Re-fleeting

After the seat sale, the lowest ‘Go’ fare for the Cebu-Zamboanga and Zamboanga-Davao service starts from P568 one-way.

Now in its 11th year, CEB has the youngest fleet in the Philippines with a fleet age of less than a year, and one of the youngest in Asia, as it operates 13 brand new Airbus aircraft to its 20 domestic and 7 regional destinations.

CEB awaits the delivery of one more Airbus aircraft next month to complete its $670 million re-fleeting program. (PR)

nab_uang

February 5th, 2007, 09:46 PM

what's the difference between A319 and A320? lenght?

here are the differences bro....

A319:
Overall length 33.84 m.
Cabin length 23.78 m.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/nab_uang/A319.gif

A320:
Overall length 37.57 m.
Cabin length 27.51 m.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/nab_uang/A320.gif

Source: AirBus (http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a320/a319/index.html)

normandb

February 5th, 2007, 11:02 PM

;11630029']I dont get it..bakit hindi International airport ang sa Iloilo samantalang ang sa Zamboanga ang Gensan international!?

wala kasing customs and immigration officers and facilities. ito lang yong dag-dag sa airport para maging international airport.

WawaY[625]

February 5th, 2007, 11:09 PM

^^ i mean, gumawa na lang sila ng magandang airport, bat di na lang nila sinagad..sayang naman

normandb

February 5th, 2007, 11:20 PM

3 airbridges is like bitin...sna mga at least 5 airbridges pra for future air traffics in iloilo. Well, congrats to iloilo, they deserve a new airport. Truly its sad that the old airport needs to retire, but it will be replace by a milestone achivement for ilonggos. And time has come for the pax to feel convinience and world-class facility. 'hOpe the managed it well and I can't get to arrive there in April.

tatlo lang kasi ang posibleng gumamit ng sabay sabay PAL, Air Phils at CEB.

;11644287']^^ i mean, gumawa na lang sila ng magandang airport, bat di na lang nila sinagad..sayang naman
para suspense he he he :lol:

sana magtayo na rin ng bagong airport terminal sa Roxas City para pag bisita ko sa pangga ko maganda ang ambiance. naalala ko dati nong pauwi na ako ng manila from roxas siksikan sa airport sobra tapos umuulan pa ng malakas tapos sabay pa yong PAL at Cebu Pacific kaya sobra dami ng tao.

normandb

February 5th, 2007, 11:39 PM

dunno if im in the right thread..

im jaz wondering what will happen to don muang airportn in BKK?

i visited the thai forum and according to the newpapers chismis it will be reopened because some domestic airline are planning to use the old airport because of the higher operating cost in the new airport and the new modern futuristic super extravagant spacious to the max suvarnabuni airport (tama ba parang nangati ako don) is facing a major problem.

FrancisXavier

February 6th, 2007, 12:49 AM

Thank you guys for helping me up with A319 and A320...:)

phenom

February 6th, 2007, 03:38 AM

Now, how do you differentiate the A320/319s from the B737s?

The tail reveals their distinction. While the airbuses have 'regular' tails, the boeings' tails have a noticeable 'widening' towards the base.

For a layman, a very telling difference at a quick glance is in the engines. The Airbus sports regular circular inlets whilst the Boeing's are somewhat flattened.

Sinjin P.

February 6th, 2007, 04:31 AM

Runway upgrading causes traffic congestion at Naia
By Recto Mercene
Reporter

THE Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) closed a portion of runway 13-31 from January 15 to February 28 for upgrading, a move that has caused traffic congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

During the third quarter of 2006, some 300 meters of the southend portion of the runway was closed for upgrading at a cost of P300 million.

This time, the runway’s northern end is also being refurbished to allow runway 13-31 to accommodate taxiing large-body aircraft such as B-747, B-777 or Airbus 340.

However, the closure shows that there is not enough area for airplanes to move about, which taxed to the limit the air controller’s capacity and in the end, forced aircraft to wait for some time before they can take off or land.

More often, airplanes have had to wait more than 30 minutes before being given the clearance to take off.

Even without closing runway 13-31, however, air carrier executives said there’s still not enough elbow room for aircraft to maneuver because aircraft volume had increased in number over the years, while the country’s premier airport is stuck with one small runway and one big runway but converging and not parallel in design, according to the Air Transportation Office (ATO).

Crossing each other like a huge X, the runways are dangerous to operate simultaneously, especially at night or in bad weather, because of the possibility of collision when two aircraft that are about to land on either runway, continue their course after executing a mis-approach after failing to see the runway.

Hence, current runway designs are always made parallel to each other.

This crossing runway-design problem is a headache not only to ATO but to the Miaa as well. Naia frequently upgrades the runway and taxiway facilities, but doesn’t actually provide increased usable space.

According to aviation sources, air controllers are now looking for remedial measures to limit aircraft operations to diminish delays and also to minimize the chances of air accidents.

An ATO study shows that air traffic congestion at the Naia starts at 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., with peak volume reaching 38 aircraft per hour between 3 to 4 p.m.

“Sometimes, we handle 53 aircraft per hour because the Naia is unique among other airports that we have a mixture of commercial planes, general aviation, helicopters, military and small aircraft,” said a source at the ATO who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the problem.

In many international airports abroad such as Hong Kong’ Chep Lap Kok, Kansai in Japan and others, they only handle commercial aircraft. General aviation aircraft such as those for air charter, flying schools, executive jets and helicopters are located in a separate area far away from the international operations.

Kansai Airport, including other airports abroad, also limits aircraft operations to a maximum of 30 landings and takeoff per hour.

Kansai airport practice what is called “slotting” where the number of takeoff and landings are spread over a period of time to lessen the volume during peak traffic hours, despite their having one huge runway, two taxiways and six rapid-exits.

The runway 06-24 at the Naia has only two rapid exits and there are proposals to increase it to four, but the Miaa authorities are reportedly stunned by the cost of construction following a briefing by ATO officials.

However, having four rapid-exits at the Naia would enable air controllers to speed up clearing the runway of just-landed aircraft by 17 seconds, giving them more time to process more aircraft.

On the other hand, constructing these high-speed exits would entail limiting aircraft movements again, which the country could ill afford at this time when we are enticing tourists to come in droves, and proposing an open-sky policy to bring in more of them into our shores, according to airport sources.

It is because of the just mentioned problems that the Naia belongs to a “level 3” airport, which the International Air Transport Association (Iata) defines as an airport that had exceeded its capacity to handle air traffic.

A “level 1” airport means that there are no restrictions for air operations, according to an official of the Airline Operators Council (AOC).

The AOC official said that the paramount concern of air traffic controllers is safety and until the airport officials could find ways to widen the airport compound beyond its present limits or transfer to the Macapagal-International Airport in Clark, all those operating out of the Naia have to bear the burden of long wait before hearing that much awaited “cleared to land, or cleared for takeoff,” command from the control tower.

xzibit31

February 6th, 2007, 08:26 AM

;11637968']how about DIA? i noticed though na yung ILS sa may damosa extends beyond the airport property at umabot na sa subdivision sa kabilang side :lol:

DIA has ILS on both 05 and 23...

xzibit31

February 6th, 2007, 08:28 AM

;11638358']lampas bai, umabot sa subdivision sa kabilang side ng mamay road

dude, those are the approach lights of 05...ganun din ang approach lights sa 23.

ang ils is located inside the airport compound.

Tahimek

February 6th, 2007, 08:29 AM

About what I said earlier on museums...maybe an aeronatics museum would be appropriate (paying tribute to the airport's history), and it could be similar to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, just without the spacecrafts.

whyte

February 6th, 2007, 08:58 AM

normandb

February 6th, 2007, 11:25 PM

Full dev’t of Clark airport into int’l gateway approved
www.mb.com.ph

CLARK ZONE, Pampanga — President Arroyo has approved plans of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) to start working on the full development of Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here as the country’s future premier international gateway and the best logistics hub in the Asia Pacific Region.

CIAC President Victor Jose I. Luciano said the approval of the Chief Executive came after the development plans of the government-owned corporation on the full utilization of DMIA before 2010 were presented during the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) meeting in Malacanang last Jan. 23.

He and new CIAC chairman Nestor Mangio attended the meeting.

During the NEDA meeting, which was presided over by the President, Luciano reported that arrangements are being finalized with theKorean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for the financing of the -million feasibility study of the Clark airport.

The President was told that the airport development plan would cover the construction of two passenger terminals and general freight terminal facilities, including maintenance, repair and overhaul of other airport facilities, and extension of navigation and runway facilities.

The top CIAC executive said that if the proposed plan is approved, some P56.5 billion would be needed for the first phase development of the airport project.

The full modernization of DMIA complex will be started immediately and will be finished by 2010.

Luciano said that the development is necessary because of the growing number of passengers at DMIA every year.

At present, DMIA terminal has a capacity of 500,000 air passengers a year.

After the completion of terminal 2, its capacity is expected to increase to five million, and then to nine million after construction of terminal 3.

..........

docz

February 7th, 2007, 12:35 AM

How to tell by just looking at the aircrafts? It should be quite easy. Look at the window exits. An A320 has two, while the A319 has only one.

Now, how do you differentiate the A320/319s from the B737s?

The tail reveals their distinction. While the airbuses have 'regular' tails, the boeings' tails have a noticeable 'widening' towards the base.

B737 do not have the winglets like A320's. Also, the engines of a B737 are somewhat flattened on the bottom.

FrancisXavier

February 7th, 2007, 02:12 AM

phenom

February 7th, 2007, 03:49 AM

B737 do not have the winglets like A320's. Also, the engines of a B737 are somewhat flattened on the bottom.

On the contrary, the A320s have wingtip fences, NOT winglets.
Also, blended winglets are available as retrofits and in production on newer B737 aircraft. Its the older B737s that do not sport winglets.

Regarding the non-circular engine pods, I have already made the more correct statement of flattened inlets a few posts above. Yes, its the engine inlets that are flattened, NOT the engines themselves.*

For a layman, a very telling difference at a quick glance is in the engines. The Airbus sports regular circular inlets whilst the Boeing's are somewhat flattened.

*Engines on the 737 Classic series (300,400,500) and Next-Generation series (600, 700, 800, 900) do not have circular inlets, as most aircraft do. Engineers needed additional space to locate equipment on the more powerful engines, but because the 737 sits lower to the ground than most aircraft, the enlarged engine would sit too close to the ground. Instead, the engineers placed equipment on the engine's sides, giving the engine a pronounced triangular shape. Boeing and CFM International, the engine manufacturer, claim that the triangular shape actually yields slightly improved performance. The necessary nacelle redesign is known in the industry as "hamsterisation", because of the resemblance of the shape to the rodent.

leii_tomo

February 7th, 2007, 07:45 AM

pics taken during thanksgiving on the way back here

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/manila/IMG_5330.jpg
NAIA 1 and the runway

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/manila/IMG_5332.jpg
Etihad, i thought first they came ethiopia :lol: but i read somewhere that theyre from dubai

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/manila/IMG_5329.jpg
PAL lining up

Etihad is the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, it is based on Abu Dhabi the Capital of U.A.E., while Emirates Airlines is based on Dubai.Ü

kiretoce

February 8th, 2007, 03:36 AM

Pacific airlines feel the pinch from oil rich Middle East airlines
By Elenoa Baselala

If rising fuel costs is a problem for the region’s airlines, pilot poaching is an even bigger one—slowly burning holes in their already shrinking pockets as pilots fly off to more lucrative destinations.

The fast growth of airlines in the Middle East, China and India have been blamed for the unending loss of experienced pilots from the Pacific.

The region, however, is not the only one facing the problem as almost all airlines in the world are putting in place pilot retention measures.

Particularly affected are the smaller airlines that spend a lot of money on pilot training only to lose them to much bigger and wealthier airlines. So concerned are the small operators that the issue was raised at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting last year. Small operators from Africa also joined in in criticising the bigger ‘poachers.’

According to Airline Business magazine’s January 2007 edition, the topic was to have been IATA’s move to make certification under its international operational safety audit programme (IOSA) a qualification for membership.

Air Seychelles’ chairman, David Savy told the magazine this was a downside to IOSA as African airlines had a dismal safety record but had to meet IOSA by using trained specialists to deliver it.

He said a number of African airlines spend time and money training pilots but airlines around the world poach these pilots by dangling higher and unmatchable salaries.

GLOBAL ISSUE

IATA’s communication manager for the Asia Pacific, Albert Tjoeng told Islands Business that pilot poaching was a global issue. But it was outside of IATA’s scope.

“While we’re not directly involved, IATA is committed to skills development and training.

“In 1984, IATA established the International Airline Training Fund (IATF) as a central component of its programme for airlines in developing nations.

IATF fosters training as a means to sustainably enhance the knowledge and skills of employees of IATA member airlines in developing countries, thus allowing them to meet their business needs and the challenges of the air transport industry.

“IATF also serves as a key platform for supporting IATA member airlines in developing countries to meet industry priorities by facilitating access to training, information and other services within IATA.

“The Pacific Islands have benefitted and continue to benefit from IATF,” he said.

In India last year, pilot poaching was so serious that it led to cancellation of flights by some airlines.

For the Philippines, local airline operators Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Asian Spirit and Air Philippines warn that by 2010, the country may find itself without a single pilot or a maintenance crew because of the phenomenon. So serious was pilot poaching that the Philippino Government had to intervene with its own pilot retention programme.

Closer to home, chief executive of Solomons Airlines, Joseph Anea said his airline was not as affected as others airlines in the region like Air Pacific, because he has had only seven local pilots in the last 20 years, of which only three are being employed by them.

Anea believes that while losing pilots to bigger airlines may affect some airlines, the benefit would come their way in the long-term as these pilots tend to return home more experienced.

“For the pilots, they have to think of career progression, an improvement to their standard of living and a chance to have a wider experience,” he says.

“And in the future, these pilots will return and would be more experienced.”

Solomon Airlines now employs expatriates as pilots and has stopped its pilot training programme with Air Fiji. Air Pacific seems to be the worst affected by pilot poaching with the airline reporting a loss of about 21 pilots in the last three years.

Of this number, 16 resigned to work in the Middle East, primarily with Oman Airways and Emirates Airlines, one will soon leave to work in Hong Kong and four have emigrated to Australia and New Zealand with two joining Virgin Blue.

MORE BRAIN-DRAIN

Chief executive John Campbell predicts more brain-drain in the future.

“A new airline, Etihad, has aggressive growth plans for flights from Abu Dhabi and we expect they will soon initiate a recruitment drive worldwide to fill the jobs to be delivered by their new aircraft orders.

“Airlines in the Middle East have ordered or taken delivery of around 400 aircraft in the past. Each aircraft requires seven sets of pilots with up to three crews in each set so the total recruitment drive by Middle East carriers is around 6500 pilots.

“The aggressive growth plans mean that they do not have the time or resources to train their own staff so they poach experienced, competent pilots worldwide,” Campbell says.

Figures released by IATA show that growth in air travel in the Middle Eastern is fuelling pilot poaching.

The region, the international agency says was the fastest growing area for both passenger and cargo in 2006, registering a full year growth of 15.4% and 16.1% respectively.

Campbell said Air Pacific is resigned to the fact that it will continue to be a supplier of pilots for Middle East airlines.

“We understand that Qatar Airways has been so impressed with Air Pacific pilots that they recruit them without any further testing of their flight competence.

“The Air Pacific recruits are not put through simulator or other examination techniques, their competence is accepted based on our standards,” Campbell says.

Like Solomon Airlines, Air Pacific has filled vacancies through the recruitment of expatriate pilots.

“Air Pacific uses crew-leasing companies in New Zealand and Australia to hire licensed, experienced pilots while its recruitment and training process continues.

“To-date, Air Pacific has hired a total of 28 local pilots to replace the 21 pilots who resigned to emigrate or fly for other airlines.

“These pilots are mainly drawn from Fiji’s domestic airlines and have been initially trained by flying schools based in Nadi.

“However, the experience of these pilots are limited to small aircraft and therefore once they join Air Pacific, they would have to be trained for a minimum 12 months as second officers on the B747s or B767.

“Second officers are not licensed to take off or land a jet. Subject to skills and discipline demonstrated, they would be progressed through training courses to become First Officers and are then qualified to fly as a co-pilot on our B737 aircraft.

“The training courses are up to three months long and subsequently the pilots are monitored and tested by check and training captains before being cleared to fly as a line pilot.

“It typically takes around two years from the time a Second Officer is initially recruited to the time that they are fully qualified as a B737 pilot.

“Given the numbers we have recruited and are training, it follows that the pilots supplied by the crew leasing companies will be with Air Pacific for a few more years,” Campbell says.

Air Niugini is also affected by pilot poaching especially to airlines in the Gulf, but the full extent of the problem on Papua New Guinea’s national carrier could not be ascertained as questions sent to the airline were not answered by press time.

So, what can the airlines do to counter pilot poaching? There were suggestions during the 2006 IATA AGM to have a code of conduct put in place.

Airline Business magazine, however, reported that when this idea was put across at the meeting, it was effectively shot down as naïve.

Some say it might work in an ideal world, but its implementation in the cut-throat airline business will be practically impossible.

CUT-THROAT BUSINESS

A number of airlines including Air Pacific have tried to plug the brain-drain problem through promotion and better working conditions. But even such an approach has a limited effect given the type of carrots and incentives dangled by the mega-rich companies of the Middle East.

Some of these companies also protested about the use of the term “poachers”. They argued that it is not the right word to use because in reality, it’s about “supply and demand”.

“We are not finding it at all difficult to recruit good people. Our product is appealing for applicants,” Etihad Airways’ regional general manager for Europe and the Americas, Kirk Albrow told Airline Business.

“We certainly don’t poach—it’s a question of people approaching us.”

He added that the fast-growing Abu Dhabi-based airline has robust processes in recruiting and benchmarking against its competitors.

“Our salaries are very competitive, but not outrageous—we won’t line your pockets,” he says.

Air Pacific, which spends F$9 million a year on training, says it has relatively few tools to change or reverse this trend.

“Our existing pilots are being promoted rapidly as can be done so that all senior crew members from the B737s are being advanced through to B767 and B737 aircraft.

“National pilots are being promoted as safe and practical to the role of captains in the B737 aircraft.

“Salaries and work conditions for Air Pacific pilots are very generous and competitive within the region. But we simply cannot match those that are being paid in the Middle East.

“We are advised that pilots in the Middle East receive a salary in the order of US$18,000 tax free per month, plus free medical and hospital treatment, free schoolling, free housing and free travel to their country of origin twice per annum.

“In some ways, the Middle East airlines can afford this because they do not pay the initial costs of training and type rating for crews—these costs are being paid by Air Pacific and other airlines.

“In other ways, the governments which own the Middle East airlines have adequate oil income to pay for huge growth plans and salaries, so any escalation in salaries elsewhere will be countered by further increases in the Middle East.

“As a matter of interest, Air Pacific currently spends F$9 million per annum in training our pilots and maintaining the validity of their licences.

“The majority of this money is spent overseas in simulator training. We are committed to the continuation of the very high standards that we set and we will not cut back on the quality or extent of training, therefore whether we pay pilots more or not, the cost of training will continue,” Campbell says.

As Anea says not much can be done about pilot poaching except to accept that it will happen because pilots also need to think of their future well-being.