Airlines, Airplanes and Airports - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 56

kiretoce

May 22nd, 2009, 09:49 PM

Fly with me (http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=peterWallace_may22_2009)

With the amazing airfares competing for passengers and the opening of Clark to more traffic the Philippines is an attractive cost option, apart from being a beautiful country to travel through. So, I’d “open skies” the whole Philippines and let anyone fly in as long as it’s safe. But that competition must be fair. Or, where it’s not, maybe this is a better subsidy for the government than mindless doles. Give Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Sea Air a percentage of the increased taxes of spending tourists to compensate for lost revenues from competition from other airlines that get favored treatment from their governments. Admittedly this one needs more thinking through but I’ve pondered it for months as I firmly believe the world should go open skies. This nonsense of bilateral agreements was discarded, and done so with spectacularly successful results in every other industry. Why must airlines be different? Open the skies worldwide. The Philippines could be a world leader in achieving this but the Philippine international airlines should be protected in the transition.

There’s no doubt in my mind it will happen, it’s just whether the Philippines can accelerate it. Maybe it can. This is a fascinating idea to explore. And being the first would give it an advantage.

I rather suspect the (large, I hope) influx of tourists would add revenues to all the Philippine airlines, not just the ones flying internationally, but I suspect their international traffic too would grow as first-time visitors go home and promote the Philippines to others.

We prefer Philippine airlines (and here I have a problem, how do I say “Philippine airlines” without it being interpreted as PAL, nice as PAL is, but including the others as well? I guess a small “a”, but it’s too subtle). We’ve never had a bad experience on a Philippine airline. Our contact after all is the people and the people running Philippine airlines (small “a”) are Filipinos. How can you not get friendly, efficient service?

Mind you, Singapore Airlines (big “A”) is still the standard to beat but the RP guys are close: The Aussies (Qantas) aren’t even on the same page they’ve forgotten that it pays to be nice to people and be a little flexible from time to time. A little more human.

Incidentally, or maybe not so incidentally, why must my 54-kg wife have to pay overweight baggage when an obese person next to her weighs 154kg? The whole intent, and it’s fair enough, of charging for overweight suitcases is because the heavier the plane the more fuel it uses, the more it costs to fly it. But I suggest the determinant should be the package: Passenger AND luggage. That would be truly fair. Maybe that’s how tickets should be priced—on a per kilo per kilometer basis for the passenger and luggage package. It certainly makes logical sense (in a world where logic too often, sadly, doesn’t prevail).

Human rights advocates are going to bleat that this is a violation of a fat person’s rights. Well I disagree, the differential cost to fly a plane is based on weight. The heavier it is, the more it costs. So surely those who contribute to that weight should pay for it. That’s what human rights advocates should lobby for—give a fair deal to those who weigh less.

The airline industry is going through change. A good time for a radical re-think. I have a simple solution to the Naia-3 imbroglio—just pay it. Piatco says it spent US$650 million. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t, after nine years of non-use and huge opportunity cost wasted far in excess of this, who cares? Pay it, maybe less 10 or 15 percent. I suspect Piatco and Fraport would accept it, and it would be a cheap deal for the Philippine government as the airport could be put into full international use immediately as it was originally intended. All the expensive court cases could be stopped and we could get on with life.

I’ll never forget being invited to a meeting the night before to be told the government would expropriate Naia-3 and would we please understand. But the government would immediately re-compensate the builders. As businessmen, we weren’t too happy with government expropriating a private business but if full re-compensation was going to be made we reluctantly agreed. However, they didn’t do it. They just took the airport and started arguing about the money, and that’s when the trouble started. Had they done as promised, we’d have had a modern airport terminal for the past nine years.

That terminal has to be fully used but it can’t be until legal ownership is fully resolved. No other major city in Asia has a “Terminal 1”. Mind you, Al Cusi has done an incredible job of making the Naia designed for 13.5-million passengers (after renovation of Terminals 1 and 2) still work 50 years later for 22 million passengers. It’s been a “despite all odds” success, but the odds have run out. Naia-3 must be fully opened now.

And Clark rapidly developed as the real, main airport. One runway in the center of the city of Manila has no place in the modern world. I hear the talk, and some limited action on Clark’s development, but nothing of consequence on the essential super-fast rail a continuous, uninterrupted expressway from the terminal to the center of Makati (not Bulacan) to get you there. Without them, forget Clark.

The bold, all-encompassing approach to making a truly modern international airport is missing.

kiretoce

May 22nd, 2009, 09:51 PM

RP-Spain-seal-air-dealRP, Spain seal air deal (http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20090521-206376/)

The Philippines and Spain agreed to make 28 direct flights available for their respective airlines to serve weekly, as representatives of both countries wrapped up bilateral air services negotiations in Madrid recently.

The two parties allocated daily flight entitlements from Manila to Madrid and Barcelona, and vice versa.

Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport got 14 weekly flights to and from Madrid and Barcelona.

Other points in the Philippines, except Manila and Clark, were allocated daily flights to and from other points in Spain, except Madrid and Barcelona.

Manila was granted rights to service 200 tons of cargo per week while Clark got 300 tons per week. Both points of origin were allowed daily cargo flights to and from Spain. “The original agreement was signed in 1951 without frequencies,” Civil Aeronautics Board executive director Carmelo Arcilla, who is a member of the Philippine air panel, said.

Currently, there are indirect flights from Madrid and Barcelona to the Philippines and back. The routes are served by Asian airlines such as Singapore Airlines and a number of Middle Eastern carriers such as Qatar Airways.

Philippine aviation officials have not disclosed whether any airline, including flag carrier Philippine Airlines and Spain’s Iberia, expressed interest in serving the direct flight entitlements agreed upon.

This is the eighth air services deal entered into by the Philippines this year.

The Philippines has completed aviation talks with Qatar and United Arab Emirates in January, Kuwait and Bahrain in February, and Brunei and Australia in March, and Singapore earlier this month.

The International Air Transport Association has projected that world travel may decline by 3 percent in 2009.

The Philippines’ transport department views air deals as part of preparations for the eventual recovery of the global economy and the resurgence in air travel.

Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said having more air service agreements would be good for the country.

kiretoce

May 22nd, 2009, 09:55 PM

PAL inks marketing deal with Travelport (http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/10672-pal-inks-marketing-deal-with-travelport.html)

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Travelport, one of the world’s largest travel conglomerates, signed a three-year global-marketing agreement that enables Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan connected travel agents to access automated market fares and take advantage of additional functionality until the end of 2011.

The Travelport deal includes two strategic solutions for PAL’s customers with the implementation of Octopus Travel hotel content on the PAL website and the use of Travelport Rapid Reprice, an automated ticket-repricing product.

Octopus Travel, Travelport’s innovative online travel company, provides hotel content on PAL’s web site (http://www.philippineairlines.com/hotels), giving customers’ access to more than 21,000 hotels in 129 countries. The expanded hotel offering provides customers with a wide mix of lodgings at affordable prices ranging from one to five star hotels, international chains to small boutique hotels. Customers can also compare prices, view hotel locations and evaluate hotel amenities.

PAL also becomes the first Asian carrier to implement Travelport Rapid Reprice, which enables PAL to recalculate a ticket reflecting the appropriate taxes, additional collections, refunds, penalties or administrative fees. The automated product minimizes revenue leakage from miscalculated collections and fees that remain inherent in a manual repricing process.

It also virtually eliminates debit memos due to superior data integrity and repricing accuracy. The solution facilitates repricing of tickets irrespective of the booking system that the ticket was issued on.

“We are glad to work with Travelport in offering new cutting-edge, automated services to our customers. It enhances the features of our website through Octopus Travel as well as the convenience of an automated re-pricing tool and refund for our sales offices through Rapid Reprice,” said Enrique Javier, PAL for sales.

“This partnership with Travelport gives our customers a wider choice of hotels while browsing PAL’s web site [Octopus trave], over and above the accommodations included in PAL’s tour packages [PALakbayan and Swingaround],” he added.

Brad Holman, President and managing director of Travelport GDS-Asia Pacific said, “We are celebrating three ‘firsts’ in the Philippines today. This signing represents the first marketing agreement between PAL and Travelport. It also marks Rapid Reprice’s first airline customer in Asia, as well as PAL’s expanded hotel choice for customers with its tie-up with Octopus Travel.”

“Travelport works closely with our airline partners to provide them with products that help them stay ahead of the competition, improve the overall customer experience, grow revenue while also keeping costs as pared down as possible. Airline ticket reissue headaches can be a thing of the past with Rapid Reprice. The product dramatically reduces the number of key strokes involved in repricing a ticket from around 500 strokes to less than 10, thus improving the airline’s productivity, efficiency and accuracy,” Holman added.

Travelport’s Rapid Reprice™ is used by airlines to automate the complex, time-consuming itinerary repricing function. Rapid Reprice automatically integrates fare and rule categories from SITA and Airline Tariff Publishing Co. (ATPCO) including voluntary changes, net fares, private fares and fare-by-rule.

Travelport Rapid Reprice has been delivering financial rewards to some of the world’s largest carriers including United Airlines, Delta and Emirates. The product was first launched in 1999 via the Worldspan GDS platform and more than 27 million transactions were processed using Travelport Rapid Reprice last year.

More than 100 million fully automated transactions have been processed since launch, demonstrating the product’s unique functionality and scalability.

bitoy

May 22nd, 2009, 10:09 PM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/PAL50.png

PAL's first, was used from the 1950s until the mid-1960s

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/3/2/7/1249723.jpg

Just reminiscing...

kiretoce

May 22nd, 2009, 10:15 PM

^^ It says on the fuselage "Operated by KLM." So it's a PAL aircraft staffed with a KLm crew?

Chrisvenz

May 22nd, 2009, 11:20 PM

http://bluewhaledesign.net/images/thai/print/Osaka-Manila-1.jpg

bitoy

May 23rd, 2009, 10:04 AM

^^ It says on the fuselage "Operated by KLM." So it's a PAL aircraft staffed with a KLm crew?

That was PAL's first Douglas DC-8 aircraft leased from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Most likely that PAL's European route was staffed by KLM crews.

le Reine

May 23rd, 2009, 12:05 PM

^^Ang ganda ng livery ng PAL dati.

FrancisXavier

May 23rd, 2009, 01:00 PM

oonga..sana ganyan din ngayon rather than plain white..

salamangkero

May 23rd, 2009, 01:09 PM

ang ganda nung bus, kombi at tanker. parang toy cars

tabz

May 23rd, 2009, 01:13 PM

sana magbago na ng livery PAL.. di ko gusto.. :)

Sky Harbor

May 23rd, 2009, 04:07 PM

^^ I actually like PAL's current livery. Eurowhite on PAL planes look very sexy! :okay:

I wish though that PAL will paint one or two of their aircraft in their older colors, for nostalgia's sake. :D

hybridace101

May 23rd, 2009, 04:34 PM

^^

I like the current simplified livery as well. If you look closely, that's something that PR shares in common with outher SkyTeam airlines, look at AF, DL and CO with white painted all throughout the fuselage.

mwg12a

May 23rd, 2009, 08:29 PM

^^^^ Same here, I like the current PAL's livery. It's simple but still eyecatching IMO

numiX

May 24th, 2009, 12:52 AM

just curious lang amigo, most of the PAL FA's are male... sometimes 3:1, that was during my vacation. in america most of Flight of AA the ratio for male 3:1 my international flight the ratio according to female FA's 10:10 :lol::lol::lol:

Numix suggest lang , they need to change the uniform....parang ordinary lang sa tingin ko....
at si Jonas ang popular nga FA sa Ceb pac. source you tube hahahaha

well the uniform issue has been raised before, and maybe next year it will be changed. I dont know the reason why Lance doesnt want male FA.:bash:

Sky Harbor

May 24th, 2009, 01:57 AM

^^ If you think about it, F/As on Asian LCCs are overwhelmingly female. It's all part of the marketing of these airlines, if I'm correct.

Ecija

May 24th, 2009, 02:35 AM

ang ganda nung bus, kombi at tanker. parang toy cars

Oo nga,:) Sana meron makaisip na private transportation company na maglagay ng mga taxi or shuttle buses na replica ng 1950's model sa NAIA, dagdag tourist attraction at para naman maging unique ang airport natin.:)

hybridace101

May 24th, 2009, 10:25 AM

That airport scenery at AMS looks cute. Considering that half a century later that AMS is one of the best and most technologically advanced airports in the world.

On another note, what would you prefer in terms of quality, PR's Business Class or SQ's Economy Class?

Animo

May 24th, 2009, 11:19 AM

:D

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2849868408_ac34693fd1_o.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/PAL50.png

tigidig14

May 24th, 2009, 01:17 PM

Schonefeld, Berlin Germany and LCC's airline, Easy Jet.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/100_0664.jpg
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/100_0665.jpg
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/100_0671.jpg

mwg12a

May 24th, 2009, 10:00 PM

Funny how LCCs are turning the aviation field on the passenger services area back in the olden days where the passengers would walk up through the tarmac and on the stairs for boarding and deplaning.

kiretoce

May 24th, 2009, 10:02 PM

^^ To avoid paying the airport authority fees for using the gates/aerobridges.

mwg12a

May 24th, 2009, 10:32 PM

Sky Harbor

May 24th, 2009, 10:44 PM

^^ Well, seeing as most Philippine airports don't have jetbridges, it would be usual for those who have never encountered it before to be in awe. The same analogy would apply to an Aeta who sees an escalator for the first time in a mall. Instead on going on the escalator, he/she would just stare in amazement.

mwg12a

May 24th, 2009, 10:54 PM

On the brighter side, an LCCs can still have jetbridges and such although the newer LCC terminals in the neighboring countries have a real nice looking terminals with no jetbridges, either way it still works just fine.

The LCC airlines here in the US mostly use if not all of them use jetbridges. The airline companies save up capital expeditures by not hiring ground staffs but rather have their airport staffs to do most of the ground supports for them, from check in counter personnels to baggage handlers, they do it per contract and then ofcourse, the food served inside the aircrafts are being paid for by the passengers had they chose to get something on board, there are no flight entertainment as well. The Philippines can pattern it to the latter to attact more LCCs. I'd be very wary about the integrity of the airlines's aircraft maintenance though.

Noize_320

May 25th, 2009, 04:04 AM

^^^^ I know.. Is why I said "back to the primitive ways" It's funny how most pinoys are so into jet bridges while westerners most especially doesn't care for it much especially if they know they are taking LCCs. It's like in tagalog "papunta pa lang tayo(pinoys) duon, sila (westerners) pabalik na". I am sure there are alot of people still doesn't want to be bothered with walking out in the open but rather go through jet bridges but had they have to decide to use LCCs, they won't care otherwise. Parang sabik yata ang karaminahan na pinoy sa anything high tech, pati na ang automatic flash at faucets sa mga toilets sa airports..LMAO just an opinion, please don't take it too personal.

i agree here... i feel like i want to go back using the stairs again... :lol:

diz

May 25th, 2009, 04:11 AM

^^^^ I know.. Is why I said "back to the primitive ways" It's funny how most pinoys are so into jet bridges while westerners most especially doesn't care for it much especially if they know they are taking LCCs. It's like in tagalog "papunta pa lang tayo(pinoys) duon, sila (westerners) pabalik na". I am sure there are alot of people still doesn't want to be bothered with walking out in the open but rather go through jet bridges but had they have to decide to use LCCs, they won't care otherwise. Parang sabik yata ang karaminahan na pinoy sa anything high tech, pati na ang automatic flash at faucets sa mga toilets sa airports..LMAO just an opinion, please don't take it too personal.

I think it's because Western countries know they can have alot of them while we can't afford many of them which is why we want them so bad.

They have nothing to prove due to their awesomely well-known economy while we all know nice airports with aerobridges are one of the many symbols of a prosperous economy, so we want them.

kiretoce

May 25th, 2009, 04:52 AM

Pinoys just don't like to walk out into the blazing sun. ;)

:lol:

frequentflier

May 25th, 2009, 04:58 AM

^^hahahaha thats right!:banana:

ianers_ianized

May 25th, 2009, 05:04 AM

iam a ceb pac male FA. Freeze hiring for male attendants. the last batch with male crew was batch 36, now batch 58 is under going training. Kaka miss ang mga new male FA.

Sbi nga freeze hiring... kya yung ofcma8 ko sa Z@ ng-aaply. I think in one of flight of 5J there are at least one 1male in 3 or 4 set crews, pero mdalas ngang all female FAs.

RP-Spain-seal-air-dealRP, Spain seal air deal (http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20090521-206376/)

The Philippines and Spain agreed to make 28 direct flights available for their respective airlines to serve weekly, as representatives of both countries wrapped up bilateral air services negotiations in Madrid recently.

The two parties allocated daily flight entitlements from Manila to Madrid and Barcelona, and vice versa.

Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport got 14 weekly flights to and from Madrid and Barcelona.

Other points in the Philippines, except Manila and Clark, were allocated daily flights to and from other points in Spain, except Madrid and Barcelona.

Manila was granted rights to service 200 tons of cargo per week while Clark got 300 tons per week. Both points of origin were allowed daily cargo flights to and from Spain. “The original agreement was signed in 1951 without frequencies,” Civil Aeronautics Board executive director Carmelo Arcilla, who is a member of the Philippine air panel, said.

Currently, there are indirect flights from Madrid and Barcelona to the Philippines and back. The routes are served by Asian airlines such as Singapore Airlines and a number of Middle Eastern carriers such as Qatar Airways.

As if either Iberia and PR are interested in opening flights between ES and PH. Our officials are always pushing for CRK, please developed further MNL first... I knw CRK has a future promise but MNL is the central gateway of our country for the meantime that should focus first.

mwg12a

May 25th, 2009, 05:58 AM

Pinoys just don't like to walk out into the blazing sun. ;)

:lol:

:hahaha: :hahaha: :hahaha: True at that... You do see pinoys in pictures here like Manila Domestic Terminal or Clark/DMIA, they are all holding the airline provided umbrellas, some hide themselves with a long sleeve clothes or light jacket just to avoid being exposed to sunlight. It's a pinoy trademark, not that there is something wrong but alot of pinoys are all scared to turn into "nognog" LMAO:lol::lol::lol::lol:

As if either Iberia and PR are interested in opening flights between ES and PH. Our officials are always pushing for CRK, please developed further MNL first... I knw CRK has a future promise but MNL is the central gateway of our country for the meantime that should focus first.

You can say Manila Airport is already developed. What they are lacking is enough facilities and ground transport capabilities like monorails. I guess the word you are looking for would be "upgrade" Manila's facilities, services and add extras as much as possible.

frequentflier

May 25th, 2009, 06:04 AM

Question lang. If an airline company crashed a dry-leased aircraft. What will happen? Is it like the department store motto "when you break it its considered sold"?

Lucentino

May 25th, 2009, 02:51 PM

DTW
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6308/dtw.jpg

MKE Museum
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/6293/mkeq.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9825/mke2.jpg

PR to HKG
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3161/12964212.jpg

HKG
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/9866/hkgb.jpg

MUC
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/6835/muc.jpg

DXB
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4533/dxb.jpg

arianespace

May 25th, 2009, 02:55 PM

^^
There is always the aircraft insurance to pay the bill.

Speaking of which, did you know that the Air Philippines that crashed in Davao was dry leased from an American leasing firm which ended up paying for the accident because they provided a defective plane. Had it been negligence of the company and the pilot, Air Philippines would have been history. The results of why it crashed were not published by NTSB because of the waiver clause by insurer in the settlement package but until know that money has still to be paid in full. Proceeds of which could have been used for Air Philippines upgrade. Part of which was already paid, the Bombardier Q-300.

arianespace

May 25th, 2009, 03:10 PM

^^
DTW

MKE Museum
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/6293/mkeq.jpg

Had we been rich we could have those museum as well too but I understand very well that feeding the stomach, providing shelter, and health care is more paramount for the taxpayer's money than saving something in the museum. If not for the generosity of Ayala Foundation, piece of Philippine aviation would have been lost forever in the archives of history. Good thing they managed to save part of it for future generations to enjoy.

At least we still have that aviation museum at Nicholls.

There was this famous filipino saying and quote that "sino yung hindi marunong tumingin sa pinangalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paruruunan."

With that in mind, losing track of our own aviation history would be doom for Philippine aviation. I hope not!

Sky Harbor

May 25th, 2009, 03:13 PM

^^ You just cited the Philippine national proverb: "Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan." :lol:

the-pseudoneuro

May 25th, 2009, 05:11 PM

malaki ba ang salary ng air traffic controller? saang school ba pwedeng mag-aral for such profession? thanks

here in the philippines, you'll start on a basic pay.. AFAIK, malaki ang kita pag mataas na ang position mo, like Senior Air Traffic Controller. Why do I know this? my uncle worked in DVO control tower. he started working in DIA since 1993. he took Electrical Engineering in ateneo and if im not mistaken, he took a training in Pasay City, one year training plus may exam2x pa. kalaban mo lang talaga ang tax. unless if you're not working under ATO, like mactan or manila (mactan-cebu airport authority, manila intl airport authority respectively..).. pero ewan...kung saan mas malaki, in private sector or government...

ngprofflorida

May 25th, 2009, 07:37 PM

PAL refurbishes B747 with world-class amenities

Philippine Airlines (PAL) recently rolled out its second reconfigured Boeing 747-400 that features brand new and luxurious cabin amenities rivalling some of the world’s best airlines.

The upgrading is part of PAL’s US$50-million aircraft refurbishment program. It started last year after the airline management decided to reconfigure its long-haul aircraft to bi-class – taking out the First Class section – in keeping with the trend of major airlines worldwide.

The latest PAL B747-400 (with registry no. RP-C7475) to undergo a facelift completed its three-month refurbishment on April 9, 2009 at PAL's maintenance service provider in Taipei. New Business and Economy Class seats, state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system and a new cabin design were installed in the aircraft.

The new cabin amenities and interior look can be viewed even without boarding the aircraft by taking the B747 cabin virtual tour at PAL's website (philippineairlines.com) where an interactive 360 degree view of Mabuhay (lower and upper deck) and Economy class can be accessed. The virtual tour is available on the website starting May 18.

Renowned aircraft seat manufacturer Recaro of Germany supplied the 391 seats (56 in Mabuhay and 335 in Economy), offering generous seat pitch (60 inches in Mabuhay and 32-34 inches in Economy). Luxurious Mabuhay seats are ergonomically designed and can be transformed into a lie-flat bed complete with a cocoon-type privacy shell.

Each seat has audio/video on-demand capability, including a personal TV (10 to 15-inch monitors for Mabuhay and 9-inch monitors for Economy). The state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system allows passengers to choose from a library of video and audio content, including 18 movies, 8 TV programs, 12 radio channels and 50 CD albums. Digital games are also available for young passengers while in-seat power for laptops is provided in Mabuhay class.

Passengers are also welcomed by the cabin's new look and feel – coastal-themed interiors characterized by palm-tree landscape design at the fore and aft sections of the aircraft, deep-blue seat upholstery with silvery-copper threads in Mabuhay class and undulating wave-pattern of blue, aqua and terracotta palette in Economy. To complete the airy, spacious feel, curtains, carpet and surfaces are in shades of blue, white, gray, silver and tan.

The refurbishment/reconfiguration of the B747s is capped by a new type of Mabuhay Class meal service called "One-by-One" – a la carte service where passengers select their own meal from a variety of choices. Each dish is individually plated, giving each meal a tailored touch, in the tradition of fine-dining restaurants. On-demand service means passengers can take their meals anytime during the flight.

Refurbishment of the first PAL B747-400 (registry no. RP-C7471) was completed in October 2008, signaling the start of a $50-million refurbishment program of PAL's flagship aircraft. RP-C7471 was also equipped with the same world-class amenities.
NEWS LIST12 May 2009
First in the Philippines, PAL in the palm of your hands

Sky Harbor

May 25th, 2009, 07:39 PM

^^ That's a repost of this article.

It seems that the sore thumb of PAL's 744s has finally had its well-deserved refit. Okay, we know it was refurbished before this came out, but let's give the press some benefit of the doubt. :lol:

(N.B.: Found the article on A.Net. Who's Leamside again? I'm too lazy to dig through the archives.)

----

PAL refurbishes B747 with world-class amenities (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=468256&publicationSubCategoryId=87)
Updated May 17, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Airlines (PAL) recently rolled out its second reconfigured Boeing 747-400 that features brand new and luxurious cabin amenities rivaling some of the world’s best airlines.

The upgrading is part of PAL’s US$50-million aircraft refurbishment program. It started last year after the airline management decided to reconfigure its long-haul aircraft to bi-class – taking out the First Class section – in keeping with the trend of major airlines worldwide.

The latest PAL B747-400 to undergo a facelift completed its three-month refurbishment on April 9, 2009 at PAL’s maintenance service provider in Taipei. New business and economy class seats, state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system and a new cabin design were installed in the aircraft.

The new cabin amenities and interior look can be viewed even without boarding the aircraft by taking the B747 cabin virtual tour at PAL’s website (philippineairlines.com) where an interactive 360 degree view of Mabuhay (lower and upper deck) and economy class can be accessed. The virtual tour is available on the website starting May 18.

Renowned aircraft seat manufacturer Recaro of Germany supplied the 391 seats (56 in Mabuhay and 335 in fiesta), offering generous seat pitch (60 inches in Mabuhay and 32 to 34 inches in economy). Luxurious Mabuhay seats are ergonomically designed and can be transformed into a lie-flat bed complete with a cocoon-type privacy shell.

Each seat has audio/video on-demand capability, including a personal TV (10 to 15-inch monitors for Mabuhay and nine-inch monitors for economy). The state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system allows passengers to choose from a library of video and audio content, including 18 movies, 8 TV programs, 12 radio channels and 50 CD albums. Digital games are also available for young passengers while in-seat power for laptops is provided in Mabuhay class.

Passengers are also welcomed by the cabin’s new look and feel – coastal-themed interiors characterized by palm-tree landscape design at the fore and aft sections of the aircraft, deep-blue seat upholstery with silvery-copper threads in Mabuhay class and undulating wave-pattern of blue, aqua and terracotta palette in Economy. To complete the airy, spacious feel, curtains, carpet and surfaces are in shades of blue, white, gray, silver and tan.

The refurbishment/reconfiguration of the B747s is capped by a new type of Mabuhay Class meal service called “One-by-One” – a la carte service where passengers select their own meal from a variety of choices. Each dish is individually plated, giving each meal a tailored touch, in the tradition of fine-dining restaurants. On-demand service means passengers can take their meals anytime during the flight.

Refurbishment of the first PAL B747-400 was completed in October 2008, signaling the start of a $50-million refurbishment program of PAL’s flagship aircraft. RP-C7471 was also equipped with the same world-class amenities.

IsaganiZenze

May 26th, 2009, 09:09 AM

^^ I actually like PAL's current livery. Eurowhite on PAL planes look very sexy! :okay:

I wish though that PAL will paint one or two of their aircraft in their older colors, for nostalgia's sake. :D

they should do it for their 70th or 75th anniversary, that would be smashing!

sloanesquare

May 26th, 2009, 10:00 AM

i looked at the video website.
am i wrong to be under impressed (not unimpressed)
are the seats narrow compared to the real PAL competitors.?

Sky Harbor

May 26th, 2009, 11:54 AM

In the news: S7 Airlines will be joining Mexicana as a future member of Oneworld.

----

Russia's S7 Airlines to join oneworld alliance (http://www.oneworld.com/ow/news/details?objectID=18020)
26 May 2009

Russia's leading domestic airline, S7 Airlines, is to join oneworld®, the world's leading quality airline alliance.

After being unanimously elected on board by the grouping's existing ten member airlines, which include some of the best and biggest names in the industry, S7 will become part of oneworld, offering the alliance's full range of services, benefits and fares, during 2010.

As a first step, its network will be added from 1 June to the Global Explorer round-the-world fare offered by all oneworld member airlines and selected carriers that are not part of the alliance.

British Airways will support S7 through its 18-month alliance implementation programme, as its oneworld sponsor.

Its addition to oneworld will link one of the most extensive networks covering Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, with oneworld's unrivalled global network, as the only alliance including airlines based on every continent.

S7 serves 72 destinations worldwide - 38 of them in Russia. It will add 54 cities to the oneworld map - 35 of them in Russia. It will bring eight countries onto the alliance's network - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

This will expand oneworld's network to nearly 750 destinations in almost 150 countries, served by a combined fleet of 2,300 aircraft operating almost 8,500 flights a day, carrying more than 330 million passengers a year.

S7 is Russia's leading airline in terms of domestic passenger carryings, customer service quality and innovation. It is majority privately owned.

It is the first carrier in Russia to convert to an all Western-built Airbus and Boeing fleet and the first to adopt full electronic ticketing and on-line reservations and sales. It holds the internationally recognised IOSA (International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit) certification, renewed in October 2008.

It offers two-class in-flight product to international standards on all departures - Business Class and Economy.

Its fleet, decorated in a distinctive bright green livery, includes 26 Airbus A320 family types, seven Airbus A310 and two Boeing 767s, with an average age of nine years.

S7 carried 6 million passengers in 2008, with a bigger share of the domestic Russian air travel market than any other airline. Including its international network, it is Russia's second biggest carrier.

S7's main hub Moscow Domodedovo - the capital's most modern airport - is served also by oneworld members American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian. Its secondary hubs are Novosibirsk and Irkutsk. Its international destinations include oneworld hubs Madrid and Bangkok.

Besides Moscow Domodedovo, oneworld's existing members currently serve three other destinations in Russia - Moscow Sheremetyevo, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

In the months ahead, S7 will adapt key internal processes into line with oneworld requirements, link its IT systems to those of its oneworld partners and carry out an extensive employee training and communications programmes to ensure that S7 employees worldwide are ready to provide oneworld's customer services and benefits from day one.

An exact date will be confirmed for it to join during 2010, once all its pre-joining requirements are sufficiently progressed.

Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of British Airways, S7's oneworld sponsor, said: "S7 is a perfect fit for oneworld. It has a strong focus on customer service and safety and its network will be able to integrate effectively with the existing oneworld network. oneworld's priority is the quality rather than quantity of member airlines, which is why British Airways is delighted to be developing our relationship with S7 further by acting as its sponsor into the alliance."

oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch added: "S7 fills one of oneworld's few remaining membership ‘white spaces' with a carrier that matches our alliance's demanding quality requirements. It will expand oneworld's presence substantially in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, while enabling S7 to offer its customers a truly global network on quality partners. We are delighted to welcome them to the oneworld alliance."

S7 Chief Executive Vladimir Obyedkov said: "S7 Airlines is delighted to be joining the world's leading quality global airline alliance. Becoming part of oneworld is one of the most significant steps in S7's history. It will enable us to offer our customers a truly global network served by partners who include some of the best known and most admired airlines in the world, while our frequent flyers will have more opportunities to earn and redeem mileage rewards and enjoy all their other benefits. It will also strengthen us financially, through revenues from passengers transferring to our network from our oneworld partners and the cost reduction opportunities the alliance offers."

Pictures

A selection of print quality images of S7 and its logo can be downloaded from www.oneworld.com/ow/news-and-information/gallery/list?categoryID=4&subCategoryID=11

A selection of print quality images and logos for oneworld and its existing member airlines can be downloaded from www.oneworld.com/ow/news-and-information/corporate-image-gallery
More about S7 Airlines

S7 is one the most progressive airlines in Russia giving passengers new standards of service, supported by the use of latest technology. Tracing its origins back to 1957, it changed its brand name from Sibir Airlines three years ago with a radical rebranding to make it stand out from its competitors as customer-friendly, quality, modern carrier - winning the annual national award "People's mark / Brand No 1 in Russia".

The airline generated profits of US$108 million (operating) and US$3 million (net) in 2008 on revenues of US$1.7 billion. S7 employs 3,354 staff and uses SITA as its main IT platform.

It has bilateral sales links already with all oneworld partners serving its Moscow Domodedovo hub - American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian.

Its biggest shareholder is Natalia Fileva, with a 64 per cent holding. Other private investors own a further 11 per cent stake with the remaining 25 per cent state-owned.

Its charter subsidiary Globus will not be covered by the oneworld agreement.

S7's English-language website is www.s7.ru/en/index.html It also has websites in Russian and German.

(removed parts about Oneworld and its Global Explorer fare)

tigidig14

May 26th, 2009, 12:43 PM

Eagowl wanna share with you the Gatwick
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/100_0684.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/gatwick/100_0672.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/gatwick/100_0681.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/gatwick/gatwick2.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/tigsyboy/gatwick/gatwick3.jpg

shytype

May 26th, 2009, 02:25 PM

Iberia to extend wings to the far east
Going East!

Madrid- Spain may once again be connected with its long time colony in the far east as it embarks its broad plans to mount flights to its bustling capital Manila despite the global downturn, and could be its only connection in Asia.

The national airline of Spain, Lineas Aereas de Espana (Iberia) intends to introduce its sole long haul flight from Madrid to the far east on a thrice a week Airbus 340 service after the Philippines and Spain amended its 1951 treaty on air services recently upon request by Iberia Airlines.

The Philippines and Spain agreed to make 28 direct flights available for their respective airlines to serve weekly, with seven flights between Madrid and Manila and Barcelona and Manila. Low cost airport Manila-Clark also got 14 weekly flights to and from Madrid and Barcelona as representatives of both countries wrapped up bilateral air services negotiations in Madrid.

Fernando Conte, chairman of the Spanish flag carrier said that they are very much interested of flying to Manila soon as there are plenty of passengers on that sector based on the figures they have. Iberia has ticketing office already set up in the Philippines.

"There are more than 50,000 Filipino migrant workers in Spain and they are currently being serviced by gulf-based airlines and almost 30% of them go home every year to the Philippines and were trying to service the market and provide direct service flights for them "says Conte.

Angel Moratinos, the Foreign Minister of Spain, confirmed that the estimated 50,000 migrant Filipino workers in Spain are growing and unscathed despite the global financial crisis.

"Most Filipinos work in the service sector and live in the big Spanish cities of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia" says Moratinos.

Meanwhile, a Philippine Airline representative says that they have no plans to fly to Spain but they are open to the idea of having a code-share deal with Iberia to promote tourism of the Philippines.

Manila was granted rights to service 200 tons of cargo per week while Clark got 300 tons per week. Both points of origin were allowed daily cargo flights to and from Spain.

shytype

May 26th, 2009, 02:26 PM

hybridace101

May 26th, 2009, 02:29 PM

^^

I hope that's nonstop. And to think that RP is for the time being Iberia's sole prospective route makes RP special.

Sky Harbor

May 26th, 2009, 02:38 PM

^^ It's also way to correct an injustice. The Philippines is the only former Spanish colony not served by IB at any point in its history, although currently, IB also does not serve Paraguay. Hopefully PAL will see the sense of introducing MNL-MAD when they restart service to Europe.

hybridace101

May 26th, 2009, 02:51 PM

xzibit31

May 26th, 2009, 03:07 PM

Sky Harbor

May 26th, 2009, 03:11 PM

^^

If ever PR wants to get a foot in the European Community, its priority is apparently FCO. What even remains uncertain is whether it will nonstop or via BKK.

A little off-topic, which European country has the most number of Pinoys? Is it close with another country or by a mile?

In hitting two birds with one stone, it would make more sense for PR to serve MAD first than FCO. Why? Because Spain has more overseas Filipinos than Italy, and that's by 160,000. Here's a comparison of the top five (actually seven) countries in Europe with Filipino populations:

* Spain: 360,000
* Italy/United Kingdom: 200,000
* Germany/France: 65,000
* Greece: 40,000
* Norway: around 20,000

The figures are from 2004, but it shows that if PAL really wants to start service to Europe, it should do so to MAD, FCO and LHR first, and really to MAD.

hybridace101

May 26th, 2009, 03:17 PM

I'm surprised at those figures. I thought Italy followed closely by the UK would have the most number of Filipinos and that the former's figures would be in the 300K+ level.

Anyway, I always imagined PR having a MNL-FCO-MAD route.

Crazy4Airplanes

May 26th, 2009, 08:33 PM

ponso

May 26th, 2009, 10:15 PM

Iberia and BA have very close ties and are both part of oneworld. There was news of possible merger between the two carriers but it fell through - but who knows? BA may fly back to MNL with a stopover at Spain...

Iberia to extend wings to the far east
Going East!

Madrid- Spain may once again be connected with its long time colony in the far east as it embarks its broad plans to mount flights to its bustling capital Manila despite the global downturn, and could be its only connection in Asia.

The national airline of Spain, Lineas Aereas de Espana (Iberia) intends to introduce its sole long haul flight from Madrid to the far east on a thrice a week Airbus 340 service after the Philippines and Spain amended its 1951 treaty on air services recently upon request by Iberia Airlines.

The Philippines and Spain agreed to make 28 direct flights available for their respective airlines to serve weekly, with seven flights between Madrid and Manila and Barcelona and Manila. Low cost airport Manila-Clark also got 14 weekly flights to and from Madrid and Barcelona as representatives of both countries wrapped up bilateral air services negotiations in Madrid.

Fernando Conte, chairman of the Spanish flag carrier said that they are very much interested of flying to Manila soon as there are plenty of passengers on that sector based on the figures they have. Iberia has ticketing office already set up in the Philippines.

"There are more than 50,000 Filipino migrant workers in Spain and they are currently being serviced by gulf-based airlines and almost 30% of them go home every year to the Philippines and were trying to service the market and provide direct service flights for them "says Conte.

Angel Moratinos, the Foreign Minister of Spain, confirmed that the estimated 50,000 migrant Filipino workers in Spain are growing and unscathed despite the global financial crisis.

"Most Filipinos work in the service sector and live in the big Spanish cities of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia" says Moratinos.

Meanwhile, a Philippine Airline representative says that they have no plans to fly to Spain but they are open to the idea of having a code-share deal with Iberia to promote tourism of the Philippines.

Manila was granted rights to service 200 tons of cargo per week while Clark got 300 tons per week. Both points of origin were allowed daily cargo flights to and from Spain.

mwg12a

May 27th, 2009, 01:43 AM

tigidig14

May 27th, 2009, 03:45 AM

I'm surprised at those figures. I thought Italy followed closely by the UK would have the most number of Filipinos

i assumed the same

ngprofflorida

May 27th, 2009, 04:40 AM

ianers_ianized

May 27th, 2009, 01:22 PM

seven13

May 27th, 2009, 03:01 PM

Sky Harbor

May 27th, 2009, 03:07 PM

^^^^ But then again PAL express no desire to service MAD from the article itself, they are only interested in possibly codesharing with Iberia to promote tourism and service 50,000 OFW/Fil expats in Spain.

As I posted earlier, there are 360,000 overseas Filipinos in Madre España, not 50,000. That's a market larger than a lot of the prospective cities PAL intends to serve.

hybridace101

May 27th, 2009, 04:58 PM

If you're going MNL-SIN, what would you rather take if quality is your major consideration: PR's business class or SQ's economy class?

Sky Harbor

May 27th, 2009, 05:16 PM

eagle1974

May 27th, 2009, 07:33 PM

If you're going MNL-SIN, what would you rather take if quality is your major consideration: PR's business class or SQ's economy class?

go SQ economy class ;-)

kiretoce

May 28th, 2009, 03:10 AM

I want an A.Net membership! :lol:

No one's stopping you from being a member. So, what are you waiting for? ;)

Noize_320

May 28th, 2009, 03:18 AM

^^ steal my photos and post it there?... :D :D :D

don't bother....reject pa rin :lol:

hybridace101

May 28th, 2009, 03:38 AM

^^

If you want the forums, you're going to have to pay a fee.

Sky Harbor

May 28th, 2009, 03:52 AM

No one's stopping you from being a member. So, what are you waiting for? ;)

May I borrow your credit card? :lol:

^^

If you want the forums, you're going to have to pay a fee.

I know. It's $25. :D

kiretoce

May 28th, 2009, 04:24 AM

May I borrow your credit card? :lol:

Not unless I add you as an approved user to my account. But then again, we're not kin, so that will never happen anyway. :lol:

dexter06

May 28th, 2009, 05:40 AM

^^ You have led me to respond with a very interesting trip report comparing Malaysia Airlines and Philippine Airlines that I had the pleasure of reading on A.Net. It's not about PR's business class (or even SQ, but it's mentioned in passing), but it sure is a fun read if you think PR is underrated among Asian carriers.

Here you go: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/149032/

I want an A.Net membership! :lol:

Thank you for the link. I enjoyed reading that loong trip review. As a Filipino, it warms the heart that at least they see the kind of inflight service that we Filipinos have experienced with PAL. PAL inflight service has improved through the years and is actually good. I think that 2 week "demise" in 1998 did them good. The company just fought back and kept on improving one step at a time. It just has an image problem borne from the past. Things have turned around for the better - from bankruptcy to profitability to being offered both by Airbus and Boeing. PAL is an amazing turn around story. Still not 5 star but i read somethere in this website that PAL is aiming for 4 star status. I will support this in my own small way, by flying with them frequently.

hybridace101

May 28th, 2009, 06:36 AM

^^

A 4-star rating is good enough. Besides, that is where most European carriers are at the moment. The best way to achieve that is to go beyond its core clientile - Fil Ams.

xavierdude

May 28th, 2009, 01:16 PM

hybridace101

May 28th, 2009, 01:54 PM

^^

Nope... The only destination they serve in Asia is Tel Aviv, Israel.

arianespace

May 28th, 2009, 05:32 PM

^^
In hitting two birds with one stone, it would make more sense for PR to serve MAD first than FCO. Why? Because Spain has more overseas Filipinos than Italy, and that's by 160,000. Here's a comparison of the top five (actually seven) countries in Europe with Filipino populations:

* Spain: 360,000
* Italy/United Kingdom: 200,000
* Germany/France: 65,000
* Greece: 40,000
* Norway: around 20,000

The figures are from 2004, but it shows that if PAL really wants to start service to Europe, it should do so to MAD, FCO and LHR first, and really to MAD.

This is the official government estimate of migrant workers in 2005. In that period there are only about 130,000 registered workers in Europe. Of this only 52,000 are land base. That means about 80,000 work in maritime. At my assumption of 14% exponential growth rate (official rate is around 12.5%), there will be another 100,000 migrant workers in Europe in 2009 for a total of 330,000 filipinos, more or less. So I think the Spanish government figure is likely correct.

ONE OUT OF FIVE OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS (OFWs )
WORKS IN SAUDI ARABIA
Results from the 2005 SURVEY ON OVERSEAS FILIPINOS (http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2006/of05tx.html)

The number of Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who worked abroad during the period April to September 2005 was estimated at 1.33 million.

The 2005 estimate of OFWs is 12.5 percent more than the 1.18 million OFWs estimated for the period April to September 2004. The overseas contract workers (OCWs) or those with existing work-contract comprised 91.6 percent of the total OFWs during the period April to September 2005. Their number went up to about 1.22 million or by 10.7 percent over the estimate for the same months in 2004 (1.10 million).

Out of the 1.33 million OFWs, 76.6 percent or an estimate of 1.02 million worked in Asia. OFWs who worked in Europe comprised 9.7 percent while those who worked in North and South America, 9.3 percent. Saudi Arabia absorbed the biggest number of OFWs, both males and females, estimated at 282 thousand or 21.2 percent of all OFWs. This was followed by Japan with 113 thousand (8.5%); Hongkong with 107 thousand (8.0%) and United Arab Emirates with 104 thousands (7.8%).

Almost half of the total OFWs came from the National Capital Region (18.4%), CALABARZON (17.1%) and Central Luzon (12.8%). Meanwhile, MIMAROPA reported the smallest number of OFWs (1.4%). There was an increase in the number of OFWs from all regions except from Region V (Bicol).

Among the 1.33 million OFWs, 50.3 percent or about 667 thousand were males while 49.7 percent or about 660 thousand were females. Female OFWs were generally younger compared to male OFWs. About two in every 10 (23.5%) OFWs in April to September 2005 belonged to the age group 25 to 29 years while 11.5 percent were in the younger age group 15 to 24 years. OFWs belonging to the older age group 45 years and over accounted for 17.0 percent of the total OFWs.

One in every three (33.1%) OFWs in April to September 2005 was a laborer or an unskilled worker. Those who worked as trade workers or trade-related workers comprised 14.5 percent of the total number of OFWs. Likewise, those who worked as plant or machine operators or assemblers accounted for 14.5 percent.

The total remittances of OFWs were estimated at 85.4 billion pesos during the period April to September 2005, an increase of 6.1 billion pesos compared to the 2004 estimate of 79.3 billion. These remittances included cash sent (70.3%), cash brought home (25.1%) and remittances in kind (4.6%). Of the total cash remittances sent during the period April to September 2005, 75.8 percent were remitted through banks, 19.1 percent were sent through door-to-door delivery while the remaining 5.1 percent were remitted through their agency or local office, friends/co-workers and other means. The largest cash remittance was sent by OFWs working in Asia, estimated at 39.9 billion pesos. Because of their big number, the laborers and unskilled workers sent the largest aggregate amount of 12.2 million pesos, or 20.4 percent of total OFW remittance.

(Signed)
CARMELITA N. ERICTA
Administrator

Also I would like to add that the top deployment destinations for OFW in Europe is Italy with close to 18,000 deployment in 2007. However, the top source of OFW remittance in Europe is United Kingdom with $ 684,000 US per 2007 figure.

Top European destinations for migrant workers in 2007 are:
1. Italy with whooping deployment of 25,000 filipinos
2. United Kingdom with 16,900
3. Ireland 5,439
4. Greece 2,977
5. Russia 2,571
6. Cyprus 2,055
7. Spain 1,720
8. Belgium 627
9. Norway 246
10. Netherlands 217

Biggest growth are recorded in
1. Bulgaria 500%
2. Romania 327.3%
3. Russia 327%
4. Finland 226%
5. Czech Republic 187%
6. Netherlands 160.8%
7. Luxembourg 160%
8. Macedonia 160%
9 Albania 150%
10. Norway 103%

As to returning OFW traffic flights
1. Italy
2. United Kingdom
3. Ireland
4. Netherlands
5. Cyprus
6. Greece
6. Spain
7. Norway
8. Finland
9. Russia
10.Denmark

Most of the maritime OFW are based in Netherland, Cyprus, Greece, Norway, Finland and Denmark. As you may know the last 3 are nordic countries to which Finnair is the national airline of choice.

According to my sources, when PAL flies to Europe which they will, London will be its first destination followed by Rome, Frankfurt, Paris and Madrid in that particular order. I already shown you the stats why. I think the decision is very obvious and strategic particularly the density of migrant Filipinos at the UK that transshipped at Heathrow in going back. Its perhaps the the most logical move. Remember, most of PAL passengers going home are balikbayans and when they go home they bring their whole family in tow.:)

Total Filipino Migration Statistics 2007 Estimate (http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/stats2007.pdf)
............permanent.........temporary...irregular.....total
EUROPE 284,987 ..........555,542 .....112,990 ....953,519
AUSTRIA 24,252 ..............3,405 ........2,000 ......29,657
BELGIUM 3,960 ................3,310 ........2,500 ........9,770
DENMARK 6,493 ...............2,733 ..............0 ........9,226
FRANCE 7,049 .................1,026....... 39,000 ......47,075
GERMANY 44,130 .............8,106 ........2,100 .......54,336
GREECE 92 ....................23,252........ 6,000 .......29,344
IRELAND 4,860 ...............11,472 ..........500 .......16,832
ITALY 24,598 .................82,594..... 13,000 ......120,192
NETHERLANDS 14,139 .......3,023....... 2,000 ........19,162
NORWAY 16,561 ..............3,474 .............0 ........20,035
SPAIN 27,537 ................10,543 .......3,700 ........41,780
SWEDEN 7,811 ...............10,624............. 0 ........18,435
SWITZERLAND 8,303 ........1,739 ........2,000 ........12,042
UNITED KINGDOM 90,654.102,381......10,000 .......203,035

Migrant workers with temporary visas are more likely to go home at the expiration of their work permits . And there are plenty of them based on government figures. I suppose those irregulars are considered undocumented workers working illegally at the respective EU country or they may be asylum seekers.

So they cannot be considered as a long term gauge for route planning. I think what airlines have are data for those with permanent job overseas as they are more likely to relocate their families with them in their place of work. :)

numiX

May 28th, 2009, 05:39 PM

hayyy...no news on ceb pac middle east and aus flights....again. tsk tsk

mwg12a

May 28th, 2009, 08:22 PM

I never expected France to have lots of pinoys there. IN germany, there are alot of filipinas who married Germans so it's kind of expected to see a number of filipinos there, Italy as well, but then there are OFWs in Italy so aside from pinays marrying italians, you would expect a great number of pinoys there as well.

hybridace101

May 28th, 2009, 10:16 PM

^^

According to my sources, when PAL flies to Europe which they will, London will be its first destination followed by Rome, Frankfurt, Paris and Madrid in that particular order. I already shown you the stats why. I think the decision is very obvious and strategic particularly the density of migrant Filipinos at the UK that transshipped at Heathrow in going back. Its perhaps the the most logical move. Remember, most of PAL passengers going home are balikbayans and when they go home they bring their whole family in tow.:)

Total Filipino Migration Statistics 2007 Estimate (http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/stats2007.pdf)
............permanent.........temporary...irregular.....total
EUROPE 284,987 ..........555,542 .....112,990 ....953,519
AUSTRIA 24,252 ..............3,405 ........2,000 ......29,657
BELGIUM 3,960 ................3,310 ........2,500 ........9,770
DENMARK 6,493 ...............2,733 ..............0 ........9,226
FRANCE 7,049 .................1,026....... 39,000 ......47,075
GERMANY 44,130 .............8,106 ........2,100 .......54,336
GREECE 92 ....................23,252........ 6,000 .......29,344
IRELAND 4,860 ...............11,472 ..........500 .......16,832
ITALY 24,598 .................82,594..... 13,000 ......120,192
NETHERLANDS 14,139 .......3,023....... 2,000 ........19,162
NORWAY 16,561 ..............3,474 .............0 ........20,035
SPAIN 27,537 ................10,543 .......3,700 ........41,780
SWEDEN 7,811 ...............10,624............. 0 ........18,435
SWITZERLAND 8,303 ........1,739 ........2,000 ........12,042
UNITED KINGDOM 90,654.102,381......10,000 .......203,035

Migrant workers with temporary visas are more likely to go home at the expiration of their work permits . And there are plenty of them based on government figures. I suppose those irregulars are considered undocumented workers working illegally at the respective EU country or they may be asylum seekers.

So to clarify deployment pertains to the number of additional OFWs?

With those figures, it didn't make sense for BA to pull-out; perhaps they could have reduced service to MNL. AZ is understandable - they have been in financial trouble since time in memorial. The Netherlands which doesn't have as many OFWs gets to keep its flights to RP going.

bcanieso

May 29th, 2009, 03:54 AM

WIFI Service onboard commercial airlines

While airlines have been toying with the idea of in-flight internet access for some time now, decreasing passenger numbers and increasing competitiveness between rival airlines in the US, may prove to be the driving force behind the idea becoming a reality. A number of US carriers, including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, are either testing or have reached the stage of implementing Wi-Fi access on selected flights, marketing this facility as a draw-card for passengers.

Increasing consumer demand has spurred airlines on to overcome the two main initial obstacles for implementing Wi-Fi – technological glitches and cost. Technology continues to progress in leaps and bounds and has reached the point where in-flight internet access is working well, and while this may allow the leisure traveler to surf the net for the entertainment value it provides, business people appreciate the fact that their traveling time can be spent productively.

The current global financial turmoil is having a very negative impact on the travel industry, so from the financial point of view, spending money on what many perceive to be non-essential technology may not seem wise. However, an independent study conducted during 2008 by Forrester Research revealed that of the leisure travelers surveyed, approximately half said they are willing to pay for up to $10 for in-flight internet access on a long flight. It stands to reason that the percentage is likely to be even higher for business travelers, where the adage “time is money” often applies. So it would seem that airlines will not only cover the cost of implementing in-flight internet access, but may even make some money out of the deal – making it an even more attractive option.

American Airlines is currently testing Aircell’s Gogo Inflight Internet on a number of its flights and is expected to make a decision soon as to whether to offer the service across its entire fleet. United Airlines expects to have the service available on its nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco, as well as New York and Los Angeles, before the end of the year. Both Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines are currently testing an alternative Wi-Fi service.

Certainly in-flight internet access is of great benefit to those who rely on technology to keep them in touch with the world around them, and may very well be the deciding factor when travelers choose which airline to give their business to.

From Airplanes.com :)

arianespace

May 29th, 2009, 12:52 PM

^^
So to clarify deployment pertains to the number of additional OFWs?

With those figures, it didn't make sense for BA to pull-out; perhaps they could have reduced service to MNL. AZ is understandable - they have been in financial trouble since time in memorial. The Netherlands which doesn't have as many OFWs gets to keep its flights to RP going.

Yes, Thats more like it. And from the way things are London and Rome will have to be the next gateway for PAL in Europe considering the number of its Filipino expatriate community.

If you must remember, San Diego only had 130,000 so I would assume that 100,000 permanent residents is the mark worth considering as a destination because 1/3 of it will always definitely travel home for a holiday once every two years. At least thats what airline statistics said.

In the airline world they call it the rule of 3, which literally means that if your target market is the Filipino community which PAL does, you only need to get how many are there and divide it by 3 for you to obtain the most approximate passengers that would become your customer once every 2 years. Of course there are more than that willing to travel home but the planning base will always begin from there from which other factors are considered such as travel fluctuations, competitions, and other variables.

A 3x week A340 service will have a total capacity of approximately 43,000 seats per annum. That will almost translate to about 105% load factor for an airline serving a population of 130,000 assuming they fly alone. Surprisingly, a Survey for San Diego area in 2007 registered more than 50,000 passengers going home to the Philippines for 3 consecutive years. That almost translate to a daily A340 service by now. But of course we understand that not all of them will ride one airline.

Going back to British Airways, based on todays figures, it was probably not a wise decision pulling the plug out of Manila but when they did almost 8 years ago, the Filipinos in the UK are nowhere near the 50,000 marks.

In fact, UK opened wide its borders to Filipino migrants workers courtesy of Tony Blair only for 3 years to gap its health service and that was after BA withdrew due to poor loads coupled with poor yields and SARS. BA was also in the red and bleeding badly at that time so its probably a good call for them as Air France and Lufthansa followed suit later on. After that period the border closes in 2006.

If you noticed in the POEA document, there are actually more Filipinos going out in the UK than going in, probably migrating to Canada, US or Australia but thats the sad reality.

As for the Netherlands KLM flight, most of its passengers are not really bound for Amsterdam or Dutch land but Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Sweden where bulk of our Europe bound seaman are employed. Although the center seaport of EU is in Rotterdam where majority of Filipino seamen are also employed, major shipping companies are based on that region.

Further, they got plenty of money too burn too as they travel twice a year, more than the health care professionals of UK and service related industry workers of Italy and majority of them travel in style, meaning business class as compared to their brethren in Italy which will likely travel on the lowest economy seat. So even if their numbers are small, it matters a lot because they fly more and spend more than the average UK traveler which translate to more yield for the airline, which in this case is KLM. Make sense! :)

hybridace101

May 29th, 2009, 04:58 PM

^^
As for the Netherlands KLM flight, most of its passengers are not really bound for Amsterdam or Dutch land but Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Sweden where bulk of our Europe bound seaman are employed.

If that's the case then SK should serve MNL.

Sky Harbor

May 29th, 2009, 05:33 PM

^^ SAS is not in that position right now: half of their total loss for 2008 (or 1Q 2009) came from their long-haul routes.

kiretoce

May 30th, 2009, 06:38 AM

Cebu Pacific resumes Manila-Catarman flights (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/163233/Cebu-Pacific-resumes-Manila-Catarman-flights)

Gokongwei-led Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific Air, Inc. will restart its four-times weekly Manila-Catarman flights starting June 2 after airport and local authorities addressed safety issues.

Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution, said airport authorities have blocked the entry points around the airport’s perimeter fence used by residents.

“The runway has been cleared of vehicles and people 24/7. This is our green light to fly again to Catarman and bring back Cebu Pacific’s affordable fares that other airlines must again try to match," she said in a statement.

As Cebu Pacific suspended early this month its Manila-Catarman service despite its full loads after several runway intrusions by both people and vehicles during flights, other airlines have started charging as much as P5,000 per way.

“Safety remains to be a priority for Cebu Pacific and we will not compromise this over revenues or loads. Cebu Pacific remains steadfast in our commitment to provide travelers from Catarman an affordable, reliable, and high-quality air transport service. The public can expect that whether we have competition or none, we will continue to offer the lowest possible airfares in Catarman and in other destinations where we currently operate," Iyog said.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific is allocating more than 200,000 seats for a three-day seat sale until May 29 with fares as low as P588 for domestic and P1,388 for international flights valid for travel from July 1 to Aug. 31.

A one-way "Go Lite" fare of P1,388 is applied for Clark to Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and Bangkok; Manila to Bangkok, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Min, Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei; Cebu to Hong Kong and Singapore.

It is offering a P2,288 one-way "Go Lite" fare for its Manila to Incheon (Seoul) and Cebu to Incheon, Busan, and Jakarta services.

“We are optimistic that this seat sale will stimulate domestic and international travel during these traditionally lean months. Cebu Pacific remains the pioneer in creative pricing strategies as it continues to offer the best travel deals for all travelers to and from the Philippines," Iyog said.

For domestic flights, its one-way "Go Lite" fare only charges P1,388 all-in for its Manila to General Santos, Davao, Cotabato, Zamboanga, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Dipolog; Cebu to Clark and Davao to Iloilo. All other local destinations carry a one-way fare of P588 all-in.

Domestic fares are all-inclusive; international fares are exclusive of government taxes. Promo fares are non-refundable.

"Go Lite" fares are for passengers traveling with no check-in baggage. Passengers with check-in bags just have to add P200 to the fare.

hybridace101

May 30th, 2009, 08:13 AM

As for the Netherlands KLM flight, most of its passengers are not really bound for Amsterdam or Dutch land but Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Sweden where bulk of our Europe bound seaman are employed. Although the center seaport of EU is in Rotterdam where majority of Filipino seamen are also employed, major shipping companies are based on that region.

Further, they got plenty of money too burn too as they travel twice a year, more than the health care professionals of UK and service related industry workers of Italy and majority of them travel in style, meaning business class as compared to their brethren in Italy which will likely travel on the lowest economy seat. So even if their numbers are small, it matters a lot because they fly more and spend more than the average UK traveler which translate to more yield for the airline, which in this case is KLM. Make sense! :)

In fairness to KLM, it is centrally located in Europe so connecting flights to other parts of the European Community won't either be too long our too out of the way.

mwg12a

May 30th, 2009, 02:40 PM

So to clarify deployment pertains to the number of additional OFWs?

With those figures, it didn't make sense for BA to pull-out; perhaps they could have reduced service to MNL. AZ is understandable - they have been in financial trouble since time in memorial. The Netherlands which doesn't have as many OFWs gets to keep its flights to RP going.

Probably because of the fact that Amsterdam, The Netherlands is a transit hub and point of alot of european travels and the middleast for those traveling from the north America. That and the fact that it codeshare with other major international aircarriers (KLM) like NW/Delta.

romantic_guy08

May 30th, 2009, 03:20 PM

PAL launches $98 promo for intn'l routes

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 05/30/2009 4:55 PM

Philippine Airlines is launching its "Way to Go" promo on Monday, June 1, by offering round-trip, economy fares for 20 trans-Pacific and regional routes starting at US$98.

The promo fare, which excludes government taxes, will be available for sale from June 1 to 5, 2009. The travel period is September 1 to Dec. 25, 2009 for five trans-Pacific destinations (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Vancouver) and July 1 to Nov. 30, 2009 for 12 regional destinations, including Australia.

"During these difficult times, we are offering our loyal passengers the opportunity to travel at much lower prices, without sacrificing quality of service, safety and comfort," said PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said in a statement.

The promo covers Manila outbound tickets, as well as Narita-bound flights from Cebu. It requires that return flights should be dated no more than 21 days after departure for tickets to the US , Canada and Australia . For other destinations, trip must be completed within eight days.

The regional points covered by the promo include Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Saigon, Jakarta, Shanghai, Osaka, Beijing, Fukuoka, Nagoya, as well as Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.

Customers can avail of the promo through PAL's web site, philippineairlines.com, at any PAL ticket office or accredited travel agents.

Tickets must be purchased within 24 hours after getting a confirmed booking, but not later than June 5, 2009.

The country's first and only legacy airline plying regional and international routes has previously faced a barrage of customer complaints after its internet-based ticketing system bogged down during a recent launch of a similar fare promo. But company officials, in a statement, explained that the system glitches have been solved.

PAL's seat sales mirrors that of a competitor, Cebu Pacific, which has been aggressively offering fare-only promos for international routes and all-in promos for domestic destinations via a no-frills, low-cost business model.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/05/30/09/pal-launches-98-promo-intnl-routes

mwg12a

May 30th, 2009, 03:51 PM

That is awesome! You can even secure the promo through their travel agencies. The down part is that IT IS ONLY GOOD FOR PINOYS IN THE PHILIPPINES :(, It's for Manila "outbound" passengers only. boooooooooooo boooooooooooooooo!!! LMAO

Funny how it PAL's promo almost sounds like Cebu Pacific's "Go lite" theirs is "Way to Go" Something about the word "go" that they are all going ga ga over it..LMAO

hybridace101

May 30th, 2009, 04:10 PM

The bad news as well is that it excludes taxes. In the real deal, I managed to get my ticket for USD96.5 all-in. They keyword is it starts at USD 98 so I'm thinking that flights to SYD would be around USD298. After SIN, SYD is a place I want to go to.

shyaman

May 30th, 2009, 04:50 PM

Spirit of Manila Airlines (based in DMIA) is flying to Macau, Taipei, Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait.

http://www.spiritofmanilaairlines.com

According to an insider, they will be flying to Australia as well... soon. How soon it is... that is still classified :D.

mwg12a

May 30th, 2009, 06:03 PM

^^^^ Looks like they are aiming to service the international market and no domestic services.

mambo

May 30th, 2009, 07:01 PM

PAL continues expansion plans amid crisis

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

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 05/25/2009 7:50 PM

Despite an environment of rising costs as caused by the global crisis, Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it will push through with its expansion plans this year.

According to PAL Vice President for marketing Felix Cruz, the country's flagship carrier has job openings for reservation, ground crew, and flight staff as it prepares for the delivery of new planes.

"We expect delivery of five Boeing 777-300ERs, which will be deployed for US flights," he said at the Trabaho sa Turismo job fair in Pasay City over the weekend.

He added that PAL remains optimistic about its expansion despite the economic downturn and the influenza A (H1N1) scare, which has grounded many flights of many international carriers.

PAL is awaiting the lifting of the Category 2 rating imposed by the United States Federal Aviation Administration on the Philippine civil aviation system, which prevented PAL from expanding services to the US.

In the second half of 2008, the airline managed to increase its flights to its US West Coast gateways of Los Angeles and San Francisco, adding up to 1,320 seats weekly on PAL's trans-Pacific routes.

Passenger demand

In the said fair during the weekend, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said tourist traffic in the country's top 15 destinations rose 10.3 percent in the first three months of the year.

This is in contrast with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which earlier reported an 11.1-percent drop in air passenger demand in March even as airlines cut international passenger capacity by 4.4 percent.

IATA Director General Giovanni Bisigniani said the Asia-Pacific region is particularly hit by the slump in international air travel, with a 14.5-percent drop in passenger demand.

romantic_guy08

May 31st, 2009, 04:11 AM

way to go promo:

--

Available for sale via the website, Philippine-based ticket offices and travel agents.

For sale and ticketing from 01 to 05 June 2009 only.

Red Arrow Book and buy your tickets now!!

SECTOR WEB FARE BASIS BCC ALL-IN FARE
(USD)
Round Trip
MANILA - SAN FRANCISCO WEB2GOUS W 668
MANILA - LOS ANGELES WEB2GOUS W 668
MANILA - LAS VEGAS WEB2GOUS W 668
MANILA - HONOLULU WEB2GOHI W 468
MANILA - VANCOUVER WEB2GOCA W 668
MANILA - SYDNEY (PR 211 ONLY) WEB2GOAU W 468
MANILA - MELBOURNE (PR 211 ONLY) WEB2GOAU W 468
CEBU - NARITA WEB2GOJP W 228
MANILA - FUKUOKA WEB2GOJP W 228
MANILA - NAGOYA WEB2GOJP W 228
MANILA - OSAKA WEB2GOJP W 188
MANILA - BEIJING WEB2GOCN W 198
MANILA - SHANGHAI WEB2GOCN W 178
MANILA - JAKARTA (PR 503/PR504) WEB2GOID W 168
MANILA - JAKARTA (PR 535/PR536) WEB2GOJK W 148
MANILA - BANGKOK WEB2GOTH W 118
MANILA - SINGAPORE WEB2GOSG W 118
MANILA - SAIGON WEB2GOVN W 118
MANILA - HONG KONG WEB2GOHK W 98
MANILA - MACAU WEB2GOMO W 98
MANILA - TAIPEI WEB2GOTW W 98

Prices listed above are inclusive of surcharges and exclusive of government taxes and other fees that are to be collected at the airport.

APPLICATION:
* Valid for round trip travel on economy class.

TRAVEL VALIDITY:
TRANSPACIFIC
* Valid for outbound travel from 01SEP09 through 25DEC09

REGIONALS
* Valid for outbound travel from 01JUL09 through 30NOV09.
MINIMUM/MAXIMUM STAY:
TRANSPACIFIC
* Minimum 3 days and maximum 21 days stay

AUSTRALIA
* Minimum 2 days and maximum 21 days stay

REGIONALS
* Minimum 2 days and maximum 8 days stay

SALES RESTRICTIONS:
* Tickets must be issued on or before 05 June 2009.

RESERVATIONS, PAYMENT AND TICKETING:
* Tickets must be issued 24 hours after confirmed reservations.
For reservations made and confirmed on 05 June 2009,
tickets must be issued within the same day.
* Changes are not permitted
- rebooking/rerouting/reissuance/upgrading/endorsement/combination
are not permitted
* No extension of validity
* Non refundable. Surcharges attached to this fare are likewise non-refundable
Government taxes are refundable subject to USD 25 Refund Service Fee
* No child/infant discount

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISION:
* No mileage accrual

swahi

May 31st, 2009, 05:53 AM

its more expensive than the previous promo. To the US, it was 400+ level, now its 668+. Still cheap, but travel starts at September, when tickets are expected to be lower, so I don't know if it is worth the price to buy it now, instead of waiting for other airlines' promo to kick in.

ianers_ianized

May 31st, 2009, 06:59 AM

shyaman

May 31st, 2009, 07:09 AM

^^ I thought they are but now it seems not yet :D.
I made an error there in my previous post. It should be 'they will be flying to...'
My cousin who's one of the flight attendant trainers gave me the airline website. I guess it's just been created. Online booking is still a dead link.

ianers_ianized

May 31st, 2009, 07:14 AM

If that's the case then SK should serve MNL.

SK get passengers through plating their tickets w/ an out MNL by TG via BKK to CPH and/or then to other countries in northern Europe. I am not sure sure if they are still doing these in their GSA office but that's how they get pax since they are an offline carrier.

^^ I think not yet. The website has just been created. Online booking is still a dead link.

Sbi kc March 2009 mg-ooperate na eh wala nman. I try to apply to them last Nov. pero wla nmang balita... Anyway, ktakot mga models ng FA nila ha...

hybridace101

May 31st, 2009, 08:15 AM

mwg12a

May 31st, 2009, 12:21 PM

Manila or NAIA can make use of one of these. I've been in this one up in Chicago awhile ago. I am not sure what or how it is called. It's another way the airport can use if they don't have enough aerobridges available in a remote parking for an aircraft.

[http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2635510242_2e404f4e99_b.jpg
^^^^
From Flickr

jogavilz

May 31st, 2009, 01:21 PM

sana cebu pacific will make use of those para hindi na bababa ng terminal ang pasahero.

Sky Harbor

May 31st, 2009, 01:51 PM

Manila or NAIA can make use of one of these. I've been in this one up in Chicago awhile ago. I am not sure what or how it is called. It's another way the airport can use if they don't have enough aerobridges available in a remote parking for an aircraft.

It's called a mobile lounge. The only airport that still uses this is Dulles in Washington D.C.

shytype

May 31st, 2009, 02:55 PM

Philippines president backs Oman Air’s plan for direct Muscat-Manila flights

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippines president, received yesterday Sayyid Badr bin Hamed bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry who is on an official visit to the Philippines.

At the meeting, Sayyid Badr conveyed greetings of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said along with his best wishes to Gloria and the friendly people of the Philippines.

The Philippines president asked Sayyid Badr to convey her greetings and best wishes to His Majesty the Sultan.

Gloria later commended the existing friendly relations between her country and the Sultanate and the care and respect enjoyed by the Filipino workers.

She also appreciated the two countries’ keenness to boost bilateral relations in various fields. She also showed support for Oman Air’s intention to operate direct flights between Muscat and Manila and sign agreement on avoidance of double taxation, thus encouraging investments between the Sultanate and the Philippines.

The two sides also exchanged views that support international security and peace.

They also discussed the ways to achieve sustainable development. The meeting was attended by Alberto G. Romulo, Philippines foreign minister, Amabil Agilius, the special envoy of the Philippines president to the Gulf and the Middle East region, Ahmad Omar, ambassador of Philippines to the Sultanate and members of the accompanying delegation.

shytype

May 31st, 2009, 02:55 PM

hybridace101

May 31st, 2009, 03:04 PM

It's called a mobile lounge. The only airport that still uses this is Dulles in Washington D.C.

I took one of them in IAD, although it took us from a satellite terminal to the main terminal, not from the aircraft to the terminal.

dexter06

May 31st, 2009, 03:45 PM

Manila or NAIA can make use of one of these. I've been in this one up in Chicago awhile ago. I am not sure what or how it is called. It's another way the airport can use if they don't have enough aerobridges available in a remote parking for an aircraft.

I just realized i disembarked on this equipment at JFK in the mid 90s (on my first trip to the US). Never thought of it big deal at that time until i saw the picture. You guys are good, that is why i like this thread. Anyway, I believe this will be a good and practical back up equipment for our airport but is it practical cost wise?

a s i a n a

May 31st, 2009, 05:30 PM

Posted by mandrakesMD

4ss-d8Hf498
Philippine Airlines - Shining Through (1 minute version)

:) I really love the Philippines! :)

Sky Harbor

May 31st, 2009, 05:32 PM

^^ I've seen the 30-second version. This one's even better! :D

ianers_ianized

May 31st, 2009, 05:41 PM

Since you've mentioned BKK, allow me to give some thoughts about it. I think BKK has the most number of flights between Asia and any given point in the world. However, I feel that compared to our neighbours, MNL isn't that widely served. There are only 2 TG flights, one of which isn't daily. Only 2 PR flights and 1 5J flight. So we will have a difficult time connecting via BKK unless we choose to wait for many hours.

HKG and SIN are other connecting points w/ many flights from various carriers. For BKK, TG's evening flight is ideal for those pax w/connecting flight to Europe either w/ TG or w/ SK.

mwg12a

May 31st, 2009, 10:54 PM

I took one of them in IAD, although it took us from a satellite terminal to the main terminal, not from the aircraft to the terminal.
I've got into thinking, I realized that that's how it was for me either in Chicago, it was from one gate to another, I'm not sure if it was a satellite terminal. I came from a domestic/regional flight, they carried us from the gate we were in to another gate across the tarmac instead of letting us walk that far since they parked the aircraft we were going to board for our international journey which was due to leave soon at the time. They changed the departure gate so all the passengers would be mostly late if we all have to walk from one concourse or terminal to another.

I just realized i disembarked on this equipment at JFK in the mid 90s (on my first trip to the US). Never thought of it big deal at that time until i saw the picture. You guys are good, that is why i like this thread. Anyway, I believe this will be a good and practical back up equipment for our airport but is it practical cost wise?

It shouldn't cost that much from what it looks like but you never know. I don't think it's a usual practice for the airline or the terminal operators to have one of these during their operations. It would certainly help somehow, like in MCIA or perhaps when there is not enough available gates in NAIA T2.

kiretoce

June 1st, 2009, 03:23 AM

Posted by mandrakesMD

4ss-d8Hf498
Philippine Airlines - Shining Through (1 minute version)

:) I really love the Philippines! :)
I've seen the 30-second version. This one's even better! :D

The one and only commercial worth remembering from PR. Nothing since then came even close to being iconic as that.

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 03:46 AM

^^ Maybe they should consider relaunching "Shining Through" with a mix of "It's About Experience". In short, PR needs more PR! :lol:

habagatcentral1

June 1st, 2009, 03:50 AM

^^ Maybe they should consider relaunching "Shining Through" with a mix of "It's About Experience". In short, PR needs more PR! :lol:

And they really really need it...and also change their seemingly outdated and somewhat "not-at-par-with-other-international-airliners" flight safety video...di sumasabay ang galaw ng bibig sa speech...halatang dubbed...parang si Marimar...and the model FA girl there looks more American or Caucasian/Western than Filipina.

My dos sentimos worth. :2cents:

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 04:08 AM

^^ I couldn't agree more with the video. Filipino (NOT Taglish) would work wonders too.

habagatcentral1

June 1st, 2009, 04:59 AM

ianers_ianized

June 1st, 2009, 05:01 AM

Posted by mandrakesMD

4ss-d8Hf498
Philippine Airlines - Shining Through (1 minute version)

:) I really love the Philippines! :)

For me this is the best ad and slogan by PAL... it really showcase the beauty of the Philippines... even today, I agree, this ad is still iconic.

I hope PAL will relaunch again this slogan... this is so memorable ad for them.

On their new slogan... "With us, you're always No.1" is a decent one.

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 05:08 AM

^^ Parang MRT ba? :D
If I have the money, the talent in videography and a trophy for best film and advertising...I-aalay ko na lang serbisyo ko sa PAL para lang mapalitan ang video na yan...kahit libre pa, basta pakainin lang ako, nyahahaha!!! :lol:

Dude, that video really needs an upgrade! Para kasing walang pera mode ang PAL if nakikita ko yung video na yun...

According to the e-mail PAL sent me a while back, they said that a new video is contingent on their aircraft refurbishment program. Until that's completed, I wouldn't expect a new video anytime soon. However, this means that at least in the new video, PAL will use the new 744 cabin! :D

kiretoce

June 1st, 2009, 05:13 AM

Ryanair fliers must soon check in before reaching airports (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0514/1224246463498.html)

All Ryanair passengers will soon have to check in for flights online before arriving at the airport as the airline moves to phase out the use of check-in desks.

The airline has also introduced a new €40 penalty for reissuing a boarding card that has already been printed. It says the fine is being imposed to encourage passengers to arrive at the airport with their card pre-printed.

The charge applies to all new bookings made after next Wednesday, May 20th, including passengers travelling with infants and checked-in bags.

The airline has announced that from next week it will no longer accept bookings for unaccompanied minors (under 16 years). All new bookings will require passengers, including infants and those on domestic flights, to hold a valid passport or national identity card. Up to now, passengers on domestic flights have been able to show a driving licence at check-in.

The existing €10 airport check-in fee is being replaced by a €5 fee per person, per flight, on new bookings, except for promotional fares. Free fares and fares costing €1 or €5 will include the check-in fee in the cost.

“Passengers travelling without checked in bags have already embraced our online check-in service, and the extension of this service to all passengers, including those with hold luggage and those travelling with infants, will allow all passengers to forever avoid check-in queues,” a spokesman said. “This will also allow Ryanair to lower our airport and handling costs and pass these savings to all passengers in the form of even lower air fares next winter.”

Ryanair check-in allows a passenger to check in from 15 days to four hours before a flight. The boarding card can be printed, or reprinted, up to 40 minutes before scheduled departure time.

The spokesman said Ryanair did not believe the move online would adversely affect customers, even those unfamiliar with computers. Over 99 per cent of bookings are made online, he said.

habagatcentral1

June 1st, 2009, 05:15 AM

According to the e-mail PAL sent me a while back, they said that a new video is contingent on their aircraft refurbishment program. Until that's completed, I wouldn't expect a new video anytime soon. However, this means that at least in the new video, PAL will use the new 744 cabin! :D

I hope its clear that they'll be having a "new video" and not another "revision" of that "Telenovela Video" from the 1990's. :lol:

mwg12a

June 1st, 2009, 06:14 AM

^^ I couldn't agree more with the video. Filipino (NOT Taglish) would work wonders too.

Really? I never really noticed taglish in PR's safety video demonstrations. Usually, it starts with english, followed by tagalog with english words in it like "safety belts" there are occassions where if the safety demonstration is being relayed on microphone, they would say "sinturon pangkaligtasan" and all in pure tagalog except from some inevitable english words. Then it will all preceeded in the end by safety instructions in Japanese. This is during my experience with them on MNL-Cebu travels. I am not sure with transpacific service, it could be a taglish case. I just usually fly with NWA , once with American Airlines (AA via HK) and once with UA whenever United was still servicing MNl route.

Ryanair fliers must soon check in before reaching airports (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0514/1224246463498.html)

All Ryanair passengers will soon have to check in for flights online before arriving at the airport as the airline moves to phase out the use of check-in desks.

I don't know about this one, maybe I am not use to it but it sounds very chaotic when you arrive at the the terminal. The seating arrangement would probably be the same as everybody can just chose their seats online for sure. I hope other airlines wouldn't really follow these just to save cost. LCCs here in our area don't hire ground staff (for check-in) and baggage personnels but they rely on airport's staff to do these for them, it's a way to save cost for the airlines.

hybridace101

June 1st, 2009, 06:20 AM

The language used in English with Mandarin subtitles

kiretoce

June 1st, 2009, 07:05 AM

I don't know about this one, maybe I am not use to it but it sounds very chaotic when you arrive at the the terminal. The seating arrangement would probably be the same as everybody can just chose their seats online for sure. I hope other airlines wouldn't really follow these just to save cost. LCCs here in our area don't hire ground staff (for check-in) and baggage personnels but they rely on airport's staff to do these for them, it's a way to save cost for the airlines.

I too don't like the idea of checking-in online prior to arriving at the airport itself, but I can see the idea of phasing out the check-in counters. Since most airlines have personal check-in kiosks now and passengers check themselves in for their flight and prints out their boarding passes and luggage tags (if they have checked baggage). All they have to do is attach the tags to their luggages and take them to the TSA screeners for them to pass it through the x-ray security checks. I've even upgraded myself (for a fee of course) to another class via those kiosks.

NicknameForLife

June 1st, 2009, 07:32 AM

Posted by mandrakesMD

4ss-d8Hf498
Philippine Airlines - Shining Through (1 minute version)

:) I really love the Philippines! :)

:applause::applause::applause:

"Shining Through"

sana magamit ulit ang kantang ito...

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 07:36 AM

Really? I never really noticed taglish in PR's safety video demonstrations. Usually, it starts with english, followed by tagalog with english words in it like "safety belts" there are occassions where if the safety demonstration is being relayed on microphone, they would say "sinturon pangkaligtasan" and all in pure tagalog except from some inevitable english words. Then it will all preceeded in the end by safety instructions in Japanese. This is during my experience with them on MNL-Cebu travels. I am not sure with transpacific service, it could be a taglish case. I just usually fly with NWA , once with American Airlines (AA via HK) and once with UA whenever United was still servicing MNl route.

Northwest has purist tendencies, and I can attest to that. However, PAL does not. I have e-mailed them proof that their entire safety video can be translated into Tagalog without any hint of English. Here's the transcript, with a few modifications from the original to reflect common airplane terminology used by airlines here:

----

Mabuhay! Maligayang paglipad sa Philippine Airlines. Bilang paghahanda sa ating lipad, padirektahin po ang inyong atensyon sa aming monitor ng bidyo para sa isang demonstrasyon ng mga katangiang pang-kaligtasan ng eroplanong ito.

Kinakailangan ng mga regulasyong pang-abyasyon sibil ng Pilipinas na nakalagay ang mga bagahe sa kompartamento sa ibabaw ng iyong upuan. Para sa inyong kumbiniyensiya, gamitin ang tablang pang-akyat (step board) para maabot ang kompartamento. Maaari niyo ring ilagay ang inyong bagahe sa ilalim ng inyong upuan, kasabay ang mga trole.

May sinturong pangkaligtasan ang bawat upuan. Para maikabit, itulak lamang nang sabay ang mga dulo nito. Para maisikip, hilain ang maluwag na dulo ng sintas. Para mailuwag, habungin ang hibilya at humila. Para maikalag, hilain ang ibabaw ng hibilya at hilain ang malayang dulo upang maitanggal.

Pinapaalala ang mga pasahero na ang gulo sa klarong himpapawid ay maaaring mangyari nang walang akala at nang walang babala. Dahil sa ito, isang kinaikailangang pangkaligtasan ng Philippine Airlines na dapat kabitin ng mga pasahero ang kanilang mga sinturong pangkaligtasan para sa buong durasyon ng lipad para sa kanilang kaligtasan kahit kung nakapatay ang palatandaan na kailangang nakakabit ang sinturong pangkaligtasan.

Kung binabahagi mo ang iyong upuan sa isang sanggol, ilagay ang sinturong pangkaligtasan na palibot sa iyong baywang at balutin mo ang iyong mga braso na palibot sa baywang ng bata.

Ang mga tsalekong pangkaligtasan ay mahahanap sa ilalim ng inyong mga upuan. Sa 'di-maaasahang pangyayari ng paglapag sa tubig, tanggalin ang mga matalas na bagay mula sa iyong katawan. Kunin ang iyong tsalekong pangkaligtasan, buksan ang tsaleko at ilagay sa ulo. Idala ang sintas na palibot sa iyong baywang at itulak ang dulo sa hibilya. Para maibintog ang tsaleko, hatakin ang dalawang kordong pambintog (inflation cord) sa ilalim. Maaari ring pabintugin ang mga tsalekong pangkaligtasan sa pamamagitan ng tubong pambibig. Hihipin ito para madagdagan ang hangin o para ayusin ang presyon nito. Para mailabas ang hangin, pindutin ang espile (pin) nang papasok. Sa gabi, hilain ang pardilya (tab) na nakakabit sa baterya para magamit ang lampara.

Naka-presyon ang silid na ito. Kung mangyari na may matulin na pagbaba sa presyon ng silid, automatikong bababa mula sa mga kompartamento sa itaas ang mga maskara ng oksiheno. Kunin agad ang mga maskara, hilain ito nang mahigpit patungo sa iyo, ilagay ang maskara sa ibabaw ng iyong ilong at bibig, hilain ang mga elastikong sintas nang pagilid para sa kaaya-aya na suot at huminga nang normal. Dadaloy ang oksiheno kahit kung hindi nakabintog ang supot. Dapat nakasuot ang maskara hanggang pinayuhan kayo na tanggalin ito. Kung ang isang bata o ibang mga pasahero sa iyong paligid ay nangangailangan ng tulong, siguraduhin muna na nakasuot muna ang iyong maskara bago tumulong sa iba.

Ang mga labasang pangkagipitan ay maliwanag na naka-marka sa bawat gilid ng silid. Laging tandaan na ang pinakamalapit na labasan ay maaaring nasa likod mo. Sa isang madilim na silid, ang mga markang pandaan ay aakay sa iyo patungo sa mga labasang ito. Pakitingnan nang sandali ang lokasyon ng labasang pinakamalapit sa iyo.

Sa wakas, bilang paghahanda para sa paglipad o paglapag, pakisigurado na ang likod ng iyong upuan ay nasa matuwid na posisyon, nakatago ang pahingaan ng paa, nakakandado nang tiwasay ang mesang bandeha (tray table), nakalagay sa tamang lugar ang mga sistemang bidyo sa upuan, at nakakabit nang tiwasay ang iyong sinturong pangkaligtasan. Lahat ng mga kagamitang elektroniko ay dapat nakapatay habang naka-ilaw ang palatandaan na dapat nakakabit ang sinturong pangkaligtasan dahil maaari itong manghimasok sa mga sistema ng eroplano. Ang mga teleponong selyular at mga palaruan ng mga disko kompakto ay dapat nakapatay at dapat hindi inaandar sa durasyon ng buong lipad.

Para sa karagdagang impormasyon, aralin po ang kard pang-kaligtasan na mahahanap sa bulsa sa harap ng iyong upuan. Siguraduhin po na naisoli ang kard pagkatapos basahin ito para magamit ng susunod na pasahero.

Pinapaalala namin kayo na ang pakikialam sa mga detektor ng usok o sa anumang ari-arian ng eroplano ay pinaparusahan ng batas. Sa palikuran, tapunin ang basura gamit ang basurahan. Huwag tapunin ang basura sa kasilyas.

Muli, maligayang paglipad sa Philippine Airlines. Mabuhay!

----

If you watch PAL landing videos, the use of the airport's English name over the Filipino name is more than the rule than the exception. It's the reverse for Cebu Pacific. On the other hand, both airlines do not translate perfectly translateable technical terms. I hope that the transcript above proves the airlines wrong.

habagatcentral1

June 1st, 2009, 08:05 AM

^^ Pero di kaya nosebleed yan sa mga non-Tagalogs? Medyo may isyu na tayo kasi ng konti pagdating sa national language (sa SSC pa lang, what more pa sa totoong buhay)...some would even prefer to listen and speak in English rather than Filipino-Tagalog...most especially the people down south...

Di lahat nakakainitindi ng Filipino-Tagalog, kasi di naman sya tulad ng Maynila na yan ang lingua franca. Di rin lahat ng tao nakakaintindi ng malalim na Tagalog...kahit na ang mga ka-kontemporaryo natin.

My opinion.

kiretoce

June 1st, 2009, 08:05 AM

@Sky Harbor: Once again, too much time on your hands? :lol:

:jk: :nocrook:

mwg12a

June 1st, 2009, 08:21 AM

HA HA. That is so true Kiretoce.

IMO, it shouldn't be a big deal anymore since that is how it is now in the Philippines. Even the Bisaya or other native languages usually speak bisaya with english words in it, fine by me because I understand them even better if they mix it with tagalog, english, spanish words in any native regional languages. The focus should be just the safety issues in safety demostration. I think it's neat PAL has english, filipino, japanese and the occassional korean in any of their announcements. I would love to try PAL on a transpacific travel. Which US carriers does PAL codeshare with?

^^ Pero di kaya nosebleed yan sa mga non-Tagalogs? Medyo may isyu na tayo kasi ng konti pagdating sa national language (sa SSC pa lang, what more pa sa totoong buhay)...some would even prefer to listen and speak in English rather than Filipino-Tagalog...most especially the people down south...

Di lahat nakakainitindi ng Filipino-Tagalog, kasi di naman sya tulad ng Maynila na yan ang lingua franca. Di rin lahat ng tao nakakaintindi ng malalim na Tagalog...kahit na ang mga ka-kontemporaryo natin.

My opinion.
Actually, I think it's more of other non-tagalogs understand tagalog atleast but just can't speak it. Not the other way around just like what you have mentioned earlier. Maybe Pinoys should just develop a filipino language with a blend of english, spanish, tagalog and bisaya words in it so that there is no more fighthing when it comes to what language is needed to be use as a national or official language.

Anyway, in any case, all airline companies in the Philippines has english and tagalog/filipino announcements inside the aircraft. It would be nice if there would be bisaya, Ilocano, Ilonngo anouncements inside the aircrafts depending on what region they are serving. That would really be neat IMO.

kiretoce

June 1st, 2009, 08:24 AM

^^ PAL has no codeshare flights with any US carrier. But it has an interline agreement with American Airlines.

mwg12a

June 1st, 2009, 08:34 AM

^^ PAL has no codeshare flights with any US carrier. But it has an interline agreement with American Airlines.

Or yes, An Interline agreement is it that was the word I was looking for. Thanks! Damn, AA has no direct flight from us to west coast, just Allegiant Air which is LAX and Vegas only. I guess I would have a layover to Dallas/Ft Worth first then to either LAX or SFO.

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 08:34 AM

@Sky Harbor: Once again, too much time on your hands? :lol:

:jk: :nocrook:

I did it in my younger days when I first joined (or even before I joined) SSC. I was in Pittsburgh then for my summer! :D

^^ Pero di kaya nosebleed yan sa mga non-Tagalogs? Medyo may isyu na tayo kasi ng konti pagdating sa national language (sa SSC pa lang, what more pa sa totoong buhay)...some would even prefer to listen and speak in English rather than Filipino-Tagalog...most especially the people down south...

Di lahat nakakainitindi ng Filipino-Tagalog, kasi di naman sya tulad ng Maynila na yan ang lingua franca. Di rin lahat ng tao nakakaintindi ng malalim na Tagalog...kahit na ang mga ka-kontemporaryo natin.

My opinion.

Inasmuch as I respect the beliefs of non-Tagalog Filipinos to assert their rights to the use of their languages, it is wrong for them to assert that in order to understand Filipino, you have to pepper it with English. The debate on the issue is that Tagalog and Filipino are one and the same, and by extension, Filipino users are most likely going to run to Tagalog for their vocabulary basis before other languages, unless the other native language has asserted its authority in the Tagalog vocabulary context. Case and point: gahum and kalaniyog are "hegemony" and "eggwhite" in Tagalog as much as they are in their native languages.

I don't like to assert the role of Tagalog/Filipino as a national language, but as long as it is, we have to live with it. I understand Cebuanos' call for English to take predominance over Tagalog because of the belief that the imposition of Tagalog is an Imperial Manila phenomenon, but as long as the system doesn't change, I wouldn't expect change anytime soon.

Language is a reflection of our culture, and we should actively embrace it. PAL has already distanced itself culturally from other Southeast Asian carriers to such an extent that it seems detached from the rest of the region. Language polemics will only cement the rift even more, and that is something that must be rectified.

dexter06

June 1st, 2009, 08:40 AM

Guys, just wanted to share.

I was surfing through the Asian threads last night and found that Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta Terminal 3 opened last April 15, 2009 (soft opening). My impression is it will be used for domestic operations. The airport does not use aerobridges but its design looks really good and addresses the high passenger traffic of the country. Some boarding gates share the same pre-departure area but does not look crowded even when filled.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=846910&page=5

ETA: There are more pics on page 7 onwards

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 08:45 AM

^^ PAL has no codeshare flights with any US carrier. But it has an interline agreement with American Airlines.

PAL has interline agreements with AA, CO, DL, NW, UA and US. :D

mwg12a

June 1st, 2009, 09:33 AM

tonight

June 1st, 2009, 10:15 AM

PAL drops fares for off-season int’l travel (http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20090601-208194/PAL-drops-fares-for-off-season-intl-travel)
By Riza T. Olchondra

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Airlines is courting off-season international travellers with a new round of low fares on 20 international and regional routes.

The flag carrier announced Saturday its new promo dubbed “Way to Go” would be available on June 1-5. During this time, PAL will offer all-in, round-trip, economy fares (exclusive of government taxes) starting at $98 (roughly P4,700).

Customers may buy promo tickets for the travel period Sept. 1 to Dec. 25, 2009, for five trans-Pacific destinations (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Vancouver), and July 1 to Nov. 30, 2009, for 12 regional destinations, including Australia.

The promo covers Manila outbound tickets (as well as Cebu-Narita-Cebu), with return flights dated no more than 21 days after departure for tickets to the US, Canada and Australia. For other destinations, the trip must be completed within eight days.

Customers may avail themselves of the promo through PAL’s website (philippineairlines.com), at any PAL ticket office or accredited travel agent.

Tickets must be purchased within 24 hours after getting a confirmed booking, but not later than June 5, 2009.

habagatcentral1

June 1st, 2009, 10:17 AM

Inasmuch as I respect the beliefs of non-Tagalog Filipinos to assert their rights to the use of their languages, it is wrong for them to assert that in order to understand Filipino, you have to pepper it with English. The debate on the issue is that Tagalog and Filipino are one and the same, and by extension, Filipino users are most likely going to run to Tagalog for their vocabulary basis before other languages, unless the other native language has asserted its authority in the Tagalog vocabulary context. Case and point: gahum and kalaniyog are "hegemony" and "eggwhite" in Tagalog as much as they are in their native languages.

I don't like to assert the role of Tagalog/Filipino as a national language, but as long as it is, we have to live with it. I understand Cebuanos' call for English to take predominance over Tagalog because of the belief that the imposition of Tagalog is an Imperial Manila phenomenon, but as long as the system doesn't change, I wouldn't expect change anytime soon.

Language is a reflection of our culture, and we should actively embrace it. PAL has already distanced itself culturally from other Southeast Asian carriers to such an extent that it seems detached from the rest of the region. Language polemics will only cement the rift even more, and that is something that must be rectified.

Try starting it here on SSC now...hehehehe!!! :colgate: :nocrook: :jk:

Anyway, at least the move in making their flights "more homey" is that announcement in vernacular to home destinations.

But for the Tagalog-Filipino debate...it will still go on and will still irk a lot down south..so I suggest for domestic flights they should add up vernacular instructions (not to deep) instead of pure Tagalog because some would do nosebleed.

dexter06

June 1st, 2009, 10:22 AM

That's their LCC terminal, that is why there is no contact gates or aerobridges for passengers to use for boarding and deplaning.

Nice to use for a domestic terminal. :)

mwg12a

June 1st, 2009, 11:07 AM

But for the Tagalog-Filipino debate...it will still go on and will still irk a lot down south..so I suggest for domestic flights they should add up vernacular instructions (not to deep) instead of pure Tagalog because some would do nosebleed.

Hayaan mo na sila magnosebleed, minor problem lang naman yan . maybulak naman available sigurado sa eroplano ( sa epot at sa eplayn), minsan may mga tampax din, hayaan mo silang itusok sa butas ng ilong ang tampax para mawala ang nosebleeding na yan. Lintek !!! ala e!!! LMAOOOOOOOOO Just jokinggggggggggggggg!!!:nuts:

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 11:30 AM

But for the Tagalog-Filipino debate...it will still go on and will still irk a lot down south..so I suggest for domestic flights they should add up vernacular instructions (not to deep) instead of pure Tagalog because some would do nosebleed.

That's the problem of our culture. We willingly allowed to bastardize our language to the point where we have this dilemma. If other countries use their literary language for their safety instruction videos, why should the Philippines willingly resort to using slang (which is what Taglish is)?

In addition, a lot of those technical terms are Spanish-derived. Despite different spellings, pronunciations and grammatical inflection, the meaning will be the same in any Philippine language.

habagatcentral1

June 1st, 2009, 11:40 AM

^^ Are you referring to all Western ideas and concepts have their own "indigenous" version or direct translation?

kiretoce

June 1st, 2009, 12:38 PM

^^ You guys are veering off course. Stick to aviation.

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 03:34 PM

^^ Are you referring to all Western ideas and concepts have their own "indigenous" version or direct translation?

They are possible to translate. That's why Malay has a local word for "astronaut", angkasawan, and for "airline", penerbangan. The safety video transcript which I posted shows that it is possible to translate technical terms, a point where the KWF says otherwise. I would bet that it's possible to translate such concepts in other vernacular languages too, like Cebuano. Another case and point: you never hear trangkasong baboy on TV Patrol World when referring to swine flu, but I always hear kagaw sa hilanad (please check the spelling if correct) whenever I watch TV Patrol Central Visayas.

Anyway, moving back on topic: I can't wait to take many pictures of MNL, CEB, NRT and my flights! :D

hybridace101

June 1st, 2009, 03:36 PM

Who has heard of the AF mayday from south America en route to CDG? I hope some passengers are found alive.

swahi

June 1st, 2009, 03:41 PM

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/world/06/01/09/air-france-jet-228-people-missing-after-power-failure

PARIS - An Air France jet carrying 228 people on a Rio de Janeiro-Paris flight was feared to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday after suffering an electrical failure while flying through a fierce storm, officials said.

Air France said the Airbus A330-200 jet was probably hit by lightning. The Brazilian and French air forces sent out search planes and other countries were on alert.

If it is confirmed that all 228 people were lost it would be the worst loss of life in Air France's history and civil aviation's worst disaster for more than a decade.

"We are without a doubt faced with an aviation catastrophe. The entire company is thinking of the families and shares their pain," Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told reporters at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.

French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo confirmed the plane had probably had some kind of accident as a hijacking had been ruled out.

"There's nothing on Spanish radar, nothing on Moroccan radar, nothing on French radar. We can seriously envisage the worst," Borloo said.

The minister told AFP there were "powerful" tropical storms in the zone. "It is the kind of jet made to handle this kind of circumstance but there must have been a build up of circumstances."

Flight AF 447 sent an automatic error message reporting a fault in an electrical circuit at 0214 GMT, just over four hours after it left Rio, Gourgeon said.

"The most likely thing is that the plane was hit by lightning. The plane was in a stormy area with strong turbulence, which provoked problems," Francois Brousse, Air France's director of communications, said separately.

Borloo was among top French officials sent to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, where relatives of the 216 passengers and 12 crew were being cared for by doctors and psychologists.

The passengers were made up of 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby, Air France said. There were nine flight attendants and three flight crew.

Five Italians were believed to be on the jet, according to Italian media.

Flight AF 447 left Rio at about 7:00pm (2200 GMT) on Sunday night for the 9,145 kilometre (5,282 mile) flight which would normally take 10 hours and 20 minutes.

The Brazilian air force said its planes had scrambled to search for the jet off its northeast coast. A French military reconaissance plane also flew out of Senegal to take part in the search.

French authorities set up a crisis cell and President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to go to Charles de Gaulle airport.

Sarkozy's office said he had ordered all relevant government agencies to hunt "for any sign of the plane and to quickly shine a light on the reasons for its disappearance."

Air France shares slipped after the news. Last week the airline announced its first net loss since it merged with Dutch airline KLM in 2003.

Air France suffered from the Concorde disaster in 2000 and has since had a number of accidents and scares.

On July 25, 2000, all 109 passengers and crew and four people on the ground were killed when an Air France Concorde crashed near Charles de Gaulle airport. All Concordes were eventually taken out of service.

An Air France jet hit stray cows as it landed in the southern Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt in July 2005. No-one was injured.

On August 3, 2005, An Air France A340 with 309 passengers and crew on board skidded off the runway after landing in a thunder storm at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Fourteen people suffered minor injuries.

In December of the same year, an Air France Boeing 777 made an emergency landing at Irkutsk in Siberia when one of its two engines broke down on a Seoul-Paris flight. There were no casualties.
as of 06/01/2009 9:36 PM

Noize_320

June 1st, 2009, 04:08 PM

^^ oh no...confirmed na?? sad...and its an A330... :cry:

habagatcentral1

June 1st, 2009, 04:27 PM

^^ I was made to think that modern aircraft serve as a lightning rod and the electricity will just skim at the metal skin of the aircraft when struck by lightning...Hmmmm.....

michael_ray

June 1st, 2009, 04:40 PM

Air France Jet hit turbulence over the Atlantic

SAO PAULO, Brazil – An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris hit strong turbulence and lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Monday. Brazil began a search mission off its northeastern coast.

Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, had 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said. The flight left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT Sunday).

About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.

The plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at 0200 GMT Monday (10 p.m. EDT Sunday). An automatic message was received at 0214 GMT (10:14 p.m. EDT Sunday) "signaling electrical circuit malfunction."

The plane disappeared about 190 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, a Brazilian air force spokesman said. The air force began a search began Monday morning near Fernando de Noronha, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with air force policy.

The region is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio.

Air France said the 216 passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men. It says the plane entered service in 2005 and last underwent maintenance April 16.

A police official on Fernando de Noronha said the weather was clear last night into this morning.

"It's going to take a long time to carry out this search," Douglas Ferreira Machado, head of investigation and accident prevention for Brazil's Civil Aeronautics Agency, or ANAC, told Globo news. "It could be a long, sad story. The black box will be at the bottom of the sea."

Air France-KLM CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, at a news conference in Paris, said the pilot had 11,000 hours of flying experience, including 1,700 hours flying this aircraft. No name was released.

Aviation experts said it was clear the plane was not in the air any longer, due to the amount of fuel it would have been carrying.

"The conclusion to be drawn is that something catastrophic happened on board that has caused this airplane to ditch in a controlled or an uncontrolled fashion," Jane's Aviation analyst Chris Yates told The Associated Press.

"I would suggest that potentially it went down very quickly and so quickly that the pilot on board didn't have a chance to make that emergency call," Yates said, adding that the possibilities ranged from mechanical failure to terrorism.

Barrand said the airline set up an information center at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for the families of those on board. That center said 60 French citizens were on the plane. Italy said at least three passengers were Italian.

"Air France shares the emotion and worry of the families concerned," she said.

The flight was supposed to arrive in Paris at 0915 GMT (5:15 a.m. EDT), according to the airport.

France's minister in charge of transport, Jean-Louis Borloo, said there was a "real pessimism at this hour" about the fate of the aircraft.

"We can fear the worst," he said on Europe-1 radio.

Airbus declined to comment until more details emerge.

The Airbus A330-200 is a twin-engine, long-haul, medium-capacity passenger jet, and is 58.8 meters (190 feet) long, according to Airbus. It is a shortened version of the standard A330, and can hold up to 253 passengers. It first went into service in 1998, there are 341 in use worldwide today. It can fly up to 7,760 miles (12,500 kilometers).

French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "extreme worry" and sent ministers to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to monitor the situation.

source: yahoo news

Ph Man

June 1st, 2009, 06:39 PM

Sad...Everytime I hear news like this, I wish it isn't true. And that everyone's gonna be fine. Should it be mechanical failure, I hope airbus will learn from this accident and do the necessary corrections, or recall if necessary.

Noize_320

June 1st, 2009, 06:46 PM

^^ makes me wanna hug PAL's own A330...

Sky Harbor

June 1st, 2009, 07:08 PM

^^ I think PAL's A333s will be okay. I'm riding two of them (or one, if the A333 used in the 4:00 am MNL-CEB is the same as the one for CEB-NRT) on Wednesday! :D

zoroethgenre_003

June 1st, 2009, 07:56 PM

New Release:

Top 10 Busiest Airport in the Phil (2008)

see: www.alvinrexlucero.wordpress.com

FlashCollider

June 1st, 2009, 09:17 PM

French jet feared lost with 228 aboard (http://http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10575915)

SAO PAULO – All 228 people on a missing Air France jet are feared dead after the plane flew into thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, officials said.

sonnyville

June 1st, 2009, 09:28 PM

AIR FRANCE A330 MISSING IN BRAZIL, CONFIRMATION OF ONE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ON BOARD.

A press release in Sao Paulo, 16:25 Sao Paulo Local Time, among those passengers who are missing onboard the Air France flight from Brazil to France, one is a Philippine National.

BBC World News.

pi_malejana

June 1st, 2009, 10:35 PM

barrera_marquez

June 2nd, 2009, 02:07 AM

Lightning is only a bolt of electricity at parang kotse naman ang construction ng isang eroplano, they are capable of neutralizing high voltages of a lightning bolt. Planes are designed with lightnings in mind.

Of course still, lightning can bring down a passenger jet - if that will ignite the fuel tank. Yun nga lang 1963 pa nagkaroon ng ganoong kaso and since then, fuel tanks were hardened to withstand lightning strikes.

NightDog

June 2nd, 2009, 03:12 AM

thunderstorms--that doesn't mean only lightning caused the crash... turbulence, wind shear, etc could also be a factor... besides, planes are always hit by lightning though most of the time, no problems occur...

Lightning is only a bolt of electricity at parang kotse naman ang construction ng isang eroplano, they are capable of neutralizing high voltages of a lightning bolt. Planes are designed with lightnings in mind.

Of course still, lightning can bring down a passenger jet - if that will ignite the fuel tank. Yun nga lang 1963 pa nagkaroon ng ganoong kaso and since then, fuel tanks were hardened to withstand lightning strikes.

Lightning is not only a volt of electricity, it's thousand volts of electricity.
But still, our aircraft is equipped with static wicks or static dischargers. In the event of lightning strike, electricity will be discharged thru these devices. However, these devices should have a constant check of their tolerances. If the resistance of these devices are out of tolerance, there's a probability that lightning current will not be discharged. PAL planning is always on time of issuing workcards to check these things.

bcanieso

June 2nd, 2009, 03:54 AM

^^Static dischargers or wicks installed at the control surfaces of the aircraft are used for this particular purpose, to discharge static electricity from the aircraft... FYI :)

pi_malejana

June 2nd, 2009, 04:45 AM

Lightning is not only a volt of electricity, it's thousand volts of electricity.
But still, our aircraft is equipped with static wicks or static dischargers. In the event of lightning strike, electricity will be discharged thru these devices. However, these devices should have a constant check of their tolerances. If the resistance of these devices are out of tolerance, there's a probability that lightning current will not be discharged. PAL planning is always on time of issuing workcards to check these things.

yup...:yes:

it could be due to improper maintenance, or could be because of the storm itself

Sky Harbor

June 2nd, 2009, 04:57 AM

^^ I'm doubting the former, since Air France arguably has one of the world's best aircraft maintenance regimens, to the best of my knowledge. The latter, however, is still entirely possible.

bitoy

June 2nd, 2009, 05:11 AM

The Airbus A330-200 was sending an automated message that the electrical system had failed and lost of cabin pressure. The search area is so vast and they might have a hard time finding any survivors since some other planes saw some specks of fires on the ocean.

Right now, all the passengers are feared dead. May they rest in peace.

pi_malejana

June 2nd, 2009, 05:11 AM

@sky agree... i also read that the plane was just 4 years old...

cumulonimbus clouds can reach (even go beyond) the cruising altitude of most planes so it could be...

NightDog

June 2nd, 2009, 06:24 AM

^^Static dischargers or wicks installed at the control surfaces of the aircraft are used for this particular purpose, to discharge static electricity from the aircraft... FYI :)

that's true. but during lightning strike, these wicks are having the lowest resistance to discharge electricity, that's why if the aircraft experiences lightning strike midair, there will be a total check-up of all static dischargers on ground for damages. Remember that our aircraft doesn't have lightning arrestors, so our aircraft is not immune to lightning strikes. If these wicks are not functioning well, there will be a tendency that cockpit instruments or avionics systems will be damaged.
That is one speculation in this AirFrance crash since the ACARS of the aircraft automatically sent a text message to the airline Maintenance Control that it is experiencing electrical problem minutes after the aircraft enterred the storm zone.

The Airbus A330-200 was sending an automated message that the electrical system had failed and lost of cabin pressure. The search area is so vast and they might have a hard time finding any survivors since some other planes saw some specks of fires on the ocean.

Right now, all the passengers are feared dead. May they rest in peace.

That's true per the report. Failure in the system activates the ACARS to send specific message. A330 is a fly-by-wire aircraft, flight controls are controlled using electricity. As per the news, the aircraft sent a text message to airline MC that there's a problem in the electrical system.

Skyblade

June 2nd, 2009, 06:52 AM

I wasn't able to catch on the news with AF447 until I landed in LAX this morning. When I started my trip back in GRR earlier in the day, I was holding my breath that a patch of thunderstorms south of ORD wouldn't hit the airport, thus possibly screwing my connection and losing my upgrade to LAX...just thinking about that front that I was worried about now seems like peanuts when I heard the news in one of the at lounges at LAX. :(

Tam Flight Crew Saw Flashes Near Air France Jet’s Final Signal (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aocJdt1NwNnE)

Flight 447 sent its last distress message in the area, and Tam SA, Brazil’s second-largest airline, said crew members on one of its flights saw flashes of light over the ocean about 1,300 kilometers from the island. A French ship found no sign of the missing aircraft where the flashes of light were reported, Brazil’s air force said.

______________________

It has also been reported that a Filipino was among the 228 souls onboard AF447.

Filipino in crashed flight still unidentified (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090602-208423/Filipino-in-vanished-Air-France-flight)

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:37:00 06/02/2009

Filed Under: Air Transport, Travel & Commuting, Europe

MANILA, Philippines— (UPDATE) The Philippine embassy in Brasilia has confirmed that a Filipino was among the 228 listed passengers of Air France Flight 447 which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on the evening of May 31 (Brasilia time), the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday.

In his report to the DFA, ad interim Charge d’Affaires Christopher Montero said the embassy immediately contacted the Air France office in Brazil and was advised that only the nationalities of passengers were available at this time.

The French embassy in Brasilia, however, assured Philippine embassy officials that the complete identity of the Filipino passenger will be provided as soon as it is ascertained.

Air France Airbus A330 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean en route to Paris, France from the Galeao International Airport in Brazil.

Montero said Brazil’s military and aviation authorities have sent search and rescue teams near the island of Fernando de Noronha, about 1,500 miles east of Rio de Janeiro, but have yet to find the plane and its passengers.

____________________________

These next few hours/days will definitely be filled with suspense as more on the fate of AF447 is unraveled. Thoughts and prayers for all affected by this tragedy. :(

bOrN2BwILd

June 2nd, 2009, 07:02 AM

FROM: AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447 MISSING THREAD

Nationalities of the passengers onboard AF 447

Brazil: 80
France: 76
Germany: 18
Italy: 9
US: 6
China: 5
Hungary: 4
Spain: 2
UK: 2
Morocco: 2
Ireland: 2
Angola: 1
Argentina: 1
Austria: 1
Belgium: 1
Iceland: 1
Philippines: 1
Norway: 1
Poland: 1
Romania: 1
Russia: 1
Slovakia: 1
Sweden: 1
Turkey: 1

http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/80-bresiliens-et-73-francais-a-bord-de-l-avion-disparu-01-06-2009-533641.php

may their souls rest in peace :(

neyoneyo80

June 2nd, 2009, 08:42 AM

FROM: AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447 MISSING THREAD

may their souls rest in peace :(

Amen! :(

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/06/01/air.france.brazil/index.html

The airline company identified the nationalities of the victims as two Americans, an Argentinean, an Austrian, a Belgian, 58 Brazilians, five British, a Canadian, nine Chinese, a Croatian, a Dane, a Dutch, an Estonian, a Filipino, 61 French, a Gambian, 26 Germans, four Hungarians, three Irish, one Icelandic, nine Italians, five Lebanese, two Moroccans, three Norwegians, two Polish, one Romanian, one Russian, three Slovakian, two Spanish, one Swedish, six Swiss and one Turk.

tabz

June 2nd, 2009, 12:52 PM

aww.. naglaho nalang bigla.. :( tsk tsk

ZIG

June 2nd, 2009, 01:34 PM

Bermuda Triangle mystery.

arianespace

June 2nd, 2009, 01:59 PM

^^that's true. but during lightning strike, these wicks are having the lowest resistance to discharge electricity, that's why if the aircraft experiences lightning strike midair, there will be a total check-up of all static dischargers on ground for damages. Remember that our aircraft doesn't have lightning arrestors, so our aircraft is not immune to lightning strikes. If these wicks are not functioning well, there will be a tendency that cockpit instruments or avionics systems will be damaged.
That is one speculation in this AirFrance crash since the ACARS of the aircraft automatically sent a text message to the airline Maintenance Control that it is experiencing electrical problem minutes after the aircraft enterred the storm zone.

That's true per the report. Failure in the system activates the ACARS to send specific message. A330 is a fly-by-wire aircraft, flight controls are controlled using electricity. As per the news, the aircraft sent a text message to airline MC that there's a problem in the electrical system.

If you guys don't know what Bcanieso and NightDog are talking about, the next time you fly the airbus 320 you may want to know the purpose of spikes on the wing. Those are static discharge wicks or lightning arrestors for the laymen.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/design/static/a320-wicks.jpg

They are used for this purpose

5IRfbC0RHsY&hl

I would like to say that any explanation as to what likely cause the Air France A330 crash at this time is purely speculative. I will adopt the Airbus stand about that.

So far these are the established facts based on Brazil's ATC transcript [local time]

- AF477 Departed GIG at 19h30
Air France Flight 447, a twin-engine A330, took off from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro at 7:30 p.m. local time and was last heard from three hours later, when the cockpit crew radioed to tell Brazilian air controllers that the plane would enter Senegalese airspace at 11:20 p.m., according to a statement from the Aeronautica, the body in charge of Brazilian airspace.

- 22h33 last contact via radio with Brazil's CINDACTA III in position INTOL (565km off the coast of NAT), in the contact AF flight informed it would enter Dakar air space, position TASIL - 1,228km off the coast of NAT at 23h20;

http://n.i.uol.com.br/ultnot/0906/01rotadevoo.jpg

- 22h48 airplace left area covered by CINDACTA III, airplane was at 35,000 feet with speed of 453 KT (840km/h).

- At the time estimated to reach position TASIL (23h20) AF flight did not make contact by radio as foreseen with CINDACTA III, which was confirmed by Dakar Control;

- 08h30 AF Company informed CINDACT III that about 100km off TASIL position AF447 sent message informing about technical problems with the airplane (lost of cabin pressure and defect with electrical system)

- 02h30 SALVARE (Brazil Maritime Rescue Team) based in REC started the rescue of the airplane by prompting the Brazilian Air Force, which sent 1 airplane Hercules, 01 P-95 Bandeirantes, and the elite rescue team PARASAR.

Now, this is what is surprising.
According to Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, AF447 encountered a stormy weather at 11:00 p.m. accompanied by strong turbulence, and shortly thereafter, it sent out an automatic message reporting "a loss of pressure and a failure of the electrical system."

He has been quoted as saying that they only received one message, a message which became four in less than 24 hours. As I was watching BBC news, a British crash investigator was quoted as saying that he was notified that there was only one message, then there was four and no more. He was told by another colleague working for the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses [BEA] that in fact there was actually 12 computer generated messages that was sent by the ill fated plane. My guess would be as good as yours.

Now, that is the big burning question? How much more would Air France would like to hide?:ohno:

Historically, investigations was always marred by controversy for non-transparency.

May God bless all their souls. My condolence to the families that are left behind.

mwg12a

June 2nd, 2009, 04:08 PM

I understand sometimes why airline companies have a non-transparency protocol when it comes to issuance of announcements, I'm sure everybody knows that until after further careful investigation has been done, it would be hard to speculate. At this point, it could be anything. It could be weather related to pilot error, it would be hard to know until the blackbox is retrived.

Someone here mentioned about the Bermuda triangle, i believe it's ZIG, I know it's beyond everyone's comprehension what mystery goes beyond that area, I know one thing for sure, the weather in that territory is rather unpredictable. I don't think that area of concern is really where the Bermuda triangle is or is it really? I am not sure where exactly it is. All I hear are fabled stories you hear and read every so often from all different sources and individuals.

One thing is for sure, it's another sad news for everybody especially the family of the victims. Let's just hope the wreckage is found atleast. Our prayers are with you all.

ashton

June 2nd, 2009, 08:14 PM

I'm guessing this Filipino is a seaman - just a wild guess though. :(

AIR FRANCE A330 MISSING IN BRAZIL, CONFIRMATION OF ONE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ON BOARD.

A press release in Sao Paulo, 16:25 Sao Paulo Local Time, among those passengers who are missing onboard the Air France flight from Brazil to France, one is a Philippine National.

BBC World News.

tonyboy

June 2nd, 2009, 08:22 PM

:eek:^^..or a member of the flight crew..i.e....pilot or co-pilot..:ohno:

..my prayers are with all of them...:(

Montecito_kid

June 2nd, 2009, 11:50 PM

I'm guessing this Filipino is a seaman - just a wild guess though. :(

From the Inquirer (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20090602-208423/Filipino-in-crashed-flight-identified)
The DFA identified the Filipino fatality as Arden Jugueta, a seafarer whose vessel docked in Rio de Janeiro and who was to take a connecting flight from Paris to Manila.

In a statement, the DFA said the fatality’s ship manning company also confirmed that Jugueta was on board Air France Flight 447.

Chrisvenz

June 3rd, 2009, 01:03 AM

Manila-bound seaman feared dead in plane crash

MANILA, Philippines - It was supposed to be a 12 hour-flight for Arden Jugueta from Brazil to France where he planned to take a connecting flight to Manila to be reunited with his wife Miguela.

But the Filipino seafarer, whose vessel was docked in Rio de Janeiro, never reached Paris.

Just three hours after Air France flight 447 left the Galeao International Airport in Brazil, the twin-engine, long-haul, medium-capacity passenger jet, vanished in the Atlantic Ocean, the Brazilian Air Force said.

Search and rescue operations were immediately sent by Brazil, France and Spain near the island of Fernando de Noronha, where the aircraft last sent a distress signal. But even before the first body of the passenger of Air France flight 447 was fished out of the icy depths of the Atlantic, the Philippine government has already braced for the worst.

"Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo extends the DFA's deepest condolences to Mrs. Miguela Jugueta, the wife of Mr. Jugueta, and his family," the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

If all 228 people were killed, it would be the deadliest commercial airline disaster since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines jetliner crashed in the New York City borough of Queens during a flight to the Dominican Republic, killing 265 people, an Associated Press report said.

Relatives have already trooped to the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport where their loved ones were supposed to meet with them on Monday morning. But they might wait just a little longer.

On board the flight were 61 French citizens, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, nine Chinese and nine Italians. A lesser number of citizens from 27 other countries also were on the passenger list, including two Americans.

Aviation investigators were pondering on several theories on how the high-tech aircraft plunged into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean after reporting bad weather in its path.

In a separate AP report, Brazil's largest airline, TAM, released a statement late Monday saying that pilots flying one of its commercial flights from Paris to Rio spotted what they thought was fire in the ocean along the Air France jet's route.

kiretoce

June 3rd, 2009, 03:52 AM

Bermuda Triangle mystery.

The Bermuda Triangle is formed by the islands of Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the southern tip of the peninsula of Florida in the United States. What happened to AF447 occurred further south of that infamous area of the Atlantic Ocean.

sloanesquare

June 3rd, 2009, 05:02 AM

just shows the fantasy of the eye in the sky....it took 3 days and even then it was a plane and not google or NASA or satellite to spot the wreckage...interesting that it took this long since its the part of the world under the paranaoia sector of US airspace...it was Brazilian waters but it clearly shows that a provocative act towards US emanating from this space could not be identified by US intelligence.

bitoy

June 3rd, 2009, 05:20 AM

^^ US Spy Satellites are still upgrading from windows98 to Vista. :lol:

I think the Homeland Security had all the eye in the sky satellites focused on the US borders and war zone areas in the middle east.

The US Navy's "White Cloud/Parcae" is not meant to search for debris on the ocean floor or maybe it doesn't exist anymore.

Is the google Earth and Nasa satellite photos up to date? I don't think so.

absinthe_888

June 3rd, 2009, 08:34 AM

Airlines oppose Bureau of Immigration's machine-readable 'A-D' card (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=473917&publicationSubCategoryId=65)

MANILA, Philippines - The Airline Operators Council (AOC) protested yesterday the implementation of the new machine-readable arrival-departure (A-D) cards, calling the scheme “arbitrary, unreasonable and contrary to law.”

“With due respect, the AOC would like to register its vehement objection to the sudden implementation of the memorandum circular because its implementation is arbitrary, unreasonable and contrary to law,” AOC chairperson Ma. Lourdes Reyes said.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) started distributing the A-D cards to arriving and departing passengers last Monday.

Many of the travelers were taken by surprise as they tried to fill up the 10 by four-inch card folded into four equal parts, where they have to register their names, citizenship, residence, birthday, occupation, passport number and its date of validity.

The forms are usually distributed by the air carriers – which have a supply of the cards for the next six months – and passengers fill them up while aboard the plane.

The document are usually inserted with the passport and scrutinized by immigration officers upon arrival before being given the stamp of approval.

The process takes time if the cards are filled up only at the port of arrival or departure, and travelers are often delayed.

The AOC opposed the new scheme, saying that thousands of passengers fill up such cards in major airports daily.

The BI had notified the AOC that the implementation would start on June 1, but Reyes said the notice was too short and “insufficient to notify more than 15 million passengers.”

“We expect some birth pains during the early implementation of the new A-D cards,” BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said.

He said the cards are imprinted with bar codes for security reasons, which only the BI would print and distribute.

“In line with its fight against red tape, international terrorism and other threats, the BI has implemented an innovative machine readable arrival card,” he added.

He said although the AOC has registered its objection, the BI would continue to issue the new cards because it would improve Philippine immigration and be in step with international aviation standard.

Libanan has set a dialogue with AOC officials today at the BI main office to talk about the problems.

BI anti-fraud chief Sammy Vallada said local airlines and some international airlines have already accepted BI’s new A-D card without any opposition.

“The BI has distributed sufficient supply of A/D cards to airlines and travel agencies to address the issue of alleged airport congestion,” Vallada said.

He said that international airlines have also started distributing A-D cards to their stations abroad so their flights can prepare early upon arrival in the Philippines.

Vallada said the shift to the machine-readable arrival-departure cards is another component of BI’s pro-active reform programs intended to cut processing time in the bureau and give better services to the people.

bitoy

June 3rd, 2009, 08:47 AM

^^

The process takes time if the cards are filled up only at the port of arrival or departure, and travelers are often delayed

“We expect some birth pains during the early implementation of the new A-D cards,” BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said.

He said the cards are imprinted with bar codes for security reasons, which only the BI would print and distribute.

Ooops! my mistake, I think when they meant machine readable, a machine would read the passengers input information on the card... that would be easy enough.

Bar Codes are just series of black lines if there are no data entered from an input terminal.

:lol: There would be a long queue of arriving passengers waiting for their machine Readable A-D information card to be keyed in by the immigration officers.

Hey, maybe the Immigration officers are fast in keypunching. :okay:

absinthe_888

June 3rd, 2009, 08:49 AM

CSC asked to probe rampant hiring of consultants at CAAP (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=473915&publicationSubCategoryId=65)

By Rudy Santos Updated June 03, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Career officers and personnel from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) are asking the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to look into the rampant hiring of consultants in the agency.

In a letter signed by 63 officials and employees from the agency’s Flight Standards Inspectorate Service, copies of which were sent to the CSC, DBM and the House of Representatives, among others, CAAP chief Ruben Ciron allegedly “brought along some of his trusted people, friends and military classmates to join him in the CAAP.”

“They were hired as consultants. To date, we have about more or less 100 consultants, but what is bizarre if the CSC is not aware of this, some of these consultants were placed in regular positions supervising regular and career personnel,” the letter said.

The complainants said the alleged acts of Ciron, a former Air Force general, violated CSC Memorandum Circular 26, series of 1997 “prohibiting the designation of consultants, contractual and non-career employees to positions exercising control or supervision over regular and career personnel.”

Other CAAP employees complained in a separate position paper that agency officials have hired many who “have no technical expertise.”

They said they will bring the matter to higher authorities, as well as the alleged “anomalous and highly controversial transfer of P874 million” from the Land Bank of the Philippines to United Coconut Planters Bank, a private bank.

“Provided that they were authorized by the CAAP board, why was the board resolution that authorizes the director general and other CAAP officers to sign and operate a CAAP bank account signed by proxies, not by the regular or principal members of the board?” the employees said.

They named the secretaries of labor, finance, foreign affairs, justice, interior and local government, and transportation and communications as the proper signatories of the board resolution.

The employees also claimed that only Ciron and the acting corporate treasurer, who is also his chief of staff, have complete control over these funds.

On May 19, they said Ciron made a P500,000 cash advance “with the information that it has been approved by the board.”

The employees said CAAP chief of staff Ronaldo Manlipig reimbursed P59,000 from the CAAP funds covering expenses incurred during official functions by Ciron’s office.

The receipts submitted by Manlapig, however, indicated that much of the expenditures were made on April 11 during an outing at the Eagle Point resort in Mabini, Batangas.

Ciron replied that when he was appointed in July 2008, there were already 71 consultants under Daniel Dimagiba as acting Air Transportation Office (ATO) director.

“Under my leadership, I have less than that number and I made sure that we got only local and international aviation industry professionals to assist in the final transition and restructuring of the CAAP,” Ciron said.

He said these positions were filled after a formal selection process was undertaken, involving ATO holdover personnel and newly appointed ones sitting as members of the selection committee.

Eventually, those chosen were formally presented and approved by the CAAP board of directors, Ciron said.

He said the Federal Aviation Agecy downgraded the ATO from Category 1 to Category 2 due to lack of qualified technical personnel. This is reflected by the then ATO’s Aviation Safety Division, which had 51 percent of its positions unfilled, he said.

“Given this situation, and adhering to the (International Civil Aviation Organization’s) minimum requirements, there was no other recourse but to source from the Air Force, which is about the only source of highly technical men,” Ciron said in reply to criticisms that he hired mostly military men.

Ciron said Manlipig will answer the allegations about the alleged illegal disbursement.

psionic

June 3rd, 2009, 12:39 PM

http://www.pictureshoster.com/thumbnails/1kynxv842jpmuhb4wst_thumb.jpg (http://www.pictureshoster.com/viewer.php?file=1kynxv842jpmuhb4wst.jpg)

http://www.pictureshoster.com/thumbnails/80nzuwtkbe03r5oohxt_thumb.jpg (http://www.pictureshoster.com/viewer.php?file=80nzuwtkbe03r5oohxt.jpg)

To view more, please visit:

http://marcopolo.i.ph/blogs/marcopolo/2009/05/16/airline-spotting-at-naia-t2/

habagatcentral1

June 3rd, 2009, 05:29 PM

Plane in the hot seat...
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Cebu/DSCF0228.jpg

mwg12a

June 3rd, 2009, 06:31 PM

Are there any cases of fatal crashes that involves A340/330 which are all considered non-weather related or a system failure? As far as I remember, there is none so far. I know the US Airways which is an A320 that plunged into the Hudson River is still considered nature related and that I believe another Air France that overshoot the runway in Toronto awhile back was another airbus A330 ( I think), that it was due to bad weather also.

Montecito_kid

June 3rd, 2009, 08:26 PM

Only two previous incidents involving A330 were recorded.

During a test flight in Toulouse, France on 30/06/94
The aircraft crashed during a flight test in which the crew was simulating an engine failure on takeoff. The cause of the accident was a pilor error, misunderstanding the auto-flight systems.
All seven peaple on board died.

Air Transat flight 236 24/08/2001
The aircraft was on a flight from Toronto, Canada to Lisbon, Portugal when a problem developed with the fuel system approximately 300nm northeast of Terciera Island, Azores Islands, Portugal. The crew elected to divert to Terciera Island for an emergency landing. The Captain reported that approximately 100nm from the airport, the left engine failed, and some ten minutes later, the right engine failed as well. The aircraft, using a minimal amount of hydraulic and electrical power supplied from its Ram Air Turbine (RAT), continued gliding toward Terciera Island. The Captain approached the airport with no engine power.

The total flying time without engine power was arround 17 to 18 minutes. The aircraft sustained minor damage during the landing, including damage to the landing gear as twelve tires exploded upon touchdown.
There were 228 pepople on board, they all survived.

Also two incidents involving A340

9 April 2004; Emirates A340-300; Flight 764; Johannesburg, South Africa: This was a scheduled international flight from Johannesburg, South Africa to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The aircraft was not able to get airborne until about 150 meters (500 feet) past the end of the runway. The landing gear sustained minor damage after hitting some of the approach lights in the overrun area. The aircraft returned to the airport for an emergency landing, and none of the 260 passengers and 14 crew on board were injured. The South African Civil Aviation AuthorityÕs final report indicated that the overrun was due to an erroneous takeoff technique employed by the flying pilot. For both pilots it was only their second flight in an A340-300, and it was the flying pilot's first flight in this type of aircraft in that role. This event was classified by the South African authorities as an incident rather than an accident.

2 August 2005; Air France A340-300; Flight Toronto, Canada: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Paris to Toronto. The aircraft encountered heavy thunderstorms upon arrival in Toronto. The crew was able to land, but was unable to stop the aircraft on the runway. The aircraft departed the runway and rolled into a gully where the aircraft broke up and caught fire. All passengers and crew were able to successfully escape the burning plane. None of the 12 crew members and or 297 passengers were killed.

swahi

June 4th, 2009, 02:59 AM

Imagining that last 4 minutes of hell is really terrible. from 1110pm to 1114pm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090603/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/brazil_plane

Air France jet likely broke apart above ocean

FERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil – Military planes located new debris from Air France Flight 447 Wednesday while investigators focused on a nightmarish ordeal in which the jetliner broke up over the Atlantic as it flew through a violent storm.

Heavy weather delayed until next week the arrival of deep-water submersibles considered key to finding the black box voice and data recorders that will help answer the question of what happened to the airliner, which disappeared Sunday with 228 people on board. But even with the equipment, the lead French investigator questioned whether the recorders would ever be found in such a deep and rugged part of the ocean.

As the first Brazilian military ships neared the search area, investigators were relying heavily on the plane's automated messages to help reconstruct what happened to the jet as it flew through towering thunderstorms. They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the crash.

The pilot sent a manual signal at 11 p.m. local time saying he was flying through an area of "CBs" — black, electrically charged cumulonimbus clouds that come with violent winds and lightning. Satellite data has shown that towering thunderheads were sending 100 mph (160 kph) updraft winds into the jet's flight path at the time.

Ten minutes later, a cascade of problems began: Automatic messages indicate the autopilot had disengaged, a key computer system switched to alternative power, and controls needed to keep the plane stable had been damaged. An alarm sounded indicating the deterioration of flight systems.

Three minutes after that, more automatic messages reported the failure of systems to monitor air speed, altitude and direction. Control of the main flight computer and wing spoilers failed as well.

The last automatic message, at 11:14 p.m., signaled loss of cabin pressure and complete electrical failure — catastrophic events in a plane that was likely already plunging toward the ocean.

"This clearly looks like the story of the airplane coming apart," the airline industry official told The Associated Press. "We just don't know why it did, but that is what the investigation will show."

French and Brazilian officials had already announced some of these details, but the more complete chronology was published Wednesday by Brazil's O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, citing an unidentified Air France source, and confirmed to the AP by the aviation industry source.

Air France spokesman Nicolas Petteau referred questions about the messages to the French accident investigation agency, BEA, whose spokesman Martine Del Bono said the agency won't comment. Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim also declined to comment, saying that the accident "investigation is being done by France; Brazil's only responsibility is to find and pick up the pieces."

Other experts agreed that the automatic reports of system failures on the plane strongly suggest it broke up in the air, perhaps due to fierce thunderstorms, turbulence, lightning or a catastrophic combination of events.

"These are telling us the story of the crash. They are not explaining what happened to cause the crash," said Bill Voss, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Va. "This is the documentation of the seconds when control was lost and the aircraft started to break up in air."

Voss stressed that the messages alone were not enough to understand why the Air France jet went down, noting that the black boxes will have far more information to help determine the cause.

One fear — terrorism — was dismissed Wednesday by all three countries involved in the search and recovery effort. France's defense minister and the Pentagon said there were no signs that terrorism was involved, and Jobim said "that possibility hasn't even been considered."

A U.S. Navy P-3C Orion surveillance plane, a French AWACS radar plane and two other French military planes joined Brazil's Air Force in trying to spot debris and narrow the search zone.

Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said debris discovered so far was spread over a wide area, with some 230 kilometers (140 miles) separating pieces of wreckage they have spotted. The floating debris includes a 23-foot (seven-meter) chunk of plane and a 12-mile-long (20-kilometer-long) oil slick, but pilots have spotted no signs of survivors, Air Force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said.

"Oil stains on the water might exclude the possibility of an explosion, because there was no fire," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters Wednesday.

The new debris was discovered about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of where searchers a day earlier found an airplane seat, a fuel slick, an orange life vest and pieces of white debris. The original debris was found roughly 400 miles (640 kilometers) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast, an area where the ocean floor drops as low as 22,950 feet (7,000 meters) below sea level.

Brazil lacks the equipment needed to reach the ocean floor. If the black boxes are at the bottom of the sea, their recovery will have to wait for the arrival early next week of a French research ship with remotely controlled submersibles that can explore as deeply as 19,600 feet (6,000 meters).

The sturdy black boxes — voice and data recorders — are built to give off signals for at least 30 days, even underwater, and could keep their contents indefinitely.

But the head of France's accident investigation agency, Paul-Louis Arslanian, said in Paris that he is "not optimistic" about recovering the recorders — and that investigators should be prepared to continue the probe without them.

"It is not only deep, it is also mountainous," he said. "We might find ourselves blocked at some point by the lack of material elements."

Arslanian said investigators didn't have enough information to determine whether the plane broke up in the air or upon impact with the sea, and that in the absence of black box data, they are studying maintenance and other records.

"For the moment, there is no sign that would lead us to believe that the aircraft had a problem before it took off," Arslanian said.

He said investigators did not know the exact time of the accident or whether the chief pilot was at the controls when the plane went down. Pilots on long-haul flights often take turns at the controls to remain alert.

If no survivors are found, it would be the deadliest crash in Air France's history, and the world's worst civil aviation disaster since the November 2001 crash of an American Airlines jetliner in the New York City borough of Queens that killed 265 people.

weewit

June 4th, 2009, 11:11 AM

:cheers:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2469/3594183591_fc35ab15fd.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3594182605_4b699f5b40.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/3595076350_b8f2501692.jpg

sloanesquare

June 4th, 2009, 11:45 AM

By Joyce Pangco Pañares

MOSCOW (via PLDT)—President Arroyo asked Russia to name two more carriers and urged Russian tourists to come and enjoy the tourist spots in the Philippines.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said that although Russia has also suffered from the global economic meltdown, its nationals are among the Philippines' top five visitors.

Mrs. Arroyo became the first Filipino president that Russian travel industry officials met. “The President wants to hear their thoughts on how to strengthen arrivals from this market,” Durano said in an interview at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

“These are tour operators who specialize in outbound flights to Asia so this will be a confidence-building measure,” he added.

Mrs. Arroyo, who is in Russia for the first time since she became President, arrived in Moscow Tuesday night after attending the commemorative summit between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jeju Island.

Durano said in 2005, Russian tourist arrivals were not even in the statistics of Tourism Department because “the Philippines was not in the map of Russian tour operators.”

“But since 2006 up to our forecast for the end of the year, we expect to see that annual growth of Russian tourist arrivals will be at about 40 percent. This is one of the fastest growing markets for us,” he said.

In 2008, Russian tourist arrivals peaked at 15,000 and it is expected to reach 21,000 this year.

The Tourism chief described Russian tourists as those “who stay the longest, for about two to three weeks, who go to the Philippines in families in groups of four to five.”

“They are tourists who eat and drink the most. They are the best clients any resort or hotel can have,” Durano said.

From Moscow, Mrs. Arroyo will proceed to a forum on the global economic crisis at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

“She will be among the speakers of the Forum’s plenary meeting on June 15 where she will discuss the topic Global Economic Crisis: First Lesson in Moving Forward. She will also have a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev,” deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said.

This developed as Durano said that under an air accord, Russian national carrier Aeroflot is the only designated airline that enjoys air freedom rights.

“Two months ago, we updated our air services agreement to include multi-airline designation so that it will not be limited to Aeroflot only and multi-point destination so Russian airlines can fly to various points in the country,” Durano said.

“Aeroflot, however, is not that interested in expanding its flights in the country. But Transaero, which is a non-designated airline, is the one that is very aggressive in pushing for the Philippines as a tourist destination,” he added.

Transaero is the second largest Russian serving international routes and has chartered flights to Cebu and Manila.

Durano said the Arroyo administration will also seek the designation of Vladivostok Asia and S7 (formerly Siberia Airlines) as official carrier.

Transaero and Aeroflot have indicated interest to operate more flights to the Philippines but were reportedly discouraged with the lack of fifth freedom rights under the air agreement.

Fifth freedom rights was previously granted to airlines operating in the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, allowing carriers to pick up passengers in Clark and proceed to a third country before returning to their home country.

pthfndr19

June 4th, 2009, 12:45 PM

:cheers:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2469/3594183591_fc35ab15fd.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3594182605_4b699f5b40.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/3595076350_b8f2501692.jpg

^^Nice shots.:cheers:

mwg12a

June 4th, 2009, 03:38 PM

dexter06

June 4th, 2009, 03:46 PM

^^
You know, i read in A.net about S7 airlines. It has some good reviews there so if it is S7 flying to manila, well and good!!

It has an all airbus fleet and set western standards in its maintenance and operations, so.

Noize_320

June 4th, 2009, 04:17 PM

^^ you'll get to see the weird green S7 liveries...hehe

michael_ray

June 4th, 2009, 04:44 PM

A friend of mine who works in Cebu Pacific in Cebu City told me that 5J will have its A330 fleet anytime this month.

Noize_320

June 4th, 2009, 05:06 PM

^^ i don't see any official press releases yet...

michael_ray

June 4th, 2009, 05:31 PM

^^ i don't see any official press releases yet...

That remains a rumor unless 5J will have its press release. I am even surprised when he said that. I mean... that soon????

ngprofflorida

June 5th, 2009, 02:38 AM

CEB offers P388 & P988 all-in seat sale for select domestic routes
Gokongwei-owned airline, Cebu Pacific (CEB) is offering a 3-day seat sale from June 5 to 7, 2009 with ‘Go Lite’ fares as low as P388 all-in for select domestic routes. This is valid for travel from July 1 to August 31, 2009.
A P388 ‘Go Lite’ fare is sold for flights from Manila to Bacolod, Boracay (Caticlan), Busuanga (Coron), Cauayan (Isabela), Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, and Tacloban; and Cebu to Siargao.

CEB is also extending a P988 ‘Go Lite’ fare for its Manila-Cagayan de Oro and Manila-Davao services.

“Our continued efforts to stimulate travel have translated to strong domestic market leadership for first quarter of 2009, and we plan to further solidify this position by offering more low fares to the traveling public,” said Candice Iyog, CEB VP for marketing and distribution.

She added, “The public can expect that as we take delivery of more brand-new aircraft, CEB will offer the youngest aircraft fleet in the country, more frequencies, and new destinations in the coming months.”Promo fares are all-inclusive and nonrefundable.

‘Go Lite’ fares are for passengers traveling with no check-in baggage. Passengers with check-in bags just have to add P200 to the fare.

CEB, the leading domestic carrier, flies to 14 cities in Asia and 32 domestic destinations with direct flights from Clark, Cebu, Davao, and Manila. It currently has the youngest fleet in the country at less than 1.9 years, comprised of 21 Airbus A320s and 8 ATR aircraft.

xzibit31

June 5th, 2009, 03:30 AM

A friend of mine who works in Cebu Pacific in Cebu City told me that 5J will have its A330 fleet anytime this month.

i have a friend who is a pilot of 5J who says that no a330's will be coming this year. he says that no training for the pilots of the a330 have been introduced into 5j.

hehehehe..ano na kaya ang totoo...?

Noize_320

June 5th, 2009, 04:59 AM

^^ no word yet...looked for any pics in a.net...wla man

btw, the PSP (Phil. Space Program) was merged with this thread pala...hehehe...never even heard of that thread before...

kiretoce

June 5th, 2009, 06:22 AM

btw, the PSP (Phil. Space Program) was merged with this thread pala...hehehe...never even heard of that thread before...

That's to get that forgotten thread off the boards and into the Archives as soon as possible once this thread is closed and at capacity. We do that to keep the boards populated with current, up-to-date, and popular discussion threads, and do away with threads that are languishing and not have not been active for a long time.

kiretoce

June 5th, 2009, 06:54 AM

Jetstar Asia to Increase Flights to Manila (http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news09/56-JetstarAsia.shtml)

Jetstar Asia has been given flying rights approval by the Air Traffic Rights Committee to operate an additional three weekly return services between Singapore and Manila, equivalent to an additional 1,000 seats of capacity on the route.

Jetstar has operated a daily service from Singapore to the capital of the Philippines since April 2005.

Services will operate from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Jetstar has not yet confirmed when it will actually launch the additional services.

Jetstar Asia and Valuair Chief Executive Officer Ms Chong Phit Lian said she was excited about the prospect of further building Manila services.

“Our Manila service has always been a solid performer and we believe that with extra flights we will be able to create even greater appeal to both the business and leisure traveller on this important route,” she said.

“Operating from Terminal 1 at Singapore Changi provides easy, convenient access for travellers and seemless connectivity for our future interline passengers.”

bitoy

June 5th, 2009, 07:11 AM

^^ Jetstar's in-flight meals are not bad, but sometimes they just serve sandwiches(baguette).

http://www.airlinemeals.net/images/meals/jetstarasia002.jpg

sloanesquare

June 5th, 2009, 10:39 AM

Red-faced Brazilian officials say debris they thought was from an Air France crash in the Atlantic was in fact sea "trash,'' adding to the uncertainties surrounding the jet tragedy.

"Up to now, no material from the plane has been recovered,'' Brigadier Ramon Cardoso, director of Brazilian air traffic control, told reporters in the northeastern city of Recife.

Items, including a cargo pallet and two buoys, pulled from the ocean early Thursday - which Cardoso himself had initially said came from downed Air France flight AF 477 - actually came from another source, most certainly a ship.

"We confirm that the pallet found is not part of the debris of the plane. It's a pallet that was in the area, but considered more to be trash,'' he said.

The pallet was made of wood, and the Air France Airbus A330 did not have any wooden pallets on board. "That's how we can confirm that the pallet isn't part of the remains of the aircraft,'' Cardoso said.

"ZukiChirO"

June 5th, 2009, 10:58 AM

Zest orders six more MA60s
Wednesday June 3, 2009

Zest Air of the Philippines placed an order for six additional MA60s. The carrier, formerly Asian Spirit, already operates five of the Chinese-built aircraft and expects to take delivery of the newly ordered planes starting in October. Two more will arrive in December, with the remaining three coming next year, AVIC's Xi'an Aircraft Industry Co. said. The MA60 has received 92 firm orders, with letters of intent signed for another 70. The MA600 has received 12 orders.

shytype

June 5th, 2009, 03:28 PM

DUE TO POOR VISIBILITY AT NAIA
10 planes diverted to Clark

By Tonette Orejas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:09:00 06/05/2009

Filed Under: Air Transport, Air safety, Weather

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—Foreign and domestic airlines diverted 10 of their planes to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Freeport north of here at around 5:50 p.m. due to zero visibility for landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, a Clark International Airport Corp. official said.

Six Cebu Pacific planes (three A-320s, two ATR and an A-319), two Emirates (Beechcraft and B-777), an A-319 of the Philippine Air Lines and a McDonell aircraft of Zest Air diverted to DMIA, said CIAC executive vice president and chief operating officer Alex Cauguiran.

These were all incoming flights to the NAIA. Weather was bad around the area, he said, explaining why there was difficulty in landing.

The DMIA, a 2,500-hectare airport originally owned by the US Air Force, has been an alternative airport to NAIA since 1993.

Chrisvenz

June 5th, 2009, 03:50 PM

manila_eye

June 5th, 2009, 04:01 PM

Noize_320

June 5th, 2009, 05:07 PM

Zest Air starts second expansion mode

Beijing - Philippine low cost carrier Zest Air recently concluded an order for six additional MA60's from State-owned Xi'An Aircraft International Corporation (XAIC) valued at 76 million dollars.

The order is on top of another five that was delivered to the airline in 2008 which it already operates for its domestic operations.

The former Asian Spirit airline expects to take delivery of the newly ordered planes starting in October. Two more will arrive in December, with the remaining three coming next year, AVIC's Xi'an Aircraft Industry Co. said.

The new orders will put the airline as the biggest overseas operator of the aircraft type. The MA60 has received 92 firm orders, with letters of intent signed for another 70 while the MA600 has received 12 orders.

Meanwhile, the airline company is also pursuing the acquisition of of three additional Airbus 320 with two of its orders arriving in March and April next year. They are also currently in negotiation for lease of two Boeing 767 from a US based aircraft lessor for its future operations in the middle east.

They are hoping to have a modest fleet of 11 brand new aircraft by the end of the year and intend to have a fleet of 18 aircraft at the end of 2010.

The Zest-O group is investing $150 million for capital investment this year.

can't they just buy more A320s instead?

DUE TO POOR VISIBILITY AT NAIA
10 planes diverted to Clark

By Tonette Orejas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:09:00 06/05/2009

Filed Under: Air Transport, Air safety, Weather

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—Foreign and domestic airlines diverted 10 of their planes to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Freeport north of here at around 5:50 p.m. due to zero visibility for landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, a Clark International Airport Corp. official said.

Six Cebu Pacific planes (three A-320s, two ATR and an A-319), two Emirates (Beechcraft and B-777), an A-319 of the Philippine Air Lines and a McDonell aircraft of Zest Air diverted to DMIA, said CIAC executive vice president and chief operating officer Alex Cauguiran.

These were all incoming flights to the NAIA. Weather was bad around the area, he said, explaining why there was difficulty in landing.

The DMIA, a 2,500-hectare airport originally owned by the US Air Force, has been an alternative airport to NAIA since 1993.

:lol: oh well...

jameslab8470

June 6th, 2009, 02:24 PM

may beechcraft ang emirates to manila??

Sky Harbor

June 6th, 2009, 07:59 PM

^^ you'll get to see the weird green S7 liveries...hehe

S7's livery looks okay. A Oneworld livery in that color scheme though would be weird indeed.

ianers_ianized

June 7th, 2009, 01:18 PM

terrapinoy

June 7th, 2009, 02:06 PM

^^ could those be the Gulf Air flights using wet leased planes from 9W?

http://www.bangaloreaviation.com/2009/01/gulf-air-to-lease-four-jet-airways.html

bongskie09

June 7th, 2009, 02:47 PM

hybridace101

June 7th, 2009, 03:05 PM

^^

Right now it's hard to see them sport an A330.

ianers_ianized

June 7th, 2009, 03:11 PM

^^ could those be the Gulf Air flights using wet leased planes from 9W?

http://www.bangaloreaviation.com/2009/01/gulf-air-to-lease-four-jet-airways.html

I think so... the GF livery would be nice in B773er but so sad for 9W's international expansion... Global crisis force them to lease those aircrafts for earn more profit.

medviation

June 7th, 2009, 03:28 PM

mwg12a

June 7th, 2009, 11:48 PM

i have a friend who is a pilot of 5J who says that no a330's will be coming this year. he says that no training for the pilots of the a330 have been introduced into 5j.

hehehehe..ano na kaya ang totoo...?

I'd go with the pilot's statement. They should be one of the firsts to know if trainings for would-be A330 pilots (cebpac) is ongoing or still in the offing.

Just my two cents.

I am not sure about how true this is because I am not a pilot but I think I was told/informed by an OZ (australian) friend of mine who is a Pilot for Qantas. He just recently earned his captain status for flying a B767. It just so happen that we were talking about the difference between an airbus from a boeing since he refused and does not have faith with the quality of airbus fleets because of the fly by wire mechanism of all airbus aircrafts. Apparently this is ONE of the biggest reason why airline companies are choosing Airbus aircrafts, the pilots for Airbuses didn't have to undergo further training when one has to fly another type of an airbus fleet as everything is very much standard WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE NEW A380. The airline companies do not have to send their pilots for a series of training so it is cost effective and efficient for the company where as with Boeing aircrafts, a pilot for a 767 can't automatically fly a B747 without a training and vice versa, so, if a pilot and their crew elected operate other boeing models, they would have to be trained first. I guess if you are a pilot and can fly other types of boeing aircrafts, it's good for their resume and that they get paid even more.

xzibit31

June 8th, 2009, 04:35 AM

I am not sure about how true this is because I am not a pilot but I think I was told/informed by an OZ (australian) friend of mine who is a Pilot for Qantas. He just recently earned his captain status for flying a B767. It just so happen that we were talking about the difference between an airbus from a boeing since he refused and does not have faith with the quality of airbus fleets because of the fly by wire mechanism of all airbus aircrafts. Apparently this is ONE of the biggest reason why airline companies are choosing Airbus aircrafts, the pilots for Airbuses didn't have to undergo further training when one has to fly another type of an airbus fleet as everything is very much standard WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE NEW A380. The airline companies do not have to send their pilots for a series of training so it is cost effective and efficient for the company where as with Boeing aircrafts, a pilot for a 767 can't automatically fly a B747 without a training and vice versa, so, if a pilot and their crew elected operate other boeing models, they would have to be trained first. I guess if you are a pilot and can fly other types of boeing aircrafts, it's good for their resume and that they get paid even more.

i agree with you that they dont need to go for further retraining, but the a330 is a bigger aircraft than the a320. so i guess they will need a little refreshers course and not a full blown re training.

numiX

June 9th, 2009, 01:48 AM

A330 for cebu pac is another "tsismis" a low cost will be low cost. There were talks again and Lance is not ready. Theyre offering something nice to ceb pac, but the crisis is not yet over, and that affects decision making. They're pushing Middle east using A320, with refueling stop in Mumbai. Beijing, Tokyo, Brunei are being eyed this year.

barrera_marquez

June 9th, 2009, 02:36 AM

Ha! Low cost airline at saka P 99 per seat? Excuse me! Pero alam ko ang modus nila, babayaran mo yung P 99 pero wala pa yung taxes at fuel surchages!

kiretoce

June 9th, 2009, 09:08 AM

barrera_marquez

June 9th, 2009, 10:05 AM

^^ Taxes are taxes. They go to the government, not the carrier. A carrier can charge low prices on airfare but the taxes paid to the government on every ticket purchase stays the same, it is not discounted nor taken out altogether.

Dapat isama yung price tag law sa mga airlines e yung parang sa mga fast food... yung listed price, final price... at saka maliit lang ang kinakain ng taxes kaya less of a concern siya. Ang malaking problema yung fuel surcharge... last year ipinakita ko na yun dito e.

sloanesquare

June 9th, 2009, 10:54 AM

South Korea's Incheon International Airport has been named the best in the world. Photo: Manfred Gottschalk/Lonely Planet

June 9, 2009 - 12:51PM
Seoul's Incheon International Airport has been named the world's best in the annual World Airport Awards.

Incheon beat out last year's winner, Hong Kong International, which fell to second place. Singapore's Changi came third.

Australia's airports were nowhere to be seen in the top rankings, with Auckland named the best airport in the Australasia/Pacific region, coming in at number 10 over all. Brisbane and Melbourne were named the second and third best airports in the region.

Asian airports dominated the awards, with seven of the nine service awards going to airports from the region.

Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted congratulated Incheon on winning the award, which is based on surveys conducted with 8.6 million air passengers, covering more than 190 airports worldwide.

"Incheon is an airport that has been in the global top five ranking for the World Airport Awards during the past five to six years, and it is a great achievement for them to secure this premier mark of customer satisfaction.

The survey evaluates traveller experiences across 39 different airport service and product factors - from check-in, arrivals, transfer through to departure at the gate.

WORLD'S TOP 10 AIRPORTS

1 Incheon International Airport

2 Hong Kong International Airport

3 Singapore Changi

4 Zurich

5 Munich

6 Kansai

7 Kuala Lumpur

8 Amsterdam

9 Centrair Nagoya

10 Auckland

BEST BY REGION

AFRICA
Cape Town

ASIA
Incheon Int'l

AUSTRALIA/PACIFIC
Auckland

EUROPE
Zurich

MIDDLE EAST
Tel Aviv

NORTH AMERICA
Dallas/Fort Worth

SOUTH AMERICA
Lima

CENTRAL AMERICA
Panama

BEST IN CATEGORY

BEST DUTY FREE SHOPPING
Dubai

EASIEST INTERNATIONAL TRANSIT AIRPORT
Incheon International

BEST AIRPORT DINING
Hong Kong

BEST SECURITY PROCESSING
Incheon International

CLEANEST AIRPORT WASHROOMS
Kansai

BEST TERMINAL CLEANLINESS
Incheon International

BEST BAGGAGE DELIVERY
Helsinki

BEST LEISURE AMENITIES
Singapore

BEST IMMIGRATION SERVICE
Kuala Lumpur

Follow Traveller on Twitter.

Source: theage.com.au

Sky Harbor

June 9th, 2009, 01:45 PM

ricoyan

June 9th, 2009, 05:18 PM

BEST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD NAMED TODAY

190 Airports, 8.6 million surveyed.

LONDON - 9th June 2009 : Incheon International Airport (Seoul, S Korea) has been named World's Best Airport for 2009, in the World Airport Survey results published by Skytrax.

The most prolific World's Best Airport winner in recent years, Hong Kong International Airport, was pipped into 2nd place by Incheon International, with Singapore Changi Airport ranking 3rd best in the world, according to the latest passenger satisfaction rankings. Skytrax reported that the final winning margins between these top 3 positions was the smallest ever known for such a large global project, and at one stage it looked possible there might be a dead-heat result between these top three airports.

The Top 10 Airports in the world for 2009:

1 Incheon International Airport
2 Hong Kong International Airport
3 Singapore Changi
4 Zurich
5 Munich
6 Kansai
7 Kuala Lumpur
8 Amsterdam
9 Nagoya
10 Auckland

© 2009 Copyright Skytrax (All rights reserved)

Notice that 6 out of the 10 Best are our closest neighbors. The NEW World Standard for EXCELLENCE is Asian.

carl_vilches21

June 9th, 2009, 05:23 PM

^^
Agree!!!!
Pero walang Pilipinas..

IMPRESARIO

June 9th, 2009, 07:17 PM

BEST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD NAMED TODAY

190 Airports, 8.6 million surveyed.

LONDON - 9th June 2009 : Incheon International Airport (Seoul, S Korea) has been named World's Best Airport for 2009, in the World Airport Survey results published by Skytrax.

The most prolific World's Best Airport winner in recent years, Hong Kong International Airport, was pipped into 2nd place by Incheon International, with Singapore Changi Airport ranking 3rd best in the world, according to the latest passenger satisfaction rankings. Skytrax reported that the final winning margins between these top 3 positions was the smallest ever known for such a large global project, and at one stage it looked possible there might be a dead-heat result between these top three airports.

The Top 10 Airports in the world for 2009:

1 Incheon International Airport

2 Hong Kong International Airport

3 Singapore Changi

4 Zurich

5 Munich

6 Kansai

7 Kuala Lumpur

8 Amsterdam

9 Nagoya

10 Auckland

© 2009 Copyright Skytrax (All rights reserved)

Notice that 6 out of the 10 Best are our closest neighbors. The NEW World Standard for EXCELLENCE is Asian.

^^i read some very bad skytrax reviews of NAIA 1, :ohno:
when are we going to close this down? whats the plan?

TeslaCoil

June 9th, 2009, 08:18 PM

^^
Agree!!!!
Pero walang Pilipinas..

bakit mo naman naisipan na mapasama tayo dyan? :lol:

Sky Harbor

June 9th, 2009, 08:41 PM

^^i read some very bad skytrax reviews of NAIA 1, :ohno:
when are we going to close this down? whats the plan?

Don't believe everything you see on Skytrax. ;)

allan_dude

June 9th, 2009, 08:48 PM

(KLO) Kalibo Airport
June 8, 2009

http://l.yimg.com/g/images/pulser2.gifphotos by allan_dude

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/3610791923_260ee0dc66.jpg?v=0
China Air Lines

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3319/3610878783_325049faac.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3389/3610854033_f223765163.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3347/3610679887_553405da7e.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3611652034_4510f7046e.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3601/3610903207_7bc0b59bdf.jpg?v=0

hybridace101

June 9th, 2009, 11:18 PM

Rodel

June 9th, 2009, 11:22 PM

Chrisvenz

June 10th, 2009, 12:02 AM

sonnyville

June 10th, 2009, 12:40 AM

^ chartered flight ba yan?

greenshields

June 10th, 2009, 01:53 AM

Incheon is really nice and Asiana Airlines won the airline of the year award so I guess that speaks a lot about air travel services provided. Changi is definitely a great airport and its been consistently on top the past so many years. Yung sa Bangkok may potential given the facilities. Nayari nga lang sila ng strike last December.

hybridace101

June 10th, 2009, 01:59 AM

^^

ICN deserves that title even though it didn't make my list of favourite airports (since I haven't gone through it). My current impressions of BKK is that it appears you are under a flyover since some of its concrete remains unpainted.

Chrisvenz

June 10th, 2009, 03:05 AM

Domestic Airline remains bullish on the Philippines

Manila -Airlines operating in the Philippines remains upbeat on their growth potential despite bleak forecast on international travel reported by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

IATA has announced that airline losses are seen to double this year and may reach a whooping $9 billion, twice the $4.7 billion estimated in March says IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani. The Geneva based organization represents 93 percent of global airline routes.

“There is no modern precedent for today’s economic meltdown," says the IATA Director stating that “this is the most difficult situation that the industry has faced." Bisignani said revenues would drop an “unprecedented" 15 percent to $448 billion in 2009 from last year’s $528 billion.

However, domestic air traffic figures has consistently defied world recession and is projected to grow further by whooping 14% this year despite international decline of passengers.

CAB deputy executive director Porvenir Porciuncula said domestic traffic for the first quarter of the year has grown 21 percent more than last year

Philippine Airlines (PAL) on its part remains optimistic on its domestic growth and intend to go “back to basics" by improving its service to its customers.

Asia's first airline has been reputed in the past to have poor service performance but recently it managed to register an on time flight performance of over 90 percent in the last three years after successfully going out of its rehabilitation program.

Part of this initiative is to maintain PAL’s On time Performance, which he claims is "better than industry standards."

“Improving customer service both on ground and in the air, and offering competitive and affordable rates to loyal customers and new passengers will entice them to fly more and patronize Philippine Airlines," he added.

The airline hopes to “adapt and cope with the current market volatility by focusing on product improvement, asset and cost management and business efficiency," PAL president Jaime J. Bautista said.

The company also expressed its “cautious optimism" about its three-pronged strategy which will focus on “contribution margin, cost efficiency, and risk management."

The said strategy will help tide the company over “during these difficult times," Bautista said. He added that the airline would continue to look for ways “to improve its operations and control costs without compromising passenger safety and comfort."

Low cost carrier Cebu Pacific Airlines expects to meet its goal of transporting nine million passengers this year as it failed to meet its goal of transporting 7 million passengers in 2008 due to counter-strategy of Philippine Airlines. Cebu Pacific, which flew 23 percent more passengers last year to 6.7 million.

The airline is ranked as the third largest low-cost carrier in Asia Pacific next to Air Asia of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia, and considered the 22nd largest LCC in the world based on passengers carried.

Cebu Pacific's projection for this year “stays the same" as market conditions during the period “have been anticipated," Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific Air Inc. vice president for marketing and distribution said.

Zest Airways on its part will continue its expansion mode as it recently introduced a double daily service to Davao.

The use to be Asian Spirit airline will intend to re-introduce old routes it left in the past as it expands its domestic service under the Zest name. It recently made an order for 6 more Xi'an MA-60 to grow its fleet and service more secondary domestic destinations in Visayas and Mindanao. It also bought a brand new Airbus 320 plane from Europe based aircraft manufacturer Airbus for expansion to the Asia Pacific region.

Zest Air Chairman Donald Dee said that the two MA-60 will be stationed in Cebu while the third one will be stationed in Zamboanga to restore and expand its old domestic network.

"We have a good fighting chance, we are competing head-on with the big two market players for Caticlan, Cebu and Davao," Dee said.

Established barely a year, the airline is closely outpacing Air Philippines, a subsidiary of Philippine airlines, and running a poor fourth on the race for now but will become the 3rd largest domestic carrier by the first half of the year.

It flies from Manila to Virac in Catanduanes, Busuanga, San Jose (Mindoro), Marinduque, Cebu, Davao, Calbayog, Catarman and Caticlan, as well as new services to Puerto Princesa, Naga, Legaspi, Iloilo, Kalibo, Tacloban, Bacolod and Tagbilaran.

Within the year, the company is also expected to launch its regional routes when the international aviation industry rebounds again and that may include destinations to Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing, Xiamen, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Japan.
By operating locally, ZestAir has been shielded by uncertainty as it continue to grow its domestic operation despite recession and that is exactly their advantage.

Although it expects to post losses for its first year, the company, like all local carriers, is “least affected in the region," said Alfredo Yao.

“Domestic travel is good. Our passengers has increased by 20 percent in the first quarter unlike those in the western side," he said.

calbayognon

June 10th, 2009, 03:55 AM

^ chartered flight ba yan?

Yup that's (regular) chartered. That's one of the China Airlines regular chartered flight, another one flies to Mactan-Cebu. This was formerly served by Mandarin Airlines until it was taken over by China Airlines, the mother company of Mandarin.:)

carl_vilches21

June 10th, 2009, 04:36 AM

bakit mo naman naisipan na mapasama tayo dyan? :lol:

Di ba pwede???

habagatcentral1

June 10th, 2009, 10:28 AM

Domestic Airline remains bullish on the Philippines

Now it made me thought....what's going on with Air Philippines?

Sky Harbor

June 10th, 2009, 10:46 AM

^^ Something tells me PAL will progressively phase out the Air Philippines brand and replace it with its own metal. I hope PAL though will reintroduce its rural air service, with all the perks! (Yes, I want Mabuhay Miles on my MNL-MPH flight).

chevy_boy

June 10th, 2009, 10:48 AM

Yup that's (regular) chartered. That's one of the China Airlines regular chartered flight, another one flies to Mactan-Cebu. This was formerly served by Mandarin Airlines until it was taken over by China Airlines, the mother company of Mandarin.:)

yung sa mactan ba is chartered? diba regular service yun...

calbayognon

June 10th, 2009, 11:21 AM

yung sa mactan ba is chartered? diba regular service yun...

It's a 'regular chartered' flight not seasonal. It's still subject to the approval of a bilateral agreement between Taiwan and the Philippines. Pag ok na yun, magiging 'scheduled regular' flight na sila.

Kintoy

June 10th, 2009, 11:41 AM

shytype

June 10th, 2009, 02:25 PM

RP airlines remain confident despite bleak global outlook

MANILA, Philippines - Two local airline companies remained confident about their respective outlooks even after an international body said that the industry’s losses worldwide may double this year.

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific Airlines expects to meet its goal of transporting nine million passengers this year, the company said.

Cebu Pacific, which flew 23 percent more passengers last year to 6.7 million, is ranked by Airline Business Magazine as the third largest low-cost carrier and 22nd in the world.

The airline’s projection for this year “stays the same" as market conditions during the period “have been anticipated," Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific Air Inc. vice president for marketing and distribution said.

However, she refused make any comments regarding the company’s financial performance. JG Summit Holdings Inc., Cebu Pacific’s parent, is listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

She issued these remarks on the same day the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that losses are seen to double this year.

This year’s losses may reach $9 billion, twice the $4.7 billion estimated in March, IATA, which claims to represent airlines that serve 93 percent of global routes, said.

“There is no modern precedent for today’s economic meltdown," IATA director general and chief executive Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement. “This is the most difficult situation that the industry has faced."

IATA said revenues would drop an “unprecedented" 15 percent to $448 billion in 2009 from last year’s $528 billion.

Meanwhile, a different perspective is offered by Zest Airways.

Established last year after its owners acquired what was then Asian Spirit Airlines, Zest Airways currently serves local routes from Bacolod to Busuanga.

And that exactly is its advantage.

Although it expects to post losses for its first year, the company, like all local carriers, is “least affected in the region," said Alfredo Yao.

“Domestic travel is good. It has increased by 20 percent in the first quarter unlike those in the western side," he said.

These expectations go against the IATA’s global industry forecast.

Passenger demand is expected to decline by 8.03 percent to 2.06 billion travelers compared to 2.24 billion in 2008, the group said.

Meanwhile, air cargo demand is expected to decline by 17 percent.

In 2009, airlines will likely carry 16.96 percent less at 33.3 million tons of freight from 40.1 million tons in 2008, IATA said.

For this year, Asian carriers are seen to post “the biggest loss at $3.3 billion as the region’s largest market, Japan, is in deep recession," IATA said.

Growth markets of China and India are delivering major losses as export-driven demand slows, IATA said. Nevertheless, it added that this is a slightly better performance than the $3.9 billion that the region’s carriers lost in 2008.

To help reverse this bleak outlook, the IATA asked governments around the world to avoid protectionist policies even as they invigorate their economies to curb the global slowdown.

Liberalization is “more critical" since the airline industry is facing the “most difficult" situation that is seen to drag operators’ revenues and incomes, the IATA said.

“Our future depends on a drastic reshaping by partners, governments and industry. We cannot bear the cost of government micro-regulation, crazy taxation and partners abusing their monopoly power," Bisignani said.

He noted it took three years to recover after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

“Protectionism is the enemy of global prosperity. In the 1930s, it prolonged the recession. And it will not work today. To build a strong global economy, we must fight hard to keep the world trading," he added. - Ruby Anne M. Rubio, GMANews.TV