hrmms... the seats are nothing special so the entertainment better kick ass!!!

Btw, the PAL website shows that the lone 737-400 in the fleet is gone. Looks like when the 3 extra A319s arrive, we'll see the exit of the last two B737-300s.

NAIA installs 30 fans to beat summer heat

The Philippine Star

The scorching heat of the summer sun has prompted the Manila International Airport Authority to install over 30 industrial fans at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The blowers are now working to keep the entire facility cool along with five powerful, chiller-type air-conditioning units.

MIAA assistant general manger for operations Bing Lina said the industrial fans were installed in specific areas – especially places where passengers pass: "They are all over the terminal. We have them at the arrival, departure, and other offices especially in passenger movement areas."

Lina said this year’s summer seems hotter than previous summers.

According to him, the MIAA has been installing industrial fans during the hot season for years now to augment its air-conditioning units: "We have five chillers and three of them are always on. We rotate the use of the chillers so some of the units can rest."

MIAA authorities are also planning to implement other improvement projects at the NAIA for the benefit of passengers.

Officials are looking at expanding waiting areas, putting up more roofing outside the main buildings and extending the air-conditioned areas.

The plans form part of improvement projects eyed for Terminals 1 and 2 following last month’s postponement of the opening of NAIA Terminal 3. Michael Punongbayan

Manila Domestic airport up for remake (http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=police3_april23_2007)

The aging Manila domestic airport will undergo a total rehabilitation and expansion to handle its increasing traffic of passengers.

General manager Alfonso Cusi of the Manila International Airport Authority says the project starts next month with the finalization of the master blueprint.

The domestic airport was built in 1948, serving all local airline flights except Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines, which use the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal-2 for international and domestic flights.

The improvements include placing canopies in passenger queuing and loading areas and making the facility’s interior more spacious for the easy and convenient movement of passengers.

MIAA has set aside about P100 million with the assurance that the old terminal would minimize disruption of day-to-day operations.

“While expansion of the international terminals are scheduled for completion in December, improvement of the domestic airport might be finished sooner,” said airport development chief Tirso Serrano.

The rehabilitation and expansion would have some airline offices looking for easier and strategic location to relocate near the terminal.

Even as the almost 60-ish domestic airport undergoes rejuvenation, NAIA-3 still has to hurdle structural and legal problems.

Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights in 6 more BIMP-EAGA areas (http://news.balita.ph/html/article.php/20070424184429342)

To push for greater momentum in improving air connectivity within Brunei Darussalam/Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), airports in six more areas of the sub-region are added to the list of designated points to be granted with Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights (FFTRs).

In a recently held 4th BIMP-EAGA Transport, Infrastructure and ICT Development (TIICTD) Cluster Meeting here, the EAGA working group on air linkages agreed to grant Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights to all passenger and cargo services in the airports of Manado and Tarakan in Indonesia, State of Labuan and Miri in Malaysia, as well as in Puerto Princesa City and General Santos City in the Philippines.

These are the new FFTR designated points in BIMP-EAGA in addition to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei Darussalam, Balikpapan and Pontianak in Indonesia, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in Malaysia, as well as Davao City and Zamboanga City in the Philippines.

"The granting of the Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights to priority airports in the member countries is one of the breakthroughs in the meeting here," said Ang Kian Guan, head of the Brunei Delegation and concurrent chair of the BIMP-EAGA TIICTD Cluster.

He added that this measure will boost travel and trade by allowing more airlines to undertake more air services in the identified priority air routes of BIMP-EAGA.

Implementation of the Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights have been targeted in the Bandar Seri Begawan-Kota Kinabalu-Davao City, Bandar Seri Begawan-Kuching-Pontianak, Bandar Seri Begawan-Kota Kinabalu and Bandar Seri Begawan-Kuching air routes as a result of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Expansion of Air Linkages in BIMP- EAGA during the 3rd BIMP-EAGA Summit held in Cebu City last Jan. 12, 2007.

Fifth Freedom Right provides privilege to an airline to bring cargo and passengers from one country to another other than its home country.

The MOU also provides for multiple airline designation, no limitation on frequency, capacity and aircraft type, co-terminalization and code-sharing schemes.

"Strengthening our air linkages within EAGA and promoting greater movement of people, goods and services across the sub-region through air connectivity, essentially form part of the policy initiatives laid down by President Arroyo in committing government support to this endeavor," according to Mindanao Economic Development Council Chair Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana.

The four countries noted that majority of the designated airports for BIMP-EAGA air services are already compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization's safety and security standards.

A regular exchange of data and information on airports development and best practices on ICAO safety and security compliance was also agreed.

Since it has been difficult to convince major airlines to serve air routes in the sub-region due to high cost of operations and low load factor, the cluster has agreed to entice low cost and small airline operators to serve the identified priority air routes and recommended for code-sharing arrangements among airline operators.

Thus, a BIMP-EAGA Airline Forum will be held back-to-back with the 2nd BIMP-EAGA Transport Ministers Meeting on July 25-26, 2007 in the Philippines.

The forum is intended to invite smaller regional airlines in BIMP-EAGA to interact and familiarize with the opportunities in the growth area.

BIMP-EAGA countries have been pushing for the expansion of air links in the sub-region in an effort to promote and enhance intra-regional trade, tourism and investment cooperation among the focus areas.

The provision of air services in the BIMP-EAGA is envisioned to bring about greater accessibility, facilitate mobility of people, enhance flow of goods and commodities and attract investors to locate in the sub-region.

Created in 1994, BIMP-EAGA is a four-country grouping collectively pursuing sub-regional economic growth.

With an estimated 50 million people spread out across 1.5 million square kilometers of land in four countries, the BIMP-EAGA is Asia's largest sub-regional cooperation.

Direct Flights Between Shanghai-Cebu City To Start In June (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007144105)

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - China Southern Air is expected to open direct flights from Shanghai to Cebu City in June.

The airline will initially offer two flights a week, using an Airbus A320, with an average plane capacity of 180 passengers per flight. The company said it might add new flights later on and use a bigger Boeing 777 plane if demand picks up.

The direct flight to Cebu will reduce travel time to a little over three hours. Currently, visitors from China have to fly in through Manila and catch a connecting flight to Mactan International Airport in Cebu.

Tourism industry players from Cebu are hoping the new flights would double the number of tourists coming from China to the island resort.

The Philippine Tourism Authority hopes that the number of Chinese tourists to Cebu would increase by at least 10 to 15 percent with the new direct flights. Last year, there were about 10,000 Chinese travelers to Cebu, with around 10,000 of them attending meetings, international conferences, and exhibits in the city.

Koreans and Japanese traditionally make up the largest groups of tourists visiting Cebu.

PAL needs new planes (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=74966)

Ask any businessman who flies to and from the United States and Canada and most likely, they’ll tell you that the best way to fly is via Philippine Airlines. PAL has the perfect departure time at 10 p.m. for those going to San Francisco or Los Angeles; and for those flying to Las Vegas, the 5 p.m. schedule is likewise perfect – you sleep on the way, you wake up and you’re at your destination. Coming back to the Philippines, the planes leave the United States either at 11 p.m. or 12 midnight. Again, you can sleep for the long haul, and wake up just as the plane is about to land in Manila. Nothing like it!

But it’s obvious that PAL needs new planes, going by the almost rundown look of the planes’ interiors. In this global world of competition where packaging and presentation matters as much as the product or service itself, airlines need to offer that "plus factor." Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific have fantastic business class and first class amenities, but I’m pretty sure PAL has the capability to offer the same extra nice touches that can make flying even more comfortable. The important thing is that all the PAL planes are kept in perfect flying condition by Lufthansa Technik.

But with the airline’s expansion and the increase of its flights to various destinations, the planes are obviously utilized a lot, hardly staying on the ground long enough, perhaps leaving little time to do more in giving cabins and the seats that spiffy look. That’s why PAL should pursue its re-fleeting program. The new aircraft should give Asia’s first and oldest airline the youngest fleet in the next few years.

PAL has had a colorful history starting in 1941 when a group of businessmen led by Don Andres Soriano Sr. founded the company. But PAL’s flight at that time has been rough with a number of air pockets. In 1965, Benigno Toda Jr. took control of the airline. There were rumors going around that Mr. Benny had been milking the airline dry, almost running the company down to the ground until government took over again in 1977. Of course, as always perceived, when government takes over an airline, you can’t really expect it to make money.

And so, PAL had been losing money for many years until the period from 1986 to 1987 when (now Quezon City Mayor) Sonny Belmonte took over the cash-strapped company as President and CEO – which resulted in the airline registering an unprecedented P1.2 billion in profits. Sonny Belmonte told me the other day that he was able to overturn PAL’s losing streak by removing the so-called "suspense accounts" and yet continuing the missionary routes that were previously dropped because they were not making money. No doubt Sonny Belmonte managed the company well during his stewardship, paving the way for PAL to soar again.

In 1995, "El Kapitan" Lucio Tan took over. Because "El Kapitan" has done well in keeping PAL afloat – in spite of it almost closing down in 1998 during the time of Erap Estrada when the company was hemorrhaging badly, going through rehabilitation in 1999 – government should support the country’s flag carrier in every way it can. The company is now back on the black, registering a P1.5-billion profit for the fiscal year 2005-2006.

According to Rolly Estabillo, a member of our MOPC board and PAL’s vice-president for corporate communications, PAL is poised to continue its fleet modernization program with the delivery of an A320 aircraft last week, with six more to be delivered in the remaining months of this year. PAL had earlier contracted for 20 units of A320s and A319s in December 2005 at a package cost totaling $840 million, with the first three deliveries made late last year. PAL has also acquired six Boeing 777-300ER jets for its transpacific flights – fuel efficient, state-of-the-art aircraft whose delivery will be completed by 2012.

Cebu Pacific's passengers grow 57 percent in 2006 (http://biz.balita.ph/html/article.php?story=20070426151931884)

Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) registered a 57 percent jump in passenger traffic last year due to the increase in its domestic flights and the completion of its re-fleeting program.

Candice Alabanza Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and product said, the airline has a total of 222 flights in and out of Cebu last year or a 46 percent increase in the number of domestic flights in and out of the province.

Domestic routes grew 100 percent, from only four to eight domestic routes by the end of 2006.

Iyog also observed that Cebu is becoming a magnet for foreign travelers.

International flights grew by 300 percent. There was also a 100 percent increase in international routes and a 67 percent growth in international destinations to and from Cebu last year.

This month, the airline is operating 40 international flights in Cebu compared with only 10 during the same period last year.

International routes increased to four this year from only two in 2006, while international destinations grew from four to five this year.

This clearly indicates a burgeoning development for Cebu's tourism and economic sectors, Iyog said.

With Filipinos traveling more than what they used in a year and coupled with low airfare rates offered by the company, she said CEB is "slowly dominating the domestic market travelers.

Iyog also reported that CEB is leading the market in terms of flight frequencies, with a 31-percent increase or 652 weekly flights, compared with its closest competitor, Philippine Airlines, with only 498 flights.

The same data also revealed the airline flies to 20 domestic destinations and 26 domestic routes.

With the completion of its refleeting program, the company's fleet age is less than a year.

"This is the youngest fleet of any Filipino airline by a huge margin and one of the youngest in Asia," Iyog said.

CEB is placing orders for 20 A320 carriers, which are scheduled for delivery between 2011 and 2013.

"This will allow us to grow our fleet from 14 Airbus aircraft to 32 Airbus aircraft by 2013," Iyog said.

In order to bridge the gap from now until the first delivery in 2010, CEB is leasing additional A 320 aircraft for the short-medium term.

Apart from the two brand new A320's already delivered this year, another one or two A320's will be delivered later in the year. An additional three or four A320 aircrafts are expected for delivery by 2009.

"Assuming all options are taken, CEB will have a fleet of 22 A320s, with 179 seats and 10 A319s with 150 seats by 2013," she said.

Iyog added that CEB is in partnership with Europcar, which provides car rentals and airport transfers, and Octopus Travel for hotel booking services, which will also be available online.

HK for P1,000: Another low-cost carrier enters RP travel market (http://www.mb.com.ph/TOUR2007042692664.html)

Got a thousand pesos? Add a few extra bucks for airline taxes and fuel surcharges, and you’re well on your way aboard Hong Kong Airlines to the so-called entertainment capital of Asia.

Travel between Hong Kong and the Philippines has become more affordable today, with only or less than R1,000 (excluding airport taxes and surcharges) for a roundtrip fare, among the lowest offered in the market today. Thanks to the benefits of the booming low-cost carriers (LCC) industry in the country.

Hong Kong Airlines, the latest international airline to join the LCC bandwagon servicing the Philippines, recently began its Clark-Hong Kong daily flights via the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Freeport, Pampanga.

The introductory roundtrip ticket includes food and refillable drinks on board brand-new Boeing 737-800 planes and free shuttle service for passengers coming from Metro Manila.

Soon, Hong Kong Airlines passengers will also be granted additional 10 kilos on top of its regular 20-kilo baggage allowance, 50 percent more than usual baggage allocation offered by other airlines.

Hong Kong Airlines Limited managing director Li Qiang is confident that the daily flights, launched in December, will increase passenger volume to and from Clark in the coming months.

According to Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president Jose Victor Luciano, both the Philippines and China will benefit from the regular HK flights.

"Twenty million people in Central and Northern Luzon will now have easy and affordable gateway to Hong Kong. At the same time, tourist arrivals to the country is expected to increase with the growing number of Chinese travelers, estimated at 40 million outbound travelers a year, who are given another cheaper option to come to the Philippines," he said.

HK TO BORACAY, CEBU, ETC.

Meanwhile, Li announced that the HK-based airline will become the first international carrier to do multipoint destinations in the country as part of its expansion efforts here. The airline will soon have direct flights from Hong Kong to top tourist destinations like Boracay via Kalibo, Aklan, Legaspi (Bicol), Bohol, Palawan, Davao, Cebu and Manila.

With these additional routes, Li said more people specially from the provinces will gain access to international gateways in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia.

"The routing strategy brings Filipino passengers from the islands directly to the airports of their international destinations, providing seamless travel and at the same time, decentralizes congestion and traffic on the country’s major airports.

Hong Kong Airlines also flies to Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar and to 10 other key cities in mainland China namely: Guilin, Changsa, Qingdao, Nanning, Kunming, Haikou, Sanya, Tianjin, Xiamen and Fuzhou.

Since its establishment in 2001, the young airline company is fast gaining reputation and a growing number of passengers due to its all new, advanced fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, aggressive promotion and alliances, unique and ambitious vision, frequency of flights, and high quality of service.

Although not a budget carrier, Hong Kong Airlines aims "to expand globally as Hong Kong’s second flag carrier and become the most important means of transportation to connect mainland China to the rest of the world."

RP’S LCC CAPITAL

Meanwhile, the DMIA, dubbed as the Budget Airlines Capital of the Philippines, recently reinforced this image after bagging the Low-Cost Airport of the Year 2006 Award.

Luciano received the award from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) during a gala dinner of the Aviation Outlook Summit in Singapore last November last year. The award cited DMIA for its contribution to the regional aviation industry.

Since its inception a few years after the devastating Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991, the DMIA has now emerged as the second busiest airport in the Philippines.

Luciano said CIAC is planning to expand DMIA’s existing terminal to increase passenger capacity from 500,000 a year to about 2.1 million passengers annually in 2008.

In 2006, DMIA recorded over 480,000 international and domestic passengers. Per week, DMIA receives an average of 126 international and domestic passenger flights and cargo flights. Among the budget airlines regularly flying to Clark include Tiger Airways of Singapore, Air Asia Berhad of Malaysia, Asiana of South Korea, South East Asian Airlines, and Cebu Pacific.

Asian Spirit set to revive Zamboanga-Sandakan route (http://www.bayanihan.org/html/article.php/20070426103751194)

Travelling tourists and businessmen from Zamboanga City to Sandakan, Sabah, may soon be able to cut travel cost and time as regular flights along this route are set to resume next month.

In support of enhancing traffic movement within Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), Asian Spirit, a domestic passenger airline, will start flying the Zamboanga-Sandakan route from May 7 twice weekly for the first two weeks and this will subsequently be increased to thrice a week.

According to a statement issued by the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) today, the airline will also operate the Zamboanga-Jolo route from May 1 and between Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi from May 2.

Asian Spirit has scheduled Monday-Wednesday-Friday flights from Zamboanga to Jolo and Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday flights from Zamboanga to Tawi-Tawi.

The Zamboanga-Sandakan flights will also follow the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule.

John Baricuatro, head of Asian Spirit Davao, said the air links needed to be increased in support of the growing demand for air traffic in these areas, particularly Zamboanga and Sandakan.

"We are re-establishing our links between Zamboanga and Sandakan because we see growing business opportunities within these areas," Baricuatro said, adding that the more than one million population in Sabah offered bright prospects for air travel between Zamboanga to Sandakan.

In a meeting with MEDCo Wednesday, Baricuatro cited the need for strong government support as airline industry players endeavour to serve the skies of EAGA.

The Mindanao-Malaysia route was previously served by South Phoenix Airways which started operations in December 2004 until July 2005.

In 2006, a Filipino-Russian joint venture Mosphil Aero revived the link but the move was not sustained.

Asian Spirit's flight of one hour and 40 minutes from Zamboanga-Sandakan offers an alternative to the 14-hour sea travel by the SRN Fast Seacraft and Alesson Shipping Lines. It also offers a cheaper flight option to the Kota Kinabalu-Clark (Pampanga)-Manila-Zamboanga route taken by most traders.

Baricuatro said the Zamboanga-Sandakan route provides an alternative link between Sandakan and other economic centres in EAGA such as Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in Malaysia, Tarakan in Indonesia and Brunei.

To help ensure a viable operating cost for its first two years, Asian Spirit is requesting the Malaysian authorities to waive the airport tax, parking fees and landing charges at the Sandakan International Airport, he said.

This incentive, he added, will help the airline maintain reasonable operating cost for the development of the route as well as other air routes in the BIMP-EAGA.

BIMP-EAGA countries have been pushing for the expansion of air links in the sub-region in an effort to promote and enhance intra-regional trade, tourism and investment cooperation among the focus areas.

The provision of air services in the BIMP-EAGA is envisioned to bring about greater accessibility, facilitate mobility of peopleand enhance the flow of goods and commodities in addition to attracting investors to locate in the sub-region.

CebuPac bullish on passenger targets (http://businessmirror.com.ph/0427&282007/headlines010.html)

CEBU Pacific is on track and will likely meet its target number of passengers this year, an executive of the country’s budget carrier said.

“We are very much on track to achieving our five million target for this year,” Cebu Pacific vice president for sales Augusto Edwin Bautista told reporters.

Cebu Pacific on Wednesday night partnered with Malayan Insurance in offering a comprehensive personal accident and emergency medical treatment insurance coverage for guests traveling in the Philippines and in Asia.

Bautista said he is confident that Cebu Pacific passengers are going to try the service since this is the first travel insurance product in the country that can be booked and paid on-line.

“They will go for insurance. Filipinos are smart travelers. This partnership with Malayan Insurance is a boost to our passenger numbers since this is the first in Philippine aviation industry to offer travel insurance via on-line booking,” said Bautista.

Cebu Pacific’s load factor is currently in the “80-percent level,” added Bautista. Cebu Pacific passengers aged one to 65 years old may avail themselves of the TravelSure product. Its premium is offered at P175 per insured guest and P75 in connection fee, for 30-day coverage. The premium is exclusive of applicable government taxes and surcharges.

TravelSure provides Cebu Pacific passengers with protection from accidents and medical services of up to P1 million; recovery of lost travel documents, P20,000; loss of baggage, P50,000; baggage delay, P5,000; strikes and aircraft hijacking, P1,000; flight delay, P1,000; return of mortal remains and compassionate visit for P75,000 each. --L. Lectura

^^ Yep thats me. I'm just a college student that was willing to do something as fanactical as visiting certain events pertaining to commercial aviation (still have to do the Farnborough/Paris Air Show gig though ;)).

Indeed, for now, pretty much the vast majority of the fleet, including the A330/A340s are leased.



But how do get money for ticket prices... plane ticketsarequite expensive?
I thought that A340/A330 are owned by PAL, so I see, they are all leased.


PAL needs new planes

Ask any businessman who flies to and from the United States and Canada and most likely, they’ll tell you that the best way to fly is via Philippine Airlines. PAL has the perfect departure time at 10 p.m. for those going to San Francisco or Los Angeles; and for those flying to Las Vegas, the 5 p.m. schedule is likewise perfect – you sleep on the way, you wake up and you’re at your destination. Coming back to the Philippines, the planes leave the United States either at 11 p.m. or 12 midnight. Again, you can sleep for the long haul, and wake up just as the plane is about to land in Manila. Nothing like it!

But it’s obvious that PAL needs new planes, going by the almost rundown look of the planes’ interiors. In this global world of competition where packaging and presentation matters as much as the product or service itself, airlines need to offer that "plus factor." Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific have fantastic business class and first class amenities, but I’m pretty sure PAL has the capability to offer the same extra nice touches that can make flying even more comfortable. The important thing is that all the PAL planes are kept in perfect flying condition by Lufthansa Technik.

Yes, it needs plane upgrade... everyone in in AVOD and PTVs already.

How come CebuPacific never acquire wide bodied aircrafts like A330/340 especially on their international routes? Anybody have any idea as to why?

^^ LCCs usually go for the narrowbodied planes, but what they lack in capacity is made up on their scheduled frequencies to the destinations on their route network.

How come CebuPacific never acquire wide bodied aircrafts like A330/340 especially on their international routes? Anybody have any idea as to why?

If you're referring to using the widebodies on inter-continental routes, they're concentrating on regional service as well as finishing up on adjusting to their new Airbus fleet. Regionally, though a widebody is great CASM wise, it doesn't match up well w/ most LCCs due to sticky turnaround times unless it's going to be used for a pretty long leg like SYD-HNL (Jetstar) when a longer turnaround is more necessary and practical to do. As Kiretoce mentioned, for what they miss in capacity, they can make up in frequency.

Just wondered is all since I noticed that CebuPacific seems to be adding more international destinations. IMO I think it would be better to target both capacity and frequency on the higher volume routes on their regional services.

I just been at the airport T2 this morning and at the rotunda I saw the big foster of MIAA employees posing inside the T3 with ads words of promising better service at T3... well, prang pang-asar lang at paasa to all well-wishers knowing that T3 has indefinite opening or will it really open...

Wanna ask something:

Ok bang kumuha ng Mabuhay (Business Class) sa PAL from MNL to CEB? Baka hindi masyadong ok at baka ma-waste lang yung money ko. Amenities? Food? The lounge in NAIA T2?

Wanna ask something:

Ok bang kumuha ng Mabuhay (Business Class) sa PAL from MNL to CEB? Baka hindi masyadong ok at baka ma-waste lang yung money ko. Amenities? Food? The lounge in NAIA T2?

Business Class

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/5086/p1020845copyma8.jpg

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/7288/p1020846copytt0.jpg

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/4570/p1020850copyjb8.jpg

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/2482/p1020851copypk0.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/643/p1020854copytk8.jpg

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/4610/p1020855copyow2.jpg

Unlimited ang food and drinks ;)

bmi business class also has that kind of service unlimited food ruh to lhr and vice versa

dumating na pala ang 2nd A320 pal.... all in all... 11 na ang A320's ng pal...

Business Class

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/5086/p1020845copyma8.jpg

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/7288/p1020846copytt0.jpg

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/4570/p1020850copyjb8.jpg

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/2482/p1020851copypk0.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/643/p1020854copytk8.jpg

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/4610/p1020855copyow2.jpg

Unlimited ang food and drinks ;)

Sinj, sure?! Unlimited food and drinks?!:) Napaka-takaw ko talaga noh? Siguro economy muna yung ticket ko pero kung may pera pa ako magpapa-upgrade na lang ako dun. B747 din yung nasakyan ko sa PAL last September.

the bussiness class looks really worn out

May Fiesta boutique or inflight sales ba sa PAL? Sa SFO/LAX lang daw kasi.

sarap talaga sumakay ng business class pampered na pampered ka

Looks like PK is returning to MNL @ June 1!

PK?

pakistan yata ung PK.. tama ba?

^ Ya, Pakistan International Airlines... :)

lol! wow! hopefully they use those ultra cool looking 773ERs!!!

hi! im not really new here but i stumbled on this thread, i really dont know if this is the right place to say this but next week is gonna be my first international flight and im also a planeophobia if there is such a word, ive been flying frequently to manila but sweaty palms still occur.. im just not really comfortable with planes... can anyone give me tips so that my 16hr ride will be comfortable and safe?:)

Take a sleeping pills and knock yourself down. Wake up on your destination. That is if your flight is only 3 to 5 hours short. But longer than that, you're own your own buddy !!!LOL

Kidding aside. Just psych yourself up before departure, it's all mental, positive thinking.

thanx man... i so hate turbulence... i often imagine the wings being clipped off...:lol:

^^ It's all in your mind. Try diverting your attention by reading a book, play games, or watch a movie; and if all else fails, knock back a few (alcoholic drinks) and just sleep!

lol! wow! hopefully they use those ultra cool looking 773ERs!!!
If only such demand warrants it and considering the EU ban on everything but it's 777s, they're pretty busy with the type. For now it's gonna restart as a 2x A310 with a routing of KHI-BKK-MNL-NRT.

can anyone give me tips so that my 16hr ride will be comfortable and safe?:)
Welcome to the Airlines, Airplanes, and Airports thread. :) My advice: hydrate, get up and stretch here and there, board as early as possible to get dibs on the overhead luggage space so you can have more legroom in the seat in front of you, and bring a stress ball just in case. Hope you have a smooth one. :D

^^ It's all in your mind. Try diverting your attention by reading a book, play games, or watch a movie; and if all else fails, knock back a few (alcoholic drinks) and just sleep!

yeah read "crush and burn " :colgate:, i have sweaty palms too riding planes , bec i don't trust the pilot and i like to take over :lol: anyway maybe we can try kiretoce's sig when riding a plane :runaway:

wow! thanx you guys.. ill defiently try that stressball thing, i bet its gonna be really wet. I had the worse flight recently, the turbulence was so severe that we had to wear seatbelts, I was so afraid the plane was gonna fall apart, then approaching the airport in mla, its was so darn cloudy, the plane descended quite abruptly, then we ascended again, i think we were circling around the airport or was it just my imagination, it was my worse flight... i almost threw up in a plane.

^^ If you don't mind me asking, where are you going?

attention jet-setters out there, ok ba ang continental airlines?

attention jet-setters out there, ok ba ang continental airlines?

^^ They're okay, but my flying experience with them is based on their domestic flights here in the US. Have no idea about the service on their international flights. By the way, Continental's hub in IAH (Houston) is not my favorite, but that's just my personal opinion.

^^thanks then :okay:

^^ If you don't mind me asking, where are you going?

sa florida po. pero sa detroit po ang entry namin. NWA kami

^^ :lol: I'm from Florida, Orlando to be exact! Are you coming over for a vacation, or for permanent residency?

sa tampa po ako, for permanent residency nah :D

^^ You're only about 45 mins (one hour max) from me! Well, let me be the first to greet you....

WELCOME
TO THE
USA!

hehe! wow thanx man! :D

sa florida po. pero sa detroit po ang entry namin. NWA kami
Oooooh, what day will you be coming in? I'm going to be in Detroit on May 5 do to a mileage run (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mileage_run). The Northwest World Gateway is like one of my homes away from home. :lol:
attention jet-setters out there, ok ba ang continental airlines?

Never flew CO but for the most part heard good things about them (keep in mind this is in comparison to other major US airlines). They're one of the better runned legacies in the US and still maintain certain perks like a meal in economy. Otherwise, I haven't flown them yet as their 50% elite qualifying mile earning rates on certain economy class fares are what's having me steer away from them.

attention jet-setters out there, ok ba ang continental airlines?

i would say it is. i flew with them three times na and i haven't had any problems with them. their planes are relatively new din. and as skyblade said, they still serve meals in economy. :D

Can someone post a picture of the Mabuhay Lounge in NAIA T2?

---

I tried checking the fares in PAL's website through the "Book And Buy" and then I clicked the flight details of the selected date and time of the flight. Then the aircraft to be used is displayed and not EQV (Equipment Varies). Like May 28 5:00 am flight MNL-CEB - it will be an A340. Is this final?

i would say it is. i flew with them three times na and i haven't had any problems with them. their planes are relatively new din. and as skyblade said, they still serve meals in economy. :D




Never flew CO but for the most part heard good things about them (keep in mind this is in comparison to other major US airlines). They're one of the better runned legacies in the US and still maintain certain perks like a meal in economy. Otherwise, I haven't flown them yet as their 50% elite qualifying mile earning rates on certain economy class fares are what's having me steer away from them.

^^ They're okay, but my flying experience with them is based on their domestic flights here in the US. Have no idea about the service on their international flights. By the way, Continental's hub in IAH (Houston) is not my favorite, but that's just my personal opinion.


what attracted me the most is their relatively cheap fare from Manila to Toronto, plus they had a lot of vacancies, as compared to the cramped up Cathay Pacific which doesnt have a vacant slot till the 18th of June...i'm still choosing between Continental and Northwest...

PAL's new A320 cabin design (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2007/05/01/bus/asia.s.first.pal.s.new.a320.cabin.design.html)

Philippine Airlines' newest Airbus A320, which features a "21st-century enhanced cabin" that is the first to be outfitted for an Asian carrier, arrived recently to join the flag carrier's modernizing fleet.

The cabin is the widest of any single aisle aircraft in the Philippines, allowing for wider seats in both Mabuhay (business) and Fiesta (economy) classes, a more spacious aisle and larger overhead stowage bins.

The German-made Recaro seats offer a pitch of 39 inches in Mabuhay Class and 30 inches in Fiesta Class, the most generous in the market - raising passenger comfort levels significantly.

State-of-the-art amenities, such as personal TV, Audio/video on demand and laptop-capable in-seat power supply for Mabuhay Class, plus a cool-blue coastal themed interior design complete the flight experience.

The A320 is the fourth of up to 20 such single aisle units to be delivered as part of PAL's fleet renewal program. Five more aircraft are due this year.

what attracted me the most is their relatively cheap fare from Manila to Toronto, plus they had a lot of vacancies, as compared to the cramped up Cathay Pacific which doesnt have a vacant slot till the 18th of June...i'm still choosing between Continental and Northwest...

CO and NW have interline agreements and both carriers are part of SkyTeam. With NW, you have convenient connections to North America from MNL on the same carrier. For CO, I believe you have to connect via HKG.

Make sure you get your trip credited to your frequent flyer mile account! :D For CO, I believe you have to connect via HKG.

Either that, a codeshare w/ NW, or, if you have the patience and the stomach, MNL-GUM-HNL-IAH-YYZ w/ CO and CS. ;)

Just some buzz from other forums

Air Philippines has just ordered 3 Bombardier Q300's with a option for 3 more.

I'm not sure if Bombardier Q300s are STOL but if they are, Air Philippines might be planning to fly them to routes untouched by PAL, like Caticlan or even Baguio.

Can someone post a picture of the Mabuhay Lounge in NAIA T2?
wizzaberry (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/) from flickr: (just follow the links)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/48939641/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blingbling8/69303350/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blingbling8/69303336/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/48939679/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/48939686/

PAL's new A320 cabin design (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2007/05/01/bus/asia.s.first.pal.s.new.a320.cabin.design.html)
I don't think 30 in. pitch in economy "significantly" raises passenger comfort.

Either that, a codeshare w/ NW, or, if you have the patience and the stomach, MNL-GUM-HNL-IAH-YYZ w/ CO and CS. ;)

Hop-skipping across the Pacific can even make a saint lose its patience! :lol:

Is a Cheaper Plane Ticket to Europe in Your Future? (http://biz.yahoo.com/ms/070427/192036.html?.v=1&.pf=family-home)

For travelers looking to book a flight to Europe next year, chances are a cheaper plane ticket could be in the cards. And perhaps more flight options, too.

In an unprecedented move in March, the United States and member nations of the European Union backed the first phase of an open skies accord. This is big news for the airline industry and represents the first step in the gradual, yet inevitable, liberalization of air passenger services across the Atlantic.

The European Commission predicts that within the first five years after its ratification, the landmark pact will lower ticket prices, increase trans-Atlantic travel by more than 25 million passengers (a 50% jump), create as many as 80,000 jobs, and provide consumer benefits north of $16 billion. Unless blocked by Congress, we expect the first phase of the deal to be formally signed at the EU-U.S. summit on April 30 and take effect in March 2008, concurrent with the opening of London Heathrow Airport's fifth terminal.

More Capacity, More Competition...and Lower Fares

But how does the deal impact the airline business as we know it? Well, the revenue opportunities for airlines will undoubtedly increase, since the agreement will allow U.S. and European operators to carry passengers between any U.S. and European cities. We expect carriers on both sides of the Atlantic to offer hundreds of additional flights, as more than 20 restrictive bilateral agreements between the U.S. and individual EU nations will no longer be valid.

While this may sound good, profit margins on intra-EU routes and trans-Atlantic routes will inevitably decline, in our opinion. Under the deal, airlines will soon be able to fly to cities in the U.S. from major foreign hubs outside of their home country. That means European carriers could soon find new foreign competition setting up shop in their own back yards. As for airlines that depend heavily on trans-Atlantic routes for profits--like British Airways, Delta Airlines, and Continental Airlines -- their international performance will also face pressure as the industry eventually reallocates capacity to the most-profitable routes across the Atlantic.

And while aircraft delivery schedules at Boeing and Airbus could hinder a massive influx of trans-Atlantic capacity in the near term, the optimization of take-off and landing slots at key airports and the redeployment of aircraft already in service could be enough to jump-start competition and send trans-Atlantic yields (ticket prices) lower as early as mid-2008. Over the longer term, we expect the advent of trans-Atlantic liberalization to inevitably lead to more airplane orders as operators pursue incremental point-to-point flying opportunities between new nonstop city pairs linking the U.S. and the EU. As operators eventually take delivery of these additional aircraft, a permanent reduction in trans-Atlantic airfares should inevitably follow.

Competitive Responses and Potential Consolidation

Just a couple of weeks after all 27 member nations unanimously approved the initial phase of the agreement, competitive responses from several airlines have surfaced. U.K.-based Virgin Atlantic Airways, for example, plans to launch operations to New York from a number of major foreign hubs, including Paris and Frankfurt, while Aer Lingus is preparing to add more destinations to the U.S. from the carrier's base in Ireland. Ryanair also recently disclosed plans to launch the first low-cost trans-Atlantic airline in a matter of four years, a development we view as particularly ominous to trans-Atlantic yields.

The accord also poses risks to airlines currently enjoying oligopolistic pricing at Heathrow Airport, since the first phase of "open skies" will throw out Bermuda II transport agreement limitations (which restrict U.S.-Heathrow flights to essentially four carriers, namely American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic Airways). Though Heathrow remains slot-constrained (read fully utilized), airlines that currently operate at nearby Gatwick (like Northwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, US Airways, and Continental Airlines), will soon be able to gain coveted access to Heathrow, either through slot exchanges with alliance partners or via the secondary market. Operators with existing rights at Heathrow --l ike British Midland Airways (bmi) -- could also pressure fares as they shift capacity to trans-Atlantic flights from lower-margin short-haul routes within the EU.

And last but certainly not least, the new agreement could stimulate a wave of consolidation among European airlines. Since the EU will be viewed as one entity under the pact, carriers within the EU will soon be able to merge without losing their rights to fly to the U.S. market. We think that as carriers vie for valuable slots at Heathrow, British Midland Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways could eventually become merger candidates due to their coveted positions at the airport.

Mergers involving airlines on both sides of the Atlantic, however, will still be blocked, since the maximum foreign ownership of voting rights in U.S. carriers will remain restricted at 25%, at least under the first phase of open skies.

Temporarily Open Skies?

In fact, the hot-button issue of allowing foreign ownership of U.S. airlines will take center stage in coming years during negotiations of the second phase of open skies. Congress refuses to grant more liberal foreign ownership rules for U.S. airlines, while the EU allows U.S. companies to acquire up to 49% of European airlines--a major imbalance. Another important point during second-phase talks will involve granting European airlines the right to fly domestically within the U.S. (also known as cabotage)--similar to the concession granted to U.S. airlines, which will now be able to fly within Europe.

The long and short of the open skies pact is that if the U.S. government fails to grant these rights to European companies by the end of 2010, valuable concessions made by the EU during the first phase will likely be suspended or even withdrawn. The process of trans-Atlantic liberalization could essentially be stopped in its tracks, much like it has been in previous attempts.

Our Watch List

While hiccups can be expected and progress will be slow, we think the global liberalization of air travel is inevitable. If history is any indication, airlines will ultimately pass incremental rents gained through liberalization to customers in the form of lower fares. We think there are a few companies worth watching as the first phase of "open skies" gets set to kick off next year.

Boeing

The pact largely validates our view that smaller twin-aisle planes will capture a significant portion of future long-haul travel. With the ultra-efficient 787 Dreamliner--the dominant aircraft in that segment--Boeing has wisely bet on the superior global demand for point-to-point flying. Though we currently capture a sharp upturn in smaller twin-aisle aircraft (including Airbus' A350 XWB) during our 20-year commercial aerospace forecast, continued liberalization of global air travel could result in further upward revisions to our already bullish long-term outlook.

British Airways

As slots are optimized at Heathrow due to the lifting of Bermuda II limitations, the carrier will eventually experience declining yields on flights to and from the London airport. We think it's possible that British Airways will become acquisitive if liberalization ends up taking a good chunk out of its trans-Atlantic profits. Though antitrust issues may pose an obstacle to such a merger, bmi (which currently holds 12% of the slots at Heathrow) could become an increasingly attractive takeover candidate, should British Airways look to thwart competitive incursions. Also, British Airways' involvement in a deal to take Spanish carrier Iberia private suggests that it will continue to take measures to ensure access to key markets.

Continental Airlines

Trans-Atlantic routes account for nearly 25% of capacity for the carrier, and we expect the airline to continue to expand aggressively across the Atlantic in coming years. Continental recently added five more Boeing 787 Dreamliners to its order book and has applied to the government for a lucrative Houston-Heathrow route. In the longer term, however, we expect yields to inevitably come under pressure as other carriers add capacity on the carrier's existing trans-Atlantic routes.

Ryanair

The carrier is currently in plans to build a fleet of 30 to 50 787s or A350s and launch the first true low-cost trans-Atlantic airline within the next four years. Low-cost carrier proliferation in the U.S. has wreaked havoc on yields and we would expect a similar impact across the Atlantic.

I still prefer to fly British Airways from Heathrow to any US city more than any other airline there is. Best airline to fly with and competition is good for the industry, that means they have to up their game to survive.

wizzaberry (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/) from flickr: (just follow the links)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/48939641/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blingbling8/69303350/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blingbling8/69303336/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/48939679/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzaberry/48939686/



I find it quite impressive. Pwede bang matulog dun at magdala ng mga kasama kahit ako lang ang may Mabuhay-class ticket?

Hop-skipping across the Pacific can even make a saint lose its patience! :lol:

well, considering that it would be my first time flying abroad, i might actually like the idea of island hopping via plane across the Pacific, for as long as it wont have to involve me having to carry my luggage from one plane to another, besides, that would add to my list of places that i have been to...:)

Continental is one of my favorites!

For the adventurous take the Continental Island Hopper - Flight 956 from Guam to Honolulu. Here is the route:

GUM->TKK->PNI->KSA->KWA->MAJ->HNL

Guam (GUM)
Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia (TKK)
Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (PNI)
Kosrae, Federated State of Micronesia (KSA)
Kwajalein, Marshall Islands (KWA)
Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ)
Honolulu, HI (HNL)

All in the same flight number on a Boeing 737. Six islands in about 10 hours.

Asian Spirit gets new majority owner (http://businessmirror.com.ph/05032007/companies01.html)
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
Special to BusinessMirror


BUSINESSMAN Tony Ang has bought into flag carrier Asian Spirit, making him its single biggest majority shareholder, and giving rise to questions of a possible restructuring in its management.

Tony Ang is brother to Felix Ang, who owns CATS, the distributor of Mercedes Benzes in the country. Tony himself is into shipbuilding, real estate and automotive equipment, being the local distributor of Sanden car airconditioners and Michelin tires.

Airline sources told BusinessMirror that Ang provided much-needed capital to the company at a time when profits were being trimmed by increased fuel costs and rising government taxes. “All owners were asked to infuse capital but no one was able to. So the airline had to look to outside sources for the capital needed,” one highly-placed source who requested anonymity revealed.

Antonio V. Turalba Jr., chairman of Asian Spirit, confirmed the sale of shares to Ang by one of the Asian Spirit’s founders, Archie Po. “He [Archie] has been wanting to sell his shares for the longest time for personal reasons. I don’t want to speculate what those reasons are.”

Turalba added that the Po’s shares were first offered to him and another shareholder, businessman/banker Noel Oñate, “informally,…but I guess he needed to sell [the shares] sooner, and just found a willing buyer. It would have been difficult for me and Noel to come up with that kind of investment immediately.” Turalba said he had no knowledge of how much the sale cost. Neither Po nor Ang could be reached as of press time.

Separate sources in the airline said Ang already became director of the airline early this year when he purchased “new shares” issued by the cooperative, equivalent to 20 percent of total holdings, last October. Sometime in March, however, Po sold out his shares in the cooperative and the airline company equivalent to about 25 percent. This gave Ang overall shares in the company amounting to 45 percent.

Airline sources said Ang is a “good friend” of Jack Po, Archie’s older brother and the airline’s executive vice president. “He invested in the airline out of friendship to Jack,” the sources said. The elder Po could not be reached for comment as well.

While sources said there is a status quo for the management and its policies, analysts believe a restructuring cannot be avoided with the increase in shares of Ang.

Sources explained that the airline cooperative is in the process of being dissolved because it has already outlived its usefulness. “Tax incentives for cooperatives [under the Cooperative Development Act] are only good for 10 years. There is nothing to gain in keeping the cooperative. In fact it has become an obstacle since it cannot raise funds…because no matter how much money you put into the cooperative, you are still entitled to one vote,” an airline insider said.

The airline cooperative, he added, was also not owned by all the employees, only 36 of them, both in management and staff. The cooperative owned 95 percent of the airline company—20 percent of the cooperative were each owned by Turalba, Oñate, and Po. The rest of the shares were divided among the other cooperative members. This gave rise to a very unique management structure in the airline, with Oñate as chairman of the cooperative, and Turalba, whose father, Architect Antonio Turalba Sr., once lent the cooperative the funds to help establish the airline, becoming chairman of the airline company.

With the dissolution of the cooperative, and the distribution of the shares to its members, Turalba and Oñate will own 23 percent each of the airline. Analysts said if Ang does not exercise his management prerogative, the chairmanship will be a toss-up between Turalba and Oñate. Airline insiders, however, were confident that Turalba would keep his position.

Asked about a possible management shakeup, Turalba said there were no indications that Ang was asking for a restructuring. “As an investor, why shake up something that’s working? It’s wise to keep it as it is. [The airline] is doing really good now, despite last year’s problems owing to the higher fuel costs and VAT [value-added tax]. I would say that his [investment] timing is impeccable.”

He said the airline estimates a P1-billion profit this year, with the addition of its new international routes. Starting May 4, Asian Spirit will be flying regularly from Cebu to Koror in Palau, and soon, Zamboanga City to Sandakan in Malaysia. Chartered flights from Incheon, South Korea to Kalibo Aklan, and Davao City, are also being finalized. He added the airline’s most profitable routes are to Caticlan, and lately, to Batanes. Because of the summer season, Asian Spirit has increased its flights to Caticlan to 20 times a day.

Turalba said the airline is preparing for its initial public offering as required under law, and targeting to list sometime 2008-2009.

WAAAHHH!

just came back from NWA to confirm my booking, and guess what? i had to cancel...they were under the impression that i had a multiple entry US-Visa and booked me--which was a requirement for a Canada-bound passenger, since all NWA flights pass by their main hub at Detroit--now i fully grasp the complexity of international travel...

i need help here, i have to leave the country by the end of the month so that i could come back by mid-June...

^^ All airlines will always route their flights through their respective hubs before continuing on to their final destination, in your case NW will definitely pass through DTW. Since air travel is tight these days and security is at maximum in most major US airports, a visa is needed even if you're only in transit in the US. Why not try a non-US carrier for your flight to YYZ. CX and KE flies to YYZ and have convenient connections from MNL via their hubs in HKG and ICN. Of you can just take PR direct from MNL to YVR then transfer to a local Canadian carrier to YYZ. :colgate:

^^desperate times call for desperate measures...superstitious me tried the filipino-catholic custom of opening a bible with a question in hand...the answer, Ezekiel's vision of the four flying creatures...:lol:

coincidence?

working from that, i came up with Singapore Air, since there was mention of a winged lion...although im still looking for an airline with a logo that either has a bull, or four wings forming a square...:lol:

seriously, i'm choosing between Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines...although Singapore is more accesible, (KE has no direct flights from the philippines but from HK, as per their website)Korean Air has flights that fit exactly with my timetable...

^^ Oh SQ! How could've I forgotten SQ!? :lol: Yeah, they're good too! :okay:

What did you mean by KE not having direct flights from MNL? KE is Korean Air!

Why dont you book a flight to Japan, then transfer ka to Air Canada. Ang alam ko merong flights ang Air Canada to Japan eh.

^^ Canadian Airlines is now defunct, they were taken over by Air Canada. :colgate: Yeah, Air Canada does have flights originating from Japan. :okay:

I figured that out, naalala ko kaya edit agad name :lol:

I found a good Boeing 747 Intercontinental photo na madaling i-edit from a Lufthansa website. So ginawan ko ulit ng PAL Livery :D

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3/abercromb24/PALBoeing747intercontinental03.jpg

use japan airlines, nung bumalik ako d2, yung katabi kong ale at yung sa likod kung ma'ma e papuntang toronto mula, stop over mo sa ohare hehe

International airport project to cost P1.5 billion more (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/cag/2007/05/04/bus/international.airport.project.to.cost.p1.5.billion.more.html)

The construction cost of the long-delayed Laguindingan International Airport is going to be increased by around P1.5 billion from the original P5.8 billion to P7.3 billion, said Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno Thursday.

As early as June 2006, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) assistant secretary Robert Castañares already revealed that cost of constructing the airport at Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental is expected to increase by 10 to 20 percent.

In his radio program Thursday, Moreno said he met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the executives from financial institutions who are bankrolling this project.

This particularly as the airport project has so far failed to actually take off since its conception in 1996, when the prices of its construction costs are originally based.

"Now, the President and the lenders have agreed that the cost of the project will be increased to P7 billion to even P7.3 billion," he said.

Castañares earlier said they already undertaken some "engineering strategies" to make sure that the increase in the cost will not be so high.

This included the revising of the original plan of developing 400 hectares to only 200 hectares.

"We will be developing only the footprint of the Laguindingan Airport project that involves only 200 hectares," he said.

He added that the rest of the 200 hectares will be not developed but will be used to accommodate industrial and commercial project.

Another engineering strategy, Castañares had said, is their revising the project plan to adjust "earthworks" for Laguindingan's "irregular" terrain.

He said the plan now will be to adopt the present level without having to do so much earthworks to lessen the cost.

DOTC records showed how the Iloilo International Airport Project was pegged only at P6 billion in the past but it is now costing the government up to P8.5 billion. Also, foreign exchange rate costs is also figured into the computation of the construction cost.

go HKG and then take Air Canadas A345 direct to Toronto

Continental is one of my favorites!

For the adventurous take the Continental Island Hopper - Flight 956 from Guam to Honolulu. Here is the route:

GUM->TKK->PNI->KSA->KWA->MAJ->HNL

Guam (GUM)
Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia (TKK)
Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (PNI)
Kosrae, Federated State of Micronesia (KSA)
Kwajalein, Marshall Islands (KWA)
Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ)
Honolulu, HI (HNL)

All in the same flight number on a Boeing 737. Six islands in about 10 hours.
How can I forget CO956! It's a segment runner's paradise! (no pun intended ;)).

If only such demand warrants it and considering the EU ban on everything but it's 777s, they're pretty busy with the type. For now it's gonna restart as a 2x A310 with a routing of KHI-BKK-MNL-NRT.




So PK is returning again... it used to deploy B742 on manila route but i guess they phase it out already. How come they return again, did they see potential market again?

I hope MS returned again too... it'sthe only Afriacan airline that flies to Manila and to our country. I also miss LX and BA.

^^ whats MS? is it Air Mauritius? so many european airlines pulled out of manila, only KLM is left...? does lufthansa still fly to manila via guangzhou?

^^ MS is EgyptAir. Yes, LH flies to MNL from FRA via CAN. :colgate:

go HKG and then take Air Canadas A345 direct to Toronto

I'd say go w/ this one as the A345 is soon to disappear from AC's fleet!

So PK is returning again... it used to deploy B742 on manila route but i guess they phase it out already. How come they return again, did they see potential market again?

Looks like PK is still holding on to those 742s (combis) but I guess such capacity would've been too excessive for the route at the moment. I have no idea why they returned but it's great to hear an airline coming back to MNL!
I hope MS returned again too... it'sthe only Afriacan airline that flies to Manila and to our country. I also miss LX and BA.

Indeed, I hope to see Horus again in NAIA. Kinda have some historical ties w/ the airline as back in the '70s my mom used MS from MNL to HND (NRT wasn't open yet) before connecting with Pan American/PA to the US. I have a b/w photo of her boarding a MS 707 floating around somewhere. I knew I should've flown RG from LAX to NRT and then MS to MNL some four years ago. Both of these historical routes are now gone. :(

I'd like to see these carriers back in MNL or commence services to MNL (or to any part of the Philippines for that matter):

AZ, BA, IB, LX, NZ, SA, SK, SN, SU, UA, and VS. :okay:

^^ AF, JQ, DL, AM, AA, AC, LA and AI too :D might be pushing it but hey :lol:

Cebu Pacific able to sell 2M seats via Internet (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/05072007/companies03.html)
By Lenie Lectura
Reporter


CEBU Pacific (CEB) sold close to two million seats through its web site in the last twelve months.

In a statement, the budget airliner said its web site is now the most visited travel web site in the country based on an Alexa Top Sites report.

Alexa Internet is a company that provides web information services as well as web site traffic statistics.

CEB’s web site ranked 147 among Philippine sites visited as of May 2, 2007.

“We are very proud to be the only airline that has been included in Alexa Top Sites’ top 300 visited sites from the Philippines report,” said Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and product. “We believe that more and more people visit our web site and are buying their CEB tickets due to the lowest fares, real- time flight schedules and availabilities we provide online.”

The airline unit of the Gokongwei group’s conglomerate, JG Summit Holdings Inc., reported a net income of P133.9 million last year, from P3.7 million a year earlier. Revenue also went up to P9.7 billion from P7.8 billion in the same comparable period.

The company attributed the improvement to a more fuel-efficient fleet, better aircraft use, a dramatic rise in the number and profitability of international routes and a revenue management system that helped maintain high passenger loads.

Iyog said there are new products launched online which will make travel with CEB more convenient and complete. This includes online booking for car rental services, hotel accommodations and travel insurance.

“We are positive that many will avail of these services in our website as we turn cebupacificair.com into a one-stop shop for all your travel-related needs,” Iyog said.

She added, “We are actively working with our suppliers to give our guests the ability to change and cancel their bookings on the web and we expect this to be up and running by the end of 2007. We hope to provide both travel agents and corporate travelers increased functionality at the same time.”

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/9335/473201mw0.jpg
NAIA Runway 06 | Photo by Isgg811 (http://www.panoramio.com/user/102014)

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3415/2041282sb8.jpg
NAIA Runway 24 | Photo by Isgg811 (http://www.panoramio.com/user/102014)

^^dang those pix are cool!

^^^^ superb!!...its so nice to see photos of activities at the terminal....lets put more colour in this thread I say....


If im correct, i see JAL,QATAR & is that ETIHAD?...i just saw them on they're open day at novetal...both etihad & qatar A. are recuriting aggresively here...trying to catch up with emirates...white Gulf air is struggling...

Thanks for sharing, dxpsycho! Tis nice to get some airport approach overviews. :D

Nice photos!

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/9335/473201mw0.jpg

squatters?

^^ With a great view! :lol: Even with squatters it's....Location! Location! Location! :okay:

^mga badjao siguro sa sapa
napansin ko maxado yan yung umuwi ako, yung mga bobong may mga gulong para hindi nga naman liparin, yung iba may nakasampay pang panty at yung iba nanunuod pa ng tv particularly wowowee

minsan iniisip ko na bagsakan yan e. para matutong wag magtayo ng barong barong katabi pa airport. parang mga kabute tsk tsk, pero ganda nga ng pics, i-photoshop na lang sila haha


nahahawa tuloy ako kay crappypants haha

^^huwag naman, airplane spotters lang mga iyan, alam mo naman mga enthusiasts saan saan pumipirmi para usi, haha, minutminuto siguro kumakalog bahay niyan

:lol: daig pa mga kabute mga kabute nauubos na. :lol:

Dogfight over Boracay (http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business6_may11_2007)

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific are gearing up for another dogfight, and this time even the small players could get outflanked.

According to the grapevine, the two major airlines are close to acquiring new turboprop planes that would enable the two major competitors to directly fly to Caticlan, the gateway airport right across the now emerging regional tourism hotspot of Boracay.

PAL, through Air Philippines, is said to be close to signing with Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier to acquire three Dash 8 Q300, while Cebu Pacific is said to be in serious talks with the French firm ATR for its larger 72s.

Asian Spirit currently dominates the booming Caticlan market by fielding 17 to 19 flights a day with smaller turboprops, oftentimes using any of its three bigger BAe 146-100s to maximize capacity.

Another turboprop operator, Seair, flies about half as many times to the same seaside airport.

According to Asian Spirit cooperative chairman Noel Onate, the Manila-Caticlan route remains its bread-and-butter, accounting for over 40 percent of the airline’s revenues.

To make it safe to land and take off in the short 850-meter Caticlan runway, Asian Spirit only loads its 80-seater British-made turboprop a maximum of 60 passengers, closer to the actual seating capacity of 50 to 56 passengers for Dash 8 Q300 that Air Philippines is considering.

Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, is said to be more inclined at the larger ATR 72s with its 68 to 74 seating capacity, which should also complement its other local and even regional routes, all currently served by an all-Airbus 320 narrow-body jets.

Airliners come too close for comfort over Vancouver (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070510.wbcnearmiss0510/BNStory/National/home)

VANCOUVER — The Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident in which two airplanes near the Vancouver International Airport came too close for comfort.

A Philippine Airlines Airbus 340 approaching the airport last week descended below its prescribed altitude of 2,400 metres — causing panic at the air traffic control.

There was a miscommunication between the pilot and the controller for about 10-15 seconds, but there weren't any chances of a collision, said Damian Lawson of the board.

“There was a delay of about 15 seconds roughly, but things were never out of control,” said Mr. Lawson.

The flight from Manila came within about 2.4 kilometres laterally of a Delta Airlines flight, when it ideally should have been at a distance of five kilometres.

After about a delay of 15 seconds, the Philippines jet climbed back up to where it was supposed to be.

Air Traffic Controllers try to keep airplanes apart by an altitude of about 300 metres or at a distance of just under five kilometres.

Investigations have begun and though language was probably not the reason for the breach in this case, it hasn't been ruled out either, Mr. Lawson said.

“That is a factor we always look at when dealing with international airlines, because 30 per cent of airlines coming into Vancouver are from non-English speaking countries.”

^^ are they saying filipinos cant speak english? :lol: thats scary though, 2km isnt much when your travelling at like 300+kmph :ohno:

^^ Oh no! For me its not a valid reason at all. :lol: Pilots are trained since kindergarten how to speak English.

You guys are over reacting to the words they used in above article " 30 % of airlines coming into vancouver are from non-english speaking countries"... which means it can be from France, China, Germany and such..

While more than half of the Filipino people speaks english, it doesn't mean they speak the same British, Canadian or American english. There are certainly some gaps in languages even when an american speaks to a british or an english spoken in Liberia or Guyana ... not to mention the difference in intonations and slang words used.

2.5 kilometer might not sound too much but we are talking about floating in the air, unlike any automobile where the friction of the road surface can effect the acceleration and deceleration of a moving vehicle, it does not hold true on air and sea movements..

squatters?


yan ang set ng Home along d Airport.

You guys are over reacting to the words they used in above article " 30 % of airlines coming into vancouver are from non-english speaking countries"... which means it can be from France, China, Germany and such..

While more than half of the Filipino people speaks english, it doesn't mean they speak the same British, Canadian or American english. There are certainly some gaps in languages even when an american speaks to a british or an english spoken in Liberia or Guyana ... not to mention the difference in intonations and slang words used.

2.5 kilometer might not sound too much but we are talking about floating in the air, unlike any automobile where the friction of the road surface can effect the acceleration and deceleration of a moving vehicle, it does not hold true on air and sea movements..


while going to central london from llhr airport, i was jst awe to see aircrafts lining on final approcah to land and i was told that theya re jst 2.5 kms apart

I mistyped " 2.5 km might not sound too much" I meant to say "MIGHT SOUND" as in too close for comfort..

Skyline? Yeah, We should consider what that country's policies and regulations. In Vancouver, they want to play it safe so they want atleast 5 kilometers apart from one another. In London, they probably want to be a bit more aggressive or what so they are not too worried with 2.5 kilometers. But surely those who wanted longer gaps was just playing it safe...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/493145912_c9689e268f_o.jpg
Photo by phamthanhk45 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8208115@N04/)

Old Iloilo Airport, Mandurriao District, Iloilo City
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/497768764_ba677e14a1_b.jpg

WV 1st international flight lands in Aklan (http://www.visayandailystar.com/2007/May/14/businessnews2.htm)

The Bacolod Airport of international standards in Silay City has yet to be inaugurated and opened, but the first international flight to Western Visayas landed over the weekend at the Kalibo Airport in Aklan, a government press release said.

Loaded with passengers from Incheon, South Korea, Asian Spirit McDonnel Douglas MD82 plane landed in Kalibo airport, 11:50 a.m., May 12.

Present to welcome the first international flight in the region were Aklan officials led by incumbent congressman Florencio Miraflores and Gov. Carlito Marquez, Tourism regional director Edwin Trompeta, and representatives from the Air Transportation and Immigration offices.

Miraflores said the landing of the international flight in Aklan will boost the province's international status, the press release said.

He also acknowledged the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for providing the budget for the Instrumental Landing System and the Navigation Aid that allowed Kalibo Airport to accommodate international flights, it added.

The Asian Spirit flights, according to an airline official, will land in Aklan twice a week - every Friday and Monday. The plane is a 165 seater. Travel time from South Korea to Kalibo is four hours.

^^ That's a long flight on an MD-80 :eek:

http://web1.jetphotos.net/images/img2/r/RP-C2986.jpg.29795.jpg

^^ a long flight indeed, lalo na if you were seated near the engines. I once had ride in this aircraft Delta Airlines MD-83. I thought since the JT-8D is a turbofan mas lesser yung noise niya. halos ganun din pala. It reminded me tuloy of similar configured PAL's BAC 1-11 with its Rolls Royce Spey engines. Sobrang ingay specially during the engine ground run.

^^ From what I hear, those Speys were definitely sexy when you heard em! ;) One of my uncles has his family home over the approach for Iloilo Mandurriao and would reminisence everytime a PR BAC 1-11 would roar overhead. Good times, good times...

hm 4 hours only from Bacolod to Korea, I thought it would be much longer than that. Anyway Congratulations on the new link. It's really a great sign of progress ( and the koreafication of our country :grin:) !

Sana nga yung Bacolod at IloIlo airport magkaroon agad ng international link pagbukas. I heard this from a grapevine in ATO, DragonAir of Hong Kong was inquiring to CAB about flying to New Iloilo airport. Alam ko nag route proving flight na sila dati sa Mandurriao using their old 737 pero nagka-asian crisis noon so hindi natuloy. Take note this is not an Imposibility dahil maraming Ilongo sa Hong Kong.

The Asian Spirit Flights are currently only Between Seoul and Kalibo to accomodate Korean Tourist going to Boracay. Next route is between Davao and Seoul.

^^ I hope so too :nocrook:

http://web1.jetphotos.net/images/img2/r/RP-C2986.jpg.29795.jpg

^^ Ang boring naman ng Asian Spirit livery. Mukhang kakarag karag pa naman yung plane. Sana gawing mas exciting young design para naman hindi nakakatakot sakyan. :nuts:

Try out www.flightmemory.com and see how your previous flights look on the world map. Took half a day to input my flights - well, most of the time I was digging out flight info from boarding passes, emails, calendars, etc.. But, in the end, it was all worth it...

A summary is also available for everyone to see (no worries, no specific info, just summaries). You can find mine at http://my.flightmemory.com/2307Tarlac.

Sayang lang kasi wala ang Pinas para sa choices for designated domestic maps.

Enjoy...

would reminisence everytime a PR BAC 1-11 would roar overhead. Good times, good times...

Amazing... growing up in the 60s near MIA, this was high tech!

http://www.bac1-11jet.co.uk/images/092%20Philippine%20Airlines%201-11%20PI-C1131.jpg

Some aerial photographs I took out of MNL on the way to BKK via SIN. It was a pretty clear day and we're lucky enough to have departure traffic taking off Runway 06.


Runway 6 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore579.jpg?t=1179348119)

MNL 1 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore584.jpg?t=1179347574)

MNL 2 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore585.jpg?t=1179347720)

MNL 3 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore586.jpg?t=1179347667)

MNL 4 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore592.jpg?t=1179347770)

MNL 5 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore594.jpg?t=1179347820)

MNL 6 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore591.jpg?t=1179347855)

^^Those are gorgeous aerial shots, jef7:okay:

Ilog Pasig looks pretty and clean from above.

cool pics jef:cheers1:

Lovely pics as always, jef! Been doing any recent mileage running? :D

Try out www.flightmemory.com and see how your previous flights look on the world map. Took half a day to input my flights - well, most of the time I was digging out flight info from boarding passes, emails, calendars, etc.. But, in the end, it was all worth it...

A summary is also available for everyone to see (no worries, no specific info, just summaries). You can find mine at http://my.flightmemory.com/2307Tarlac.

Sayang lang kasi wala ang Pinas para sa choices for designated domestic maps.

Enjoy...
Flightmemory.com is definitely a nice tool to keep track of past flights! I registered a few weeks ago but have yet to put in all my flights in the database. Unfortunately, I'm trying to finish the trip reports for Part II and III of my Philippine/Japan Winter Vacation, the last revenue NW DC-10 flight, and my experiences w/ EK to HAM before I head to Japan again next month. That and finals are coming up in my end. :nuts:

Cebu Pacific flies 20 millionth passenger (http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2007051794115.html)

Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ leading domestic carrier and low-fare leader, carried its 20 millionth passenger in April 2007.

The airline which started operations in March 1996 has increased its yearly passenger traffic from 360,000 in its first year to almost 3.5 million passengers in 2006. It expects to carry more than 5 million passengers this year.

Candice Iyog, CEB VP for marketing and product, said the milestone shows CEB’s continuing success to bring air travel closer to more Filipinos.

"We have taken a little more than 12 years to carry the first twenty million passengers. Based on our growth plans, we expect to carry the next 20 million in just 3 to 4 years and that can only be good for the continued growth of air travel and tourism in the Philippines and the region," Iyog said.

Iyog said CEB’s year-round affordable ‘Go’ fares and new fleet of Airbus aircraft had encouraged those who have never travelled by air to do so while regular flyers now fly more often.

CEB also recently added new offerings online including car rental services and travel insurance to its passengers. Iyog said CEB will continue to further improve its products and services to make travel more convenient, affordable and fun.

Now in its 12th year, CEB has the youngest fleet in the Philippines at just one year. CEB continues to operate 14 Airbus aircraft to its 20 domestic and soon to be 8 regional destinations with the addition of Taipei beginning June 13, 2007.

Some aerial photographs I took out of MNL on the way to BKK via SIN. It was a pretty clear day and we're lucky enough to have departure traffic taking off Runway 06.

nice pics!... the SLEX and SKYWAY looked nice from above... i thought you need to turn off any electronic gadget during landing and take-off... sa Northwest mahigpit... pa-take-off na naglalakad pa ang mga stewardess...

Those shots are for you guys! You were definitely in my thoughts when I realized that we were taking off from Runway 06 :).

And Skyblade not the 'pure' kind of mileage runs, but racking up miles nevertheless. It's also better. As you'll probably agree, flying all around Asia is much nicer and far more exciting than domestic US runs :lol:.

nice pics!... the SLEX and SKYWAY looked nice from above... i thought you need to turn off any electronic gadget during landing and take-off... sa Northwest mahigpit... pa-take-off na naglalakad pa ang mga stewardess...

Yes, you're right about electronics being required to be switched off for take-off. However, I was on an SQ flight taking these pics and so far, I've never had any problems whatsoever with SQ FAs regarding cameras. In addition, when you are all by yourself in the cabin, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

Well, almost :naughty:

Amazing... growing up in the 60s near MIA, this was high tech!

Wow a sure classic pic! I think thats an early version of PAL's BAC 1-11 which replaces the Viscounts on regional routes.Its among the first batch delivered in the early 60's. Im still a toddler when I used to ride the last version of PAL 1-11's between 88-91' on its domestic flights. I still remeber the way of unboarding the plane using the back staircase similar to the ones by DC-9,and of course its noisy take off run..thanks terrapin!

Originally Posted by jef7
Some aerial photographs I took out of MNL on the way to BKK via SIN. It was a pretty clear day and we're lucky enough to have departure traffic taking off Runway 06. Nice pics dude! im sorry if I have to keep a copy for my desktop:)

i never had a realxing time on a plane! planes rides always make me feel queasy and very uncomfortble the very least. I always feel we're gonna crash. and its all because of TURBULENCE! is turbulence really dangerous?? can it pull a plane to a mountain? im really worried or maybe its just me. I just had a 16 hr flight and I think 747s are the best! the bumps are smooth, boeing in general for me have smoother rides than airbus! im really scared of airbus planes, theyre rough and noisy which frightens me LOL! if it were up to me I'd hasten the invention of a teleporter so that I wouldnt have to ride planes!

^^ Are you in Tampa already?

nasa SF na ako 1 week lang ako sa tampa. st petersburg actually... when I was there it was very hazy and smoky! lol! i even saw the plume of smoke of the orest fires from the plane!

Some aerial photographs I took out of MNL on the way to BKK via SIN. It was a pretty clear day and we're lucky enough to have departure traffic taking off Runway 06.


Runway 6 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore579.jpg?t=1179348119)

MNL 1 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore584.jpg?t=1179347574)

MNL 2 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore585.jpg?t=1179347720)

MNL 3 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore586.jpg?t=1179347667)

MNL 4 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore592.jpg?t=1179347770)

MNL 5 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore594.jpg?t=1179347820)

MNL 6 (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u160/Intelligentia/Singapore591.jpg?t=1179347855)

ganda ng mga kuha mo lalo na yung sementeryo

RP's airline of choice (http://www.mb.com.ph/TOUR2007051794105.html)

Notwithstanding current US trends, NWA continues to enjoy Filipino patronage. Tourism statistics may be down in the United States, but American carrier Northwest Airlines (NWA) is not feeling the impact at all, at least not in its Philippine operations.

This was revealed by Northwest Philippine general manager Todd Anderson who confirmed that NWA continues to enjoy patronage by Filipinos who go to the US for either leisure or business.

In the recent International Pow Wow ‘07 held in Anaheim, California, Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), lamented that the US tourism industry has dipped by 17 percent, with a market share of global travel at only 6.1 percent in 2006, in contrast to 7.5 percent in 2000.

NWA Philippines figures, however, go against that prevalent US trend.

‘’It really hasn’t impacted our performance. If you talk about the tourism trend from the standpoint of leisure travel in the US for Filipinos, we really haven’t seen the trend that they are talking about where overall travel to the US as a percentage of a total industry is down—we still see a strong demand for the US out of the Philippines,’’ Anderson confidently said.

At present, with two US-bound flights a day, NWA Philippines’ outbound market consists of 57 percent corporate and leisure travellers, including OFWs, and 43 percent VFR (visiting friends and relatives in the US) travellers. It remains strong vis-a-vis its strong Asian markets such as Japan and Thailand.

It does not mean however that the Philippines has not been affected by the stringent security measures that the US has started to impose after Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, there has been a considerable tightening up in security and in the issuance of visas.

‘’That has had some impact on Filipinos in terms of the amount of time, money and effort it takes to get a visa to go to the U.S., no question about it. But we haven’t really seen that trend of impacting our business to any great degree,’’ Anderson said.

He cannot however overemphasize how NWA takes security measures very seriously, even going beyond what the US and Philippine governments normally require for security checks.

‘’Interestingly enough, when you talk about entering the U.S., whether you’re on a US or Asian carrier, they all have to comply with what the US requires for security in the country. For NW, since we transit through Japan to US, we take care of security right here in the Philippines and the way we look at it is this way: our No. 1 priority for our customers is safety, and right along with that is security. So as much as we try to make the customer service of going through that security aspect as easy as we can, we really believe we’re giving better security to our customers by putting them thru those types of security processes to ensure we have a safe aircraft.’’

Prior to his Philippine posting, Anderson worked with distributors connected with the Filipino community, giving him a sneak preview on Filipino idiosyncracies. But still nothing prepared him for the sight of balikbayan boxes crowding the airport luggage carousels.

‘’Wow! It’s true. I do ask myself, ‘what’s in all those boxes?’ The Philippines is unique. The only other market that I know that’s as luggage- and box–heavy is Nigeria -- very, very heavy in boxes -- anything they can wrap things up in and get them through,’’ Anderson shared.

NWA knows the Pinoy market only too well. While it reduced the weight allocation for some countries from 70 pounds to 50 pounds, the airline exempted the Philippines, China and Hongkong.

"’We know Filipinos carry a lot of luggage and it was a competitive decision not to reduce the weight allocation. There were a lot of dialogues and revenue tracking that had to be made,’’ Anderson explained.

TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN

At present, NWA trains its sights on making travel as stress-free and as line-free as possible. Available technology is being maximized. Internet check–in capabilities are being offered so that passengers can go in right straight through the line, put their bags in, and go through security. Information about flights can even be sent straight to one’s mobile phone or PDA. The NWA website also is a great tool in checking-in, selecting seats, or tracking flight developments.

‘’One of the things we’re also working on is to improve on the number of self-service devices that we have. That will improve as soon as the Philippine government can do more on making Philippine passports electronic because 25 to 30 percent of our passengers can’t use self-service devices because they don’t have electronic passports/visas.’’

The area of inflight service is also given extra, extra attention.

‘’Our business class seats are very, very comfortable. We have good in-flight entertainment. Our seats almost go near lie-flat position and they’re fairly new. And in coach, we offer a very competitive product compared to other airlines’ coaches. In business class, seats have more space, are much more comfortable; they go to an almost flat position; There is a broader selection of in-flight entertainment, from movies to music to video clips. Food is also customized for business class passengers,’’ Anderson added.

Just like the general US travel industry, NWA also is eyeing the markets of India and China for growth. Anderson assured: ‘’The world is getting smaller and smaller every year and international travel is growing. We at NWA look at that to make sure that we will be present in those growth markets.’’

I found these pictures while going through some old photos when I went to Ilocos to vote.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3/abercromb24/naia01.jpg

Thats me outside the departure entrance of MIA :D
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3/abercromb24/zj03.jpg

^^ bagay maging partner ni Matet nung bata pa siya:lol: peace tayo!:lol:

Its surprising to see how the old Locsin Terminal look like without those baricades and stuffs,The Airplane above on the background I believe is one of PAL's old A300-B4 in their old livery. My first trip using that old Locsin Terminal was in 1987' I was three years old, kaya lang our flight to LA was stopped by a bomb threat! those I believe were the start of the insane dark days of old NAIA-1....

Bakit si Matet? :lol: Its hard to tell kasi malabo na yuung pics, meron akong pic ng luma nilang 747 with the old livery din pero super labo na at di na makita yung airplane. Sayang.

Hehe! na notice ko kasi yung tail kaya nalaman kong airbus:lol: ,mas mganda naman si Matet nuon kaysa kay Aiza diba?:lol:

^^ Waaahhhh!!! 1980's Child superstar!!! hehehehe!!! Ka-batch pala kayo nina Aiza, Matet, etc noon. :lol:

Anyway, what Airbus is in the pic:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/Molo00008.jpg

PTzzZMFZej8

CNN talks about SEAIR with Dornier flights to and fro Boracay

^^ Waaahhhh!!! 1980's Child superstar!!! hehehehe!!! Ka-batch pala kayo nina Aiza, Matet, etc noon. :lol:

Anyway, what Airbus is in the pic:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/Molo00008.jpg

A320/19 maybe? might be an A318... but yeah dunno

^^ bore-kay? ahah what a funny accent

No were talking about the airbus on the this picture:lol:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/naia01.jpg
Its an Airbus A300B4 no doubt! for one its 80's and only A300 were widely used airbuses back then. Then it was a PAL livery. eh apat lang naman na eroplano ng PAL nuon ang gumagamit ng T1. 747-200,DC-10,A300B4 at BAC1-11. yung sa 747 malapad yung buntot,yung DC-10 may makina sa buntot. yung BAC 1-11 T-tail yung buntot..so A300 nga yun:)

Waaahhhh!!! 1980's Child superstar!!! hehehehe!!! Ka-batch pala kayo nina Aiza, Matet, etc noon.
naku bernie hah? wag mo sabihing hindi mo sila kilala..remember the ages that was mentioned in quarter life crisis?:lol: :lol:

Saw some discussion on a.net and pex regarding a new Manila based airline called Pacific Pearl. They have a website pacificpearlairways.com but little or no content. There is a picture of their 737 on airlinersgallery.com (http://airlinersgallery.blogspot.com/search?q=pacific+pearl). I think the paint scheme looks nice and it is certainly another welcome addition to Philippine aviation! Anyone have any more info on this new airline?

No were talking about the airbus on the this picture:lol:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/naia01.jpg
Its an Airbus A300B4 no doubt! for one its 80's and only A300 were widely used airbuses back then. Then it was a PAL livery. eh apat lang naman na eroplano ng PAL nuon ang gumagamit ng T1. 747-200,DC-10,A300B4 at BAC1-11. yung sa 747 malapad yung buntot,yung DC-10 may makina sa buntot. yung BAC 1-11 T-tail yung buntot..so A300 nga yun:)



gr8 analization

I cannot beleive how empty NAIA 1 looks on that picture. hehehe.. when was the last time na nakita mong isang jeep lang ang nakapark sa driveway ng terminal na yan? Grabe. heheheh..share ko lang din. my first time to ride a plane was from manila to taipei back in 1986. We rode PALs DC10 in that same livery. ung walang araw sa tail. i was only 7 yo back then. i remember peeking out of the plane window looking for care a lot, tenderheart, grumpy, cheer, bedtime and the rest of the care bears. hehehehe

CNN talks about SEAIR with Dornier flights to and fro Boracay

great clip! although, it's funny how nobody pronounced Caticlan and Boracay properly

Saw some discussion on a.net and pex regarding a new Manila based airline called Pacific Pearl. They have a website pacificpearlairways.com but little or no content. There is a picture of their 737 on airlinersgallery.com (http://airlinersgallery.blogspot.com/search?q=pacific+pearl). I think the paint scheme looks nice and it is certainly another welcome addition to Philippine aviation! Anyone have any more info on this new airline?

awww its an old generation 737 :bash: oh well, at least a new airline is up and running in the philz! thanks for the post!

Parang naka-Mighty Kid pa yata si Zach:lol:

^^^:lol:

^^ lol at the mighty kid at least hindi Biokids diba? gosh nubayun? naalala ko pa,kasabay yata yun nung pelikula ni Joey de Leon at Rene Requestas na "Tarzan and Chitae".:lol:

Anyway this is the Pic of the Pacific Pearl Airways
Its an old 737-200

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/PacificPearlAirways737-200N316DL-1.jpg

I went to their website,wala ngang info sinabi, lang yung meaning nung logo nila....natakot ako kasi namention yung mga "guided by the holy spirit" ek ek :lol:

Anyway this is the Pic of the Pacific Pearl Airways
Its an old 737-200

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/PacificPearlAirways737-200N316DL-1.jpg

I went to their website,wala ngang info sinabi, lang yung meaning nung logo nila....natakot ako kasi namention yung mga "guided by the holy spirit" ek ek :lol:

pansin ko nga din. kung mag crush man wag matakot kasi sure ball ka sa heaven punta mo.

Saw some discussion on a.net and pex regarding a new Manila based airline called Pacific Pearl. They have a website pacificpearlairways.com but little or no content. There is a picture of their 737 on airlinersgallery.com (http://airlinersgallery.blogspot.com/search?q=pacific+pearl). I think the paint scheme looks nice and it is certainly another welcome addition to Philippine aviation! Anyone have any more info on this new airline?

i agree, their color scheme has this "tropical island" feel to it...

^^ lol at the mighty kid at least hindi Biokids diba? gosh nubayun? naalala ko pa,kasabay yata yun nung pelikula ni Joey de Leon at Rene Requestas na "Tarzan and Chitae".:lol:

Wahahaha!!!! :lol: Grabe!! I remember pa naman ang Thats Entertainment noon. Wednesday Group, Thursday Group? :lol: Those good ol'days in Philippine showbiz, hehehehe!!!!

i agree, their color scheme has this "tropical island" feel to it...


Why is it that PAL cannot have such this tropical liveries and instead will prefer the sleek and white and decor-less livery? Para naman ma-promote ang Pinas as a tropical destination.

I went to their website,wala ngang info sinabi, lang yung meaning nung logo nila....natakot ako kasi namention yung mga "guided by the holy spirit" ek ek :lol:

Oo nga parang mysterious yung site nila. I think this is the only airline that I've seen that even mentions the Holy Spirit in their marketing.:angel1:

i agree, their color scheme has this "tropical island" feel to it...

Kakulay ng US Air Force VIP jets

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/52/C-40B_USAF_VIP_Transport.jpg/800px-C-40B_USAF_VIP_Transport.jpg

Why is it that PAL cannot have such this tropical liveries and instead will prefer the sleek and white and decor-less livery? Para naman ma-promote ang Pinas as a tropical destination.

Naku naman obvious! Tingnan mo lahat ng kumpanya ni Lucio Tan. pansisnin mo walang ka art art! Beer na Beer? what title!:lol: Tapos yung Allied Bank branches ang didilim hindi man lang ipainterior design. Malakas ang feeling ko kung hindi lang kay Jaime Bautista hindi papayag yun na gawing "Recaro" yung mga bagong upuan sa economy class ng PAL. Sigurado ako kung hanggat maari gusto ni Lucio Tan monoblock na lang eh...

Cabinet team warming up to open skies (http://businessmirror.com.ph/05222007/headlines05.html)
By Jun Vallecera

Reporter

THE Cabinet economic cluster has determined the path to sustainable growth over the medium horizon will best be served by more liberal rather than restrictive air travel policies, the Department of Finance said on Monday.

It is one area that will be extensively reviewed and overhauled this year to ensure attainment of the target 6.2- percent growth in 2008.

Official sources said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri has calendared open skies at the next Development and Budget Coordination Committee meeting and that an initial “agreement in principle” has been gathered already.

Neri and other members of the interagency committee were flabbergasted by the results of the most recent growth simulations for 2008 showing maximum potential of only 5.8 percent.

Sources said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves supports a policy change in the local air transport business, in contrast to the main players which are for a restrictive implementation.

“The economic managers favor opening up the domestic air travel business to foreign competitors to drive down cost and inject more vibrancy into the economy,” said the sources.

Manila subscribes to the spirit of US–Philippines Air Transport Agreement of 1982, for instance, that sets the frequency of flights to and from each of the signatory countries.

But the terms of this open-skies agreement have never been seriously pursued or implemented and have in fact been suspended for the past years since the fall of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

More recent reports claim that flag carrier Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Asian Spirit are one in their opposition to open skies.

There are huge benefits to be had from opening up the country’s skies to foreign airlines, the biggest of which is a slice of the estimated $4-trillion global air transport business, according to officials.

Local authorities project the influx of some 5 million tourists by 2010 compared to the 2 million of them each year.

Naku naman obvious! Tingnan mo lahat ng kumpanya ni Lucio Tan. pansisnin mo walang ka art art! Beer na Beer? what title!:lol: Tapos yung Allied Bank branches ang didilim hindi man lang ipainterior design. Malakas ang feeling ko kung hindi lang kay Jaime Bautista hindi papayag yun na gawing "Recaro" yung mga bagong upuan sa economy class ng PAL. Sigurado ako kung hanggat maari gusto ni Lucio Tan monoblock na lang eh...

Kasi naman bakit parang blanko ang PAL sa livery. :lol:

They should put up some life in order to promote Philippines in international aerospace.

Anyway this is the Pic of the Pacific Pearl Airways
Its an old 737-200

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/PacificPearlAirways737-200N316DL-1.jpg

I went to their website,wala ngang info sinabi, lang yung meaning nung logo nila....natakot ako kasi namention yung mga "guided by the holy spirit" ek ek :lol:

Sino may ari ng airline na ito? pwede kayang investment ito ng mga cash rich religious institutions sa bansa natin, kaya ganun ang slogan nila, "guided by the holy spirit"? hmmm why not? baka meron pang free bread and wine when you fly. :lol: sossy!

I really hope LCC rin to.

^^ kung sino man may ari niyan malamang pag-hindi relihiyosang matrona eh born again. I think it will be either an LCC or for charter only

Flash News from Cebu:

"Huey Helicopter Nahagsa. Apan Phil Air Force miingon nga kabahin lang sa training."

"Huey Helicopter, Bumagsak! Pero sabi ng Phil Air Force kasama ito sa training"

"Huey Helicopter, crashed! According to PAF, its part of the training"

-Its a good thing that there were no fatalities as of this time of writing but its another hit in the head for PAF after a helicopter crashed just a few weeks ago also in Cebu that claimed 9 lives.

^^ I didn't know know that crashing an helicopter is now part of training! talk about hands-on reality training:lol:

bat ganun... nung patake-off na ang 5J sa changi, singapore airport parang may humps yung runway after every 100 meters? sa budget terminal sya galing.. so budget runway na rin? hehehe

sa first row pala ako nakasakay kaya pansin na pansin...

^^ kala ko sa pinas lang ung ganung style..hehe.. baka tanggal kaba daw para makiliti-kiliti naman ung mga passengers.. kasi minsan perception na kapag budget e madaling mmag-crash hehe..!! kaya kailangan kapit!! lolz

Inquirer
Last updated 09:01pm (Mla time) 05/22/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Airport authorities have extended runway operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport to accommodate more flights daily, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said on Tuesday.

The MIAA has added two hours to the 20-hour daily operations of its main international runway, allowing aircraft to take off and land on Runway 0624 except between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. when the runway is closed for maintenance work.

The runway used to be closed from 12:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. every day except Thursday for “routine maintenance and cleaning, the MIAA said in a statement.

But because of the increasing number of international flights, the MIAA changed its cleanup schedule over the weekend.

“Of course, this does not mean we are compromising flight safety here. It remains the top priority. This will just mean doubling our efforts and resources to finish the work within the new time frame,” said MIAA General Manager Alfonso Cusi in the statement.

Airport security chief General Angel Atutubo said in an interview the airport authority reduced the runway maintenance time from four to two hours to accommodate the arrival and departure of large aircraft at night since Runway 0624 had complete navigational facilities.

Cabinet team warming up to open skies (http://businessmirror.com.ph/05222007/headlines05.html)
By Jun Vallecera

Reporter

THE Cabinet economic cluster has determined the path to sustainable growth over the medium horizon will best be served by more liberal rather than restrictive air travel policies, the Department of Finance said on Monday.

It is one area that will be extensively reviewed and overhauled this year to ensure attainment of the target 6.2- percent growth in 2008.

Official sources said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri has calendared open skies at the next Development and Budget Coordination Committee meeting and that an initial “agreement in principle” has been gathered already.

Neri and other members of the interagency committee were flabbergasted by the results of the most recent growth simulations for 2008 showing maximum potential of only 5.8 percent.

Sources said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves supports a policy change in the local air transport business, in contrast to the main players which are for a restrictive implementation.

“The economic managers favor opening up the domestic air travel business to foreign competitors to drive down cost and inject more vibrancy into the economy,” said the sources.

Manila subscribes to the spirit of US–Philippines Air Transport Agreement of 1982, for instance, that sets the frequency of flights to and from each of the signatory countries.

But the terms of this open-skies agreement have never been seriously pursued or implemented and have in fact been suspended for the past years since the fall of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

More recent reports claim that flag carrier Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Asian Spirit are one in their opposition to open skies.

There are huge benefits to be had from opening up the country’s skies to foreign airlines, the biggest of which is a slice of the estimated $4-trillion global air transport business, according to officials.

Local authorities project the influx of some 5 million tourists by 2010 compared to the 2 million of them each year.

The true costs of protectionism is more obvious. While the slower growth can not all be attributed to lack of open skies, it's obvious that the arguments of vested interests only mask the debilitating effect their policies have on the whole economy. The Filipino people do not owe PAL anything, neither do they owe any local company for that matter any "franchise" that essentially distributes wealth from everyone to a few rich people. Protecting a few thousand jobs is also a pittance compared to the millions more than can be employed by a well developed tourism industry spured by more inexpensive flights.

Sino may ari ng airline na ito? pwede kayang investment ito ng mga cash rich religious institutions sa bansa natin, kaya ganun ang slogan nila, "guided by the holy spirit"? hmmm why not? baka meron pang free bread and wine when you fly. :lol: sossy!

I really hope LCC rin to.

Does anyone have any more info about this airline?
Bakit naman puro meaning nang clam ang nasa airlinr website nila? how odd?:nuts:

I was lurking around A.net last night and i'd just like to thank Solblanc (LurveBus) and Joe (skyblade) for their informative insights.:) I'm really excited about the new Recaro seats PAL is getting:okay: Thanks to Joe for posting those photos and confirming the seat/interior upgrade.

^^ actually yung A319 naka-recaro na
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/DSC00160.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/DSC00159.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/DSC00158.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/DSC00156-1.jpg

are the new singapore airline seats recaro? or were they like especially designed for SQ?

You mean this one? Yeah I definitely think its a Recaro.....
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/1169905-1.jpg
But this one is so gorgeous I think its custom made
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/1168232-1.jpg

A great inspiration for future PAL livery

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/USAirwaysA319-100N826AW07-ArizonaGr.jpg

^^ actually yung A319 naka-recaro na


I know. But i was talking about PAL getting Recaro CL6510 seats for its C-Class.
http://www.recaro-as.com/ras/product-range/full-flat/cl-6510/index.html?L=1

Coolest thing I saw today:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/boeing/boeing-787-lego+like-building-begins-kicks-airbus-nuts-262412.php

How do you ship a Dreamliner? With a Dreamlifter... Coolest cargo plane I've ever seen.

Of course, the most exciting part is that they're putting together the 787 in a totally new way that beats the crap out of anything Airbus does right now. A380? Hohum.

^^ yeah, i learned quite a bit about the production process of the B787 during my visit to their Everett plant. Everything from the composite material they use, international contribution (with freight as shown in your link from Japan, Europe, other parts of US) and the moving robotic assembly line in Everett shows how spectacular Boeing does things.:)

A great inspiration for future PAL livery

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/USAirwaysA319-100N826AW07-ArizonaGr.jpg

That livery is based on the state flag of Arizona.

That livery is based on the state flag of Arizona.

So i've noticed,For PAL sana yung star palitan ng golden sun tapos yung logo palitan ng Malaking Philippines tulad ng sa Emirates tapos gold din yung lettering same fonts actually.

RP, Korea to hold air talks on May 30
(http://businessmirror.com.ph/05242007/economy01.html)
NEGOTIATIONS MAY RAISE AIRLINE SEAT CAPACITY TO 20,000 WEEKLY FOR EACH COUNTRY
By Lenie Lectura
Reporter


THE Philippines and Korea are scheduled to hold air talks next week to finalize the parameters of a new air service agreement, including an increase in seat capacity from the current 3,400 seats a week to as much as 15,000 to 20,000.

In an interview, Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) executive director Carmelo Arcilla said both countries want to expand the existing agreement to support both countries’ tourism agenda.

“Both parties want an expansion. The majority of our tourists here are Koreans,” said Arcilla.

The number of Koreans that visited the country last year stood at 572,000, said Arcilla. In the first quarter of the year, Korean Air transported 116,425 passengers to the Philippines.

The air talks will be held in Davao on May 30. Arcilla said that even before the schedule was finalized, both countries are already holding discussions.

“So, more or less, we already know the parameters of how the negotiation will turn out. We already know what they want and they already know what we want,” said Arcilla.

Based on the preliminary discussions, each country will be entitled 15,000 to 20,000 seats a week from the current 3,400. This means that Korean airlines, for instance, are allocated up to 15,000 to 20,000 seats weekly.

“Actually, we are looking at between 15,000 and 20,000 seats per week. That would be a dramatic increase because before there were only 3,400 seats weekly, which covers the current operations of each country,” said Arcilla.

In total, the Philippines and Korea will have a total of as much as 40,000 seats combined every week, or up to 2.08 million seats in a year.

“The final numbers, if it will be 15,000 or 20,000 or anywhere in between, will be discussed during the air talks,” said Arcilla.

After Korea, the Philippine air panel will schedule air talks with Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Russia, Palau, Oman, Libya and Singapore.

“We will set another meeting for schedule of air talks. Many are in the pipeline. We will have to sit down with them and discuss the schedule,” said Arcilla.

The Philippine air panel is an interagency group drafting strategies to expand the Philippines’ air ties. It is responsible for arranging the schedule of the air talks.

Philippine Airlines (PAL), which has used up all of its flight entitlements to Vancouver, Canada, wants to add more flights between Manila and Vancouver from the current four times weekly.

The Arroyo administration has been pushing for institutional reforms in the country’s civil aviation sector. It is working on an aviation program to establish more air links to the rest of the world, as well as among the various regions and islands in the country to promote economic development.

“We will have a lineup of the air talks as soon as we get confirmation from them with regard to their availability,” said Arcilla.

^^the morer the betterer

AFX News Limited
Philippines' Cebu Pacific to buy 14 ATR planes for 275 mln usd (http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/afx/2007/05/24/afx3753674.html)
05.24.07, 2:30 AM ET

MANILA (XFN-ASIA) - Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air Inc, a unit of Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc, said it has placed firm orders for six planes and an option to buy eight more from ATR, the turboprop airplane venture between EADS and Finmeccanica SpA, for a total of 275 mln usd.

'We are buying up to 14 brand new ATR 72-500 aircraft for our continued expansion. The first two ATR 72 aircraft are expected to arrive in early 2008 and the complete delivery is expected by 2013,' Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei told reporters.


The announcement follows Cebu Pacific's disclosure in March that it would expand its fleet by purchasing an additional 20 Airbus A320 aircraft worth a combined 1.3 bln usd.


ATR 72-500
http://www.planespotting.nl/newphotos/dus/D-ANFI.jpg

^ I have tried PG's ATR last year from Bangkok to Luang Prabang -- it was a bit scary. . . but nice. :)

CebuPac expanding fleet to catch 'Bora market' (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/43682/CebuPac-expanding-fleet-to-catch-Bora-market)

Philippine budget airline Cebu Pacific on Thursday said it will be expanding its fleet once again and purchasing 14 ATR-72-500 planes which will specifically cater to the "Boracay market."

The acquisition will cost the company more than $250 million, and will increase its fleet number to 46 aircraft. All of Cebu Pacific's current aircraft are Airbus 320s and 319s.

Only small carriers like Sea Air and Asian Spirit have direct flights to Caticlan in Aklan, which is near Boracay, the country's most popular beach destination.

“So [now] ATR will allow us to enter Boracay [direct] via Caticlan," Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei said.

He said that of the 70 airports in the Philippines, only 25 can accommodate an Airbus, Cebu Pacific's regular plane. The new planes, Gokongwei said, have been purchased specifically for Boracay and airports incapable of accommodating the size of an Airbus.

Gokongwei said that they plan to finance the acquisition through internal funds, external borrowings and possibly proceeds from an initial public offering scheduled within the year.

The first two ATR72 aircraft are expected to arrive in early 2008. The delivery will be completed by 2013. - GMANews.TV

Good purchase by 5J. They will be able to fly to more domestic destinations that cannot accomodate Airbus and Boeing jets as well as free up some of their A319s and A320s for regional destinations. Some people may view this as a bad move because ATR 72s are turboprops and not jets. We should erase the view that turboprops are not safe or as safe as jets...which is incorrect because they are capable of maintaining high standards of safety. Thus its a good business decision by 5J and should, by no means be a reason why not to fly 5J.

Air service renews Zamboanga-Sandakan link (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2007/05/24/bus/air.service.renews.zambo.sandakan.link.html)

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A new air service is renewing Mindanao's direct link to its neighboring areas in the East Asean Growth Area (EAGA) with Asian Spirit now flying the Zamboanga-Sandakan route, bringing in more opportunities for closer trade, tourism and investment ties between the Philippines and Malaysia.

Asian Spirit, a Philippine-registered airline company, offers a faster, cheaper and more convenient way of traveling to Malaysia as it launched here recently its first commercial flight from Zamboanga to Sandakan.

A Japanese-built Weiss-11, the 60-seater plane flies an hour and a half from Zamboanga to Sandakan and vice versa on a thrice a week schedule every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

"We've studied the market and the market is there," Captain Antonio Buendia, Asian Spirit president said on the market viability of the Zamboanga-Sandakan route during the airline's inaugural flight on May 8, 2007.

Yeo Boon Hai, president of the Sandakan Municipal Council, welcomed the re-opening of the route, seeing it as a sign of renewed confidence of the airline business in sustaining business and tourism linkages between the two EAGA focus areas.

"This flight will enhance the relationship between the two sister cities," said Yeo.

The airline enjoys free navigational and landing charges from Sandakan government and 50% off on all aeronautical fees from the Philippine government in support of liberalizing the subregion's air linkages.

Asian Spirit is the latest airline that flies the Zamboanga-Sandakan route, which was previously served by South Phoenix Airways in 2004 and the Russian-owned Mosphil Aero last year. Aside from this new route, Asian Spirit is also eyeing at linking Zamboanga-Cagayan de Oro City and the Zamboanga-Brunei Darussalam routes.

The airline currently flies regularly to Tawi-Tawi and Jolo from Zamboanga.
"We have been trying to push for a strong relationship with our neighbor and the key ingredient there is the airlink. We hope that Asian Spirit will be able to sustain the flights," Rafael Evangelista, regional director of the National Economic Development Authority IX, said.

Meanwhile, Dir. Ricardo San Juan of the Department of Tourism (DOT) IX said that the government will work hand in hand with the airline by exploring marketing windows of increasing tourist exchange between Sandakan and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Data processed by the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO) showed that in 2006, Zamboanga Peninsula has drawn a total of 507,376 domestic and foreign visitor arrivals, about 885 of which are from Malaysia, a drop from the 2,799 Malaysian arrivals recorded in 2005.

"The revival of the Zamboanga-Sandakan route is a positive indication of the strong policy cooperation not only between Malaysia and the Philippines but also of the other two members of the EAGA region, Brunei Darussalam and Indonesia," according to Medco chair Virgilio Leyretana.

He added that the opening of another economic gateway in Mindanao is "a milestone in encouraging interest to the island-region especially in the sectors of tourism and trade as the airlink will promote Mindanao's potentials to the international market."

The Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is a major collaboration to boost the socio-economic development among poor regions of its member-countries by strengthening policies that will enhance the movement of people and goods.

EAGA members are pushing for more regular air connections to link the four countries to the rest of the world and accelerate the planned integration of EAGA's tourism development.

A Japanese-built Weiss-11, the 60-seater plane flies an hour and a half from Zamboanga to Sandakan and vice versa on a thrice a week schedule every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Hehehe.. This is the article that was mentioned in a.net regarding the "Weiss-11". It should be "YS-11". :lol:

http://www.boracay-beach-resorts.com/thumb-Asian-Spirit-NAMC%20YS-11A.jpg

i read in the newspaper earlier, chicago tribune, that china is gonna start building its own plane factory to compete w/ giant boeing and airbus.

Hehehe.. This is the article that was mentioned in a.net regarding the "Weiss-11". It should be "YS-11". :lol:

http://www.boracay-beach-resorts.com/thumb-Asian-Spirit-NAMC%20YS-11A.jpg

That aircraft is really old:ohno:,they should have used their newer BAe ATP's intead.

i read in the newspaper earlier, chicago tribune, that china is gonna start building its own plane factory to compete w/ giant boeing and airbus.

Yup its called ARJ-21 but China is also producing parts for both Airbus and Boeing. and recently china was allowed to have its own final assembly line for A320 as long as it is for their local consumption only.

http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getAsset.aspx?ItemID=17854
source: flightglobal
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/05/24/214221/cebu-pacific-orders-six-atr-72-500s.html

Nice Planes, sana Q400's! I understand it's more quiet and comfortable but of course more expensive. hehe

Anyway am a little bit surprised they went down this path taking on a 2nd aircraft type, not exactly lcc type behavior but fits the local market a little bit in the medium term. In the long run with the population, I'd say these little puddle hoppers will give way to higher density narrow aisle jets but for now, this should do the trick. I guess they want to steal the march and thunder away from Air Philippines. hehe 3 vs 14 (maybe more pa ) anyway shows you a little bit how aggressive 5J is or more appropriately an indiciation of better operational strategy (IMO) on a PR/2P vs 5J track.

Bottomline though I hope they still don't lobby to close skies DMIA.(wishfullthinking)

But this one is so gorgeous I think its custom made
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/atraqxis/1168232-1.jpg

Indeed it is, manufactured by Koito Industries of Japan.

http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getAsset.aspx?ItemID=17854
source: flightglobal
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/05/24/214221/cebu-pacific-orders-six-atr-72-500s.html|
Gorgeous rendition, IMO! :D Let's see how things will go once 5J recieves this type...



I just finished Part II of my Winter Vacation trip reports in Airliners.net. Unfortunately college got the best of me so I've been slow in finishing it. Check it out! (http://www.airliners.net/discussions/trip_reports/read.main/101008/)

magkano pala ang bayad sa first class ticket ng pal
is't around 5g's?

^^ I have a booking for busines class MNL-SFO-MNL for Oct. returning Dec. Originally priced at Php105K pero since I'm elligble for 50%disc I paid only half. First class daw is somewhere around Php142k. Pero baka mas mura na ngayun kasi I got it last March pa, Php50-1US$ pa yata yung palitan nun.

Philippine Flag Carrier Launches Cost-Saving E-Ticketing Service (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007466596)

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Manila's dominant air carrier Philippine Airlines has completed the full implementation of electronic ticketing service for all of its flights. It did so seven months ahead of the deadline set by the International Air Transport Association of December 31 this year.

In a statement, PAL said the e-ticketing coverage introduced in its networks globally will save the industry an estimated $3 billion annually.

Insiders say member-airlines of the IATA process some 300 million-paper tickets per year. That was costing at least $10 to process. However, an e-ticket costs only $1 to process.

PAL said it completed e-ticketing coverage for its 18 domestic stations on June 24, 2006. E-ticketing coverage for its 24 international outlets was completed on May 17, 2007.

The company said this achievement placed the airline on par with most major international carriers.

PAL president Jaime Bautista said, "E-ticketing is a major step towards building a comprehensive electronic commerce system in PAL-a strategic investment that we expect will yield long-term benefits."

Cebu Pacific vows to serve more airports (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2007/05/26/bus/cebu.pacific.vows.to.serve.more.airports..html)

Cebu Pacific (CEB) further expands its fleet with the acquisition of 14 ATR72-500 aircraft amounting to US250 million.

This was announced Thursday by Candice Irog, CEB's vice president for marketing and products, in a press lunch hosted by the airline for Davao City mediamen at Marco Polo Hotel.

She said the acquisition of 14 brand new ATR72-500 aircraft is part of the airline's commitment to "stimulate travel and further boost air traffic growth."

It will also allow the airline to serve more airports in the country, especially those that cannot cater to bigger airplanes, such as Airbus.

The order is made up of six firm orders, with an additional eight options. The first 2 ATR72 aircraft are expected to arrive in early 2008 and the complete delivery is expected by 2013.

The Toulouse, France based regional aircraft manufacturer, Avions de Transport Regional (ATR), is the world leader in the 50 to 74 seat turboprop market.

Irog said the 14 additional planes will give Cebu Pacific a total of 46 aircraft, 32 of them A320 and A319 airplanes.

Cebu Pacific completed its US$670 million re-fleeting program last March.

CEB has embarked on continuous expansion program to serve the growing market demand for low fares in the Philippines and in Asia.

CEB's trademark low fare promo has boosted the airline's continuous growth in terms of passenger traffic, which increased by 83 percent from the period May 2006 to April 2007, as compared to the same period in 2005-2006.

With the acquisition of ATR aircraft, the airline can bring more air travelers to new destinations where Cebu Pacific has yet to operate due to runway length and strength limitations.

Irog said that of the 70 airports in the country, there are only 25 that cater or can accommodate Airbus planes.

"So with the ATR aircraft, Cebu Pacific can serve airports that cannot cater to bigger planes, such as Airbus," she said. "We will be bringing air travel closer to more Filipinos."

Irog said ATR72-500 aircraft will be serving flights to Boracay as they want to capture its market, which posted a total of 556,000 tourist arrivals in 2006

Only small airline like Sea Air and Asian Spirit have direct flights to Caticlan while Cebu Pacific flies to Kalibo only.

"So the ATR will allow us to enter Boracay (direct) via Caticlan," she said.

^^ That's great news! I'm glad Cebu Pacific is expanding, I defenitley see a future PAL for the Philippines.

PAL completes e-ticketing 7 months earlier (http://businessmirror.com.ph/05282007/headlines09.html)
By Lenie Lectura
Reporter


PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) has already fully adopted e-ticketing for all of its flights, more than seven months ahead of a deadline set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the world’s airlines to adopt the system.

PAL becomes the first Philippine carrier to be fully enabled in e-ticketing—a technology that does away with paper tickets, thus providing a major convenience for passengers.

Under e-ticketing, customers can go to a ticket office or transact and pay by phone, fax, e-mail, the internet or a phone banking facility.

The airline will issue then, in place of the usual ticket, a transaction receipt through fax, e-mail or the internet, or over the counter.

This transaction receipt is what the passengers will show, together with an identification card, to enter the airport and check in. A lost receipt can easily be replaced unlike the present ticket.

PAL completed e-ticketing coverage of its 18 domestic stations on June 24, 2006. And on May 17, 2007, with the cutover of its Beijing station, it finally achieved the full implementation of e-ticketing in its international network of 24 points.

Members of IATA agreed in June 2004 to eliminate paper tickets issued by airlines before January 2008.

IATA members process 340 million paper tickets every year. Each paper ticket costs $10 to process while it only costs $1 to process an e-ticket.

IATA expects e-tickets to generate $3 billion in savings for the global airline industry each year. Savings can partly offset the estimated $7.4 billion in losses from high fuel costs this year.

The flag carrier launched e-ticketing on May 1, 2004 on flights between Manila and Cebu. The facility was expanded to its international flights, starting with the trans-Pacific services, on October 1, 2004.

The following year, PAL gained the capability to issue e-tickets on its interline partners’ flights, starting with American Airlines on July 12, 2005. Today, the list includes Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines, British Airways, Air Canada, Emirates, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways, Asiana, Singapore Airlines, Silk Air and Air Philippines.

“This caps a three-year effort to revolutionize our paper ticketing procedure, which has been in place since the 1940s, and is another milestone in PAL’s long history of leadership in the industry,” said PAL president Jaime J. Bautista.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific (CEB) is now 90-percent compliant. All CEB’s domestic routes had been e-ticket ready since October 2004.

AIRLINE PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS
Asiaweek - November 11, 1983

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/czarina8083363/img001.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/czarina8083363/img002.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/czarina8083363/img005.jpg

(Maghahanap pa ako ng iba. May natatandaan akong PAL pero nawala na siguro yung Newsweek magazine na yun circa 1985.)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/czarina8083363/thai.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/czarina8083363/img008.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/czarina8083363/swissair.jpg

Xinhua Financial News Service
Last updated 05:00pm (Mla time) 05/28/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) has decided to buy two more Boeing 777-300 aircraft, in addition to two it had already ordered and two others covered by a lease agreement with GE Commercial Aviation Services, the airline said.

"PAL has increased its planned Boeing 777-300 extended range fleet to a total of six aircraft -- four on firm order and two on lease -- by exercising its purchase rights on two option airplanes that were part of the original order last year," PAL said in a written statement.

Delivery will begin in the third quarter of 2009 and be completed in 2011.

It gave no financial details.

The statement quoted PAL president Jaime Bautista said: "Our future fleet of B777-300ERs will allow PAL to enhance its passenger service to the US, while providing superior efficiency in our operations."

It quoted Boeing Commercial Airplanes' vice-president for sales, Rob Laird, as saying: "PAL is a very forward-looking carrier and their fleet of six B777-300ERs is a great fit to provide their customers the best in service while achieving increased efficiency in these times of high fuel prices."

PAL said the acquisition of B777-300ERs, its first new model of wide-body aircraft in 12 years, "signals the long-anticipated modernization of the airline's long-range fleet."

^^ B777-300ERs are cool! :okay: I'm happy for PAL. :colgate:

What’s the official name
of the new Iloilo airport?

ILOILO – The new Iloilo airport of international standards will be inaugurated on June 13. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will lead the opening. Until now, however, nothing has been heard as to the official name of the facility.

But according to Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez, chairperson of the Regional Development Council and the Western Visayas Cultural and Historical Council, the National Historical Institute (NHI) has endorsed the resolution of the Dr. Graciano Lopez Jaena Foundation to rename the new Iloilo airport in Cabatuan-Sta. Barbara after Graciano Lopez Jaena.

The naming of the airport after the national Ilonggo hero is a worthy tribute to this great Filipino, NHI chairperson Ambet Ocampo was quoted to have said.

Lopez Jaena is one of the pillars of the reform movement in the late 19th century which eventually contributed to the struggle for the country's independence.

A copy of the resolution was submitted to the NHI on March 19 and was promptly endorsed by the historical institute to the Office of President.
"I know this will be a delightful news to members of the Graciano Lopez Jaena Clan of Negros," Perez said.

The airport was originally scheduled for inauguration last April 16. Its postponement was due to the delicate heart surgery of First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo. The President decided to attend to his needs first.

Another reason for the postponement was the delayed transfer of facilities of several airline companies from the airport in Mandurriao District in Iloilo City to the new airport that straddles the boundaries of Sta. Barbara, San Miguel and Cabatuan towns.

Air Transportation Office manager, Engr. Allan Java said the commercial operation of the airport would start simultaneous with the closure of the old facilities situated in Mandurriao.

Meanwhile, Senate President Frnaklin Drilon said the delay in the operation of the new airport is costing the Department of Transportation and Communications and Air Transportation Office millions of pesos in maintenance, electricity and security costs.

The delayed operation also means a delay in the entrance of economic benefits that the new airport will bring not only to Iloilo Province and City, but also to the whole Region 6.


Source: PanayNews 29.May.2006

^^ B777-300ERs are cool! :okay: I'm happy for PAL. :colgate:

Now, if only they can order more. :)

Maybe by the time DMIA Terminal 2 opens they will have more on order!

PAL to purchase 4 aircraft, lease 2 others (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2007/05/30/bus/pal.to.purchase.4.aircraft.lease.2.others.html)

MANILA - Philippine Airlines (PAL) has increased its planned Boeing 777-300 Extended Range fleet to a total of six aircraft—four on firm order and two on lease—by exercising its purchase rights on two option airplanes
that were part of the original order last year.

Last October 2006, the flag carrier came to terms with the Boeing Company on the firm order of two B777-300ER jets and purchase rights on two additional units.


Separately, PAL also signed a letter of intent with GE Commercial Aviation Services for the lease of two B777-300ERs.

Deliveries will commence in the third quarter of 2009 and until 2011.

Efficiency

“Our future fleet of B777-300ERs will allow PAL to enhance its passenger service to the United States, while providing superior efficiency in our operations,” said PAL president Jaime J. Bau-tista.

“Our passengers will appreciate the world-class interior comfort and amenities of this high-technology aircraft,” he said.

Service “PAL is a very forward-looking carrier and their fleet of six B777-300ERs is a great fit to provide their customers the best in service while achieving increased efficiency in these times of high fuel prices,” said Rob Laird, vice president for sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“These aircraft symbolize our two companies working together for the benefit of the passenger,” he added.

The decision to acquire the B777-300ERs, PAL’s first new widebody aircraft model in 12 years, signals the long-anticipated modernization of the airline’s long-range fleet.

Routes

It follows on the heels of a similar upgrading of PAL’s single-aisle fleet, which started last September 2006 with the arrival of the first of 20 brand new Airbus A320-family jets.

Six of those aircraft are already in service and four more are arriving this year.

The fuel-efficient B777-300ER is the world’s largest long-range twin-engine jetliner and is capable of carrying up to 365 passengers in PAL’s two-class configuration, at a range of up to 7,880 nautical miles (14,594 kilometers).

It will complement the Boeing 747-400, PAL’s venerable flagship, on the trans-Pacific routes.

PAL’s widebody fleet currently comprises 17 aircraft: five B747-400s, four Airbus A340-300s and eight Airbus A330-300s.

PAL has specified a bi-class configuration for its B777-300ERs, with state-of-the-art seats and in-flight entertainment system capable of providing audio/video on-demand in both Mabuhay (business) and Fiesta (economy) classes.

The flag carrier flies to 24 destinations in 13 countries and territories, including three points on the US mainland—Los Angeles, San Franciscoand Las Vegas—plus Honolulu and Guam in the Pacific. (PR)

Youtube finds

A319 5J landing in MNL
QK0-sNTkyaM

Flickr find

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/252/523428767_1a72b3c7df_o.jpg
NAIA Aerial | Photo by Storm Crypt (http://www.flickr.com/people/storm-crypt/)

Airbus A380-WOW!

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus1.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus2.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus3.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus4.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus5.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus6.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus7.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus8.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus9.jpg

^^ I wonder if those are F or C class seats. Also, I'm interested to see the Y class seats too. :colgate:

The facade of the new Iloilo Airport's passenger terminal.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/lewdsaint/airportfacade.jpg
Photo by A. Chris Fernandez

^ Is that the real thing or a rendering? Looks really good, I love the greens!

^ Is that the real thing or a rendering? Looks really good, I love the greens!

This is a real thing! :)
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/lewdsaint/airportfacade.jpg
Photo by A. Chris Fernandez

The facade of the new Iloilo Airport's passenger terminal.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/lewdsaint/airportfacade.jpg
Photo by A. Chris Fernandez

Wow this airport really looks great...:banana: :banana:

Guys, ilang minutes or hours ba ang turn-around ng airplanes ng PAL at CEB? Napanood ko kasi sa documentary tungkol sa Ryanair at nagrereklamo yung pilots kasi 25 minutes lang ang turnaround ng planes nila.

Airbus A380-WOW!

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus1.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus2.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus3.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus4.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus5.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus6.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus7.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus8.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus9.jpg

first class doesnt look so exclusive and private anymore!!! :ohno:

since there are an abundance of Fseats on the a380, will F fares be cheaper now? :lol:

Guys, ilang minutes or hours ba ang turn-around ng airplanes ng PAL at CEB? Napanood ko kasi sa documentary tungkol sa Ryanair at nagrereklamo yung pilots kasi 25 minutes lang ang turnaround ng planes nila.

PAL approximately,45min to a full hour
CEB 20 to 30 minutes

Wow this airport really looks great...:banana: :banana:

definitely the best in the philippines

Airbus A380-WOW!
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus5.jpg
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k37/doteristic/airbus9.jpg

Looks like PAL's new business class product.

sinabi ni mader [dumating sya dan sa kagabi] na sinakyan nyang eroplanong JAL e dble deck. iniisip ko na baga nabump sya sa 1st class kasi sa taas nga daw, o economy class lang un pero dble deck lang?

PAL approximately,45min to a full hour
CEB 20 to 30 minutes

Thanks.;)

^^ I wonder if those are F or C class seats. Also, I'm interested to see the Y class seats too. :colgate:

here it is

21l22a38YyU

nice pix of the A380 and iloilo

Guys, ilang minutes or hours ba ang turn-around ng airplanes ng PAL at CEB? Napanood ko kasi sa documentary tungkol sa Ryanair at nagrereklamo yung pilots kasi 25 minutes lang ang turnaround ng planes nila.

yeah, 25 minutes ang turnaround time ng ryanair. Just been on a ryanair flight from dublin to east midlands airport, the crew starts to clean the cabin before landing which saves them a lot of time, poor FA's.

If you're talking about no-frills airline, no one beats ryanair, pilots and FA's need to buy their own pen for documentations coz' the company won't provide it! we'll i only paid 20 euro for the flight so i guess i can't complain:)

Here are some pics i took:

on the tarmac
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/asbusinos/ryanairtarmac.jpg

safety card pasted on the back of the seat (to reduce cost of people stealing safety cards)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/asbusinos/safetycard.jpg

ryanair cabin
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/asbusinos/ryanaircabin.jpg

EMA low cost terminal, simple but functional
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/asbusinos/ema.jpg

I was in Antipolo yesterday and did some plane spotting since the area is within NAIA's runway approach. Medyo malabo kasi nakazoom yung lens ng camera :)

Asian Spirit
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3/abercromb24/DSC04103.jpg

Cathay Pacific
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3/abercromb24/DSC04109.jpg

Philippine Airlines
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3/abercromb24/DSC04112.jpg

Continental Micronesia
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3/abercromb24/DSC04114.jpg

I heard on TV (ANC) that PAL has opted to exercise its option for two additional 777-300ERs. That means that it will buy 4 and lease 2 fro GECAS for a total of 6. Does anyone know anything about this?

^ I think articles regarding that were posted in the previous pages. :)

yeah, 25 minutes ang turnaround time ng ryanair. Just been on a ryanair flight from dublin to east midlands airport, the crew starts to clean the cabin before landing which saves them a lot of time, poor FA's.

If you're talking about no-frills airline, no one beats ryanair, pilots and FA's need to buy their own pen for documentations coz' the company won't provide it! we'll i only paid 20 euro for the flight so i guess i can't complain:)


I heard they (Ryanair) even took out the window shades of the plane just so they can save some money. Sometimes these LCCs are stripping down everything to the basics, which sometimes makes them out to be just flying cowpens in the sky! But hey, the tradeoff for that is you do get bargain basement prices on flights. :okay:

Thanks for sharing asbusinos, Maka_mandag, and lewdsaint!

Looks like PAL's new business class product.

It is. No doubt that it's the same CL 6510 that Recaro produces. ;)

For Airbus A380 fans out there!
An A380 emergency evacuation video. Warning The strong European language is a bit scary
weOcrP7u7Y8
A380 assembly video.."how giants are made"
LbEiHGZtCFA

Canada cool to PAL bid for more flights (http://businessmirror.com.ph/06052007/headlines07.html)
By Lenie Lectura
Reporter

VANCOUVER, Canada—Philippine Airlines wants its 5 times-a-week service to here to become daily flights but the Canadian government is not interested in amending the air services agreement with the Philippines.

PAL president Jaime Bautista said Montreal “kept on postponing” meetings to discuss the flag carrier’s 2-year-old request to expand its operation here that started when its load factor began hitting over 90 percent. “Our air panel said the Canadian government does not want to meet them.”

Bautista added, “Our government is very liberal in giving entitlements to foreign airlines while the Canadian government avoids giving entitlements to the Philippines and yet Canada’s tourism is not affected. In Canada, they are mindful of protecting their local aviation industry.”

He was referring to the talks last year between Seoul and Manila on a new air agreement that sources said were conducted in a “slipshod, incompetent, and highly irregular manner.”

A source said the Philippine air panel chairman, Transportation undersecretary Edward Pagunsan, even “cut discussions short to meet the Korean 30-minute deadline until the RP panel members objected to having to negotiate under the gun.”

In June 1 last year, the Philippines agreed to an increase in seat entitlements to 19,000 weekly from 7,000, with Pagunsan agreeing to convert from a frequency regime to a “seats” regime. With 19,000 seat entitlements per week, the number translates to about 42 weekly flights or six flights daily.

According to sources, Pagunsan was cowed by the “take-it-or-leave-it” attitude of the Korean panel. Korea threatened the Philippine panel with disapproval and phaseout of all the extra bilateral RP-Korean flights and new applications by any carrier and refusal to meet with the Philippine air panel in the next few years.

“Pagunsan utterly failed to respond” to these demands with determination to protect Philippine airlines and “on the contrary, he applied pressure on the RP panel.”

“. . .The chairman even applied pressure on the CAB executive director to change his vote by warning him that it would displease President Arroyo,” they added.

The other members of the 10-man air panel include representatives from the airlines, Civil Aeronautics Board, Clark Development Corp., and the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Tourism, and Trade.

In comparison, present entitlements between PAL and Canadian airlines is 7—four for PAL and three for Canadian airlines. Bautista said PAL is using all of its flight entitlements to Vancouver. “We borrowed one entitlement from Canada that is why we have five weekly flights now. They granted us a temporary operating permit to use one entitlement. However, this permit will lapse by the end of October this year.”

Bautista said that given additional rights by Canada, it “will allow us to operate to the East Coast and we could possibly revive our San Diego [California] route.”

Filipinos are increasingly migrating to Canada, according to PAL country manager Allan Coo. Filipinos could be Canadian citizens in three years under Canada’s guest worker program.

Filipinos in Vancouver number about 80,0000; in Alberta, Edmonton, 60,000; in Winnipeg, about 25,000, and in Montreal, 20,000.

Further on the Korea-Philippine air negotiations, a source said the panel’s vice chairman, a PAL representative, separately conveyed to Pagunsan a message from key Korean panel members that Korea would accept a compromise deal limiting capacity to just 14,000 to 15,000 seats.

The sources said this would have been a breakthrough, but Pagunsan dismissed these crucial back-channel signals and said he would only listen to the Korean chairman.

“Then, without warning the panel, Pagunsan slipped off to meet privately with the Korean chairman instead of holding a plenary session. He later returned to the panel to report that Korea would not budge and then he decided to accede to the Korean demands, thus presenting the panel with a fait accompli. He cited the 5 to 5 voting deadlock of the panel and claimed that he cast the deciding vote in Korea’s favor,” said the sources.

The sources said that when half of the panel members take a strong position against capitulation, especially if those members include the aviation sector regulator [CAB], the chief diplomatic agency [DFA] and the flag carrier [PAL ] with the greatest stake in the RP-Korea market, “the chairman is duty bound to find a way to address their concerns and come up with a positive solution.”

Galeng! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Canada cool to PAL bid for more flights (http://businessmirror.com.ph/06052007/headlines07.html)
By Lenie Lectura
Reporter

VANCOUVER, Canada—Philippine Airlines wants its 5 times-a-week service to here to become daily flights but the Canadian government is not interested in amending the air services agreement with the Philippines.

PAL president Jaime Bautista said Montreal “kept on postponing” meetings to discuss the flag carrier’s 2-year-old request to expand its operation here that started when its load factor began hitting over 90 percent. “Our air panel said the Canadian government does not want to meet them.”

Bautista added, “Our government is very liberal in giving entitlements to foreign airlines while the Canadian government avoids giving entitlements to the Philippines and yet Canada’s tourism is not affected. In Canada, they are mindful of protecting their local aviation industry.”

He was referring to the talks last year between Seoul and Manila on a new air agreement that sources said were conducted in a “slipshod, incompetent, and highly irregular manner.”

A source said the Philippine air panel chairman, Transportation undersecretary Edward Pagunsan, even “cut discussions short to meet the Korean 30-minute deadline until the RP panel members objected to having to negotiate under the gun.”

In June 1 last year, the Philippines agreed to an increase in seat entitlements to 19,000 weekly from 7,000, with Pagunsan agreeing to convert from a frequency regime to a “seats” regime. With 19,000 seat entitlements per week, the number translates to about 42 weekly flights or six flights daily.

According to sources, Pagunsan was cowed by the “take-it-or-leave-it” attitude of the Korean panel. Korea threatened the Philippine panel with disapproval and phaseout of all the extra bilateral RP-Korean flights and new applications by any carrier and refusal to meet with the Philippine air panel in the next few years.

“Pagunsan utterly failed to respond” to these demands with determination to protect Philippine airlines and “on the contrary, he applied pressure on the RP panel.”

“. . .The chairman even applied pressure on the CAB executive director to change his vote by warning him that it would displease President Arroyo,” they added.

The other members of the 10-man air panel include representatives from the airlines, Civil Aeronautics Board, Clark Development Corp., and the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Tourism, and Trade.

In comparison, present entitlements between PAL and Canadian airlines is 7—four for PAL and three for Canadian airlines. Bautista said PAL is using all of its flight entitlements to Vancouver. “We borrowed one entitlement from Canada that is why we have five weekly flights now. They granted us a temporary operating permit to use one entitlement. However, this permit will lapse by the end of October this year.”

Bautista said that given additional rights by Canada, it “will allow us to operate to the East Coast and we could possibly revive our San Diego [California] route.”

Filipinos are increasingly migrating to Canada, according to PAL country manager Allan Coo. Filipinos could be Canadian citizens in three years under Canada’s guest worker program.

Filipinos in Vancouver number about 80,0000; in Alberta, Edmonton, 60,000; in Winnipeg, about 25,000, and in Montreal, 20,000.

Further on the Korea-Philippine air negotiations, a source said the panel’s vice chairman, a PAL representative, separately conveyed to Pagunsan a message from key Korean panel members that Korea would accept a compromise deal limiting capacity to just 14,000 to 15,000 seats.

The sources said this would have been a breakthrough, but Pagunsan dismissed these crucial back-channel signals and said he would only listen to the Korean chairman.

“Then, without warning the panel, Pagunsan slipped off to meet privately with the Korean chairman instead of holding a plenary session. He later returned to the panel to report that Korea would not budge and then he decided to accede to the Korean demands, thus presenting the panel with a fait accompli. He cited the 5 to 5 voting deadlock of the panel and claimed that he cast the deciding vote in Korea’s favor,” said the sources.

The sources said that when half of the panel members take a strong position against capitulation, especially if those members include the aviation sector regulator [CAB], the chief diplomatic agency [DFA] and the flag carrier [PAL ] with the greatest stake in the RP-Korea market, “the chairman is duty bound to find a way to address their concerns and come up with a positive solution.”

I think PAL should fly a Toronto Route there's like 120 000 Pinoys there.

PAL's first priority is to negotiate more 5th freedom rights with Canada so they can operate MNL-YVR-SAN and/or MNL-YVR-New York (EWR or JFK). Add that to the existing MNL-YVR-LAS route, then the MNL-YVR leg will be daily.

For those who don't know the IATA codes:
MNL - Manila
YVR - Vancouver
SAN - San Diego
EWR - Newark
JFK - JFK International Airport, New York
LAS - Las Vegas

For Manila to operate MNL-YVR-YYZ (Toronto), they would need more planes (hopefully more B773ERs). And I don't see them operating flights to Toronto before San Diego, New York, Seattle or even Chicago.

That article looks like it was written by the Lucio Tan Group!

hahahaha and yeah this is all the reciprocations they've been bragging about in executive order 500b

they dont get more flights to canada yet they wanna ban tiger airways from DMIA. :ohno: :bash:

That article looks like it was written by the Lucio Tan Group!

^^ It came from ATO (Another Tan Office) :lol:..

Pero seryoso mga bro I used to agree with the open skies agreement before specially for Clark,but being involved in the airline industry Im slowly seeing the point of our local carriers. The idea of increased air traffic for our airports seems to be very sweet, but if you guys would know how our CAB panel is being treated by their foreign counterparts. That was the very bitter side of the whole story. This kind of incident isn't unique to our dealings with Korea and Canada. Nangyari na rin yun sa Taiwan at Singapore. Mabuti pa yung open skies agreement natin sa US talagang may equal rights tayo. In fact PAL has been carrying more passengers to the states than US based carriers. But with others like Korea and Taiwan who had been poaching passengers from us. Yet They are still giving us a hard time to get further flight allocations. I agree with PAL's Bautista, before those guys clamor up for open skies they must also open their skies for us..porque ba Filipino tayo we always have to conform to their desires? lagi na lang bang take it or leave it ang mga dealings natin sa kanila?

That article looks like it was written by the Lucio Tan Group!

hehehe. I didnt even bother reading the article. The title itself is misleading.

^^ I understand their point. And yes it's not totally fair, but in the overall big picture, opening up sectors of the economy will only improve to enlargen the whole pie. The fact of the matter is that most of the flights routes being developed in Clark , the local airlines are actually not interested in flying. The new flights being open only enlargen the whole market and develop tourism which is a much larger and deeper part of the economy. While we may seek to protect the interest of a narrow part of our country in the sake of "equity" the reality is that in many respects it is a wealth transferance phenomena where in we the travel consumers are limited in choice in order that 4 or 5 companies may make more money. And yes that is the point, they ultimately against open skies not really because of fairness but because they do not want to compete on the open market. A good example right now is PAL which basically has a license to make money with it's US/Phil routes. As you pointed out only they fly a direct Manila US flight. This is because of current bilaterals which limit US flights to the country. Only NW owns it's right and their overall strategy is to hub at narita which makes it a less than optimal choice for Filipinos. Because of this PAL is the most expensive way often times to the US. Open skies between clark and LA would give a new airline a chance to offer service for this route even if it's not exactly the same. Most people from the South like Cavite Alabang are loth to use this airport so they wil probably not use it but for others it's at least a choice.

I also from the airline industry what my view is different from yours. as a pilot i see this executive order 500b brings more benefit to us (pilots). Before, PAL paid peanuts to its captains and first officer, when they started to lose out to CEB they make it illegals to discuss contract with other foreign carriers especially those from middle east. Now CEB also lose its pilot because let's admit it they paid peanuts compare to what these foreign carrier offer.

When tiger wants its philippine wings to start operation they have to comply with ATO requirement that no first officers are to be source from abroad. For captain positions only a certain number is allowed. So tiger's partner , SEA Air needs to send their existing pilots for a320 type rating to enable them the license. I heard rumors that pilots from CEB and PAL were approached to work for tiger/seaair and they offer more pera. Logically and career wise for sure they will choose tiger/seaair. Workload may not be heavy, with a normal 60-80 hrs weekly. Plus traffic in CRK is not as intense in MNL. Peak hours only see 3 arrivals at noon namely tiger from SIN, air asia from KUL, and cebu pacific from CEB. The only pressure is to get pax boarding the plane as fast as possible and avoid any delaying weather condition and holding position. Someone told me in PAL you're going to do more than 100 hrs monthly...

PAL and CEB can offer all of this but lucio and lance know this competition will only bring down their profit margin and in traditional Filipino gangsters way they stormed gloria's office and demand..."if you let these singaporean carrier set up their base in CRK, you're going to home in 2010." To make it sweet to the public eyes and ears they establish and make known their "plea" to the government stating that "thousands aviation related job will be lost" and sent signals to the whole Philippine archipelago that if Tiger land in CRK, the whole industry is doomed, local carriers filing for bankruptcy, and no filipinos will ever to fly again.

Is that true? If tiger and other airlines set up their base at CRK under open skies policy:

1) more local pilots, higher average salary.

Because as i said earlier, ATO ruling require local pilots and limited captain to serve these localized airlines, more pilots will migrated from this airline to that airline and any shortage in supply of pilots will entice more people to send their kids to FTS.

2) say, NWA or Air Canada or any north american lines choose to serve CRK instead of MNL. There's plan to make CRK the new international gateway for manila right? so aviation related jobs will also move there. technicians, cargo handlers, duty free shop assistants, tow truck drivers, spare part suppliers etc etc. it will help in the long term for us to gauge the actual potential of CRK. Let CEB and PAL stay in MNL, they wont collapse, dont worry, they still have local routes to keep them profitable.

We, pilots, really want these companies to come here and give us job instead of going abroad and admire host countries achievements in how they manage to stay ahead of RP because they allow competition to their airline industry. We're dreaming to make ourselves an aviation hub, not only in pax, but also in MRO services. Make available more jobs at home, then we're not going overseas...

^^Ayun an argument put forth from the point of view even of employment!

hay naku, suddenly i feel tired of this...maybe we should just let them do what they want to do, you want clark close, close them, i dont even bother to come home again..

I also from the airline industry what my view is different from yours. as a pilot i see this executive order 500b brings more benefit to us (pilots). Before, PAL paid peanuts to its captains and first officer, when they started to lose out to CEB they make it illegals to discuss contract with other foreign carriers especially those from middle east. Now CEB also lose its pilot because let's admit it they paid peanuts compare to what these foreign carrier offer
I agree with you,local carrier pays peanuts:ohno: one of our seniors at our FTS was only offered with 65k/80hrs a month at CEB's A320. While our similarly rated Indian classmate was offered at Rp.165k as an A320 F/O for an Indian carrier..but off course everyone has plan to transfer at Emirates upon reaching 2500hrs...hehe:lol:
When tiger wants its philippine wings to start operation they have to comply with ATO requirement that no first officers are to be source from abroad...................... Someone told me in PAL you're going to do more than 100 hrs monthly... This is totaly true except that in PAL max is 80hrs monthly in accodance with their dealings with ALPAP during the heavy strikes on 98'. more than that means 200% percent of your total hourly rate.(monthly contracted salary/divided by 80) pang overtime kumbaga

PAL and CEB can offer all of this but lucio and lance know this competition will only bring down their profit margin and in traditional Filipino gangsters way they stormed gloria's office and demand..."if you let these singaporean carrier set up their base in CRK, you're going to home in 2010." To make it sweet to the public eyes and ears they establish and make known their "plea" to the government stating that "thousands aviation related job will be lost" and sent signals to the whole Philippine archipelago that if Tiger land in CRK, the whole industry is doomed, local carriers filing for bankruptcy, and no filipinos will ever to fly again. regarding this it was actually Asian Spirit and not just PAL who was gawking. because they applied for the similar route flown my Tiger AIrways but they got denied several times.

Is that true? If tiger and other airlines set up their base at CRK under open skies policy:

1) more local pilots, higher average salary.

Because as i said earlier, ATO ruling require local pilots and limited captain to serve these localized airlines, more pilots will migrated from this airline to that airline and any shortage in supply of pilots will entice more people to send their kids to FTS.
I was hoping that this would indeed happen,being an FTS student I was of course hoping that industry will indeed open more oppurtunitis for us after graduation and in fact it already does. Local carriers started to reduce flight time requirements in order to apply. PAL's requirement is lowered to 500TT,while CEB is on the process of lowering theirs to 500TT also. Note that this doesnt reduce the Pilot skill since they will be flying a new type of aircraft anyway. If PAL and CEB is indeed doing something to protect their turf and running their business at least they are good at it because these carriers are hiring locals more than those foreign cariers could do. Local carriers today have been hiring pilots at a rate of around 200+ a year 3 times as it was in the 90's. Foreigners dont do that for us students....they only get experienced pilots...
2) say, NWA or Air Canada or any north american lines choose to serve CRK instead of MNL. There's plan to make CRK the new international gateway for manila right? so aviation related jobs will also move there. technicians, cargo handlers, duty free shop assistants, tow truck drivers, spare part suppliers etc etc. it will help in the long term for us to gauge the actual potential of CRK. Let CEB and PAL stay in MNL, they wont collapse, dont worry, they still have local routes to keep them profitable.
NWA and AirCanada has all the oppurtunities they deserve to fly to CRK but it is themselves who doesnt have the definite plan to do so. Knowing AirCanada they have basically no plans to expand in Asia. Unlike the defunct Canadian Airlines who's focusing on Asia. AirCanada's current management is only interested on Trans-atlantic flights. NWA meanwhile is studying plans to fly at CRK but their first priority is to fly at Mactan first utilizing A330-200. CRK is not growing because there is still few Legacy carriers interested in flying to CRK. In fact even NAIA(RPLL) was dropped by most legacy carriers.

I'm actually cool over this issue because even with open skies or not I naturally see that the industry will grow no matter what. I myself have criticism about PAL like you guys and like everyone here I certainly love to see our industry to grow but let us not forget how local carriers have contributed in making employment in the industry. We can't blame them if they were somehow ballistic over this kind of issues. You guys know how we always got jolted in the past. I still cant forget the way how FAA treated us before in giving us a CAT2 licensing so as just to force PAL to lease expensive MD-11 from world airways (such schemes:ohno: :puke:). Besides protectionism is not a new word in the industry but a global stance even FAA and the Europeans does that, no matter how much they present themselves as "liberal". The real openskies and airlineworld out there is not really sweet promises of growth but full of bitter thorns and deception. Like in real life local carriers had toughened and have learned not to trust anyone but only on the real oppurtunities in front of them. That's why I see this issue on airline seats allocation and our dealing with foreign CAB's for me as a political issue and foreigners way of treating us like a third world moron na kinakaya kaya na lang. call me an old fashion national socialist but I just never get to accept the fact that Filipinos (may it be a Tycoon Chinoy or a CAB dumdum) be taken over by these Foreigners and forced them to kneel on their front(lagi nalang kasi tayong inaapakan ng mga dayuhan:ohno: pero aaminin ko may sama rin ako ng loob kay Lucio Tan in fact may plano akong ihian yung puntod niya sakaling mamatay siya:lol: ) Certainly being a student with somehow blurry future I wanted growth in the industry as well. pero sana naman without the expence of foreigners treating us like morons who will accept any shit that they threw to us:ohno: ...nakakadegrade nga naman kasi...

Whew! that was my longest post hirap ah! nyehe!
Its nice to see a group of pinoy aviators on the net,naeexercise yung mga aviation facts sa utak ko:lol: ,nice healthy arguing with you guys..:cheers:
Sir Ssangyong may tanong po ako sa inyo,its about flying po!:lol: I will PM you....

hay naku, suddenly i feel tired of this...maybe we should just let them do what they want to do, you want clark close, close them, i dont even bother to come home again..

Nyeh!:lol: naku kuya wag niyo pong karirin haha! sasakit po talaga utak niyo ako nga eh parang nahilo! haha! post nal ang po tayo ng tungkol sa aviation, mainit na sitwasyon kasi yung mga pinagusapan natin dito eh.

CEB will be upgrading it's Manila - General Santos flight from A319 to A320 daily. Based from CEB's online reservation...

Jetstar said mulling franchise option for ASEAN open skies (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/280349/1/.html)

SYDNEY : Australia's Jetstar will consider adopting a franchise system to expand in Southeast Asia if ASEAN adopts an "open skies" policy next year, it was reported Tuesday.

The Australian Financial Review said flights within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were due to be deregulated next year, opening up one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets.

But it said wholly-owned Jetstar subsidiaries could not benefit from the agreement as they would be regarded as foreign owned, forcing Qantas's discount offshoot to instead examine a franchise system.

Jetstar chief executive Alan Joyce told the newspaper that the airline would consider taking minority stakes in airlines throughout the region as a means of expanding its brand.

Joyce compared Jetstar's growth potential in Asia to that of Southwest Airlines in the United States and Ryanair in Europe before trade liberalisation in their respective markets.

"Before that, no one had even heard of them," he said.

The Financial Review said Qantas was looking to invest in carriers in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

It said carriers minority owned by Jetstar would carry the airline's logo and use its ticketing and distribution systems, as well as possibly gaining access to its loyalty scheme.

The newspaper said Qantas would also use second teams of pilots and engineers to lift the carriers' standards and offer Qantas-accredited training schemes.

Qantas already owns a 49 percent state in Singapore-based Jetstar Asia, which flies under the Jetstar banner.

It also confirmed in April that it was taking a 30 percent stake in Vietnam's Pacific Airlines.

May plan naman pala Air Canada to fly here,"pero being considered in 2010" pa when the 787 arrives,how come cant they use their A340's and 777's:bash: if they are hearing that PAL is having a 90% load factor theres no reason for them to wait that long here's the full story..

Air Canada eyes Philippine flights Inquirer
Last updated 02:45am (Mla time) 06/06/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- Air Canada is considering flying the Vancouver-Manila route but definite plans may be in place only after 2010, airline president and chief executive Martie Brewer said Tuesday.

Commercial availability of the Boeing 787 around 2010 may encourage the Canadian flag carrier to fly to Manila, Brewer told reporters.

“We always see the Philippines as a potential destination. But the nearest opportunity may be in 2010 onwards, when the 787 enables efficient long-haul operations to destinations such as the Philippines,” he said.

“The aircraft may be tested this year and may be available by 2010, and from there it may make financial sense for us to serve the route,” he added.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a midsized, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner, is scheduled to enter commercial service in May 2008. It will have a capacity of from 210 to 330 passengers, depending on the seating configuration.

Boeing has said the 787 is lightweight because it uses composite material and will be more fuel-efficient than comparable earlier Boeing aircraft. With INQUIRER.net

DMIA can handle 2-M tourists with ‘open skies,’ says exec

By Daxim Lucas
Inquirer
Last updated 02:10am (Mla time) 06/06/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- The Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in the Clark Special Economic Zone, north of Manila, could handle close to half of the country’s targeted tourist arrivals by 2010 and bolster economic development in its vicinity -- if the government will ease access restrictions on foreign carriers, an official said.

Subic-Clark Alliance for Development chairman Edgardo Pamintuan made a pitch for an “open skies” policy amid a growing debate on the future of DMIA as an international airline hub.

“Based on a projected 20-percent annual growth rate, DMIA can reach one million by 2010,” he said at a forum of open skies advocates. “It can even reach two million.”

The government hopes to attract as many as 3.1 million foreign tourists by the end of this year and as many as five million by the end of 2010, under a plan set forth by the Department of Tourism.

Pamintuan’s forecast would mean the DMIA would be handling as much as 40 percent of all inbound tourist traffic into the country in three years.

Last year, the airport handled a total of 471,000 passengers on board 50 flights per week.

Already, DMIA experienced one of the fastest growth rates in terms of tourist arrivals anywhere in the world, due mainly to the boom in low-cost carrier activity into and out of the former US airbase.

“DMIA has already beat Davao and Cebu,” said Pamintuan, referring to the country’s southern secondary cities.

He added that 46 percent of inbound passengers handled at the airport were tourists, as a result of which the nearby areas were enjoying significant growth in tourism, with an 80-90 percent occupancy rate in hotels in the Clark area.

Pamintuan pointed to statistics showing how every tourist arrival indirectly translates to generation of one local job for at least one year, based on the average of $1,200 that every tourist spends.

Pamintuan, who is also an adviser of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, urged her administration to approve Executive Order 500-B, which would ease restrictions on foreign carriers’ access to the DMIA.

The policy is being opposed by airlines like Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and Asian Spirit, which say unilateral liberalization would put them at a disadvantage against foreign carriers. With INQUIRER.net

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/45344/CebuPac-passenger-traffic-grew-89-in-yr-ended-March-31

CebuPac passenger traffic grew 89% in yr ended March 31
06/06/2007 | 02:30 PM
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Budget airline Cebu Pacific on Wednesday said its passenger traffic grew 89 percent over the past 12 months ending May 31, 2007.

In a statement sent to the media, Cebu Pacific, which is owned by the Gokongwei family's J.G. Summit Holdings, said its total passenger carriage rose from 2,385,610 for the period of June 2005 to May 2006 to 4,505,140 for the period of June 2006 to May 2007.

Domestic traffic grew 68 percent from 2,279,348 to 3,831,093 for the same period.
International operations, meanwhile, expanded 534 percent from 106,262 to 674,047 passengers.

“We are very happy to see that we’ve been giving more people the opportunity to travel by air with our very low fares and our continued domestic and international expansion. “ Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and product said.

“We are very proud to be one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. With our recently announced fleet expansion, we will continue to grow rapidly. This is good for the Filipino traveler, the country’s tourism agenda, and the economy as a whole," she added.

Cebu Pacific's domestic seat capacity grew 50 percent for the same period versus the previous year.

The budget airline also carried close to 520,000 passengers for May 2007, the highest the airline has ever carried since it started operation in 1996.

Iyog added that with the arrival of another Airbus aircraft late this year, the airline will be able to add more capacity into its network and offer more seats at lower fares. Cebu Pacific said it is expecting to carry more than 5 million passengers this year and 10 million by 2013.

Cebu Pacific currently has 14 new Airbus aircraft and is acquiring up to 20 more. It has also recently placed an order for up to 14 ATR 72-500 aircraft with the delivery of the first two in early 2008. If all orders and options are taken, CEB expects to operate a fleet of 46 aircraft by 2013. - GMANews.TV

May plan naman pala Air Canada to fly here,"pero being considered in 2010" pa when the 787 arrives,how come cant they use their A340's and 777's:bash: if they are hearing that PAL is having a 90% load factor theres no reason for them to wait that long here's the full story..

Air Canada eyes Philippine flights Inquirer
Last updated 02:45am (Mla time) 06/06/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- Air Canada is considering flying the Vancouver-Manila route but definite plans may be in place only after 2010, airline president and chief executive Martie Brewer said Tuesday.

Commercial availability of the Boeing 787 around 2010 may encourage the Canadian flag carrier to fly to Manila, Brewer told reporters.

“We always see the Philippines as a potential destination. But the nearest opportunity may be in 2010 onwards, when the 787 enables efficient long-haul operations to destinations such as the Philippines,” he said.

“The aircraft may be tested this year and may be available by 2010, and from there it may make financial sense for us to serve the route,” he added.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a midsized, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner, is scheduled to enter commercial service in May 2008. It will have a capacity of from 210 to 330 passengers, depending on the seating configuration.

Boeing has said the 787 is lightweight because it uses composite material and will be more fuel-efficient than comparable earlier Boeing aircraft. With INQUIRER.net

NO!!! NO!!!! OH GOD NO!!!!! Air Canada is EVIL!!! One of the worse companies in Canada! They must not be allowed to enter our shores and spread their filth at all costs! Did you know the reason why there is no longer a PAL flight from the Vancouver/San Francisco route is because Air Canada FORCED Transport Canada to kick them out since its taking business from them due to PAL's superior service and comfort? GOD!!! Air Canada is a predator, ladies and gentlemen! For the sake of our aviation industry and our flying public, it must not be allowed in to destroy us! :eek:

^ I know you hate Air Canada...but is it that terrible that they fly to Manila? Its an airline carrier and if YVR-MNL will make money for them, why not? It will also provide competition for PAL, so it will be an added incentive for PAL to improve their services and facilities. Also, it will open new doors and opportunities for [Canadian] investors into the Philippines. And for aviation nuts like us, it would be pretty cool to see some 787s in MNL, eh?:)

I havent flown with Air Canada yet, so i don't want to judge them just yet.

Lotsa developments here, I am praying with hands and feet that the good guys in GMA's cabinet prevail over this pocket open skies issue. I really believe only good things will happen to the republic if this happens.

PR, 5J , 2P area all expanding , right now they're short of capacity, this adds capacity in an airport that is inferior in location and they don't even want to serve anyway, but good things will come to this and even these airlines will ultimately reap the benefits with a larger pie in the long run!

^ I know you hate Air Canada...but is it that terrible that they fly to Manila? Its an airline carrier and if YVR-MNL will make money for them, why not? It will also provide competition for PAL, so it will be an added incentive for PAL to improve their services and facilities. Also, it will open new doors and opportunities for [Canadian] investors into the Philippines. And for aviation nuts like us, it would be pretty cool to see some 787s in MNL, eh?:)

I havent flown with Air Canada yet, so i don't want to judge them just yet.

Bah!!! Go fly them yourself and see what I am talking about! PAL's service and facilities are perfect the way it is for the YVR-MNL route. You can fly 787s to your hearts delight in North America for all we care plus who is to say PAL will never ever order one? No need for crab mentality in the sky, especially from that EVIL entity that is Air Canada whose predatory practices spells destruction to decent airlines it aims to compete with. :ohno:

Bah!!! Go fly them yourself and see what I am talking about! PAL's service and facilities are perfect the way it is for the YVR-MNL route. You can fly 787s to your hearts delight in North America for all we care plus who is to say PAL will never ever order one? No need for crab mentality in the sky, especially from that EVIL entity that is Air Canada whose predatory practices spells destruction to decent airlines it aims to compete with. :ohno:

Oh yes i will fly with them if i have the opportunity. I'll fly with them, Westjet, or whatever....but i will reserve my judgment and opinion only after i have done so.

No where in my post did i say that PAL will not get 787s. If they do in the future, then great! I'll be one of the first to be excited and celebrate as it is a kick ass jet. And no, PAL's services and facilites are far from perfect. It is a good airline but not perfect. I, just like anyone would be happy and support PAL in upgrading their services and air/ground facilities, but until then it is not perfect. (eg. business class seats suck and the food isnt all that great....but I am happy they are upgrading to new recaro seats and improving their service).

hey guys, are there direct flight from manila to the mainland US? all i know is SFO

Oh yes i will fly with them if i have the opportunity. I'll fly with them, Westjet, or whatever....but i will reserve my judgment and opinion only after i have done so.

No where in my post did i say that PAL will not get 787s. If they do in the future, then great! I'll be one of the first to be excited and celebrate as it is a kick ass jet. And no, PAL's services and facilites are far from perfect. It is a good airline but not perfect. I, just like anyone would be happy and support PAL in upgrading their services and air/ground facilities, but until then it is not perfect. (eg. business class seats suck and the food isnt all that great....but I am happy they are upgrading to new recaro seats and improving their service).


^^ So the bottom line is, we don't need Air Canada here and by bringing them here will only cause suffering and grief for both us passengers and for our premier airline! :yes:

LAX? But i do know on the return flight they make a technical stop at Guam.

^^ only on the west coast? I just want to go home in one direct flight, im kind off airplanephobic

^^ So the bottom line is, we don't need Air Canada here and by bringing them here will only cause suffering and grief for both us passengers and for our premier airline! :yes:

In the end its the consumers (pax) that make that decision. If Air Canada's service is indeed rubbish as i hear, people do have a choice to fly PAL or some other airline via somewhere else. And if this happens, i dont see Air Canada flying to Manila for a long time.

^^ only on the west coast? I just want to go home in one direct flight, im kind off airplanephobic

PAL currently flies to SFO, LAX and LAS (via YVR). They no longer operate flights to EWR and ORD (ah, those were the days...:D).

But they are studying the possibility of flying to SEA, SAN and maybe EWR again.

In the end its the consumers (pax) that make that decision. If Air Canada's service is indeed rubbish as i hear, people do have a choice to fly PAL or some other airline via somewhere else. And if this happens, i dont see Air Canada flying to Manila for a long time.

Unfortunately, that is not how predatory Air Canada operates. Air Canada will price their fares so low to the point they will loose money that the consumers, who are so price sensitive, will flock to their planes while PAL is forced to drop their prices to remain competitive. Sooner or later, either PAL gets bankrupted or is forced out of the route while Air Canada cries to the Canadian Federal government to subsidize them for their losses. Air Canada becomes the sole provider for that route and jacks up the price like crazy. Service will remain crappy and the only loosers are the travelling public.

We'll see.:) I don't believe PAL will give up its operations to YVR (assuming of course it doesnt do a 1998 again, God forbid). After its Cali routes, it is a major breadwinner for PAL.

And if you compare PAL to other carriers, it is up there in terms of price. They often have among the expensive seats to North America bound flights because demand to fly with them is very high. I've flown on and i know many others that fly Cathay or EVA en route to Manila from Vancouver. Add that to the no-frills operations of OASIS Hong Kong and Cebu Pacific, and flying YVR-HKG-MNL is dirt cheap!