Airlines, Airplanes and Airports - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 58

Lucentino

June 27th, 2009, 07:34 PM

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kiretoce

June 27th, 2009, 08:19 PM

hehehe just want to share this

sarimanok airlines

XPHqQaW7TmQ

:wtf: :rofl:

tonyboy

June 28th, 2009, 12:08 AM

hehehe just want to share this

sarimanok arilines

^^:lol: :lol: :lol:

Arciga_01

June 28th, 2009, 01:15 AM

hehehe just want to share this

sarimanok arilines

XPHqQaW7TmQ

WAHAHAHAHA !! Parang jeep un airlines at de-tulak pa at..may nakasabit pa sa labas! Pinoy na pinoy talaga ang humour! :lol: :lol: :lol:

arianespace

June 28th, 2009, 02:14 AM

All E-Jets (the Embraer E-170, E-175, E-190 and E-195) require a takeoff run of 2,044 meters at MTOW, which is still too long for the majority of domestic airports. Better bets for shorter runways (though still short of full STOL operations) would include the ERJ 145 series and the CRJ (Canadair Regional Jet).

^^ The E-Jets, as I said earlier, still have takeoff runs which are too long for the airports that they intend to serve if completely loaded. If you notice the airports PAL Express is serving using Q300s and Q400s, the vast majority of the PALEx network can't be served by E-Jets, some to the point where they are unprofitable even if weight-restricted. Those airports would be MPH, USU, OMC, CYP and CRM.

On the other hand, E-Jets may be used for the rest of PAL's network, but will be weight-restricted on certain routes to an extent where a profit is still possible. These airports would include BXU, TUG, SJI and VRC. Normal operations should be possible out of MNL, CEB, TAC, GES, ZAM, DVO, CGY, BCD (possibly) and DPL.

^^
Actually the required runway for E-190 is 2080 meters at MTOW and that is for the LR version. The standard version is 1920 meters while the E-170 is 1700 meters. So if the E-190 intends to fly to Bangkok at full capacity, it needs that kind of runway length to fly. But if the airline flies it domestic you don't need that length for the aircraft's roll and you don't need to fill the airplane with all the fuel which it does not require for a sector flight.

E-jets can take-off at 1,200 meters for E-170 and 1,400 meters for E-190 at full loads for a distance of 500 nautical miles. That is equivalent to distance between Manila-Davao. But I think they will use E-jets for domestic run most of the time.

In the Philippines, most refueling is done in Manila, meaning, the aircraft goes to a domestic destination with provisions for return fuel plus reserves. In most cases, domestic flights are no more than 3 hours return. So when it leaves a domestic destination, its fuel is almost half which make it more lighter.

This is how the plane will perform assuming that it will fly from Manila to Jolo airport direct which is roughly equivalent to 500 nautical miles. At take-off the E-190 will need only about 1,300 meters of runway to climb and about the same length for landing. Its shortest take-off roll is actually less than a kilometer but for purposes of ICAO standard its minimum is listed at 1.2 km.

The excess runway requirement is actually for safety reason as it is necessary in case of rejected take-off after V1. That is why airport runway has an extra space for such eventuality.

Operating Aerodrome standards for E-190 is 3C according to Embraer and that requires runway of only around 1,200 to 1,800 meters but there are countries which classify it at 4C because of airport pairings in excess of 1000 nm and airport altitude. The professionals call it hot and high operations.

Just recently, the E-190 series was certified to fly into London City airport in March 2009 which has a runway length of only 1,500 meters.

The longest flight recorded by E190 is the Jetblue charter flight of Gov. Sarah Palen of Alaska by jetting from Anchorage, to Buffalo nonstop. It has a total distance of 2,694 nautical miles. That is almost equivalent to traveling from General Santos Airport to Sydney Kingsford airport.

the E190 has a range of 2,400 nm (4,445 km) and a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.82, but that was computed for a long range cruise payload of 98 passengers with weight at 220lb (100kg) each. So technically it is possible to fly the plane between those points with 5-10 passengers.

In conclusion, it fits most of the Philippines domestic airport.:)

TeslaCoil

June 28th, 2009, 02:20 AM

ErG5F5DmOy8

Can't help but to be proud of Filipino staffs of PAL in this scenario:banana:

filino

June 28th, 2009, 03:08 AM

^^
Actually the required runway for E-190 is 2080 meters at MTOW and that is for the LR version. The standard version is 1920 meters while the E-170 is 1700 meters. So if the E-190 intends to fly to Bangkok at full capacity, it needs that kind of runway length to fly. But if the airline flies it domestic you don't need that length for the aircraft's roll and you don't need to fill the airplane with all the fuel which it does not require for a sector flight.

E-jets can take-off at 1,200 meters for E-170 and 1,400 meters for E-190 at full loads for a distance of 500 nautical miles. That is equivalent to distance between Manila-Davao. But I think they will use E-jets for domestic run most of the time.

In the Philippines, most refueling is done in Manila, meaning, the aircraft goes to a domestic destination with provisions for return fuel plus reserves. In most cases, domestic flights are no more than 3 hours return. So when it leaves a domestic destination, its fuel is almost half which make it more lighter.

This is how the plane will perform assuming that it will fly from Manila to Jolo airport direct which is roughly equivalent to 500 nautical miles. At take-off the E-190 will need only about 1,300 meters of runway to climb and about the same length for landing. Its shortest take-off roll is actually less than a kilometer but for purposes of ICAO standard its minimum is listed at 1.2 km.

The excess runway requirement is actually for safety reason as it is necessary in case of rejected take-off after V1. That is why airport runway has an extra space for such eventuality.

Operating Aerodrome standards for E-190 is 3C according to Embraer and that requires runway of only around 1,200 to 1,800 meters but there are countries which classify it at 4C because of airport pairings in excess of 1000 nm and airport altitude. The professionals call it hot and high operations.

Just recently, the E-190 series was certified to fly into London City airport in March 2009 which has a runway length of only 1,500 meters.

The longest flight recorded by E190 is the Jetblue charter flight of Gov. Sarah Palen of Alaska by jetting from Anchorage, to Buffalo nonstop. It has a total distance of 2,694 nautical miles. That is almost equivalent to traveling from General Santos Airport to Sydney Kingsford airport.

the E190 has a range of 2,400 nm (4,445 km) and a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.82, but that was computed for a long range cruise payload of 98 passengers with weight at 220lb (100kg) each. So technically it is possible to fly the plane between those points with 5-10 passengers.

In conclusion, it fits most of the Philippines domestic airport.:)

thanx for this clarification. this might be the answer for those domestic airports with shorter runways who wanted a jet service just like surigao.

habagatcentral1

June 28th, 2009, 03:17 AM

hehehe just want to share this

sarimanok arilines

XPHqQaW7TmQ

:lol: So dekada 90...Donita is still that VJ from MTV! I believe this is "Ober Da Bakod" movie...I think...:D

Sky Harbor

June 28th, 2009, 03:42 AM

^^ Yup, that's Ober da Bakod. :D

Sky Harbor

June 28th, 2009, 03:57 AM

ErG5F5DmOy8

Can't help but to be proud of Filipino staffs of PAL in this scenario:banana:

If I were to base PAL boarding procedures on this video, this means that flights like PR 434 at the time departed from NAIA-1 and not the Domestic Terminal.

BXU-GCP

June 28th, 2009, 04:23 AM

Something interesting i found in the paper today...

http://www.image-upload.net/images/k1j20ud3jeeq4digy4j2_thumb.jpg (http://www.image-upload.net/viewer.php?file=k1j20ud3jeeq4digy4j2.jpg)

2P will use B737-200 for the Manila-Surigao route.

Sky Harbor

June 28th, 2009, 04:46 AM

^^ That's already a given, though the aircraft being illustrated is not a 737, but an A319.

Franz-Bxu

June 28th, 2009, 11:57 AM

^^ That's already a given, though the aircraft being illustrated is not a 737, but an A319.

That's weird, and why order A319 since they have 737's? all they have to do is refurbish and refurnish the old aircraft such as changing those old and dusty Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines to modern CFM's or IAE's, adding winglets, etc. Btw, is it even possible to refurbish :old: 737's?:rofl:I suggest that 2P should utilize these 737's by adding more to its fleet and/or refurbishing the existing aircraft, anyway, their parent company, Philippine Airlines, Inc. operates these A319s and A320s.

mwg12a

June 28th, 2009, 12:29 PM

^^^^ Because of fuel efficiency and that there is less training for crewmembers if they have airbuses. Unlike boeing, 737 crew can't just operate in a 727 or 757 without going through a lenghty training.

dashalvin

June 28th, 2009, 01:10 PM

Saan ba galing ang mga 737s of Air Phil? Purchase ba yan noon from Boeing or from a leasing firm?

Franz-Bxu

June 28th, 2009, 01:36 PM

Saan ba galing ang mga 737s of Air Phil? Purchase ba yan noon from Boeing or from a leasing firm?

Some Boeing 737-200's and Boeing 737-300's operated by Air Philippines were leased from Philippine Airlines because Air Phils. is a subsidiary of PAL. There were also 737's which were originally bought by Air Philippines when it was still an independent company.

Sky Harbor

June 28th, 2009, 01:43 PM

That's weird, and why order A319 since they have 737's? all they have to do is refurbish and refurnish the old aircraft such as changing those old and dusty Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines to modern CFM's or IAE's, adding winglets, etc. Btw, is it even possible to refurbish :old: 737's?:rofl:I suggest that 2P should utilize these 737's by adding more to its fleet and/or refurbishing the existing aircraft, anyway, their parent company, Philippine Airlines, Inc. operates these A319s and A320s.

Yes, it is possible to refurbish the 737s, though it would be prohibitively costly for them to upgrade the engines.

mwg12a

June 28th, 2009, 02:09 PM

^^^ And I feel they are doing this to be more competitive with other airlines like CebPac and Zest Air as well as PAL even if it's their sister company. IMO, they feel that their clients or filipino clients are now starting to gain more confidence with the airbuses especially new aircrafts so now you see more people flying with CebPac after it started purchasing/leasing brand new aircrafts because of a new round of confidence with safety. It's all about psyching customers and yes, the fact that it is more cost effective for them to start using Airbuses.

Chrisvenz

June 28th, 2009, 02:43 PM

if airphil will purchase a319 or 320's, i think they should change or maybe expand its livery.

pthfndr19

June 28th, 2009, 09:05 PM

Sana i-donate nalang ng Air Philippines ang iba nilang B-737 na hindi ginagamit sa Philippine Air Force.(kahit isa lang) hehe... Kawawa kasi ang Air Force natin, iisa lang ang C-130... Walang ginagawa ang government natin for modernization.. yung mga fighter jets natin luma na.. hindi na kayang i-defend ang bansa natin. :bash:

ruralvillage

June 28th, 2009, 09:12 PM

kiretoce

June 28th, 2009, 09:45 PM

The proliferation of these newly built (or planned) airports catering to resort-specific destinations is a bit too much for a small archipelagic nation. That's just my opinion on the matter.

venntro

June 29th, 2009, 02:14 AM

Airport project seen to generate up to P10 billion in new investments (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=481940&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio Updated June 29, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Investments worth up to P10 billion are expected to enter Boracay after the private sector builds its new international airport, Caticlan International Airport Development Corp. (CIADC) Financial adviser Joey Valdes said.

Akean Resorts Corp., the owner of the land where the new airport will be built, said they will develop a resort city near the airport.

Meanwhile, more tourists will be able to fly in and out of Boracay as the government and the private sector announced they will start the refurbishing of the new airport which will triple the size of the existing terminal in Caticlan.

The project is part of the P2.5-billion infrastructure project of the CIADC led by George Yang and the Alba-owned Akean Resorts Corp.

This is the first time the private sector has undertaken the development of an airport. Most of the proponents of the project have investments in hotels and resorts in Boracay.

Yang said the existing airport is only 500 square meters. However, after phase one A of the project, the airport will now have two floors waiting area and will be 1,600 square meters big. Phase one A, which will be done in the next six months, involves improving the existing terminal. It includes putting up more safety equipment and more conveyors.

Phase one B on the other hand involves the extension of the runway to 1.95 kilometers in order to accommodate larger planes.

Phase two, which costs almost P2 billion, will include the reclamation of 1.5 kilometers of land in order to extend further the runway to 2.1 kilometers.

Yang said this will make Caticlan Airport an international airport. He said the goal is to allow regional carriers to fly directly to Caticlan. From the existing 650,000 visitors per year to the island, the new airport will increase it to one million tourists annually. The airport has a capacity of 1.5 million.

The last phase will be the construction of a new terminal. Architect Basilio Valdez said the new airport will be a green airport because it will use solar and wind energy. “This airport will be the least dependent on normal energy.”

Likewise, Valdez said the airport will have a resort like quality. He said the design will be like two sailboats merging — one for departure and the other for arrival.

arianespace

June 29th, 2009, 04:10 AM

Airport project seen to generate up to P10 billion in new investments (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=481940&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio Updated June 29, 2009 12:00 AM
Philstar.com (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=481940&publicationSubCategoryId=66)

MANILA, Philippines - Investments worth up to P10 billion are expected to enter Boracay after the private sector builds its new international airport, Caticlan International Airport Development Corp. (CIADC) Financial adviser Joey Valdes said.

Akean Resorts Corp., the owner of the land where the new airport will be built, said they will develop a resort city near the airport.

Meanwhile, more tourists will be able to fly in and out of Boracay as the government and the private sector announced they will start the refurbishing of the new airport which will triple the size of the existing terminal in Caticlan.

The project is part of the P2.5-billion infrastructure project of the CIADC led by George Yang and the Alba-owned Akean Resorts Corp.

This is the first time the private sector has undertaken the development of an airport. Most of the proponents of the project have investments in hotels and resorts in Boracay.

Yang said the existing airport is only 500 square meters. However, after phase one A of the project, the airport will now have two floors waiting area and will be 1,600 square meters big. Phase one A, which will be done in the next six months, involves improving the existing terminal. It includes putting up more safety equipment and more conveyors.

Phase one B on the other hand involves the extension of the runway to 1.95 kilometers in order to accommodate larger planes.

Phase two, which costs almost P2 billion, will include the reclamation of 1.5 kilometers of land in order to extend further the runway to 2.1 kilometers.

Yang said this will make Caticlan Airport an international airport. He said the goal is to allow regional carriers to fly directly to Caticlan. From the existing 650,000 visitors per year to the island, the new airport will increase it to one million tourists annually. The airport has a capacity of 1.5 million.

The last phase will be the construction of a new terminal. Architect Basilio Valdez said the new airport will be a green airport because it will use solar and wind energy. “This airport will be the least dependent on normal energy.”

Likewise, Valdez said the airport will have a resort like quality. He said the design will be like two sailboats merging — one for departure and the other for arrival.
^^
Except for the highlights, all that is said there is true. I would have love the idea though but sadly that is just about it. No more no less. I'm amazed how the 200 meters extension become 2km. No wonder the double arc lost much of its market share to the bee.

For an airport project that got a negative feedback by foreign donors not once but twice, DOTC must be dreaming developing this airport into what it claims to be. The Japanese and Korean banks said no and now they are courting the Chinese. I don't know if these people in government are stupid or just being too greedy. I would say the funding agencies are right.

It already failed the necessity test.
It also failed the environmental test.

The reason of the Japanese is simple. Why would you develop another airport when another one close by (referring to Kalibo) can be tap in its place without damaging the environment and it cost substantially less too because the infrastructure is there already and that it is bigger and can easily be expanded and developed further.

If you might not know, its the same arguments among others used for the funding of Iloilo airport. International traffic was supposed to be in Iloilo not Kalibo. That is according to the proposal. Now that the airport was built, the argument was recycled again for Kalibo's development and to Caticlan. I was of the impression that our government is making a fool out of the lenders generosity. Good thing they say the governments justification wasn't good enough. Perhaps the Koreans have this reasoning too!

In fact they have a very good proposal, to build a bridge instead, but that will not be under DOTC anymore. It will now belong to DPWH. Sounds familiar?

Perhaps you are now aware what I'm driving at.

Remember, these are the same guys that gave you La Union's San Fernando Airport. I would love the day to see the airport receive its first commercial passenger flight 4 months after completion and justifying expense for 560 million pesos and the airport is still empty except for touch and go GA's. SEAIR don't even fly their small LET to that airport.

So who is right now?

Its quite ironic that the general aviation planes has more runway for itself operating at San Fernando than what commercial planes want at Caticlan airport. That is simply amazing. Only in the Philippines!

Going back, well, for this project alone, expect a mess similar to PIATCO. Government officials never learned a thing. That is stupidity at the top. They forget that even when they no longer served the agency they can still be sued for graft.

I know one person in the DOJ personally and he thought that he was invincible holding a borrowed power. To cut the story short, he defrauded the government and he paid dearly for it. He lost everything including his life. That is not even in the news and for those who knew him at the justice department it strikes as a warning. AT least it made his lawyer happy.

For a former DOTC official, he is still paying for his lawyer in a private capacity for the fraud he allegedly took that concerns the PIATCO mess while still in office. Truth is, he is just buying time to delay his indictment and probably die first before the final verdict comes out. Little did he realized that all his property might be forfeited in favor of the government even after his death.

How hard can it be to understand sustainable development?

habagatcentral1

June 29th, 2009, 04:27 AM

^^ Perhaps we can lay it at the hands of DPWH in improving the accessibility of Kalibo-Caticlan or even Iloilo-Caticlan (ay, DPWH? Asa pa ba tayo dito?) Panay Island's road network is not in good condition, what more for public mass transport? In other words, perhaps why people would like to have Kalibo or Caticlan be developed is because people prefer to go to the nearest airport possible to Boracay without the hassle. Tourists would always look at land trip to Boracay in a cramped shuttle or waiting for bus as a hassle and additional cost.

arianespace

June 29th, 2009, 04:58 AM

^^
For the local tourists, perhaps. But to foreigners. No. We already did a survey on this I think 5-7 years ago and the most demanding or KSP are the local ones, including the returning folks who now have plenty of money to spend for a holiday.

I remember a DOT survey in Coron where Filipinos are more demanding in service than their foreign counterparts. Very surprising indeed. I remember a question there about air-conditioned terminal to which only a few foreigners said yes. But all Filipinos surveyed said yes. The reasons, thats why they go to tropical countries to experience warm comfort and the coolness of the breeze that flows around the airport and second, it just add to the cost. By the way the airport there is relatively cool because of the breeze. And to think they earned better than us yet so conscious on cost. While we which strives to be better just spend and spend. Mind boggling!

The solution really is a better shuttle service and of course a better road. Its cheaper by a million miles and million of pesos too but of course you won't earn anything from that idea do you?

habagatcentral1

June 29th, 2009, 05:00 AM

^^ Most probably you won't if you know what I mean....:lol:

absinthe_888

June 29th, 2009, 05:46 AM

hindi nalang kaya pwede na ayusin nalang yung road from Kalibo going to Caticlan? pwede paba gumawa ng bypass road jan? pero kung DPWH nga gagawa, asa...siguradong bukol at tongpats agad ang road network na yan.

Bakit nga ba gagastos pa nang ganong kalaki sa Caticlan, eh meh Kalibo na naman. Tapos sabi pa ni Arianespace, mukang PIATCO in the making na naman tong sa Caticlan. Hay nku!

RonnieR

June 29th, 2009, 07:38 AM

Indonesia AirAsia to launch Jakarta-Manila flights

By Judith Balea, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/29/2009 10:48 AM

SEPANG, Malaysia - Indonesia AirAsia is all set to commence daily flights between Jakarta and Manila in September, competing against the lone budget carrier servicing this route, a top official of the airline said at the sidelines of a partnership unveiling with the Oakland Raiders here on Friday.

"We are just finalizing some things but we are ready to begin our Manila service in September," Indonesia AirAsia president director Dharmadi told abs-cbnNEWS.com, noting that the new service signifies their optimism that demand for low-cost travel will be sustained this year.

Dharmadi said they are hoping to capture a substantial share of the volume of passengers traveling back and forth Jakarta and Manila, a route currently dominated by Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific.

The Philippines is just one of the new destinations Indonesia AirAsia is adding in an effort to grow its regional services. The airline is also flying to Denpasar-Perth, Australia starting July, and Saigon, Vietnam beginning September.

It is also boosting services on existing routes. Its Jakarta-Singapore and Denpasar-Singapore flights, for instance, would be doubled to 4 times a day while its Kuala Lumpur flights would be increased from 2 to 3 per day, according to Dharmadi.

While airlines worldwide cut capacity and ground planes to cope with the economic crisis, Dharmadi said Indonesia AirAsia continues to expand to take advantage of travelers' growing preference for budget carriers in order to trim costs.

"I think the crisis has affected long-haul flights. But for short-haul, the growth is stable in terms of capacity and load factor. Passenger volume is still growing," he said.

Dharmadi noted that they also remain unfazed by the spread of the A(H1N1) influenza virus across Asia Pacific where, based on data from the International Air Transport Association, a 14.3 percent drop in passenger air traffic was recorded in May.

"We are still expecting our passenger volume across the region to grow 5 percent this year," he said.

Dharmadi said Indonesia AirAsia is determined to bolster ticket sales through several measures such as scrapping administrative fees and surcharges to further reduce air fares.

"Lowering fares is the only way to get volume and encourage traveling these days," he explained.
as of 06/29/2009 12:36 PM

Franz-Bxu

June 29th, 2009, 08:12 AM

arianespace

June 29th, 2009, 08:48 AM

Indonesia AirAsia to launch Jakarta-Manila flights

^^
Thats because they can't fly to Malaysia. Just wait when its Thai subsidiary opens another door to give Cebu Pacific service a run for its money. I actually knew their intent as early as February but got the confirmation to fly only in May from a friend who attended the conference in Kuala Lumpur. At that time I was not yet certain about it as they are also contemplating Davao and Cebu.

Remember the butchered EO-500 that would have open Clark for them that makes AirAsia a virtual tenant of the airport with more points than what Cebu Pacific and Asian Spirit have to offer. The deal back-fired when Hongkong and Macao refused Asian Spirit's right to fly. Can you imagine its result, AirAsia flying yet its local airline can't?

In my own point of view, the local airline industry was correct on regulated open skies, that it must be granted only with reciprocal benefits.
:)

Sana naman may Philippines AirAsia. Kung pwede lang ang Air Philippines or Spirit of Manila ay makipag-merge sa AirAsia. :)

How about this interesting story for a read.Fernandes has eyes on Seair (http://philippineairspace.blogspot.com/2009/05/fernandes-eyes-seair-as-philippine.html)

habagatcentral1

June 29th, 2009, 09:34 AM

mwg12a

June 29th, 2009, 09:40 AM

^^

The reason of the Japanese is simple. Why would you develop another airport when another one close by (referring to Kalibo) can be tap in its place without damaging the environment and it cost substantially less too because the infrastructure is there already and that it is bigger and can easily be expanded and developed further.

If you might not know, its the same arguments among others used for the funding of Iloilo airport. International traffic was supposed to be in Iloilo not Kalibo. That is according to the proposal. Now that the airport was built, the argument was recycled again for Kalibo's development and to Caticlan. I was of the impression that our government is making a fool out of the lenders generosity. Good thing they say the governments justification wasn't good enough. Perhaps the Koreans have this reasoning too!

In fact they have a very good proposal, to build a bridge instead, but that will not be under DOTC anymore. It will now belong to DPWH. Sounds familiar?

Perhaps you are now aware what I'm driving at.

Remember, these are the same guys that gave you La Union's San Fernando Airport. I would love the day to see the airport receive its first commercial passenger flight 4 months after completion and justifying expense for 560 million pesos and the airport is still empty except for touch and go GA's. SEAIR don't even fly their small LET to that airport.

So who is right now?

Its quite ironic that the general aviation planes has more runway for itself operating at San Fernando than what commercial planes want at Caticlan airport. That is simply amazing. Only in the Philippines!

Going back, well, for this project alone, expect a mess similar to PIATCO. Government officials never learned a thing. That is stupidity at the top. They forget that even when they no longer served the agency they can still be sued for graft.

I just left out all the paragraphs that I feel pertinent to what my comment would be.

It's all but sad truth about the Philippine politics and how the government together with its agencies plan all their infrastructure in the Philippines. Most of them are unwise and should i say... "acts like an amateur boxing champ, they just throw punches aimlessly with no real directions and foreseable goals". While it is right to address the current needs are equally as important, they should not fail to foresee the future, the effects and outcome of it". But no, they think about their glory and greed first.

Just like what you have mentioned arianspace. Why would the officials plan for another airport in caticlan when there is Kalibo airport and why not build a bridge instead? Or a those ferries that can load not just humans or commuiters but vehicles as well.

"ZukiChirO"

June 29th, 2009, 01:28 PM

Sky Harbor

June 29th, 2009, 04:30 PM

^^ Like mainline AirAsia, I think Indonesia AirAsia will be using CRK over MNL.

TeslaCoil

June 29th, 2009, 05:17 PM

Chrisvenz

June 30th, 2009, 03:05 AM

PAL performs CAAP job
Hosts airline industry maintenance safety seminar

June 29 2009

MANILA - The Philippines is hosting its first-ever seminar to promote uniformity in safety practices in civil aviation maintenance through the joint efforts of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

In a press release, PAL said that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Maintenance Safety Seminar will take place on June 29 to July 1.

"The seminars are being conducted by the FAA in different countries in the Asia-Pacific region, in cooperation with the local aviation authority, conveying safety principles and practices," PAL said.

The seminar in the Philippines, to be held at the Century Park Hotel, will be conducted by the FAA San Francisco International Field Office. The office will be represented by assistant office manager Lori L. Aquilino; principal maintenance inspector for Philippines Larry D. Moheit; and the FAA Safety Team represented by Western Pacific FAASTeam Program Managers Jim R. Hein, Randall T. Prine and Kathleen O'Brien.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, represented by Director- General Ruben F. Ciron, Eduardo G. Batac, director of Flight Standards Inspectorate Service and Teodoro L. Lasmarias, chief of Flight Operations Division, will be among the speakers and presentors during the seminar.

More than 160 aviation industry representatives from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Guam, Taiwan, Singapore, Macau, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines are expected to attend. Two representatives from the American Embassy in Manila will also be in attendance as observers.

Similar seminars have been conducted in Japan, Taiwan, China and Australia.

Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) – PAL's maintenance service provider – will host a dinner and a tour of LTP facilities on June 29 in support of the event. (abs-cbnNEWS.com)

Nostalgic Isko

June 30th, 2009, 04:27 AM

^^
Except for the highlights, all that is said there is true. I would have love the idea though but sadly that is just about it. No more no less. I'm amazed how the 200 meters extension become 2km. No wonder the double arc lost much of its market share to the bee.

For an airport project that got a negative feedback by foreign donors not once but twice, DOTC must be dreaming developing this airport into what it claims to be. The Japanese and Korean banks said no and now they are courting the Chinese. I don't know if these people in government are stupid or just being too greedy. I would say the funding agencies are right.

It already failed the necessity test.
It also failed the environmental test.

The reason of the Japanese is simple. Why would you develop another airport when another one close by (referring to Kalibo) can be tap in its place without damaging the environment and it cost substantially less too because the infrastructure is there already and that it is bigger and can easily be expanded and developed further.

If you might not know, its the same arguments among others used for the funding of Iloilo airport. International traffic was supposed to be in Iloilo not Kalibo. That is according to the proposal. Now that the airport was built, the argument was recycled again for Kalibo's development and to Caticlan. I was of the impression that our government is making a fool out of the lenders generosity. Good thing they say the governments justification wasn't good enough. Perhaps the Koreans have this reasoning too!

In fact they have a very good proposal, to build a bridge instead, but that will not be under DOTC anymore. It will now belong to DPWH. Sounds familiar?

Perhaps you are now aware what I'm driving at.

Remember, these are the same guys that gave you La Union's San Fernando Airport. I would love the day to see the airport receive its first commercial passenger flight 4 months after completion and justifying expense for 560 million pesos and the airport is still empty except for touch and go GA's. SEAIR don't even fly their small LET to that airport.

So who is right now?

Its quite ironic that the general aviation planes has more runway for itself operating at San Fernando than what commercial planes want at Caticlan airport. That is simply amazing. Only in the Philippines!

Going back, well, for this project alone, expect a mess similar to PIATCO. Government officials never learned a thing. That is stupidity at the top. They forget that even when they no longer served the agency they can still be sued for graft.

I know one person in the DOJ personally and he thought that he was invincible holding a borrowed power. To cut the story short, he defrauded the government and he paid dearly for it. He lost everything including his life. That is not even in the news and for those who knew him at the justice department it strikes as a warning. AT least it made his lawyer happy.

For a former DOTC official, he is still paying for his lawyer in a private capacity for the fraud he allegedly took that concerns the PIATCO mess while still in office. Truth is, he is just buying time to delay his indictment and probably die first before the final verdict comes out. Little did he realized that all his property might be forfeited in favor of the government even after his death.

How hard can it be to understand sustainable development?

my thoughts exactly. people should really learn to do their own research first before trying to voice out their opinion on something, especially sensitive and important subjects such as this. the least thing that we need here are more know-it-alls. :ohno:

pi_malejana

June 30th, 2009, 06:25 AM

:ohno:

Yemeni plane crashes off Comoros, 150 on board (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090630/wl_nm/us_comoros_crash)
Reuters

Reuters – An airliner with 150 people on board belonging to Yemeni state carrier Yemenia crashed in the Indian …
By Ahmed Ali Amir Ahmed Ali Amir – 1 hr 21 mins ago

MORONI (Reuters) – An airliner with 150 people on board belonging to Yemeni state carrier Yemenia crashed into choppy seas as it came in to land on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros on Tuesday, officials said.

"The plane has crashed and we still don't know exactly where. We think it's in the area of Mitsamiouli. There were 150 passengers on board," Comoros Vice-President Idi Nadhoim told Reuters from the airport at the main island's capital Moroni.

A Paris Airport spokeswoman said a Yemenia flight left Paris on Monday morning before landing in Yemen and then taking off for Moroni.

Ibrahim Kassim, a representative from regional air security body ASECNA, said the plane had probably come down 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 miles) from the coast, and civilian and military boats had been mobilized to start searching.

"We think the crash is somewhere along its landing approach," Kassim told Reuters. "The weather is really not very favorable. The sea is very rough."

ASECNA -- the Agency for Aviation Security and Navigation in Africa and Madagascar -- covers Francophone Africa.

The town of Mitsamiouli is on the main island Grande Comore.

"There is a crash, there is a crash in the sea," said an unnamed official who answered the phone in the Yemenia office in Moroni. He declined further comment.

An airline official in Yemen declined to comment.

COMING TO LAND

Interior Minister Hamid Bourhane told Reuters the army had sent small speedboats to an area between the village of Ntsaoueni and the airport.

"At the moment we don't have any information about whether there are any survivors," he told Reuters.

A medical worker in Mitsamiouli said he had been called in.

"They have just called me to come to the hospital. They said a plane had crashed," he told Reuters.

A United Nations official at the airport, who declined to be named, said the control tower had received notification the plane was coming into land, and then lost contact with it.

Yemenia, which is 51 percent owned by the Yemeni government and 49 percent owned by the Saudi Arabian government, flies to Moroni, according to flight schedules on its Web site.

Yemenia's fleet includes two Airbus 330-200s, four Airbus 310-300s and four Boeing 737-800s, according to the site.

The Comoros covers three small volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, in the Mozambique channel, 300 km (190 miles) northwest of Madagascar and a similar distance east of the African mainland.

A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the sea off the Comoros islands in 1996, killing 125 of 175 passengers and crew.

(Reporting by Ahmed Ali Amir; Additional reporting by Richard Lough in Antananarivo; Pascal Lietout in Paris; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and David Clarke; Editing by Jon Hemming)

habagatcentral1

June 30th, 2009, 06:52 AM

^^ Oh my, another one...

pi_malejana

June 30th, 2009, 06:53 AM

^^ another airbus too, A310 i believe...:(

habagatcentral1

June 30th, 2009, 06:58 AM

Argh...I should stop practicing at Flight Sim na ui....another blow for Airbus...and probably another weather-related tragedy.

csc36869

June 30th, 2009, 12:38 PM

A miracle: Child rescued alive in Airbus 310 crash in Indian Ocean

CAIRO — A Comoros police official says a child has been rescued alive from the sea in the Airbus 310 crash off the Indian Ocean island.

Immigrations officer with the Comoros operations, Rachida Abdullah, says a toddler was rescued from the crash site Tuesday.

Abdullah told The Associated Press that three bodies have also been retrieved, along with debris from the plane, but that no other survivors have been recovered so far.

She said the rescue and search operation is going on since 4 a.m. Tuesday.

The Yemeni Airbus 310 crashed with 142 passengers and a crew of 11 Yemenis on board before landing in Moroni, on the main island of Grand Comore, early on Tuesday.

Most of the passengers were from Comoros, returning from Paris. Sixty-six on board were French nationals. - AP

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/166267/A-miracle-Child-rescued-alive-in-Airbus-310-crash-in-Indian-Ocean

RonnieR

June 30th, 2009, 12:44 PM

^^ a miracle indeed.

ashton

June 30th, 2009, 02:20 PM

^ oh My.. Thank God. :)

Noize_320

June 30th, 2009, 03:38 PM

another airbus tragedy...tsk.

...and then they'll compare it to AF447... :bash:

WawaY[625]

June 30th, 2009, 04:41 PM

paano bang macoconsider na "international" flight ang isang "flight"?

like for example ang 5J dati, may Davao-Hongkong pero via Cebu pero minamarket as international flight (kahit may stopover naman)

paanong naging international flight yun kung may stop over?

now 5J has promos like CdeO-Incheon, Cdeo-Kota kinabalu, CdeO-Macau, etc (pero via manila) are these considered international flights? or domestic flights pa rin?

Narnian_King

June 30th, 2009, 04:47 PM

baka made in china "airbus" ang mga bumagsak na airplane.

Sky Harbor

June 30th, 2009, 05:01 PM

^^ There's only one Airbus aircraft made in China, and it certainly isn't an A310. A310s have been out of production for a while.

Narnian_King

June 30th, 2009, 05:28 PM

^^ There's only one Airbus aircraft made in China, and it certainly isn't an A310. A310s have been out of production for a while.

Thanks for the info. :cheers:

vogriphach

June 30th, 2009, 06:47 PM

According to the Associated Press, there was one Filipino among the passengers of that flight.

terrapinoy

June 30th, 2009, 08:13 PM

^^ Crew member. May they rest in peace.

Yemenia airline officials say the 11-member crew was made up of six Yemenis, including the pilot, two Moroccans, one Indonesian, one Ethiopian and 1 Filipino.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen_plane_crash

Franz-Bxu

July 1st, 2009, 06:02 AM

Can this affect the orders and deliveries of Airbus Industrie?
There was 1 Filipino who died in Air France 447 and now another Filipino in Yemenia 626.
Tsk...tsk...tsk. :ohno:

mwg12a

July 1st, 2009, 08:08 AM

;39031784']paano bang macoconsider na "international" flight ang isang "flight"?

like for example ang 5J dati, may Davao-Hongkong pero via Cebu pero minamarket as international flight (kahit may stopover naman)

paanong naging international flight yun kung may stop over?

now 5J has promos like CdeO-Incheon, Cdeo-Kota kinabalu, CdeO-Macau, etc (pero via manila) are these considered international flights? or domestic flights pa rin?

Ginugolo mo naman masyado ang isip mo e, international pa rin siyempre kung lahat papuntang kota kinabulo for instance, yuong mga passengers na nasa domestic route at mag disembark sa domestic destinations sigurado considered as domestic passenger yon.

boom_box

July 1st, 2009, 08:09 AM

Can this affect the orders and deliveries of Airbus Industrie?
There was 1 Filipino who died in Air France 447 and now another Filipino in Yemenia 626.
Tsk...tsk...tsk. :ohno:

No.. The fact that there are more orders of aircraft from Airbus especially their best selling A320 Series.. than just mean their aircraft are really airworthy...

The one that happen in Yemenia was a question of Pilot error or maintenance issues.. there are some reports that Yemenia has also bad safety records...

In the case of AF 447, flying an aircraft straight to a storm combine with human stress = deadly combination...

Just read this discussion here..
http://www.philskies.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12120&start=20

The Cebuano Exultor

July 1st, 2009, 10:38 AM

;39031784']paano bang macoconsider na "international" flight ang isang "flight"?

like for example ang 5J dati, may Davao-Hongkong pero via Cebu pero minamarket as international flight (kahit may stopover naman)

paanong naging international flight yun kung may stop over?

now 5J has promos like CdeO-Incheon, Cdeo-Kota kinabalu, CdeO-Macau, etc (pero via manila) are these considered international flights? or domestic flights pa rin?

^^ Then they're not officially considered as direct/non-stop international flights.

The Cebuano Exultor

July 1st, 2009, 10:58 AM

baka made in china "airbus" ang mga bumagsak na airplane.

^^ Bro, I normally don't go ballistic on some petty matter. But I just have to say that you're a ***************...HONESTLY. Are you suggesting that all products made in China are crap?

Yes, some Mainland Chinese manufacturers make a lot of cheap and crappy products (like those fake DvDs, toothpastes, toys, etc.) but some of them also make some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor, heavy-industrial equipment, machinery, and software products in the world.

And besides, Airbus Industrie's Tianjin plant has so far delivered only one aircraft. And, it was delivered to China Eastern Airlines not Yemenia!

So, next time, before you pull a comment out of your ass, please do some research. It would help to lessen your ignorance and would avoid you from posting another thoughtless and racist comment on this sub-forums.

greenshields

July 1st, 2009, 02:05 PM

Maybe that was just an off-hand remark, typical of the Pinoy humor. No need to over-react and let loose on the fellow. Daming ganyan ang posts. Would it have been different if he said Made in Vietnam or Made in Taiwan?

Noize_320

July 1st, 2009, 02:20 PM

Can this affect the orders and deliveries of Airbus Industrie? There was 1 Filipino who died in Air France 447 and now another Filipino in Yemenia 626.
Tsk...tsk...tsk. :ohno:

no...i said this before and again...no matter how safe a plane is...a crash is always unpredictable with no regards to aircraft manufacturer...

nick_marayag

July 1st, 2009, 03:40 PM

^^ Bro, I normally don't go ballistic on some petty matter. But I just have to say that you're a stupid fuck...HONESTLY. Are you suggesting that all products made in China are crap?

Yes, some Mainland Chinese manufacturers make a lot of cheap and crappy products (like those fake DvDs, toothpastes, toys, etc.) but some of them also make some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor, heavy-industrial equipment, machinery, and software products in the world.

And besides, Airbus Industrie's Tianjin plant has so far delivered only one aircraft. And, it was delivered to China Eastern Airlines not Yemenia!

So, next time, before you pull a comment out of your ass, please do some research. It would help to lessen your ignorance and would avoid you from posting another thoughtless and racist comment on this sub-forums.

Naku po...High blood yata si Sir... If you want to react, give him information without bad words in it ok...Cool...:):ohno:

TeslaCoil

July 1st, 2009, 04:20 PM

^^ Baka naman may Chinese blood sya kaya ganyan? :lol:

I have a first hand experience with chinese semicon products and it is really below par than those of ASEAN and European made.

Sky Harbor

July 1st, 2009, 05:12 PM

^^ Actually, the Cebuano Exultor is of Chinese descent, if I'm not mistaken.

Anyway, the point here is that we should not generalize things all because of a single accident. And remember, only Airbus A320s (to avoid future confusion) have been made in China.

Narnian_King

July 1st, 2009, 06:04 PM

^^ Bro, I normally don't go ballistic on some petty matter. But I just have to say that you're a ***************...HONESTLY. Are you suggesting that all products made in China are crap?

Yes, some Mainland Chinese manufacturers make a lot of cheap and crappy products (like those fake DvDs, toothpastes, toys, etc.) but some of them also make some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor, heavy-industrial equipment, machinery, and software products in the world.

And besides, Airbus Industrie's Tianjin plant has so far delivered only one aircraft. And, it was delivered to China Eastern Airlines not Yemenia!

So, next time, before you pull a comment out of your ass, please do some research. It would help to lessen your ignorance and would avoid you from posting another thoughtless and racist comment on this sub-forums.

I think everyone should have their own opinion. Anyway, I am really sorry because i offended you what I wanted to say really quick was that I won't post any comments that have race prejudice wording in them. I'm really, really against that and try very hard not to spread it for my future post. I'll post stuff that's different than my opinion, no problem. Just wanted to let you guys know.

ngprofflorida

July 1st, 2009, 06:59 PM

filino

July 2nd, 2009, 02:43 AM

AIR PHILIPPINES
MAIDEN FLIGHT TO SURIGAO CITY
APRIL 1, 2009

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/3677918020_13061f501c.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3605/3677918016_5505441c29.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3581/3677918026_253feeaf0f.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2569/3677918028_157984a668.jpg?v=0

Woi, wafo na jud an hagdanan.. okey na karajaw.. epost ko sab ako pic na didto gajud ako sa cockpit. hehe. :banana: :banana:

:banana: :banana: :banana: WELCOME TO SURIGAO CITY AIRPHIL :banana: :banana: :banana:

Sky Harbor

July 2nd, 2009, 03:00 AM

^^ The maiden flight was on April 1? :lol:

TeslaCoil

July 2nd, 2009, 03:03 AM

Congrats Cebu Pac. Now, conquer the international scene. :cheers:

filino

July 2nd, 2009, 03:26 AM

^^ The maiden flight was on April 1? :lol:

oo nga no! di ko kaya napansin ang date. it's clerical error. actually July 1, 2009 yan. saan na kaya si invhictus :lol: :lol: :lol:

oddstyle

July 2nd, 2009, 03:36 AM

^^ Bro, I normally don't go ballistic on some petty matter. But I just have to say that you're a ***************...HONESTLY. Are you suggesting that all products made in China are crap?

Yes, some Mainland Chinese manufacturers make a lot of cheap and crappy products (like those fake DvDs, toothpastes, toys, etc.) but some of them also make some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor, heavy-industrial equipment, machinery, and software products in the world.

And besides, Airbus Industrie's Tianjin plant has so far delivered only one aircraft. And, it was delivered to China Eastern Airlines not Yemenia!

So, next time, before you pull a comment out of your ass, please do some research. It would help to lessen your ignorance and would avoid you from posting another thoughtless and racist comment on this sub-forums.

WOW ......profanity...!!!!! did he really say something (KING) that made you go off that way.....? that is some harsh words bro''''...!

bumbilya

July 2nd, 2009, 03:59 AM

pal 747 refurbished cabin mnl-sfo

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5219/img0713jla.jpg (http://img15.imageshack.us/i/img0713jla.jpg/)

pi_malejana

July 2nd, 2009, 03:59 AM

^^ apparently yes, imo...:)

oddstyle

July 2nd, 2009, 05:01 AM

^^ apparently yes, imo...:)

In your opinion,,cool ..I respect that...!!!
Now,, my question is to you.....! does he really have to say all that profanity...?

RonnieR

July 2nd, 2009, 05:28 AM

Cebu Pacific now ranks 65 in terms of weekly flights
Companies
Written by Lenie Lectura / Reporter
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 23:40

CEBU Pacific, the airline unit of JG Summit conglomerate, said on Wednesday that it now ranks 65th among world airlines in terms of having the most number of weekly flights.

Citing June data published by the Official Airline Guide (AOG), Cebu Pacific said affordable fares and a fleet of new planes made it possible for the company to mount more flights.

“The improvement in ranking was a result of the airline’s sustained focus on offering the newest planes and the lowest possible fares to its passengers,” Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and distribution, said.

AOG is a global flight information and data solutions company bringing together buyers and sellers of air travel and transport for the passenger aviation, air cargo logistics and business travel markets.

Cebu Pacific, also Asia’s third largest low-cost carrier, serves 32 domestic destinations and flies to 14 cities in Asia with a total number of frequencies of 1,665 weekly.

Iyog said the airline is poised to further expand its reach as it takes delivery of more new aircraft. It has ordered 15 new Airbus A320 for delivery from 2010 until 2013 and is thinking whether it should exercise its option to buy five more.

By 2013, it should have a total of 27 Airbus aircraft and 10 turbo-prop ATRs, the youngest aircraft fleet in the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific offers affordable fares, about 40-percent cheaper on average than the other airlines. “So with low fares, new planes, and the convenience we offer by flying from four hubs, which allowed direct flights within regions and did away with flying via Manila, we in effect are offering what the people want and need,” said Iyog.

The airline operates in four hubs—Manila, Cebu, Davao and Clark—to fly a total of 1,401-times weekly within the Philippines and a total of 264–times weekly in Asia.

“We will continue to seek ways to expand and make more people fly. We have a great business model that has shown domestic growth despite the present global downturn. We are confident that our march to further growth will continue,” she said.

Cebu Pacific carried 6.7 million passengers last year and expects to this number to increase to 9 million this year. From 2010, the numbers should further increase as more aircraft are deployed to serve its growing list of destinations. The company reported that passenger traffic went up by 12 percent for its North Asia routes over the past 12 months ending May.

Its RP-North Asia passenger carriage rose by 100,364. This increased to 944,063 for the period of June 2008 to May 2009 from 843,699 for the period of June 2007 to May 2008.

The airline now flies to 15 cities in Asia and 32 domestic destinations using 21 Airbus and eight ATR aircraft, with an average fleet age of less than1.9 years.

< Prev Next >

It would have been better if Cebu Pacific would overtake a foreign low cost airline rather than beating a fellow Pinoy carrier. Is this the mindset of Cebu Pacific officials? or just how the reporter wrote it?

Cebu Pacific overtakes PAL in global ranking

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/02/2009 3:58 AM

MANILA - Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific said Wednesday it has overtaken older local carrier Philippine Airlines in terms of number of weekly flights as of June. The Gokongwei-led budget carrier cited data from global flight information and data solutions company Official Airline Guide (OAG).

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said it now ranks 65th among world airlines--7 notches higher than PAL's 72nd rank this month.

Cebu Pacific has 1,655 weekly flights as of June this year, higher than PAL's 1,566.

"This new leadership milestone was a result of the airline's sustained focus on offering the newest planes and the lowest possible fares to its passengers," Cebu Pacific Vice President for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog said.

Delta Airlines ranked first with 26,898 weekly flights, followed by American Airlines (24,893) and United Airlines (23,996). Among Asian airlines, China Southern Airlines had the highest ranking (11th) with 9,440 weekly flights.

At present, Cebu Pacific said it is now Asia's third largest budget airline, serving 32 domestic destinations and flying to 14 cities in the region. Iyog said the airline's reach will be expanded further with the delivery of 15 new Airbus A320 over the next three years.

By 2013, Iyog said Cebu Pacific should have a total of 27 Airbus aircraft and 10 turbo-prop ATRs, the youngest aircraft fleet in the Philippines. On top of these, she said the Gokongwei-led airline is considering to buy five more planes.

"We are about 40 percent cheaper on average than the other airlines. So with low fares, new planes, and the convenience we offer by flying from four hubs--which allowed direct flights within regions anddid away with flying via Manila--we are in effect are offering what the people want and need," she said.

Cebu Pacific uses its four hubs (Manila, Cebu, Clark, and Davao) to fly 1,401 times weekly within the Philippines and 264 times weekly in Asia.

"We will continue to seek ways to expand and make more people fly. We have a great busines model that has shown domestic growth despite the present global downturn. We are confident that our march to further growth will continue," she said.

Cebu Pacific ferried 6.7 million passengers last year, and is expecting to carry close to 9 million this year. From 2010 onwards, the airline is looking at higher passenger traffic with the arrival of new aircraft and the growing list of destinations.
as of 07/02/2009 3:58 AM

RonnieR

July 2nd, 2009, 05:33 AM

^^ Bro, I normally don't go ballistic on some petty matter. But I just have to say that you're a ***************...HONESTLY. Are you suggesting that all products made in China are crap?

Yes, some Mainland Chinese manufacturers make a lot of cheap and crappy products (like those fake DvDs, toothpastes, toys, etc.) but some of them also make some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor, heavy-industrial equipment, machinery, and software products in the world.

And besides, Airbus Industrie's Tianjin plant has so far delivered only one aircraft. And, it was delivered to China Eastern Airlines not Yemenia!

So, next time, before you pull a comment out of your ass, please do some research. It would help to lessen your ignorance and would avoid you from posting another thoughtless and racist comment on this sub-forums.

i agree with you..there are a lot of goods/products that are Made in China that have excellent quality and being used or consumed by citizens of the world! China rocks. :cheers:

filino

July 2nd, 2009, 10:25 AM

AirPhil starts daily jet service in Surigao City

Air Philippines (AirPhil), the low-cost carrier of the Lucio Tan Group, started its daily jet service between Manila and Surigao Wednesday, July 1, 2009 replacing the 76 seater-turbo prop of PAL Express.

Air Philippines’ 118-seater Boeing 737-200 touched down at the Surigao City Airport around 10:15am, yesterday with its maiden passengers from Manila formally started its daily service operation to Surigao City as the province gateway.

Flight will depart Manila at 8:45am to arrive Surigao at 10:15am. The return flight will leave Surigao at 10:45am arriving Manila at 12:15pm. AirPhil operates at the new NAIA Terminal 3.

Gov. Robert Ace Barbers in his welcome remarks cited the entry of Air Philippines as a significant development for the province as it gears toward being one of the primary tourist destinations in the country.

Meanwhile, Capt. Edilberto Medina, AirPhil President and CEO said that with the full support of the LGU and the private sector he assured the Surigaonons that there will be no turning back.

“The Air Philippines, whether you like it or not there is no turning back, with the commitment of the government and the private sector we are now partners. I hope that with our presence here we can bring more prosperity to you all.”

Medina added that this is now the answer to the popular clamor of the locals for a more convenient and affordable transport service.

Medina also announced their plan of putting up flights from Cebu to Surigao using the turboprop of PAL Express. “We will start the Cebu-Surigao the soonest possible time. We are now on the final stage of preparation,” Medina concluded. (PIA-SdN)

share ko lang

csc36869

July 2nd, 2009, 10:48 AM

BXU-GCP

July 2nd, 2009, 11:00 AM

oo nga no! di ko kaya napansin ang date. it's clerical error. actually July 1, 2009 yan. saan na kaya si invhictus :lol: :lol: :lol:

filino di ba nagtest flight ang B737-200 ng AirPhil to Surigao City sometimes in April? Maybe invhictus considered that as the maiden voyage.

richard24

July 2nd, 2009, 12:13 PM

Sky Harbor

July 2nd, 2009, 01:34 PM

pal 747 refurbished cabin mnl-sfo

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5219/img0713jla.jpg (http://img15.imageshack.us/i/img0713jla.jpg/)

Simply beautiful. I want more! :D

If I'm not mistaken, this was taken from the upper deck.

Sky Harbor

July 2nd, 2009, 01:38 PM

filino di ba nagtest flight ang B737-200 ng AirPhil to Surigao City sometimes in April? Maybe invhictus considered that as the maiden voyage.

A test flight is different from a maiden flight. The former is a proving flight, which would see whether or not a certain aircraft type can fly to that airport. The maiden flight, on the other hand, is the first revenue service for the route.

csc36869

July 2nd, 2009, 02:51 PM

2-minute check-in at airport, says Cusi

Using bar code technology, checking in at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport can take as little as two minutes, said a port operator official.

General manager Alfonso Cusi, of the Manila International Airport Authority, said starting yesterday, international operations at Terminals 1 and 2 (new wing) have been upgraded from magnetic tape to bar code for both boarding passes and baggage tagging.

Records show that the two terminals on the average have a combined load of 69 outbound flights daily.

“We would like to improve and shorten the business process at the airport by replacing the outdated technology with a more modern, efficient system,” he said, noting that the neighboring airports in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Guam have already installed their own versions.

Arinc Inc. was awarded a three-year contract to supply, install, operate and provide maintenance support of the new common use check-in at the two terminals for departing flights and passengers.

Arinc managing director Randy Pizzi said MIAA would have enough flexibility to further improve services particularly in cutting queuing time.

MIAA assistant general manager Tirson Serrano said the system would handle almost four million outbound passengers at the Naia 1 and 1.6 million passengers at Naia 2, using the 85 check-in counters and 15 boarding gates at Terminal 1 along with 40 check-in counters and 16 boarding gates at Terminal 2. Vito Barcelo and Roderick T. dela Cruz

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=police4_july2_2009

mwg12a

July 2nd, 2009, 04:11 PM

In your opinion,,cool ..I respect that...!!!
Now,, my question is to you.....! does he really have to say all that profanity...?

I didn't see any profanity in cebuexcultors post, he had it concealed, it could be anything. Honestly, I think you do have a way of putting things into words that is offensive, just like you "in your opinion,cool.. I respect that!! You did say "you respect that" but you can tell there is some sarcasm undertone in your sentences. Those people you are pissing off has been here forever and has always been always respectful. Now, you just joined so don't be rude...

On the refurbishment of PAL 747s interior, there were articles about that here already. Just check back in archives, you will even see pictures of the newly refurbished interiors on some of PAL older fleets.

Yre

July 2nd, 2009, 05:16 PM

I didn't see any profanity in cebuexcultors post, he had it concealed, it could be anything. Honestly, I think you do have a way of putting things into words that is offensive, just like you "in your opinion,cool.. I respect that!! You did say "you respect that" but you can tell there is some sarcasm undertone in your sentences. Those people you are pissing off has been here forever and has always been always respectful. Now, you just joined so don't be rude...

On the refurbishment of PAL 747s interior, there were articles about that here already. Just check back in archives, you will even see pictures of the newly refurbished interiors on some of PAL older fleets.

There was indeed profanity. It so happened that it was edited and removed before you saw it, i think one of the poster here has quoted it.

habagatcentral1

July 2nd, 2009, 05:18 PM

La lang...

Don't you think that too much airports in an archipelagic and small country is an overkill?

Yre

July 2nd, 2009, 05:24 PM

La lang...

Don't you think that too much airports in an archipelagic and small country is an overkill?

True. Having airports that is 3 hours apart by land travel is indeed overkill and a total waste of resources.

mwg12a

July 2nd, 2009, 05:27 PM

@ Habaggatcentral, Well, not necessarily because the Philippines is a chain of islands, but, it will be more ideal if the islands especially the major ones are interconnected by a bridge with a rail system, it would make shipments of products processed and sell cheaper because of this.

It would be a little bit overkill if the case is that, there are airports within about 180 mile radius and in the same island as well. Even if they are in two different islands, or separate islands, it will not require huge terminals and long runways a piece.

What we don't need are too many international airports that are even closer to one another, just like the Aklan and Caticlan airports. With a better connectivities and transit transfers within different major airport terminals to satellite or smaller airports, progress in those areas can be reached. Having an international airport in several different areas, especially if the international and domestic passenger activities haven't really reached more than 2 million passengers yearly would not necessarily calculate progress in any given city or provinces. It would even hard to get foreign airline companies to service those smaller international airports because it would mean low profitability for their companies.

marlowe_cano

July 2nd, 2009, 05:32 PM

True. Having airports that is 3 hours apart by land travel is indeed overkill and a total waste of resources.

a varied airports, such as int'l & community airports with 7-hour landtrip gap would be very fine... but having too much int'l airports , that needs humongous billions of money is definitely impractical! :cheers:

filino

July 2nd, 2009, 06:29 PM

filino di ba nagtest flight ang B737-200 ng AirPhil to Surigao City sometimes in April? Maybe invhictus considered that as the maiden voyage.

yup, they conducted the probing flight last April. but the pix i've qouted from invhictus was actually the maiden flight of AirPhil to surigao city last July 1, 2009. nagkamali lang si invhictus ng date. instead of July, April yung month na nasulat niya.

arianespace

July 2nd, 2009, 06:52 PM

^^La lang...

Don't you think that too much airports in an archipelagic and small country is an overkill?

I don't think so.

In fact its a necessary infrastructure for an archipelagic nation littered with 7,100 islands.

What is overkill is making majority of it an international airport. That is just a waste of resources. In fact, we are already witness to how our country officials, which we elect, build humongous and empty airport with nothing special to crow about other than its general aviation traffic which doesn't serve much majority of the riding public.

having a rail system over smaller islands is also a waste of resources particularly in the Visayas. It is economically viable for Luzon and Mindanao because it will take you more than 24 hours travel from Laoag to Legaspi or Zamboanga to Surigao. With a rail system, that would probably cut travel time to less than 5 hours of high speed track. That is better than flying and carbon neutral too. But I think its service is still premature to the level of our economy whether we like it or not. Most countries with this system always has high GNP ratio. Had we been 30 million less, we might be richer than Singapore and Malaysia, but sadly that just it.

The best investment for our country are always the road systems and expressway. And as far as I know there is only one place where you can find this in place. General Santos City and Koronadal. The rest of the country simply forgot road planning after the Americans design EDSA 70 years ago.

habagatcentral1

July 3rd, 2009, 01:41 AM

^^

I don't think so.

In fact its a necessary infrastructure for an archipelagic nation littered with 7,100 islands.

What is overkill is making majority of it an international airport. That is just a waste of resources. In fact, we are already witness to how our country officials, which we elect, build humongous and empty airport with nothing special to crow about other than its general aviation traffic which doesn't serve much majority of the riding public.

having a rail system over smaller islands is also a waste of resources particularly in the Visayas. It is economically viable for Luzon and Mindanao because it will take you more than 24 hours travel from Laoag to Legaspi or Zamboanga to Surigao. With a rail system, that would probably cut travel time to less than 5 hours of high speed track. That is better than flying and carbon neutral too. But I think its service is still premature to the level of our economy whether we like it or not. Most countries with this system always has high GNP ratio. Had we been 30 million less, we might be richer than Singapore and Malaysia, but sadly that just it.

The best investment for our country are always the road systems and expressway. And as far as I know there is only one place where you can find this in place. General Santos City and Koronadal. The rest of the country simply forgot road planning after the Americans design EDSA 70 years ago.

Alunan Highway was designed by the NLSA planners in 1930's-1940's. What made Koronadal favorable to them is the creation of a highway straight and wide, from Makar all the way to Tacurong...Argh! Thesis! :nuts::bash: And oh, they wouldn't find it difficult as most of the land surrounding it is "unowned" but mere ancestral domain of the Maguindanaoans and the B'laans...The problem of land is one factor why most of the Philippines suffer from this fate of unorganized planning. Sorry for the OT....:D

Anyway, so it'll be road infrastructure and mass transportation that is the baseline of progress for the rest of the islands right?

Because I simply couldn't get the logic of too much international gateways in one country or too many open gateways...well, the politicians themselves are sometimes not knowledgeable at sustainable development matters because what matters to them the most would be how to gain profit. Of course building new airports give them big moolah as compared to repairing or constructing new roads.

Oh well, they'll give you their faces and say "THIS IS WHERE YOUR TAXES GO!" :bash::lol:

patlite_boy

July 3rd, 2009, 02:16 AM

Question lang po, totoo po ba na may partner/s na Singaporean(Singapore Airlines?) ang mga Gokongweis sa Cebu Pacific? I asked this coz I thought it was 100% own by the Gokongwei until one of my colleague told me that they have Singaporean partners.

The line Maintenance of Cebu Pac which is Aviation Partnership (A+) is owned by Cebu Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

Heavy maintenance likewise of Cebu Pac is also co-owned by Cebu Pacific and Singapore Airlines Engineering Philippines which is located in Clark Field. Maintenance , Repair and Overhaul of Airbus aircraft of Cebu Pac will now be done in Clark instead in Singapore. This MRO is already finished and it's capable for A319 and A320.

Also, construction of hangar 2 is already in preparation for 2 aisle aircraft.

mwg12a

July 3rd, 2009, 03:43 AM

I guess I have the same understanding as arianspace when it comes to having many airports in the Philippines and what is wrong about turning most of them into an international airport.

Certainly, the good roadway that would connect most cities in the Philippine would mean progress.

absinthe_888

July 3rd, 2009, 05:40 AM

What is overkill is making majority of it an international airport. That is just a waste of resources. In fact, we are already witness to how our country officials, which we elect, build humongous and empty airport with nothing special to crow about other than its general aviation traffic which doesn't serve much majority of the riding public.

Because I simply couldn't get the logic of too much international gateways in one country or too many open gateways...well, the politicians themselves are sometimes not knowledgeable at sustainable development matters because what matters to them the most would be how to gain profit. Of course building new airports give them big moolah as compared to repairing or constructing new roads.

Parang "bragging rights" ng mga politicians na meh "international airport" sila sa lugar nila when the passenger traffic does not justify the "international airport" naman.

Oh well, they'll give you their faces and say "THIS IS WHERE YOUR TAXES GO!" :bash::lol:=

Huwag kalimutan ang mga dambuhalang billboard na meh mga muka nila at yung tag mong "THIS IS WHERE YOUR TAXES GO!" :bash:

boom_box

July 3rd, 2009, 10:51 AM

^^ same goes to "THE TAXES ARE WORKING FOR YOU"... :lol:

Mars Uy

July 3rd, 2009, 12:53 PM

Hilongos Airport, Hilongos, Leyte
http://photos.friendster.com/photos/24/95/46695942/1_155941524l.jpg

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/24/95/46695942/1_532470197l.jpg

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/24/95/46695942/1_518360584l.jpg

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/24/95/46695942/1_946784913l.jpg

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/24/95/46695942/1_891011119l.jpg

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/24/95/46695942/1_957123346l.jpg

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/24/95/46695942/1_858235181l.jpg

pthfndr19

July 3rd, 2009, 01:45 PM

^^ tagal na nyan ah? hehe... May pag-asa pa bang magkaroon ng commercial flights dyan sa Hilongos Airport?
**Another question, Kelan po magbubukas ang Guiuan Airport for commercial flights?

BXU-GCP

July 3rd, 2009, 01:50 PM

A test flight is different from a maiden flight. The former is a proving flight, which would see whether or not a certain aircraft type can fly to that airport. The maiden flight, on the other hand, is the first revenue service for the route.

I know that Sky Harbor, but maybe invhictus considered the test flight the maiden flight.

kiretoce

July 3rd, 2009, 04:20 PM

Sky Harbor

July 3rd, 2009, 04:23 PM

^^ tagal na nyan ah? hehe... May pag-asa pa bang magkaroon ng commercial flights dyan sa Hilongos Airport?
**Another question, Kelan po magbubukas ang Guiuan Airport for commercial flights?

HIL hasn't seen commercial service for a while, and I highly doubt that there will be sufficient demand. Any demand for flights from Hilongos southward should be routed through Maasin, where there is also an airport. Guiuan, on the other hand, seems to be quiet.

Sky Harbor

July 3rd, 2009, 04:25 PM

La lang...

Don't you think that too much airports in an archipelagic and small country is an overkill?

I'll use a very simple analogy here.

Bernie, please don't compare the Philippines with South Korea! :lol:

habagatcentral1

July 3rd, 2009, 04:29 PM

^^ Tawa naman ako dun, hehehehe!!! :lol:

pthfndr19

July 3rd, 2009, 04:34 PM

HIL hasn't seen commercial service for a while, and I highly doubt that there will be sufficient demand. Any demand for flights from Hilongos southward should be routed through Maasin, where there is also an airport. Guiuan, on the other hand, seems to be quiet.

^^ Regarding Guiuan Airport, there was a news earlier this year that its rehabilitation will be completed this year(April)... I don't know if it's already done and will open for commercial flights this year.

http://leytesamardaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6580&Itemid=233

Mars Uy

July 3rd, 2009, 04:41 PM

Awesome find! Where'd you dig these from?
Opps. I forgot to put the link :D
CLICK HERE (http://profiles.friendster.com/46695942)

arianespace

July 3rd, 2009, 05:00 PM

^^
Having a multiple international airports is not a bad idea as long as there are really a demand for it like multiple operating carriers with regular scheduled flights, and not just those hoping for seasonal or chartered traffic which majority of our gateways are. Presently I can find this in only 4 out of 10 international airports despite the rest being open to the public more than a decade ago.

This is how it supposedly works according to the politicians and their advisers who knew nothing other than making a substantial contribution to the campaign pot.

If you build an airport, airlines will go there and passengers will use it. If you open a gateway, foreign airlines will come to serve the airport and foreign tourists figures will more than double, and with its traffic, will pay for the airports expense.

So why is it not working? First, lets examine how it came to be.

Well, this was the radical thinking in the early 80's which was conceived together with the tourism masterplan.

Whats wrong with it?

I say none. But government planners were missing a very important factor in the equation, the airline that hopes to operate it.

At the time of its conception and planning in 1976, Philippine Airlines was still owned by the government. So too with Thailand and Thai International Airways from which the plan was more or less based.

Haven't you noticed then PAL flying almost every airport in the Philippines majority of which are called missionary routes? Hilongos airport for an example.

It was because of the policy of the government to connect every island of the Philippines as far as practicable. The main objective, NATION BUILDING.

That sounds logical after the war and it is particularly necessary to bring its people closer together as one nation.

That was a noble objective in 1942 and the idea itself did not came from a Filipino but from an American serviceman which was adopted by the commonwealth and the republic as an instrument of nation building.

This was also the time when tagalog was made the common language to be taught to all schools across the country.

Since Philippine Airlines can't serve the objectives of the government then, the republic has no choice but to buy PAL from private hands in 1946. Actually there was a twist on it but I will just maintain the basic concept of the arguments for nation building.

While PAL remains private until now after it was sold, MAS, Garuda, and Royal Thai remains under government control. Even SIA is controlled by the government for economic reasons.

In hindsight, I would say that Marcos plan was thought intelligently than the subsequent plans initiated at the time of President Aquino which was modified by Ramos and extended by Gloria. Well most of it is still an Aquino plan. I was of the impression that they were a product of a Marcos brand of Policy which is actually good but because of the association to Marcos they were change with the current strategy we have.

Why would I say that? Because Marcos knew well how to develop its aviation strategy by first looking at how the Philippines look like in the map and locating the urban centers for the future hub and spoke system that should feed domestic routes.

For Philippine aviation, he was touted as an airport builder and planner far better than the widow, the general, and the economist combined. In fact, it was his idea to establish at least an international gateway at every major islands of the country, for example, one in Panay, Palawan, Cebu, Samar-Leyte, and 3 in Mindanao and Luzon or a total of 10 gateways. Look where are the gateways now?

Brilliant idea Almost, but it failed because the projected foreign tourism traffic on paper remained on the paper. That is exactly the same thing happening now at Cebu and Davao airports. Yet government planners insist that it worked and keep on going back at it as basis when in fact the concept failed almost 20 years ago. Luckily, both Iloilo and Bacolod doesn't have that burden.

Although I must admit that not everything Marcos did was perfect airport-wise, but if you look at how he planned things like airport development, you might be surprise that its quite sensible.

That is develop airports with potential traffic based on historical and future tourism figures. If we only follow that perspective, Caticlan and not Kalibo fits the bill perfectly. But that would mean another debate of course, because at that time there was still no Caticlan airport to speak off in the first place. That was the reason why Kalibo grew bigger and bigger.

Its all part of airport economics in the real sense of things like Bacolod or Iloilo, or why is Davao bigger when Zamboanga had it first, and why Kalibo or Dipolog airport is comparable to regional airport in size when its not a regional center or why Dipolog is much bigger than Pagadian and Ozamiz or Surigao.

If you happen to looked at these secondary airports in 1982, they are all the same in size. Like a mass housing project, only this time its a mass airport project funded by ADB. Trunkline airports are all the same too but passenger traffic made it grew bigger than others as new and bigger aircraft were brought onto its route. While other airports collapse after airlines left and the rest almost disappeared. Look at Catarman and Ormoc airports, that is exactly how they all originally looked like. Twenty five years later and the difference is made clear.

Airlines will make government build airports, or make it better, and not governments telling airlines to fly there. As I said previously in my post, foreign airlines win it for Kalibo and not government telling them to fly to Iloilo even if it is far better than the former.

To put it simply, the real test is NEED and not WANT.

And yes, it is still an airline-based economics that works for an airport business particularly those with international gateways, not politicians that consistently say its good for their local tourism industry even if they only had a few.

Going back, out of the 10 international airports we have only 4 perfectly fits the description of what an international airport truly is, that is an airport with regular scheduled flights, Manila,Clark,Cebu and Davao, while some are dependent on chartered and seasonal flights.

What I'm driving at is this, maybe the government should think first to utilize this empty airport of ours before making another empty ones.

Airport is a good project but it should be proportionate to what it needs and not what the politicians want it to be that is a hefty project price tag which is good for the wallet.

Thats why politicians are banking on it for their pockets. It would have been more appropriate if they tell us, well I have to recoup my election expenses I spent buying your votes. :lol:

arianespace

July 3rd, 2009, 05:12 PM

Or Maybe they just wanted it this way as Sky Harbor suggested.

Take a peek on this link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8055957.stm).

Yangyang International is an airport looking for a reason to exist. Built on South Korea's east coast just seven years ago, you won't find any delays or long queues here. In fact, you won't find any passengers at all.

The initial vision could not have been more different.

Up to three million people a year were meant to throng the gleaming floors of the departure and arrival halls, built at a cost of almost $400m (£260m).

But last year an average of just 26 passengers a day came through the doors, vastly outnumbered by the 146 airport staff on hand to serve them.

In November the last commercial flight took off, and the terminal became what the Korean national press has dubbed a "ghost airport", an impressive monument to overestimated demand.

But it is not an isolated example.

Empty spaces

In fact, if there was to be an award for the world's quietest international airports, South Korea would surely be one of the favourites.

According to Choi In-wook, an airport personnel, Korea Politicians, in order to gain votes, promise their constituents an airport.

At the other end of the country from Yangyang, way down in the south-west, is the even newer Muan International Airport.

It opened less than two years ago, and although a handful of flights do at least land there, the terminal is struggling.

Built amidst the surrounding onion fields, it looks an unlikely spot for a thriving airport, and the scene inside is, once again, one of empty check-in desks and empty spaces.

Figures for last year show passenger levels at less than 3% of capacity.

"It might be better if it was used a bit more," said one passenger I spoke to, part of a group of Korean tourists preparing to catch one of only two flights leaving that day.

"But having said that," she added, "it is nice to come to an airport that isn't busy for a change."

Vanishing demand

As elsewhere, the project was meant to be a boost for the local economy, bringing in visitors, and connecting the local economy with the wider world.

But the region's farmers and fishermen may now wonder if it was a worthwhile investment.

South Korea has a total of 14 regional airports. Figures show that 11 of them lost money last year.

What should have been the 15th, another new east-coast airport, already more than 80% complete, has been suspended because of lack of demand.

And there is currently an ongoing debate about the wisdom of the plans to build yet one more, somewhere near the southern port city of Busan.

One reason for the lack of demand for air travel may be the simultaneous development of a high-speed rail link that now whisks travellers from one end of the country to the other in less than three hours, as well as the construction of a network of new motorways.

'Political logic'

Local airports have been built by "political rather than market logic", according to one newspaper.

The Korean Citizens' Action Network, an organisation that monitors government spending, claims that hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted on terminals and runways that simply are not needed.

Yangyang International Airport, South Korea
Yanyang airport was built at a cost of almost $400m

"Politicians, in order to gain votes, promise their constituents an airport," said spokesman Choi In-wook.

"Rather than checking the need thoroughly, the feasibility studies can be distorted to support the projects, and as a result there is an oversupply of airports in this country."

Could not the case be made, though, that some of today's under-used airports may turn out to have a long-term future?

"Maybe," he said. "If they honestly forecast that there would be large, initial losses for a long-term strategic benefit, then fair enough. But from the beginning the feasibility reports are inaccurate, so no one knows the true prospects."

Both the government and the Korea Airports Corporation, the body that manages the regional airports, refused the BBC's request for an interview.

There are those, like the staff at Yangyang airport, who do indeed believe that they may still find a profitable future for their terminal.

But it is the views of the passengers that really matter - and for now, they are voting with their feet.

Sky Harbor

July 3rd, 2009, 05:19 PM

^^ The story was posted here last month, I think. :lol:

arianespace

July 3rd, 2009, 05:28 PM

lvzNj0Vobss

And most of all, the Congressman's dream

Sky Harbor

July 3rd, 2009, 05:49 PM

^^ That would be John Murtha Airport (JST) in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (around 60 miles from PIT). That particular airport, like so many in small towns in the United States, is funded by a program called the "Essential Air Service", which subsidizes airlines to fly unprofitable missionary routes after deregulation was introduced in 1976.

Despite that, the closest parallel to JST in the Philippine context is DVO, where a single congressman poured millions of pesos into airport expansion. There's only one difference: unlike JST, DVO actually has demand.

ianers_ianized

July 4th, 2009, 10:20 AM

Rodel

July 5th, 2009, 08:07 PM

Zest Air bound for Bohol...
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu4/rhodel2000/Bohol/100_2699.jpg

inside...
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu4/rhodel2000/Bohol/100_2701.jpg

raffy_east

July 5th, 2009, 08:50 PM

^^^^ thanks great pics, is this a full flight ?

jameslab8470

July 5th, 2009, 11:46 PM

got a question on the pic: some of the lights are turned off.. is it really turned off? or nasira lang?

numiX

July 6th, 2009, 12:23 AM

Well thats busted. You cant turn off individual panel lights. You can select dim,or turn off the whole "AISLE" and then "WINDOW" lights.

marlowe_cano

July 6th, 2009, 03:39 AM

Well thats busted. You cant turn off individual panel lights. You can select dim,or turn off the whole "AISLE" and then "WINDOW" lights. And no offense to Zesr Air ha, a mechanic friend of mine told me that even if its a "NO GO", the captain will revoke it, cause a lot of flights will be affected if they will put the aircraft on ground.

pangit kulay ng seats... made of what kea ito?

frequentflier

July 6th, 2009, 03:44 AM

^^looks like its made of leather

Yre

July 6th, 2009, 06:16 AM

^^looks like its made of leather

more likely faux leather.

Dreamtofly

July 6th, 2009, 11:13 AM

mwg12a

July 6th, 2009, 11:24 AM

swahi

July 6th, 2009, 11:53 AM

Rodel

July 6th, 2009, 02:14 PM

^^^^ thanks great pics, is this a full flight ?

no...it's not a full flight.

zest air's advertisement that their A320s' have spacious leg room is very TRUE. IMO, zest air is better than 5J when it comes to legroom...
they serve zesto as refreshment.:)

Noize_320

July 6th, 2009, 02:44 PM

^^ actually its not that bad inside the cabin...

...for those lights not functioning...what are you gonna expect if theyre broken, plane crash? :lol: better that than a broken engine thats for sure...

...and the seats...looks ok even with a color like that as long as its comfortable (was it?)... :)

hoping for Z2 to buy more fleets of A320s...good luck to them~

Arciga_01

July 6th, 2009, 04:22 PM

there is email circulating claiming pictures taken before Air France plane crashed into the sea. If you got that email, its a hoax.

Same pics are shown in the link provided.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_photos_gol_737_crash.htm

Kahit ba hoax yan o hinde, sobrang nakakatakot parin! Dahil ganyan talaga ang nanyayari pag nahati ang eroplano :eek:

ngprofflorida

July 6th, 2009, 07:44 PM

pangit kulay ng seats... made of what kea ito?

this is much better than cebu pacific wag na kayong mag reklamo.... be thankful for what they have....:lol::lol::lol::ohno::ohno::ohno:

habagatcentral1

July 7th, 2009, 01:38 AM

Kahit ba hoax yan o hinde, sobrang nakakatakot parin! Dahil ganyan talaga ang nanyayari pag nahati ang eroplano :eek:
Better watch National Geographic's "Air Crash Investigation" all the time...and lets see if who's gonna have phobia with flying.....:nocrook:

numiX

July 7th, 2009, 02:33 AM

There you guys went again. Assuming things and would comment on something you guys weren't really sure about. Consult someone who has the true knowledge for all these and not hastily make a comment based on your own baseless speculations only.

Iam sorry for that mwg12a. Iam not an expert, nor knowledgeable. The mechanic that handles Ceb pac, and Zest air (A320's) are the same (A- plus), the mechanics were just telling me their experiences handling them, i just want to share it. Now its up to you to believe them. I might be mis quoted "Mechanic for A320's" only. Cant speak for Ma60's.

redisol

July 7th, 2009, 03:53 AM

absinthe_888

July 7th, 2009, 04:21 AM

there is email circulating claiming pictures taken before Air France plane crashed into the sea. If you got that email, its a hoax.

Same pics are shown in the link provided.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_photos_gol_737_crash.htm

Eto yung sa "Lost" diba?

Better watch National Geographic's "Air Crash Investigation" all the time...and lets see if who's gonna have phobia with flying.....:nocrook:

My fave episode: Russian Pilot dad allows son to fly the plane, son unknowingly disables the autopilot, plane crashes, all passengers and crew killed.

patlite_boy

July 7th, 2009, 06:32 AM

[QUOTE=Rodel;39287700]Zest Air bound for Bohol...

hmmmm... bakit ang dami crewmen under the stairs???? Ano kayang binabantayan nila??? :nuts:

:lol:

Baka nagbabaka sakaling makakita ng whisper with wings...::nuts:

mgian_21

July 7th, 2009, 08:46 AM

[QUOTE=Rodel;39287700]Zest Air bound for Bohol...
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu4/rhodel2000/Bohol/100_2699.jpg

hmmmm... bakit ang dami crewmen under the stairs???? Ano kayang binabantayan nila??? :nuts:

thos guys are line maintenance, they're job is to tow the a/c before and after taxiing...

mwg12a

July 7th, 2009, 09:10 AM

yeah, for the the pilot tug, airstart and GPU if needed. They have to see to it that those equipements are continously running. The stairs are needed to be pushed or bulled manually so alot of times, it has to be hooked into a tug to pull it away from the aircraft, which is the usual case if the aircraft is going to leave again after 30 mins or so for it's next destination, the crew has to standby incase something is needed to be done.

RonnieR

July 8th, 2009, 04:05 AM

Jolo Airport in Philippines gets makeover
http://www.worldinteriordesignnetwork.com/news/jolo_airport_in_philippines_gets_makeover_090707
Published:07-July-2009

By WIDN Staff Writer

Jolo Airport in Sulu, Philippines is receiving a $3 million renovation and makeover, slated for completion by August 2009.

Jolo Airport serves the general area of Jolo, located in the province of Sulu. It is the only airport in the province. Once the renovation is complete, huge planes such as Boeing 737s and cargo aircrafts will be able to fly from and land safely at the airport. Airport authorities expect that this will promote trade and commerce in the area.

The $3 million renovation project which started in 2008 is fully funded by the US. The renovation has enhanced the 1,800-meter runway to more than 2,000 meters. This is intended to accommodate bigger passenger planes from neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

The airport is classified as a secondary airport, or a minor commercial domestic airport, by the Air Transportation Office, a body of the Department of Transportation and Communications that is responsible for the operations of not only this airport but also of all other airports in the Philippines, except the major international airports.

absinthe_888

July 8th, 2009, 04:09 AM

^^ para pwedeng pwede na maglanding ang mga eroplano ng US Air Force :lol:

Sky Harbor

July 8th, 2009, 04:18 AM

absinthe_888

July 8th, 2009, 04:43 AM

^^ word by word eh...tsktsk...

xzibit31

July 8th, 2009, 06:24 AM

sloanesquare

July 8th, 2009, 11:02 AM

France calls for world aviation blacklistJuly 8, 2009 - 11:14AM
France has called for a world aviation black list in the wake of a Yemeni airliner crash but the plan would be tough to implement and requires the political will of many governments to succeed.

An important means of pressure as well as a sanction for security failures, the list would have to be backed by governments and supervised by national capitals rather than any global aviation body.

"A black list is an action taken by states and the states are responsible for enforcing its requirements," said Denis Chagnon, spokesman at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which oversees air transport.

Putting an airline on it would be a hard decision to take because such a move is a costly sanction, known in the industry as something like "a death sentence" for a company.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's crash of the Yemenia Airbus A310 near the Comoros capital Moroni, in which 152 died, the European Commission also sounded the call for a world blacklist based on the EU's own.

The EU's method rankles, with some governments exerting heavy political pressure to ensure that their national flag carriers are not targeted, but the results are clear.

Garuda Indonesia was added to Europe's black list two years ago, and following corrective measures is due to be struck from a new list to be released within the next fortnight.

Yemenia Airways itself was on the verge of being listed a year ago, but narrowly escaped after drawing up a "corrective action plan" to address EU safety concerns.

ngprofflorida

July 8th, 2009, 12:07 PM

Sky Harbor

July 8th, 2009, 01:10 PM

^^ They say that with the runway extension, planes from Manila will be able to land at JOL and SGS.

Mojacko

July 8th, 2009, 07:52 PM

pthfndr19

July 8th, 2009, 09:37 PM

So does this mean we could expect Jolo Airport to receive regular service from both Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines soon - using their A319/320s? (Especially Philippine Airlines, who haven't flown to Jolo since the June 1998 strike? If I recall correctly, PAL flew to Jolo from Cebu using Fokker 50s. Following that strike, the airline discontinued turboprop feeder services and dismantled Cebu as a hub.)

This is good for Jolo... I'm not sure if Zest Air is planning to resume its flight to Jolo and Tawi-Tawi soon.. Maybe Cebu Pacific is more possible now to operate when there new ATR's arrive... I think PAL Express doesn't have enough planes to expand their route this time.
SEAIR is currently flying there from Zamboanga.

mwg12a

July 9th, 2009, 12:22 AM

probably bigger military plane will land here..... not a commercial plane....:nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts:

That is probably a good thing because when the US servicemen uses larger aircrafts, they use it to transport goods and cargos. It doesn't have to be warhead because an aircraft carrier or big US military bases can just do that where it can carry much more things than just a huge C130. They only need to do that with C130 if a combat is eminent.

redisol

July 9th, 2009, 01:35 AM

[QUOTE=redisol;39357322]

thos guys are line maintenance, they're job is to tow the a/c before and after taxiing...

Ok, thanks. I thought they were waiting for ladies in mini skirt to go up the stairs :D

Mojacko

July 9th, 2009, 03:29 AM

This is good for Jolo... I'm not sure if Zest Air is planning to resume its flight to Jolo and Tawi-Tawi soon.. Maybe Cebu Pacific is more possible now to operate when there new ATR's arrive... I think PAL Express doesn't have enough planes to expand their route this time.
SEAIR is currently flying there from Zamboanga.

Actually, I was referring to jet services (I did in fact mention A319/320s) by mainline PR and 5J (also reiterating Sky Harbor's note pertaining to planes like those coming from Manila). If - and only IF - the ATO approves of such service(s) and these materialize as planned, it would indeed be a big boost for Jolo City and Sulu island provinces as a whole.

Tawi-Tawi, on the other hand, may be a slightly different issue (as far as aviation is concerned)...

ngprofflorida

July 9th, 2009, 04:54 AM

ZEST AIR PLACES ITS FIRST ORDER FOR A320
Airline become new Airbus customer
07 July 2009

Zest Air of the Philippines has placed a firm order with Airbus for its first brand new single aisle A320. The aircraft will join an existing fleet of two A320s that the airline purchased in the open market in 2008.

Ambassador Alfredo M. Yao, President and CEO Zest Air said: “With our plans to expand our operation to the Southeast Asian region, it becomes necessary to grow our fleet size. Our A320s provide our passengers with added space, comfort and has proven to be reliable and operate at cost efficient levels.”

“We are pleased to welcome Zest Air as a new Airbus customer," said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer - Customers. "With the lowest operating costs in its class and the highest levels of passenger comfort, the A320 will position Zest Air well to offer competitive and profitable service on its growing route network.”

Zest Air currently serves a network of 18 destinations across the Philippines. With the delivery of its newly ordered aircraft the airline will extend its network to international destinations in South East Asia.

The A320 Family is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Over 6,320 have already been sold and more than 3,850 delivered to some 301 customers and operators worldwide.

RonnieR

July 9th, 2009, 09:23 AM

RonnieR

July 9th, 2009, 09:24 AM

Cebu Pacific suspends Manila-Caticlan flights

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/09/2009 2:57 PM

MANILA - Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has suspended until further notice its Manila-Caticlan flights following "changes to operating conditions" at the Caticlan airport, it said in a statement Thursday.

For the time being, Cebu Pacific said Caticlan has been designated by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) as a one-way airport, which means "take-off should be towards the sea and landing, in the opposite direction."

This, in effect, shortens the portion of the airport runway they could use despite its actual length, the airline added.

According to Cebu Pacific president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei, they have decided to divert all Caticlan flights to Kalibo, and from there, transport their Boracay-bound passengers by bus at no extra cost. He said more than 60,000 booked passengers would be affected by the cancellation of their Caticlan flights.

Meantime, Gokongwei said: "We continue to work closely with our industry partner, the CAAP, to find a speedy resolution, to these airport issues, to allow Cebu Pacific to re-instate flights to Caticlan."

"Boracay continues to be one of the country’s most important tourism destinations. Cebu Pacific’s low-fare service has been integral to the growth and development of the island’s tourism industry and has increased its accessibility to both local and foreign tourists," he added.

Cebu Pacific has carried over 340,000 passengers to Caticlan since February 29, 2008, when the company began operating direct flights to this town in Aklan province.

Last June, the carrier cancelled some flights to Caticlan following the temporary closure of its airport. This was after a small Zest Airways plane overshot the airport runway.
as of 07/09/2009 2:57 PM

xzibit31

July 9th, 2009, 09:37 AM

Hay nako....but i think this is a good move. safety first before anything....

From Business Mirror:

http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/natio ... iclan.html

BORACAY TOURISM SUFFERS AS AIR CARRIERS PULL OUT OF CATICLAN

STARTING Thursday, major carriers are expected to discontinue flights to Caticlan, the gateway to the resort island of Boracay, in anticipation of a government order aimed at implementing a long-ignored rule on a one-takeoff and one-landing procedure.

Sources who attended a hearing between airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Wednesday said the new order will virtually leave only one carrier, Southeast Asian Airlines, plying the route.

Francisco Yngente, vice president for airport services of Philippine Airlines (PAL), confirmed to the BusinessMirror that the carrier would be flying all Caticlan-bound passengers to Kalibo instead, the capital of Aklan.

“Yes, it’s true we’re no longer flying to Caticlan starting [today]. The CAAP shortened the useable runway, so we’re shifting all our flights to Caticlan to Kalibo until further notice.” PAL, in the meantime, will shoulder the land-transfer expense of passengers who had booked Caticlan flights. Sources said Cebu Pacific was reducing flights to Caticlan to only two daily. Since June 25, it has already rerouted 10 of its 12 daily flights to Kalibo, aside from its regular two to three Manila-Kalibo flights a day using Airbus A320s. The flights to Caticlan are via the 72-seater ATR turboprop 72-500.

As for Zest Air, all its Caticlan flights have been diverted to Kalibo since June 25 as well, according to a source in the airline.

Previously, PAL had been flying its newly acquired 50-seater Bombardier turboprops to Caticlan seven to eight times a day from Manila, plus one flight a day from Cebu. It also flies twice daily from Manila to Kalibo using a 150-seater Airbus A320s.

He added that “this is so sudden, we were caught off-guard. But our pilots had a meeting with CAAP [yesterday] and they were already formally advised of the ruling.”

Sources at the CAAP meeting told the BusinessMirror the government agency began meeting with air carriers after a Zest Airplane overshot the Caticlan runway on June 25, the second accident using its Chinese-made MA60 planes in six months. The first accident in January was an undershooting of the runway, and resulted in injuries to passengers.

“The problem is really the size of the planes that are being used,” said one source who requested anonymity. Most planes are too big to navigate the very short runway in Caticlan. Under the CAAP order, all planes can only take off and land from the sea. At present, most carriers land toward or take off from the mountainside.

Asked for a reaction, Avelino Zapanta, president of Seair, said the airline was not affected by the CAAP ruling. Given the size of its planes, pilots can fly or take off coming from the sea. “We will continue flying to Caticlan,” he said.

Asked whether they weren’t being unduly penalized because of the mishap that happened to Zest Air, Yngente said, “As long as it’s for the safety of the passengers, I suppose CAAP is correct in implementing the ruling.”

Other airline sources said CAAP presented its findings that despite “corrective measures” on the part of pilots navigating the short runway of Caticlan, and given the present layout of the land which includes a mountain, plus the tailwinds and headwinds factors, “the planes will be left with only about 250 meters on the runway, which is too short” for the larger planes.

One source explained that CAAP is cracking down on violators of the airline industry publication (AIP) due to “criticisms that it was not enforcing regulations, and that we are still under Category 2 by the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration].” The Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Air Transportation Office (ATO), forerunner of the CAAP, was downgraded by FAA from Category 1 status, denoting its safety for international airlines, to Category 2 two years ago due to the ATO’s lax regulatory measures and lack of adequate personnel.

Yngente said PAL doesn’t have plans at the moment to buy new or smaller planes to keep flying to Caticlan. “Our recommendation to CAAP is actually to level off the mountain at the end of the runway, and on the other end, extend the runway.” Plans to extend and expand the Caticlan runway had been proposed since 2000, but no funds have been raised by the government nor the private sector to undertake it.

Sky Harbor

July 9th, 2009, 06:37 PM

I ran into this on A.Net...cause United breaks guitars!

5YGc4zOqozo

absinthe_888

July 10th, 2009, 02:59 AM

Flights to Caticlan suspended (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=485428&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
Updated July 10, 2009 12:00 AM

Manila, Philippines - Major carriers have suspended their flights to the main airport servicing the popular resort island of Boracay in Aklan, citing regulatory problems.

The indefinite suspension, which began yesterday, affects 15 daily flights to the country’s second busiest airport at Caticlan, said Cebu Pacific, the country’s second biggest carrier, next to Philippine Airlines.

Officials said flights will be diverted to Kalibo airport, 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Caticlan, from where passengers will be bussed free of charge for the ferry hop to Boracay.

But other airlines will continue servicing Caticlan.

The decision came after a number of minor accidents at the single-runway airport.

Aviation regulators have imposed restrictions on the use of the runway that mean planes can only land in one direction and take-offs are similarly limited to one direction, a Cebu Pacific official said.

A technical re-definition also effectively shortens the runway, a company statement said.

“We have therefore decided to divert all Caticlan flights to Kalibo instead and from there bus all our Boracay-bound passengers at no extra cost,” Cebu Pacific president and chief executive Lance Gokongwei said.

At least half a million tourists visit the white sand beaches of the tiny island of Boracay every year, according to industry estimates.

Gokongwei said the airline was working with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) “to find a speedy resolution to these airport issues.”

Design poses hazards to operations

Last Wednesday, CAAP aerodrome adviser John Slaughter, who studied Caticlan runway’s configurations, confirmed before airline representatives that the current design of Caticlan runway poses a hazard to aircraft operations.

The CAAP has designated Caticlan, for the time being, as a one-way airport for all carriers: take off should be towards the sea and landing in the opposite direction, shortening the runway.

Sources in the airline industry that attended a hearing between airline companies and the CAAP last Wednesday said the new order would virtually leave only one carrier in the area, the South Asian Airlines.

“We are no longer flying to Caticlan starting today (Thursday) as the CAAP shortened the useable runway, so we’re shifting all our flights to Kalibo until further notice,” Francisco Yngente, PAL vice president for airport services, said.

“Boracay continues to be one of the country’s most important tourism destinations, services have been integral to the growth and development of the island’s tourism industry and increased its accessibility to both local and foreign tourists,” Gokongwei said.

Last June 25, a ZestAir Chinese-made MA60 plane overshot the runway, the second accident in the area. The first happened last January, resulting in injuries to many passengers.

The CAAP said the Department of Transportation had already negotiated with a private company for the extension of Caticlan’s runway and the removal of a hill obstructing the approach of aircraft landing on runway 24 and the entire airport, including a taxiway.

The CAAP said the runway would be lengthen by more than 1,000 meters, enough to accommodate Airbus 320 or other aircraft of similar configuration.

RonnieR

July 10th, 2009, 12:45 PM

Singapore Airlines boosts Manila flights
By ANJO PEREZ
July 10, 2009, 3:52pm

Responding to the growing demand for airline seats between Manila and the Lion City, Singapore Airlines added a fourth daily flight between the two cities on Friday using a Boeing 777 wide body jet.

The new daily service brings Singapore Airlines’ flight services between Manila and Singapore to 28 flights a week increasing their passenger capacity by 20 percent.

Singapore Airlines started a fourth daily flight between Singapore and Manila July 10.

The increase from three to four daily flights has been made possible as a result of recent bilateral air services consultations between Singapore and the Philippines.

The new flight service, SQ916, will depart Singapore at 2:10 p.m. and arrive in Manila at 5:45 p.m. The return flight SQ921 will depart Manila at 6:50 p.m. and arrive in Singapore at 10:20 p.m.

According to Singapore Airlines Executive Vice President for Marketing and the Regions, Mr. Huang Cheng Eng, the new service will give customers more options to suit their travel needs and to reduce transit times for onward departures from the Singapore Changi Airport.

Mr. Huang added that as a result of the new flight, they will move the schedule of one of its present services to a more appropriate schedule. Huang revealed that flight SQ912 will be retimed to depart Singapore at 12:10 p.m. and arrive in Manila at 3:45 p.m., while the return flight, SQ919 will leave Manila at 4:50 p.m. and arrive in Singapore at 10:20 p.m.

“The frequency increase on this route underscores the strong and growing economic, business and tourism links between Singapore and the Philippines. It also improves the connectivity of Manila to the rest of the world,” Huang said.

“The scheduling of the four services to depart and arrive at various times during the day between the two cities, gives our customers more options to choose a flight which better suits their travel needs,” Huang added.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/210228/singapore-airlines-boosts-manila-flights

csc36869

July 10th, 2009, 04:00 PM

I'm also surprised why Garuda Indonesia is on Europe's black list.

I think Garuda Indonesia has maintenance problem that's why it was black listed. There are air crash accidents that happen in Indonesia that involve the Garuda Indonesia.

tigidig14

July 10th, 2009, 09:00 PM

Lucentino

July 10th, 2009, 10:08 PM

^Try to log into your accout at nwa.com (http://nwa.com/). Go to WorlPerks tab and then Redeem Miles. Check it out, its fun! :)

BTW, I just received an e-mail from them but no mention about expiration of earned miles. I guess the lifetime status wont be abolished after all. :)

Sky Harbor

July 11th, 2009, 02:33 AM

got a question:
i just found out that you can tweak/transfer your worldperks mileage of northwest to/from skymiles of delta. i am wondering how much mileage you must accumulate in order for you get a free ticket to pnas.

I already linked my accounts. :D

Anyway, it depends on where you're coming from. Normally, a round-trip ticket to Manila from Tokyo or Nagoya is 20,000 miles. A round-trip ticket from the U.S. is usually 60,000.

Skyblade

July 11th, 2009, 03:01 AM

I ran into this on A.Net...cause United breaks guitars!

And all it took was making a music video to finally get UA to listen. :lol: Here's Mr. Caroll's comments (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay7hFIYQFnw)to United's change of heart.

got a question:
i am wondering how much mileage you must accumulate in order for you get a free ticket to pnas.
The minimum is 60,000 miles for a roundtrip "PerkSaver" ticket from the US to the Philippines. However, with the recent implementation of their new three-tier award system (http://www.nwa.com/worldperks/redeemmiles/fltawards/usawards/), finding such PerkSaver availability can be a challenge and usually may require you booking farther in advance to secure such seats, if such award availability is even open at all.

With the new three-tier program, you have the PerkSaver ticket which is now supposedly only available in some flights (meaning difficult to find), and now two categories of PerkPass (fully flexible) awards, one category costing you 120,000 miles and can be found in most flights, and the new, available for all flights category of 150,000 miles.

If you *really* want to get the most value in your miles and score those now-sacred PerkSaver tickets, you will have check constantly online as well as calling the WorldPerks hotline, as there is the (remote, at times) possibility that PerkSaver availability would open up.

Also, do check if award availability is available for WorldPerks partners such as China Airlines and Korean Air, of which Economy Class awards can also be had for 60,000 miles (NW doesn't do PerkPass awards on SkyTeam or other partners, but admittedly finding partner availability is difficult as well).

The NWA.com search engine allows you to search for awards on Korean Air (and occasionally China Southern), but you will have to call to check on availability on China Airlines as well as other WorldPerks partners.

Normally, a round-trip ticket to Manila from Tokyo or Nagoya is 20,000 miles.

Best. Value. For. My. WorldPerks. Miles. EVER. I especially loved being able to score NRT/NGO-MNL Business Class tickets for just 30k which was a total steal! Sadly though, with the aforementioned three-tier program, finding such availability to do quick hops to Japan have become more of a treasured find, even for Platinums. :( Now those trips are now just memories of good times...: Sapporo To The Philippines W/ JL, PR, And NW WBC (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/81176), World Business Class Back to Japan (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/81815), and ILO-MNL-NRT-NGO-CTS-NGO-MNL W/ PR & JL Y And NW C (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/101008)

Sky Harbor

July 11th, 2009, 03:37 AM

And all it took was making a music video to finally get UA to listen. :lol: Here's Mr. Caroll's comments (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay7hFIYQFnw)to United's change of heart.

Well, I hope Ms. Irlweg will not mind all the negative publicity. Then again, another reason why I, or perhaps other people, may never fly United. ;)

The NWA.com search engine allows you to search for awards on Korean Air (and occasionally China Southern), but you will have to call to check on availability on China Airlines as well as other WorldPerks partners.

MNL-ICN-NRT and back on KE is only 50,000 miles. I haven't run into any CZ flights though. :D

Best. Value. For. My. WorldPerks. Miles. EVER. I especially loved being able to score NRT/NGO-MNL Business Class tickets for just 30k which was a total steal! Sadly though, with the aforementioned three-tier program, finding such availability to do quick hops to Japan have become more of a treasured find, even for Platinums. :( Now those trips are now just memories of good times...: Sapporo To The Philippines W/ JL, PR, And NW WBC (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/81176), World Business Class Back to Japan (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/81815), and ILO-MNL-NRT-NGO-CTS-NGO-MNL W/ PR & JL Y And NW C (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/101008)

I can upgrade to WBC for 20,000 miles using the regular fare, though my parents do not see the economics.

By the way, I've read all three trip reports! ;)

----

Moving on, I read a post from Hikouki on PEx something about KLM:

from a KLM e-newsletter:

...Passengers living in other cities outside Manila can now book their flight from Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Dipolog, Iloilo, Kalibo, Laoag, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, and Zamboanga. Booking a flight from Guam is possible too. The redesigned pages display prices inclusive of taxes and surcharges, with the possibility to view its breakdown in details...

I made a mock booking from DVO to AMS and the DVO-MNL return legs are on PAL.

This must mean that the PR-KL interline agreement is now valid for online bookings. Woohoo! :okay:

Skyblade

July 11th, 2009, 04:11 AM

MNL-ICN-NRT and back on KE is only 50,000 miles. I haven't run into any CZ flights though. :D

It's a really interesting loop-hole in WorldPerks redemption where NW does have to have the redemption level on/near par with KE in intra-Asia awards, which admittedly is still a better value if PerkSaver availability in MNL-NRT/NGO dries up (which is now a more common occurrence). Even then, for another 10,000 miles, you can go across the Pacific on KE or other partners (pending availability ;)), therefore bringing more value-per mile on those redeemable miles.

I've caught CZ in my searches before while searching for some ICN-HKG/MNL routings in an open-jaw award, but unfortunately the timings/routings didn't work in my favour. Oh well, would've been a fun TR to type..:(

I can upgrade to WBC for 20,000 miles using the regular fare, though my parents do not see the economics.

The 20k upgrades are a great value as well, if/when Z class availability can be had. :D

By the way, I've read all three trip reports! ;)

Really? Thanks for reading then. :D Will post pics of my recent LAX-NRT-SIN-NRT-CTS-NRT-SIN-KCH-SIN-HKG-SFO-LAX trip soon. ;)

Sky Harbor

July 11th, 2009, 04:19 AM

^^ I lurk at A.Net a lot, though I don't like the concept of a walled garden. No credit card. :cry:

tigidig14

July 11th, 2009, 06:09 AM

thanks...thanks folks, most of all to skyblade for those pointers
skyblade, i get around 18400+ everytime i fly back to pnas, back and forth though LOL

REDcrazy

July 11th, 2009, 07:24 AM

So, only PAL's 744's have undergone interior reconfiguration? How about their A330's have they been updated already, or still scheduled for reconfiguration?

Sky Harbor

July 11th, 2009, 08:11 AM

^^ Priority for the refurbishing are the A340s and the 747s, since those see regular trans-Pacific service.

arianespace

July 11th, 2009, 09:53 AM

^^

----

Moving on, I read a post from Hikouki on PEx something about KLM:

This must mean that the PR-KL interline agreement is now valid for online bookings. Woohoo! :okay:

That's good. Another step forward. If I remember correctly, KLM was the first airline to have an interline agreement with PAL when Ramon Magsaysay was still President. Both were the best of friends among world airlines. And they still are. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the spectrum the airline that PAL hated most is British Airways. :)

mwg12a

July 11th, 2009, 09:57 AM

got a question:
i just found out that you can tweak/transfer your worldperks mileage of northwest to/from skymiles of delta. i am wondering how much mileage you must accumulate in order for you get a free ticket to pnas.

From my own personal experience. I have claimed free airfares to MNL originating from where I live here in the midwest with NWA. With 55,000 miles, you can claim a free airfare to any points in Asia or Europe, so, that includes the Philippines. If you accumulated 25,000 miles, you are eligible for a free airfare anywhere in the US and Canada. There is a little bit of a stipulation on these. One would be, accumulated miles can be redeemed and used as a free airfare during off peak season, this is if you are traveling alone. If you are traveling with someone, you can redeem your worldperks miles at anytime during the whole year stretch provided that you would be purchasing a ticket for a second person. Somehow, it is still convinient and can still be considered wise because, literally, you would be paying one ticket for two. It's like you are both going to pay half a price a piece. Should there be any changes you could call their 800 hotline and inquire with one of their service representatives.

What skyblade told us are correct. You would accumulate 60,000 on your world perks traveling to and from the Philippines. What I mentioned above is how much miles one would need to claim a free airfare. It could be more now, from what I can recall three years ago i believe my better half got 58,000 miles benefit eligible to claim for free airfare to MNL. So, we used that during her late sister's health ordeal.

ianers_ianized

July 11th, 2009, 10:18 AM

Sky Harbor

July 11th, 2009, 12:50 PM

^^

That's good. Another step forward. If I remember correctly, KLM was the first airline to have an interline agreement with PAL when Ramon Magsaysay was still President. Both were the best of friends among world airlines. And they still are. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the spectrum the airline that PAL hated most is British Airways. :)

I hope that friendship will translate into PAL joining SkyTeam. :D

I wonder though why PAL hates British Airways.

Skyblade

July 12th, 2009, 12:28 AM

thanks...thanks folks, most of all to skyblade for those pointers
skyblade, i get around 18400+ everytime i fly back to pnas, back and forth though LOL

Not a problem! Just glad I could use whatever I know of WorldPerks before I continue my switch to UA's Mileage Plus. :D I also forgot to mention one saving grace of WorldPerks: PerkChoice (http://www.nwa.com/features/perkchoice/). It's basically a cash&miles scheme where one can pay one way with cash and the other with miles. For example: you could fly to MNL for, say, $500ish + 30,000 or (heaven forbid) 60,000 miles. It's a lovely feature if you're short of miles for a full roundtrip ticket but still want to use them for the trip. You also are able to earn miles in the cash portion as well! :D

With 55,000 miles, you can claim a free airfare to any points in Asia or Europe, so, that includes the Philippines.

55k for Asia? I'm aware of mileage redemption discounts for WorldPerks Visa holders (RIP, NW-DL has dropped the co-branded Visa...now have to get an American Express x_x) and save for some mileage redemption discount promotions, the PerkSaver threshold has been 60k for several years now. PerkSaver availability to/from Europe, though, starts at 50k. Source: WorldPerks Award Chart (http://www.nwa.com/worldperks/direct/charts/us49.shtml).

If you accumulated 25,000 miles, you are eligible for a free airfare anywhere in the US and Canada.
Indeed it is correct if you're able to find PerkSaver availability in the dates you desire. I've only done it once on a combined YX (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14751&id=506753907&l=73805f8d01)-CO (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15102&id=506753907&l=6acebae4f1) itinerary to LGA/EWR. However, the Hawaii PerkSaver threshold is at 40,000 miles.

You would accumulate 60,000 on your world perks traveling to and from the Philippines.

I know WorldPerks is (was?) a *generous* FFM, but that'd be a gold mine if I can accrue 60,000 WP miles in a roundtrip to the Philippines! The 60k I mentioned is the minimum PerkSaver threshold required to redeem an award ticket. A base member flying, say flying DTW-NRT-MNL-NRT-DTW, earns 16,580 RDMs (redeemable miles), a Silver @ 25% bonus (it used to be 50%) would earn 20,724 RDMs (formerly 24,868), a Gold and Platinum @ 100% (Plats used to be 125%) with 33,160. For Golds and Plats, it's enough for a PerkSaver domestic ticket but it's still is far short of a free PerkSaver award to Asia. And, of course, this is not taking into account any promotions that WorldPerks may have at the time of travel.

My apologies for any confusion mwg12a and my belated condolences as well. :(

salamangkero

July 12th, 2009, 05:17 AM

Changi airport Terminal 2

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/empoy/DSC_0291_120.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/empoy/DSC_0297_119.jpg

hikouki

July 12th, 2009, 06:59 AM

^^

... Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the spectrum the airline that PAL hated most is British Airways. :)

Why? Because BA 'sued' them when they tried funneling some kangaroo route passengers through their MNL flights? (of course, back in the days when both carriers operated LON-MNL).

pthfndr19

July 12th, 2009, 03:13 PM

SEAIR extends 'P350 promo fares' to BoracayShare

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/07/11/09/seair-extends-promo-fares-boracay

MANILA - Budget airline Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) has extended its lowest fares promo to Boracay.

In a statement, SEAIR said that "from now until October 15, 2009, travelers can fly to the famed beach destination for as low as P350 all-in."

To avail of the promo, SEAIR said passengers "simply have to purchase their tickets online at www.FlySeair.com until October 15, 2009."

SEAIR also said the promo offers other advantages for Caticlan-bound passengers such as complimentary transfers from the Caticlan airport to Boracay beach.

SEAIR also recently launched SEAIR Travel Care.

"For a small additional fee, passengers are assured of a worry-free travel experience as SEAIR Travel Care provides travel insurance coverage for luggage losses or damages and other travel inconveniences. It is available online at www.FlySeair.com. SEAIR Travel Care is powered by Prudential Guarantee and Assurance, Inc. (PGAI)," the firm said.

SEAIR now flies directly from Manila to El Nido twice a week.

El Nido is a group of islands with good sites for divers and snorkelers as well as beach and island-hoppers. It has "over 30 dive sites and more than 50 beaches and hidden lagoons."

SEAIR also flies five times weekly to Basco, Batanes during the Batanes summer (June to August).

SEAIR is the nation's second-oldest airline and has flown almost 3 million passengers to local destinations including Puerto Princesa, Tablas (Romblon), Clark, Zamboanga, Jolo, and Tawi-tawi, the firm said.

SEAIR also offers flights from Boracay and Puerto Princesa to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

SEAIR will soon fly to Baguio City and Masbate, the company said.

Go to www.FlySeair.com for the "best deals" or call (+632) 8490100 for more information.

"ZukiChirO"

July 12th, 2009, 04:38 PM

diba nag start na ang SEAIR ng Flight going to Masbate 3 times a week while additional 4 flights daw because in demand ung flight nila doon~

Sky Harbor

July 12th, 2009, 05:32 PM

^^ Clarification: SEAIR will not commence service to MBT (Masbate City). The service hasn't started yet, and is not yet bookable.

pthfndr19

July 12th, 2009, 06:58 PM

^^ But SEAIR will start flying soon to Masbate and Baguio... it's not yet bookable but already in the booking list.

pthfndr19

July 12th, 2009, 07:10 PM

http://www.airphils.com/cms/uploads/routemap.jpg

Sky Harbor

July 12th, 2009, 07:13 PM

^^ But SEAIR will start flying soon to Masbate and Baguio... it's not yet bookable but already in the booking list.

I remember they said they were going to fly to some resort, not to the city itself. Seems that SEAIR got me wrong, then.

pthfndr19

July 12th, 2009, 07:20 PM

Zest Airways just received its 3rd and brand new Airbus A320. They will utillize it for regional destinations.:banana:

kiretoce

July 12th, 2009, 07:42 PM

^^ Aren't all of their flights "regional" anyway? ;)

pthfndr19

July 12th, 2009, 07:54 PM

^^I mean "regional" , for asian region..(like HongKong, SG, Korea. Japan) ;)

Sky Harbor

July 12th, 2009, 08:00 PM

^^ Aren't all of their flights "regional" anyway? ;)

:lol:

kiretoce

July 12th, 2009, 08:37 PM

I mean "regional" , for asian region..(like HongKong, SG, Korea. Japan) ;)

I was just kidding, I understood what you meant. :colgate:

Maybe for future reference we can use the term "Intra-Asia" to avoid confusion. :okay:

patlite_boy

July 13th, 2009, 02:22 AM

Zest Airways just received its 3rd and brand new Airbus A320. They will utillize it for regional destinations.:banana:

Heto siguro yung nakita ko ngayon dito sa Ramp ng Asian Aerospace Clark

alcogoodwin

July 13th, 2009, 04:40 AM

RP-C8168
NAIA
June 2009
Brad Peadon

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3715489560_70c94ac1e8.jpg

Sky Harbor

July 13th, 2009, 04:42 AM

^^ The only 747 not getting Recaro seats, according to people at PEx. :ohno:

alcogoodwin

July 13th, 2009, 06:09 AM

^^ The only 747 not getting Recaro seats, according to people at PEx. :ohno:

Is it the next in line for retirement or storage?
IIRC I think one or two of them are in storage arent they?

Brad

chocolato1000

July 13th, 2009, 07:03 AM

yeah, they've been flying since the 70's.

hikouki

July 13th, 2009, 07:23 AM

Is it the next in line for retirement or storage?
IIRC I think one or two of them are in storage arent they?

Brad

I don't think they have any parked 744s. One is undergoing refit at TPE, though. RP-C7472, if I'm not mistaken.

I heard the lease contract for RP-C8168 got renewed a short time back, hence the decision to refit, albeit not with the same seats as the four owned 744s.

habagatcentral1

July 13th, 2009, 08:04 AM

http://www.airphils.com/cms/uploads/routemap.jpg

2P's flight routes have drastically declined over the years....

mgian_21

July 13th, 2009, 02:13 PM

RP-C8168
NAIA
June 2009
Brad Peadon

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3715489560_70c94ac1e8.jpg

kata2pos lang po n2ng i-C chech sa LTP (RTS Aug. 12 2009)

"ZukiChirO"

July 13th, 2009, 03:40 PM

ZEST AIR's BRAND NEW A320 ARRIVES
Airline become new Airbus customer
12 July 2009
Zest Air's third Airbus is expected to arrive today at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark.
Zest Air placed an order with Airbus for its first brand new single aisle A320.
The aircraft will join an existing fleet of two A320s that the airline purchased in the open market in 2008.
http://www.zestair.com.ph/images/new_airbus320.jpg

Ambassador Alfredo M. Yao president and CEO of Zest Air said: "With our plans to expand our operation to the Southeast Asian region, it becomes necessary to grow our fleet size.
Our A320s provide our passengers with added space and comfort and have proven to be reliable and operate at cost efficient levels."
"We are pleased to welcome Zest Air as a new Airbus customer," said John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer - customers.
"With the lowest operating costs in its class and the highest levels of passenger comfort, the A320 will position Zest Air well to offer competitive and profitable service on its growing route network."
Zest Air currently serves a network of 20 destinations across the Philippines.
With the delivery of its newly ordered aircraft, the airline will extend its network to international destinations in Southeast Asia.
^^

marlowe_cano

July 13th, 2009, 03:52 PM

AmbutLang

July 13th, 2009, 04:12 PM

Sky Harbor

July 13th, 2009, 04:29 PM

^^ That may be a 742, not a 744. PAL so far has not scrapped any 744s.

patlite_boy

July 14th, 2009, 01:57 AM

alcogoodwin

July 14th, 2009, 02:51 AM

kata2pos lang po n2ng i-C chech sa LTP (RTS Aug. 12 2009)

Not sure if this was meant for me.
I sadly can't understand tagalog...
Slowly learning though :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

alcogoodwin

July 14th, 2009, 03:09 AM

I don't think they have any parked 744s. One is undergoing refit at TPE, though. RP-C7472, if I'm not mistaken.

I heard the lease contract for RP-C8168 got renewed a short time back, hence the decision to refit, albeit not with the same seats as the four owned 744s.

Thanks to everyone who has answered.
Was rather wrapped to get this. The only time I saw one come to Sydney, a while back, I didn't have a camera at the ready.
Regularly head to the airport on weekends now, just in case I chance another.

Brad

hikouki

July 14th, 2009, 04:46 AM

I saw PAL 747 park at the US airline graveyard in National Geographic.

The three 747-200Bs they leased from AirPhils (yes, they used little sister as a leasing company while still under receivership) were parked in the desert covered with yellow protective paint. I think they were eventually scrapped.

hikouki

July 14th, 2009, 04:47 AM

Thanks to everyone who has answered.
Was rather wrapped to get this. The only time I saw one come to Sydney, a while back, I didn't have a camera at the ready.
Regularly head to the airport on weekends now, just in case I chance another.

Brad

You'll be seeing the 77Ws come to SYD if Cat II is not lifted.

hikouki

July 14th, 2009, 04:48 AM

Heto nga yung naka park sa Asian Aerospace Ramp ngayon.

Anyone know the reg?

Sky Harbor

July 14th, 2009, 12:40 PM

You'll be seeing the 77Ws come to SYD if Cat II is not lifted.

Why can't they start new routes with it? They did say they plan to fly to DEL, BNE and AKL in the future, didn't they?

hikouki

July 14th, 2009, 01:28 PM

Why can't they start new routes with it? They did say they plan to fly to DEL, BNE and AKL in the future, didn't they?

In the midst of a worldwide crisis? Maybe not.:ohno:

However a few months back, they did express interest in starting flights to India.

The 77Ws were ordered with one aim in mind - US expansion. Their previous press releases explicitly stated this.

Sky Harbor

July 14th, 2009, 02:02 PM

^^ Yes, the fabled double-daily to LAX and SFO.

hikouki

July 14th, 2009, 02:42 PM

^^ Yes, the fabled double-daily to LAX and SFO.

Initially, I think, only LAX was to go double daily. That is, with only a pair of 77Ws on hand this year. The displaced 343s were to go to San Diego. New US cities were to be opened as more 343s (and 744s) are displaced by the next 77Ws.

Chrisvenz

July 14th, 2009, 04:04 PM

RP amend air-services deal with UK
Fields 14 flights per week between two countries

By Lenie Lectura
14 July 2009

THE Philippines and the United Kingdom amended their air-services agreement (ASA) last week, fielding a total of 14 flights per week between the two countries.

According to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), flights to Manila and or Clark total seven weekly fights. Another seven flights per week were allotted to other points in the country, except for Manila and Clark.

Previously, each country was authorized to field seven flights per week to all points in the Philippines, said CAB Deputy Executive Director Porvenir Porciuncula in a text message on Monday.

“A total of 14 weekly flights have been allotted per side,” he added.

There are no Philippine carrier mounting flights to the UK and vice versa, said Porciuncula.

The air talks were held from July 7 to 9. The CAB is a member of the Philippine air panel.

The other members consist of officials from the Departments of Transportation and Communications, of Foreign Affairs, and of Tourism; Clark International Airport Corp.; and representatives from local airline companies.

Porciuncula said the panel is set to hold bilateral negotiations to amend existing ASAs with China, Italy, Iceland and Korea soon.

In May the Philippines and Spain sealed a new ASA, fielding 28 weekly flights for each country. From Manila to Madrid and Barcelona, there were seven flights per week awarded to the Philippines. To Madrid and Barcelona from Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, 14 weekly flights were allocated.

Other points in the country, except Manila and Clark, were allotted seven flights in a week. The same goes for Spain, in which daily flights were also made available except for Madrid and Barcelona.

Also, Manila was granted rights to service 200 tons of cargo per week while Clark got 300 tons per week. “For cargo, seven flights per week were also granted,” said CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla.

The Philippine-UK air pact was the ninth agreement sealed by the Philippine air panel since the start of the year. Last month, a new deal with Singapore was finalized. ASAs were sealed with Brunei and Australia in March; Kuwait and Bahrain in February; and Qatar and United Arab Emirates in January.

arianespace

July 14th, 2009, 04:05 PM

^^
This is a nice topic to discuss here, plenty of excitements.

I believe double daily to LAX is not fabled because they are going to launch it by end of the year. Well, at least that is the plan. CAT 2 rating notwithstanding.

If I'm not mistaken, the triple seven is already scheduled to fly to Vancouver as its first flight to the west coast. The A343 will be diverted to LAX for the morning flight other than those going to LAS. Upon its return to Manila it will fly to Australia and back, but these could still change you know.

Speaking of Vancouver, the two landing rights is apparently tied with their lease of the Air Canada jet so returning it to them will not be a good option.

If all works perfectly for CAT 1, it would be 2X 744 and 77W for LAX and SFO while another 77W will go to ORD. the 343 will serve YVR-LAS-SAN sector while the last 2 77W is groomed for a Euro flight. They don't want to disclose where but as far as C__ is concerned, thats the plan.:)

TeslaCoil

July 14th, 2009, 04:11 PM