Cebu Pacific gets first of 12 new A319s; 4 more due until yearend

By LORETO D. CABAÑES

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2005092645323.html

HAMBURG, Sept. 23 — Cebu Pacific took delivery Friday of its first of 12 Airbus 319s and has scheduled to put it into domestic service in a few days.


The new aircraft left Airbus’ own airport in this northern city of Germany late in the afternoon. As of this writing, it had just taken off from Dubai after a short refueling stop and was on its way to Bangkok for an overnight lay-over before arriving in Manila early Sunday afternoon.

Depending on its load, the 150-seat A319 can fly non-stop to Beijing or even Perth in Australia. CEB will take delivery of four A319s this year and the rest through February 2007. Two brand-new A320s were delivered to CEB in May and June, its first stage in a complete refleeting program.

Daniel Carnelly, Airbus marketing manager for the A320 family of aircraft, told media last Thursday that the A319 is lighter partly because of its use of new materials, quieter inside and outside, burns less fuel yet carries more seats than CEB’s present fleet, and has been designed for a quicker turnaround and even better ontime performance.

The turnaround advantage, additional capacity, and lower operating costs should make CEB more competitive. Carnelly said choosing the A319s was a great decision by CEB.

If its two new A320s were a gauge, Carnelly was right on the button. The same month they were fielded on the Davao and Cebu routes, they immediately raised CEB’s market share in those areas.

The 179-seat A320s are longer than the A319s but both come from the same family or product platform, Aside from being new, they offer wider seats, bigger overhead storage bins, and bigger and better-designed cargo space.

On the A319 alone, a roller bag that exceeds the allowed size for check-in baggage can easily fit into the overhead bin. The extra room actually helps the aircraft in its turnaround for the next flight since it would allow passengers to put in or take out their bags more quickly.

Carnelly said every five minutes saved per flight equate to significantly more revenues in one year since an aircraft earns only while on the air, not on the ground.

Once the JG Summit unit’s re-fleeting program is completed in early 2007, it would have one of the youngest, if not the youngest, fleet in Asia.

The new A319s and A320s would completely replace CEBs present fleet of DC9s and Boeing 757s.

I hope another true low cost carrier comes up and serves the country real soon so we'll have more competition.

^and have a situation like the united states? Or even Indonesia? I like our airline lineup as it is.

PAL to stop flying here?

Reports are rife that the Philippine Airlines might be forced to stop its operations in the province if no available aircrafts can fit the existing runway of the Tagbilaran City Airport amid the scheduled phase-out of Boeing 737 planes starting next year.

PAL Tagbilaran manager Emma R. Caseñas yesterday confirmed to the Chronicle that of the six PAL’s Boeing 737 aircrafts, two will be phased out early next year. This is the existing type of plane servicing domestic routes: Tagbilaran, Naga and Dipolog Cities.

Caseñas confirmed this latest development after Gov. Erico Aumentado issued an urgent request to PAL chair Lucio Tan, requesting an extension of the use of Boeing 737 planes since Airbus A-300 needs a longer runway.

Alarmed of this development, Aumentado wrote Pres. Arroyo requesting her endorsement of the letter-request addressed to Tan.

At present, there are nine direct flights to and from Manila using 737 planes (once daily and twice during Fridays and Sundays). An additional flight (on Saturdays) will commence on Oct. 16 plus a proposed two more additional flights starting October till December this year.

The governor requested PAL to field Airbus 320 in case the airline company would phase out Boeing 737 aircraft early next year.

Airbus 320 already made a test flight early last year while a narrow-bodied aircraft (737 series 400) was also eyed to replace the existing plane used in this route.

Aumentado told Tan that with Bohol’s booming tourists’ arrival, there is no reason why the Tagbilaran-Manila route will not be considered as a prime destination.

On the other hand, the governor requested Pres. Arroyo to order the line agencies concerned to fast-track the implementation of the Panglao Airport Development Project.

An urgent conference about the Panglao Airport will be held on Wednesday in Manila with Philippine Tourism General manager Robert Barbers, Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and Department of Budget and Management Chief Romulo Neri in attendance, together with Aumentado and the three Bohol solons – Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes and Eladio Jala.

The phase-out of Boeing 737 aircrafts made it imperative for the acceleration of the Panglao Airport Development Project implemen-tation.

Aumentado in the letter to the President said that the project “must take off the ground and be operational within the President’s term of office, as envisioned, to sustain Bohol’s booming tourism industry and its multiplier economic effects to the Boholano people as well.”

He explained that PAL has contributed much to the increasing arrivals of foreign and domestic tourists to Bohol by 40 percent compared to last year’s figures.

“Thus, PAL’s continued direct flight from Manila to Tagbilaran City is vital to Bohol’s over-all economic growth and development especially in the tourism sector,” Aumentado said in his letter to Tan.

He also asked Arroyo to convince Tan so that he may allow PAL flights to continue fielding Boeing 737-300 aircraft in the Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila route.

Aumentado pointed out that PAL’s service to Tagbilaran has become one of PAL’s most profitable domestic routes with Bohol’s emergence as the number one tourism destination of the country for the last three years.

By way of assurance, Aumentado told Tan that the provincial leaders of Bohol, under his leadership, would pursue more aggressively to accelerate the implementation of the Panglao Airport Development Project.

kiretoce, u also read bohol chronicle pala...

nway, more good aviation news:

Clark to increase flights to 50 a week starting October

AIRLINES from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand are scheduled to fly to and from the airport in the Clark Special Economic Zone, north of Manila, starting next month, Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport would increase flights to 50 a week from the present 37 with the entry of new carriers.



The Clark airport expects to nearly double the number of passengers to 40,000 next month from the present monthly average of 22,000, he added.

"Clark is the future of aviatio," Mendoza said. "The increased activity is due to the government's decision to open Clark skies to low-cost carriers."

The administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared an "open skies" policy for cargo carriers at Clark in 2003. Last year it also liberalized the entry of passenger airlines.

Families of overseas Filipino workers in nearby countries such as Singapore and Malaysia have been taking advantage of cheap airfares being offered by budget airlines operating from Clark, Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the new carriers were from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Express, a source said, will start operating initially chartered flights to and from the former military airbase.

Thai Air Asia is still following up on its request to launch a Bangkok-Macau-Clark route.

Two budget carriers -- Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad and Singapore's Tiger Airways Ltd. -- have been operating from Clark since April. They have increased flights to keep up with market demand.

Before AirAsia and Tiger, Korea's Asiana Airlines was the only commercial carrier using the Clark airport.

Asiana has not only increased flights from Clark but also started flying to Cebu.

Tiger Airways offers one-way fares to Singapore for as low as $25 for those who book three months ahead of departure date.

Additional charges of low-cost carriers using Clark are P540 in travel tax, P350 in terminal fee, P75 in insurance surcharge and P120 in administrative cost.

The Civil Aeronautics Board has said it may also liberalize requirements at the Cebu and Davao airports to spur tourism and encourage investments.

No-frills airlines usually do not serve free food on board, and reserving and buying seats are done through the Internet. Baggage is limited to about 15 kilograms a passenger.

:)

kiretoce, u also read bohol chronicle pala... :)

I was just Googling around and I stumbled upon that article. :colgate:

...requesting an extension of the use of Boeing 737 planes since Airbus A-300 needs a longer runway.


I guess the author meant to say A320. ;)

whats this noise about old A 300´s flying to tagbilaran. PAL will re-equipt with A 320´s and they definately can fly there, just like 737 300´s too.

PAL to stop flying here?

Reports are rife that the Philippine Airlines might be forced to stop its operations in the province if no available aircrafts can fit the existing runway of the Tagbilaran City Airport amid the scheduled phase-out of Boeing 737 planes starting next year.

PAL Tagbilaran manager Emma R. Caseñas yesterday confirmed to the Chronicle that of the six PAL’s Boeing 737 aircrafts, two will be phased out early next year. This is the existing type of plane servicing domestic routes: Tagbilaran, Naga and Dipolog Cities.

Caseñas confirmed this latest development after Gov. Erico Aumentado issued an urgent request to PAL chair Lucio Tan, requesting an extension of the use of Boeing 737 planes since Airbus A-300 needs a longer runway.

Alarmed of this development, Aumentado wrote Pres. Arroyo requesting her endorsement of the letter-request addressed to Tan.

At present, there are nine direct flights to and from Manila using 737 planes (once daily and twice during Fridays and Sundays). An additional flight (on Saturdays) will commence on Oct. 16 plus a proposed two more additional flights starting October till December this year.

The governor requested PAL to field Airbus 320 in case the airline company would phase out Boeing 737 aircraft early next year.

Airbus 320 already made a test flight early last year while a narrow-bodied aircraft (737 series 400) was also eyed to replace the existing plane used in this route.

Aumentado told Tan that with Bohol’s booming tourists’ arrival, there is no reason why the Tagbilaran-Manila route will not be considered as a prime destination.

On the other hand, the governor requested Pres. Arroyo to order the line agencies concerned to fast-track the implementation of the Panglao Airport Development Project.

An urgent conference about the Panglao Airport will be held on Wednesday in Manila with Philippine Tourism General manager Robert Barbers, Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and Department of Budget and Management Chief Romulo Neri in attendance, together with Aumentado and the three Bohol solons – Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes and Eladio Jala.

The phase-out of Boeing 737 aircrafts made it imperative for the acceleration of the Panglao Airport Development Project implemen-tation.

Aumentado in the letter to the President said that the project “must take off the ground and be operational within the President’s term of office, as envisioned, to sustain Bohol’s booming tourism industry and its multiplier economic effects to the Boholano people as well.”

He explained that PAL has contributed much to the increasing arrivals of foreign and domestic tourists to Bohol by 40 percent compared to last year’s figures.

“Thus, PAL’s continued direct flight from Manila to Tagbilaran City is vital to Bohol’s over-all economic growth and development especially in the tourism sector,” Aumentado said in his letter to Tan.

He also asked Arroyo to convince Tan so that he may allow PAL flights to continue fielding Boeing 737-300 aircraft in the Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila route.

Aumentado pointed out that PAL’s service to Tagbilaran has become one of PAL’s most profitable domestic routes with Bohol’s emergence as the number one tourism destination of the country for the last three years.

By way of assurance, Aumentado told Tan that the provincial leaders of Bohol, under his leadership, would pursue more aggressively to accelerate the implementation of the Panglao Airport Development Project.

MCIA Update:

A new Terminal 2 exclusively for international flights will be constructed starting next year (2006). Also, the existing four "aerobridges" in the old terminal will be upgraded and added with two more to bring it to a total of six..

whats this noise about old A 300´s flying to tagbilaran. PAL will re-equipt with A 320´s and they definately can fly there, just like 737 300´s too.

A320s are too heavy for the short and weak runway of Tagbilaran. That's one of the main reasons why Cebu Pacific is refleeting with mostly A319s.

whats this noise about old A 300´s flying to tagbilaran.
I believe it was just a typo worth pointing out. ;)

Sounds good to hear that they'll begin construction in a new terminal in Mactan by next year. :D Does anyone have any renditions of the T2 by any chance?

A new Terminal 2 exclusively for international flights will be constructed starting next year (2006). Also, the existing four "aerobridges" in the old terminal will be upgraded and added with two more to bring it to a total of six

Are you sure the aerobridge in old terminal are going to be 6? because friend of mine who works in Bukaka (an Indonesian company that made aerobridges to kl, bkk, hk and many airports) told me MCIA is going to add 2 more aerobridges but not in old terminal, instead in the terminal 2 (which is international). Which i think make sense since 6 aerobridges for Cebu domestic terminal is just a waste of space. The traffic for domestic traffic in MCIA is still very low for six aerobridges.

Are the runway is going to be upgraded too? because PAL pilots were complaining before about the runway right?

cheers

Are you sure the aerobridge in old terminal are going to be 6? because friend of mine who works in Bukaka (an Indonesian company that made aerobridges to kl, bkk, hk and many airports) told me MCIA is going to add 2 more aerobridges but not in old terminal, instead in the terminal 2 (which is international). Which i think make sense since 6 aerobridges for Cebu domestic terminal is just a waste of space. The traffic for domestic traffic in MCIA is still very low for six aerobridges.

Are the runway is going to be upgraded too? because PAL pilots were complaining before about the runway right?

cheers

Yeh david, i read this in an article or news called abs-cbn too. There will be 2 additional bridges because of the increasing number of flights with ASIANA who alredy has started it's regular flights to MCIA and later this year (Ithink) KOREAN air, they are just looking on today's problem because the new international terminal building will not be finished until after 4 years from it's start date. By that time it is finished, they are anticipating in a more increasing domestic flights so an additional 2 more bridges wouldn't be too bad of an idea anyway.

Are they going to build that new international terminal building next to the existing terminal building? I've noticed that when I was in MCIA early this year, they were calling out on passengers in the same flight I was in who has connecting flight to Tokyo (or internationl transfer) from a flight in Manila( mostly Japanese tourist) while we were walking down the concourse before the baggage claim area. I think it should be real close to one another for accessibility. And yeah, does anybody have a picture of how this new terminal would look like?

Sorry to go off topic, but, xDieselJockx, do you happen to have an Airliners.net forum account by any chance?

Sorry to go off topic, but, xDieselJockx, do you happen to have an Airliners.net forum account by any chance?

No Sir, I do not. I have been there before just not recently. I have never opened an account nor I participated in any of their forums or discussions.

if they make money flying there, they would be stupid not to and leave the prospects up to another carrier alone. to replace their aging 737-300´s they should consider a few A 319´s just like CEB did. makes sence to keep making money and keeping their share of the growing bohol tourism market.

PAL to stop flying here?

Reports are rife that the Philippine Airlines might be forced to stop its operations in the province if no available aircrafts can fit the existing runway of the Tagbilaran City Airport amid the scheduled phase-out of Boeing 737 planes starting next year.

PAL Tagbilaran manager Emma R. Caseñas yesterday confirmed to the Chronicle that of the six PAL’s Boeing 737 aircrafts, two will be phased out early next year. This is the existing type of plane servicing domestic routes: Tagbilaran, Naga and Dipolog Cities.

Caseñas confirmed this latest development after Gov. Erico Aumentado issued an urgent request to PAL chair Lucio Tan, requesting an extension of the use of Boeing 737 planes since Airbus A-300 needs a longer runway.

Alarmed of this development, Aumentado wrote Pres. Arroyo requesting her endorsement of the letter-request addressed to Tan.

At present, there are nine direct flights to and from Manila using 737 planes (once daily and twice during Fridays and Sundays). An additional flight (on Saturdays) will commence on Oct. 16 plus a proposed two more additional flights starting October till December this year.

The governor requested PAL to field Airbus 320 in case the airline company would phase out Boeing 737 aircraft early next year.

Airbus 320 already made a test flight early last year while a narrow-bodied aircraft (737 series 400) was also eyed to replace the existing plane used in this route.

Aumentado told Tan that with Bohol’s booming tourists’ arrival, there is no reason why the Tagbilaran-Manila route will not be considered as a prime destination.

On the other hand, the governor requested Pres. Arroyo to order the line agencies concerned to fast-track the implementation of the Panglao Airport Development Project.

An urgent conference about the Panglao Airport will be held on Wednesday in Manila with Philippine Tourism General manager Robert Barbers, Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and Department of Budget and Management Chief Romulo Neri in attendance, together with Aumentado and the three Bohol solons – Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes and Eladio Jala.

The phase-out of Boeing 737 aircrafts made it imperative for the acceleration of the Panglao Airport Development Project implemen-tation.

Aumentado in the letter to the President said that the project “must take off the ground and be operational within the President’s term of office, as envisioned, to sustain Bohol’s booming tourism industry and its multiplier economic effects to the Boholano people as well.”

He explained that PAL has contributed much to the increasing arrivals of foreign and domestic tourists to Bohol by 40 percent compared to last year’s figures.

“Thus, PAL’s continued direct flight from Manila to Tagbilaran City is vital to Bohol’s over-all economic growth and development especially in the tourism sector,” Aumentado said in his letter to Tan.

He also asked Arroyo to convince Tan so that he may allow PAL flights to continue fielding Boeing 737-300 aircraft in the Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila route.

Aumentado pointed out that PAL’s service to Tagbilaran has become one of PAL’s most profitable domestic routes with Bohol’s emergence as the number one tourism destination of the country for the last three years.

By way of assurance, Aumentado told Tan that the provincial leaders of Bohol, under his leadership, would pursue more aggressively to accelerate the implementation of the Panglao Airport Development Project.

Sorry to go off topic, but, xDieselJockx, do you happen to have an Airliners.net forum account by any chance?
nice forum for people who like airplanes kaya lang may bayad :bash:

Yeh david, i read this in an article or news called abs-cbn too. There will be 2 additional bridges because of the increasing number of flights with ASIANA who alredy has started it's regular flights to MCIA and later this year (Ithink) KOREAN air, they are just looking on today's problem because the new international terminal building will not be finished until after 4 years from it's start date. By that time it is finished, they are anticipating in a more increasing domestic flights so an additional 2 more bridges wouldn't be too bad of an idea anyway.

Thanks for the info, so i assumed the two additional aerobridges will only be temporary on the terminal 1 and it will move to terminal 2 once is finished. And if the domestic traffic is overloaded by 4 years then they will order 2 more for the terminal 2. right?

Oh btw if you guys wondering, here is what Indonesian made, Bukaka aerobridge looks like

http://www.kiat.net/klia/images/pier.jpg

http://www.kiat.net/klia/images/gate1.gif

The picture is taken from KLIA Malaysia. So it pretty much nice addition to MCIA if they can installed those. I wonder why NAIA3 is not ordering that one too, since NAIA terminal 2 is already using the bukaka aerobridges too.

cheers

David-80>> Thanks for the info, so i assumed the two additional aerobridges will only be temporary on the terminal 1 and it will move to terminal 2 once is finished. And if the domestic traffic is overloaded by 4 years then they will order 2 more for the terminal 2. right?


I don't know where you are getting your info David, I don't think they mentioned anything like a temporary aero bridges on terminal one, once they built the frameworks for it and installed the new tubes, then, that is it. The new international building will be totally all new. They do need to design this new terminal building to where it will have a room for expansion in the future. The same token with the current terminal building which will be dedicated to an all domestic flights solely four years from now, they also need to figure out a way to give enough room for future expansion. After 4 years once the new international terminal building is operational and the international operations are all in one roof, the existing terminal is just sufficient enough to sustain the number of domestic passenger influx. Now, beyond that, i'm sure they need to plan ahead but I doubt it would be that much of a big difference within a four year time frame, there might be some increase in passenger activities but I'm sure it wouldn't be like gigantic leap in figures or stats.

i know there are several airports undergoing expansion or upgrading. does anyone have an update or news about the bacolod airport? all i know is that they will transfer it to a new site.

Thanks for the info, so i assumed the two additional aerobridges will only be temporary on the terminal 1 and it will move to terminal 2 once is finished. And if the domestic traffic is overloaded by 4 years then they will order 2 more for the terminal 2. right?

Oh btw if you guys wondering, here is what Indonesian made, Bukaka aerobridge looks like

http://www.kiat.net/klia/images/pier.jpg

http://www.kiat.net/klia/images/gate1.gif

The picture is taken from KLIA Malaysia. So it pretty much nice addition to MCIA if they can installed those. I wonder why NAIA3 is not ordering that one too, since NAIA terminal 2 is already using the bukaka aerobridges too.

cheers
I hope MCIA would adopt a similar or even better aerobridge. :D

xDieselJockx thanks for your feedbacks, i wasnt getting any info at all because i was asking you whether the two aerobridges will be a temporary on terminal 1 or its going to be permanent. lol. btw thats good if they really going to install six aerobridges permanently there. I thought they will only put there temporary, looking from the current traffic in MCIA.

cheers

xDieselJockx thanks for your feedbacks, i wasnt getting any info at all because i was asking you whether the two aerobridges will be a temporary on terminal 1 or its going to be permanent. lol. btw thats good if they really going to install six aerobridges permanently there. I thought they will only put there temporary, looking from the current traffic in MCIA.

cheers


no problemo dude :rock: :okay:

i know there are several airports undergoing expansion or upgrading. does anyone have an update or news about the bacolod airport? all i know is that they will transfer it to a new site.

check out the bacolod site, there you will find dates and a photo of the model terminal. also check iloilo site for their new airport plans. on this site (back pages) you will find them too.

thanks richard for the info, nice pictures, but i think its quite small enough if they are considering to expand in the future.

your welcome allin.
i just read in AIRLINERS that manila is the 75 biggest airport in 2004 (81st place 2003) worldwide with a bit over 15 million pax and a growth rate of approx 17 % (compared with 2003).
now lets watch growth rates after T 3 is finally open.....

Pretty old but it has some interesting bits on the refleeting program

-----

Cebu Pacific gets first of 12 new A319s; 4 more due until yearend

By LORETO D. CABAÑES

HAMBURG, Sept. 23 — Cebu Pacific took delivery Friday of its first of 12 Airbus 319s and has scheduled to put it into domestic service in a few days.

The new aircraft left Airbus’ own airport in this northern city of Germany late in the afternoon. As of this writing, it had just taken off from Dubai after a short refueling stop and was on its way to Bangkok for an overnight lay-over before arriving in Manila early Sunday afternoon.

Depending on its load, the 150-seat A319 can fly non-stop to Beijing or even Perth in Australia. CEB will take delivery of four A319s this year and the rest through February 2007. Two brand-new A320s were delivered to CEB in May and June, its first stage in a complete refleeting program.

Daniel Carnelly, Airbus marketing manager for the A320 family of aircraft, told media last Thursday that the A319 is lighter partly because of its use of new materials, quieter inside and outside, burns less fuel yet carries more seats than CEB’s present fleet, and has been designed for a quicker turnaround and even better ontime performance.

The turnaround advantage, additional capacity, and lower operating costs should make CEB more competitive. Carnelly said choosing the A319s was a great decision by CEB.

If its two new A320s were a gauge, Carnelly was right on the button. The same month they were fielded on the Davao and Cebu routes, they immediately raised CEB’s market share in those areas.

The 179-seat A320s are longer than the A319s but both come from the same family or product platform, Aside from being new, they offer wider seats, bigger overhead storage bins, and bigger and better-designed cargo space.

On the A319 alone, a roller bag that exceeds the allowed size for check-in baggage can easily fit into the overhead bin. The extra room actually helps the aircraft in its turnaround for the next flight since it would allow passengers to put in or take out their bags more quickly.

Carnelly said every five minutes saved per flight equate to significantly more revenues in one year since an aircraft earns only while on the air, not on the ground.

Once the JG Summit unit’s re-fleeting program is completed in early 2007, it would have one of the youngest, if not the youngest, fleet in Asia.

The new A319s and A320s would completely replace CEBs present fleet of DC9s and Boeing 757s.

------

4 A319s by year-end. Excellent news! :D Time flies though...it still feels like it's been days after 5J announced the order of A319/A320.

I hope MCIA would adopt a similar or even better aerobridge. :D

hi david,
well, i did not know an indonesean company builds aerobridges, and how nice they are indeed ! would be great to see some of these glas suspended bridges in the philippines. the only ones i know of with see-through glas while boarding are at T 2 in manila right ?

:hilarious :hilarious :bash: :runaway:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/olineil/jet.jpg

Air Force decommissions its 40-year-old fighter jets

First posted 02:49pm (Mla time) Oct 01, 2005
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press



FLORIDABLANCA-- (UPDATE) The Philippine Air Force on Saturday decommissioned its 40-year-old F5 jets that formed the core of the country's air defense and also saw action against communist and Muslim rebels and military mutineers.

A lone F-5 jet, piloted by Brigadier General Manuel Natividad, the commander of the air defense wing, taxied into its hangar in Basa airbase north of Manila to symbolize the end of the service.

The air force said the last 10 remaining fighter-bombers were too old and too expensive to maintain in view of the shift in military resources to tackling internal defense rather than external threats.

The first 23 brand new jets were acquired in 1965 from the United States under a bilateral military assistance pact, making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country to have supersonic fighters.

Since then the jets have been used extensively to patrol areas claimed by the Philippines in the disputed Spratly Islands chain and the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

The jets were used to back soldiers fighting communist insurgents in the central and northern Philippines and Muslim separatist rebels and the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the south. They blasted military rebel positions at an airbase south of Manila during a coup attempt in 1989.

The whole F5 fleet has been grounded since May 2001 following a crash of one of the jets during a joint military exercise with the U.S. military.

The subsonic Augusta AS-211 jet trainer and light attack aircraft will temporarily perform external defense duties, the air force said.

Captain Ephraim G. Suyom, spokesman for the Air Defense Wing at Basa Air Base in northern Pampanga province said five of the remaining 10 F5s were still "serviceable" but all of them could be used "in case of war."

"In extreme emergency, you do what you have to do," he said.

The acquisition of the F-5 jets in 1965 made the Philippines the first country in the region to operate supersonic fighters but due to a lack of money, the country now has one of the most primitive armed forces in the region.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press, Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

hi david,
well, i did not know an indonesean company builds aerobridges, and how nice they are indeed ! would be great to see some of these glas suspended bridges in the philippines. the only ones i know of with see-through glas while boarding are at T 2 in manila right ?

Yup richard and it was supplied by PT BUKAKA too and thats why i was wondering why NAIA 3 is not using the glassy one. Anyway this company is known for its glassy aerobridges, in Dubai, KL, Hk, Changi and many others. And the other two additional aerobridges for MCIA i believe would be the glassy one, friend of mine told me if the staff of bukaka is in negotiation with MCIA.


cheers

Hey olineil, you may want to check out the "PHILIPPINES DEFENCE" thread in Samahan. :)

Yup richard and it was supplied by PT BUKAKA too and thats why i was wondering why NAIA 3 is not using the glassy one. Anyway this company is known for its glassy aerobridges, in Dubai, KL, Hk, Changi and many others. And the other two additional aerobridges for MCIA i believe would be the glassy one, friend of mine told me if the staff of bukaka is in negotiation with MCIA.


cheers


PIATCO reputedly scrimped on a lot of things with NAIA-3. The tires that are used to move the airbridges are supposedly second-hand. So, I'm not surprised that the airbridges suck.

haha very funny! I dont think this is true though jsut another PR blurb to discredit them. The terminal I saw a few years back had everything new including airbridge tires. Ewan ko lang if they had used ones in the far end I really doubt it though, I don't think the German management personnel would agree to that.

get piatco out of service ! how can they do that ! who put some money into his own pockets again.....who supplied the airbridges anyway ?

Richard, Canadia Admiral has posted the current Tagbiliran Airport at the Bohol thread.
Tha Airport is not as bad as I had imagined to be.

Photo by Canadian Admiral:
I believe these pictures are appropriate for this thread, too bad they got shrunk by photobucket:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a138/CanadianAdmiral/P1020447.jpg

One more photo of Tagbiliran Airport courtesy of Canadian Admiral


more miscellaneous bohol pictures (maybe i hsould start organizing them if im actually posting more)



http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a138/CanadianAdmiral/P1020464.jpg

you see, sometimes it does help to keep asking for your help. THANK YOU ALL dear forumers, i am so delighted to see how nice and clean the apron, terminal and fire house looks like. really kept tidy and neatly. but specially THANKS TO SANDRIN and CANADIAN ADMIRAL ! do you have any pics of the runway with apron from above, dear canadian admiral ?

The proposed New International Cargo Terminal for NAIA was envisioned to be a pioneering state-of-the-art one-stop-shop cargo terminal with target completion in 2007-8.
does anyone know where the new cargo site is supposed to be ?
have CEB/singapore airlines maintenence already started building their maintenance shop, and where at the premisses of NAIA ?

Well a new cargo terminal was supposed to be built on where terminal 1 currently is at. Dunno what happened to that plan though.

well there goes another plan....up in smoke.....NAIA is like russian roulette.....

i found some pictures of manila airport taken from inside the terminal from flickr.com i'll post the link below if anyones interested.
http://flickr.com/photos/chijs/48984075/
i think the person who posted it also has pics of caticlan airport

About time those F-5's were put into retirement. Thing was, it was pretty ineffective against insurgents, and probably against the full modern fighter aircraft other countries have. It might as well provide profit in our PAF museums

About time those F-5's were put into retirement. Thing was, it was pretty ineffective against insurgents, and probably against the full modern fighter aircraft other countries have. It might as well provide profit in our PAF museums

true renell, the government is just wasting money in maintaining those aircraft ans we don't even know if it can protect us from new and modern from whoever wants to invade the country. :horse:

taken from mb.com.ph..

Asiana Airlines plans more RP flights

By DARWIN G. AMOJELAR, The Manila Times Reporter

Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second national carrier, will increase its passenger flights to the Philippines this month owing to the huge influx of Korean tourists.

In a roundtable with The Manila Times editorial staff, Jhung Sun Don, Asiana’s station manager, said the company will add two passenger flights a week from Manila to Pusan, Korea, this month.

This brings Asiana’s passenger flights to a week by October. Of these, 11 flights will be for the Manila to Incheon route; four for the Manila to Pusan route; five for the Clark to Incheon route and four for the Cebu to Incheon route.

The airline decided to raise its passenger flights due to the growing number of Korean tourists visiting the Philippines to study the English language, play golf, or enjoy a vacation in world-class Boracay Island resort.

Sun Don said the Philippines is second only to Hong Kong—and a close one, at that—as the top destination of Korean tourists.

One problem, however, is the Philippines’ poor transportation system and its expensive hotel accommodations.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand remains the Philippines’ closest rival in terms of attracting Korean tourists because of Bangkok’s cheaper tourist packages, Sun Don said.

In the first seven months of this year, 272,246 Korean tourists visited the Philippines. This was a 29.5-percent increase over the same period last year.

In July alone, Korean tourists reached 47,265 visitors, or 51.7 percent higher than last year’s 31,148.

The Department of Tourism is eyeing 2.5 million tourist arrivals this year. As of July, tourist inflows had reached 1.34 million, mostly Korean and Americans visitors.

Airline cuts Jakarta, China flights in lieu of higher fuel surcharge

Asiana has yet to raise its fuel surcharge, pegged at $11 a passenger, despite rising oil prices, Sun Don said.

"If the rising fuel prices continue, we may raise our fuel surcharge," he said.

Sun Don said the company has incurred losses from the continued increase in fuel prices, but declined to give any figures.

Fuel contributes a third of an airline’s operating costs per passenger. It is the second-highest expense next to labor.

air india seeking partnership with PAL : there is a report in businessworld.ph today i cannot open because i am not a member. can anyone help post it please ? salamat !

Bworld report : where is rivera village on the MIAA premisses, can anyone quote, possibly with a map and location advice ?

Monday, October 10, 2005 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
The Nation


Supreme Court rules in favor of MIAA claim to four-hectare land

The Supreme Court has given state-run Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) the green light to include a four-hectare Pasay City residential lot in its development plan after it overturned a lower court ruling that blocked the eviction of residents there.

The airport authority had been seeking the eviction of Rivera Village residents, consisting of employees of the defunct Civil Aeronautics Administration who entered into a 25-year individual lease contract with the government in 1965, saying their contracts have lapsed.

The villagers, represented by the Rivera Village Lessee Homeowners Association, Inc., argued that they were entitled to possess the land saying it was covered by the government’s housing program.

In a 28-page decision dated September 30, the high court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that granted the association’s plea for a restraining order against the implementation of MIAA’s development plan and for the segregation of the four-hectare property from the plan’s scope.

The high court noted that the association was not the "real party-in-interest" so the case could not pass as a class suit that would warrant a court action.

"A case is dismissible for lack of personality upon proof that the plaintiff is not the real party-in-interest, hence grounded on failure to state a cause of action," it said, noting that the defect in the petition could have been remedied by including the names of the individual lessees in the original complaint.

The court also ruled that the residents of Rivera Village could not compel the government to dispose the land in their favor as they failed to establish their right to the disputed property.

The members of the homeowners association, the court said, should instead file a proposal with the National Housing Authority for the acquisition of the four-hectare lot even as it stressed that the sale of a MIAA property would require the approval of the President.

"Whatever rights the members of the homeowners association may have under the relevant laws are still in substantial doubt or dispute," the decision read. -- Maria Eloisa I. Calderon

^ is that the place where u can c a lot of shammy by the airport wudnt they tore it down rather expanding it through the nayong pilipino

i found some pictures of manila airport taken from inside the terminal from flickr.com i'll post the link below if anyones interested.
http://flickr.com/photos/chijs/48984075/
i think the person who posted it also has pics of caticlan airport

disneyland hk is not very impressive

tigidig14, thanks for your location advice of rivera village, nevertheless it does not give me any idea of where it might be.
anyone else ?

INTERVIEW:Philippine Airlines Hit By Sky-High Oil Prices
Link to the article (http://asia.news.yahoo.com/051007/5/28iqj.html)

MANILA (Dow Jones)--Philippine Airlines (PAI.YY), Asia's oldest airline, expects its profit growth to be hit hard this year as the threat from soaring oil prices eclipses worries about the rapid growth of cut-fare competitors.

"The biggest challenge undoubtedly is the skyrocketing price of fuel which affects our cash flow and bottom line," PAL President Jaime Bautista said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Although many carriers have met the surge in oil prices with fare increases and fuel surcharges, PAL will face difficulties in persuading customers to accept higher ticket prices after a new tax on Philippine-based airlines takes effect. PAL is also facing new competition from low-cost carriers.

In May, Philippine regulators allowed PAL, which is controlled by local tycoon Lucio Tan and his group of companies, to impose a fuel surcharge of $4.62 per passenger on domestic flights and a maximum of $8 on international flights to offset the cost of higher jet fuel prices. Recently, regulators allowed PAL to further jack up its fuel surcharge by $4 to $12 per passenger on one-way overseas flights.

"If we can avoid it, we do not want to burden travelers with another round of fuel surcharges since the cost of air travel is set to rise when the 10% value-added tax on ticket prices takes effect," Bautista said.

The Philippine government hopes to broaden the 10% value-added tax this year to cover sectors like transportation and power, and raise the VAT rate to 12% starting next year. The Supreme Court is set to decide in the next few days whether to allow the implementation of the expanded VAT.
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Fuel is now PAL's single biggest expense and accounts for as much as 30% of its operating costs - almost twice as last year's 18%, Bautista said.

The airline has hedged some of its fuel costs in the past, but company sources said the airline doesn't view this strategy now to be effective. A new plan is under development, but no details were provided. Any new strategy will need the approval of the airline's creditors under a rehabilitation program instituted after the carrier's near-collapse in 1999 due to financial difficulties that were exacerbated by labor problems.

The average age of planes in PAL's fleet is also about 10 years old, meaning its jets use more fuel than the newer planes favored by low-cost rivals entering the flag carrier's home market.

Competition From Budget Carriers

Despite the ascendancy of low-cost carriers throughout the region and the entry of three budget airlines into the Philippine market, PAL's Bautista remains sanguine about the competition risks.

"Low cost carriers and full-service airlines like PAL have their respective roles to play in the market," said the PAL's president. "More than being competitors, both complement each other in the total market growth as the two players go about developing their respective segments."

PAL provides full service that includes the amenities associated with business-class travel as well as complimentary food and beverages.

Bautista also noted that budget carriers typically limit the number of tickets sold at their lowest fares and said prices for the remaining seats may not be attractive enough for many passengers.

In addition, PAL recently announced that starting next month, it will offer flights between Manila and Beijing three times a week, providing a route not covered by low-cost rivals.

Still, some analysts say, with hundreds of thousands of passengers - mainly overseas Filipino workers - flying the routes served by the budget carriers, the Philippine flag carrier will have to face increased competition from these airlines.

Among PAL's new rivals, Jetstar Asia Airways, operated by Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU), recently received the right to fly to Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport and will fly to Singapore.

Tiger Airways, which is an affiliate of Singapore Airlines Ltd. (S55.SG), also serves the Manila-Singapore route, while Malaysia's AirAsia (5099.KU) flies from Manila to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. Both airlines plan to add service from Manila to Macau by the end of this month.

Lower Profit Targets Still Achievable

PAL officials earlier this year said the airline's net profit this year will likely stay about the same as last year's PHP1.2 billion as high fuel costs offset gains from higher passenger volume. Earlier in the year, PAL projected 2005 net profit would be higher than last year.

Bautista remains optimistic that PAL will be able to achieve its financial targets "assuming there will be no major negative industry development other than the continued surge in oil prices." He declined to give figures.

In the first quarter to June, PAL's net profit rose 73% on year to US$27.5 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission has allowed PAL, whose fiscal year starts April 1 and ends March 31, to report its financial results in U.S. dollars for the first time this year to provide more relevant information.

PAL, which flies to 31 foreign cities and 21 domestic points, is under a rehabilitation program that extends to 2009. It almost collapsed in 1999 and had to seek government protection from creditors.

Sorry for the simultaneous posts but here's another article:


Cebu Pacific Air, SIAEC ink joint venture pact
Monday, October 10, 2005
By Abigail Chee Kee-Malalis
Link to the article (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/cag/2005/10/10/bus/cebu.pacific.air.siaec.ink.joint.venture.pact.html)

CEBU Pacific (CEB) and SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC), a unit of Singapore Airlines signed a joint venture agreement for the maintenance of CEB's new fleet of Airbus aircraft and its existing fleet of DC9's and B757's.

CEB president and CEO Lance Gokongwei and SIAEC Chief Executive Officer William Tan signed the agreement at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati.

The company will be owned 51 percent by SIAEC while CEB owns the 49 percent.

"Aviation partnership (Philippines) Corporation (A+), our joint venture with SIAEC, further strengthens our confidence in our fleet of new airbus aircraft arriving in May 2005. With SIAEC providing the total airframe support and GE providing total engine support, plus our local team--we have a world class group which will add significant merit to the Philippine aviation industry by increasing the efficiency of our operations," Gokongwei stated.

"SIAEC's worldwide experience and support capabilities will certainly help us live by our mission to bring people together through an affordable and reliable mode of travel. This will also allow A+ to grow its business base to attract additional third party customers, which will add more employment opportunities to our country. In this way, we hope to do our part in uplifting tourism in the Philippines and strengthening our economy," Gokongwei added.

Meanwhile, SIAEC Chief Executive Officer William Tan said, "we are delighted that Cebu Pacific Air, a highly prolific and progressive airline in the Asia-Pacific, is partnering us in our first foray into the Philippines. By capitalizing on each other's strengths and expertise, we will be able to add greater value to the aviation industry in the Philippines."

This is the third line and light maintenance joint venture, known as Aviation Partnership (Philippines) Corporation, engaged by SIAEC outside of Singapore, besides Pan Asia Pacific Aviation Services in China and PT Jas Aero Engineering Services in Indonesia.

The agreement formalized a memorandum of understanding signed last December 17, 2004 that would provide line maintenance, technical ramp handling services and light maintenance checks at 13 airports that CEB serves.

It was learned that CEB bought 12 brand-new A319s for delivery from September 2005 to early 2007 and has leased two A320s, which are due by the second quarter of this year. The $670-million refleeting would make the CEB fleet the youngest in the Philippines and one of the youngest in the region.

Aside from the line maintenance, the joint venture would also offer light maintenance, such as "A" checks to airline customers in various airports in the Philippines.

Just recently, CEB made its first landing of the brand new Airbus A319 from Manila last October 1 at the Lumbia Airport.

^ aaahh thats gudnews for my cus he's an aeronautical enginering 4 singapore airlines, n his family lives in cebu.

sad about whats gonna happened to PAL, they might start deleting american destination in the future.

Well they're profitable now , better than many other airlines. I heard they're getting an additional 2 747-400s.

^ is any of our airlines getting the latest AIRBUS, the one similar to jodie foster's new movie.

^ is any of our airlines getting the latest AIRBUS, the one similar to jodie foster's new movie.
Didn't they dub it the "E-474" or "A-474"? :crazy: Anyhow if you mean the A380, PAL has shown interest in the A380 though we shouldn't be expecting anything firm until they get out of their restructuring program (but then again they were able to negotiate leases for a 747-400 and more A320s so who knows). Well for now, one can dream...:

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifiedairlinerphotos/photos/big/00004118.jpg

I reckon there's just too much space to just leave it white, it's even more exaggerated in the A380. Should be more colorful.

ah youre missing the point my aussie friend, try watching Flightplan by jodie foster. Then, you will change your mind and tell yourself that you would've wish that you were her daughter. Atleast, you'll get to fly with and wrap in the cockpit of that airline.

Well they're profitable now , better than many other airlines. I heard they're getting an additional 2 747-400s.

where did you hear that bustero ? are you sure and for what destinations are they planned ? europe, us or india ?

people from flight ops. PR is planning to fly back to EEC, perhaps AMS or FRT. I know they've been planning additional capacity and of course they are seriously looking at 380's down the line as well. Their 744's are pretty old as can be seen in the numerous airline rating sites which note this as their number 1 complaint. No idea if they will buy new or lease or what. I would suspect dry lease. short term . then if they are profitable for a couple years more perhaps refleet with 380's or 747 Adv if it comes or the bigger 777's.

people from flight ops. PR is planning to fly back to EEC, perhaps AMS or FRT. I know they've been planning additional capacity and of course they are seriously looking at 380's down the line as well. Their 744's are pretty old as can be seen in the numerous airline rating sites which note this as their number 1 complaint. No idea if they will buy new or lease or what. I would suspect dry lease. short term . then if they are profitable for a couple years more perhaps refleet with 380's or 747 Adv if it comes or the bigger 777's.


Yeah, that 747 PAL I flew into manila from Cebu before I left for the US the following day with NWA was a very old looking 747, it so happened that it was also the same 747 Arroyo took on her trip to Washington,DC 4 or 5ks ago. PAL do need to replace those. Their A340/330 aircrafts looks alot newer.

imo pal has no choice but to refleet but anytime soon is out of the question, they are still under rehabilitation, pal is saddled with debts from international finance institutions and the sooner they pay their debts and come out of rehab will depend on how much profits theyre going to make in the coming years. i beleive refleeting is the cornerstone of continued efficiency and productivity, pal planes are getting old and if they cant buy new equipments let say in five year or ten years time, that could seriously impair their capability to serve existing and new routes with efficient service and operations. pls note that the older the plane gets and more expensive it is to maintain, remember their planes are getting depreciated and their value decreases. basically a commerical aircraft should be in service for not more than 20 years

Their under rehab but they can lease new and even buy new planes. The rehab is similar to chapter 11 in the US. The normal operations continue but the court which admininsters the rebilitation must concur after seeking the advice of other stakeholders and creditors. In this case if it's important that they refleet as we all seem to agree , all the stakeholders will probably move in the same direction. The question na lang is exactly how. I think pakonti konti lang as they've been getting rid of their 737-200's and getting newer 320's , they got a 5th 744 in 2003. and their profitable now even with all our problems as a country ( I think tourism and of course the corresponding population hence ofw is still growing kasi). I'm not a great fan of Mr. Tan, I think he is too rich and powerful for the country's good. I'm not even a great fan of PR as I think it's a corrupt and inefficient airline but it's still the flag carrier and similar to GMA who I don't think is deserving to be president, I will support both for symbol and position.

Favila welcomes entry of low-fare air carriers
By Marianne V. Go
The Philippine Star 10/12/2005

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila welcomed yesterday the entry of low-cost air carriers even as Philippine Airlines (PAL) is complaining about the chartered international passenger operations of two foreign airlines.

Following his speech at the 31st Philippine Business Conference at the Manila Hotel, Favila welcomed the entry of low-cost airlines and the increase in tourism that it will bring to the country.

"Competition is healthy. It leads to better efficiency," Favila said.

However, Favila said the entry of low cost carriers in the airline industry is the call of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

The CAB is currently studying the petition of a new low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia of Thailand to offer chartered flights from Bangkok/Macau/Clark from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15.

PAL fears that AirAsia, along with the Singaporean-owned Tiger Airways which is already operating out of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga, aims to cannibalize passengers from PAL’s lucrative Manila-Hong Kong route.

Macau, PAL contends, is positioning itself as an alternative gateway to Hong Kong and the rest of China since its is a short ferry ride away.

Tiger Airways, particularly, PAL has accused, is using 7th freedom rights and is thus violating the Philippine-Singapore Air Services Agreement.

Tiger Airways, PAL claims, is selling the Macau-Singapore route separately and independently from its suppose Singapore/Macau/Clark/Singapore route.

PAL’s complaint, however, is also not supported by tourism officials and practitioners in Clark who argue that the presence of the low cost carriers has increased tourism-related activities in Clark and Angeles City and is thus economically beneficial.

thanks everyone for your infos ! very helpful to understand the position of PAL. i guess they are having a hard time with all the LLC´s comming in the country. and now there even is CEB with a complete new fleet very soon. hopefully there is enough room for all to prosper, the more tourists, the more jobs, the more work and prosperity for everyone. i just would love to see T3 full of airlines from all over the world soon.....

taken from inq7.net..

Cebu Pacific Air says it will meet P8-B revenue target
Posted: 6:05 AM | Oct. 13, 2005

Clarissa S. Batino
Inquirer News Service

CEBU Pacific Air will meet its P8-billion revenue goal this year despite high fuel prices and fuel surcharges that may discourage travel, airline president Lance Gokongwei said.

The company is on track with its full-year target especially with the arrival of brand-new, more efficient and less fuel-consuming aircraft, he said.

"We are on track," said Gokongwei. "We will meet our targets."

The targets are a net income of P300-P400 million and revenue of P8 billion.

The January-June numbers have not been encouraging. The country's second largest airline posted a net income of only P30.7 million as against P395.4 million in the same period last year, due largely to increased fuel costs. Revenue went up two percent to P4.02 billion.

Cebu Pacific last month received the first of 12 brand-new 150-seater Airbus 319s. It is also leasing two brand new 179-seater Airbus 320s.

The $500-million re-fleeting will make Cebu Pacific's aircraft among the newest in the region and the youngest in the Philippines, Gokongwei said.

When the re-fleeting is completed in February 2007, the company will cut down cost by 30 percent per passenger, he said.

With the new planes, it will be consuming 45 percent less fuel, he added.

Gokongwei assured that the company would pass on a lot of the savings derived from efficiency to its customers.

Cebu Pacific's sales sagged starting in July-December 2004 until January-March this year, when passengers were reluctant to board the company's old planes.

Gokognwei said Cebu Pacific passengers should reach about three million this year, including 2.7 million on domestic routes. With INQ7.net

^galing tal'ga ng mga cebuano

Go 5J!

ANYONE HAVE ANY PICTURES OF THIS AIRPORT ???have never seen or heard of that BIG airport, nobody ever talks about laoag international.....

Because of the presence of this worldclass tourism facility plus the city’s various historical and nature attractions, Laoag International Airport today draws 18 international flights a week, much more than its closest rival: The Cebu International Airport. Tourists who come to Laoag are mostly Chinese from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taiwan and Manila.

Yeah, i've never even seen how Loag International looks like...

Same here! Are there any pics of it?

Bicol is one of the major tourist destinations in the country.
There is a proposal to build a new airport of international standards in Legazpi City. Do you guys think this is a good idea?

Does anyone know of a list that shows the top ten busiest airports in the Philippines? or something similar...?

Bicol is one of the major tourist destinations in the country.
There is a proposal to build a new airport of international standards in Legazpi City. Do you guys think this is a good idea?

I believe it's a good idea. It opens up the Bicol region to the world, not only to tourists but to foreign investors/businesses. :okay: I suggest every region (or state for that matter if federalism is achieved) in the country has at least one gateway to the world, avoiding the bottleneck that occurs at the capital.

I believe it's a good idea. It opens up the Bicol region to the world, not only to tourists but to foreign investors/businesses. :okay: I suggest every region (or state for that matter if federalism is achieved) in the country has at least one gateway to the world, avoiding the bottleneck that occurs at the capital.

The Philippines is far from countries like the US or north America where more people can afford to fly from one point to another and more so go overseas on a leisure or business trips, most of the passenger activities in NAIA or any other airport were brought about by OFW going to mideast and neighboring asian countries. The Philipppines doesn't have enough tourist coming in yet comparing to Thailand and Malaysia,so, having a multiple International airports in every region or in this case if there is an automomy in local federal gov'ts in the event that a Parliamentary government has been enforced.

Does anyone know of a list that shows the top ten busiest airports in the Philippines? or something similar...?


good question matteo, i would like to support that, does anyone know of any available statistics on phil. airports and, may i add, airlines too ?

and noone any pics/news/statistics of LAOAG INTERNATIONAL ?

The Philippines is far from countries like the US or north America where more people can afford to fly from one point to another and more so go overseas on a leisure or business trips, most of the passenger activities in NAIA or any other airport were brought about by OFW going to mideast and neighboring asian countries. The Philipppines doesn't have enough tourist coming in yet comparing to Thailand and Malaysia,so, having a multiple International airports in every region or in this case if there is an automomy in local federal gov'ts in the event that a Parliamentary government has been enforced.


I'm not sure how air traffic and stuff gets monitored and all, in determining an area's potential for a larger airport, or to be given a go-signal to build an airport, but this is taken from the NEDA Region 5 site:

For the 1st quarter of 2005, the airline industry obtained a moderate increase in the number of incoming and outgoing passengers compared to the last quarter’s performance. Legazpi Airport registered a total of 12,506 outgoing passengers and 12,683 incoming passengers, while Naga Airport has a total of 5,652 and 5,593 for outgoing and incoming passengers, respectively. In terms of absolute figure both for incoming and outgoing passengers, Legazpi Airport had more than twice compared to Naga Airport. Naga Airport posted two digit percent increase compared to Legazpi with a single digit increase. Meaning there are more economic activities done in the region for the current quarter compared to the preceding quarter of operation of the industry.

Comparing the quarterly operations of the first quarters of 2004 and 2005, the outgoing passengers for Legazpi and Naga Airports both posted a negative growth. The incoming passengers in Legazpi Airport posted a slight increase of 0.19% compared to Naga Airport with 5.25% decrease. The situation indicates that less passenger went to Manila while more passengers came via Legazpi Airport compared to Naga Airport, which posted a negative growth. For the volume of cargoes, Naga Airport declined both in incoming and outgoing while Legazpi Airport attained a 59.47% increase for outgoing cargoes. This meant that, depending on the type of economic output, Legazpi Airport was not utilized as transport point.

http://www.neda5.net/qres/qresinfra.htm

Are these figures (or this info, for that matter) a good sign or not, for the Bicol region?

I'm not sure how air traffic and stuff gets monitored and all, in determining an area's potential for a larger airport, or to be given a go-signal to build an airport, but this is taken from the NEDA Region 5 site:

For the 1st quarter of 2005, the airline industry obtained a moderate increase in the number of incoming and outgoing passengers compared to the last quarter’s performance. Legazpi Airport registered a total of 12,506 outgoing passengers and 12,683 incoming passengers, while Naga Airport has a total of 5,652 and 5,593 for outgoing and incoming passengers, respectively. In terms of absolute figure both for incoming and outgoing passengers, Legazpi Airport had more than twice compared to Naga Airport. Naga Airport posted two digit percent increase compared to Legazpi with a single digit increase. Meaning there are more economic activities done in the region for the current quarter compared to the preceding quarter of operation of the industry.

Comparing the quarterly operations of the first quarters of 2004 and 2005, the outgoing passengers for Legazpi and Naga Airports both posted a negative growth. The incoming passengers in Legazpi Airport posted a slight increase of 0.19% compared to Naga Airport with 5.25% decrease. The situation indicates that less passenger went to Manila while more passengers came via Legazpi Airport compared to Naga Airport, which posted a negative growth. For the volume of cargoes, Naga Airport declined both in incoming and outgoing while Legazpi Airport attained a 59.47% increase for outgoing cargoes. This meant that, depending on the type of economic output, Legazpi Airport was not utilized as transport point.

http://www.neda5.net/qres/qresinfra.htm

Are these figures (or this info, for that matter) a good sign or not, for the Bicol region?
Those figures are too low for an international airport to be feasible...

Yeah, i've never even seen how Loag International looks like...

The only one I scoured off the net...
From www.pacificwrecks.com, photo by Justin Taylan:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/laoag-airfieldjustintaylan.jpg

LAOAG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

AIRPORT PARTICULARS

I. RUNWAY PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Runway Designation: 01 / 19
Strength and Surface of Runway: PCN 44 R/A/W/U
Dimension of Runway: 2,420 x 45m
Stopway Dimensions: 60m / 100m
Slope of Runway-Stopway: 0.19%
CWY Dimensions:60m / 100m
Apron Surface: Concrete
Strip Dimensions: 2,080m x 300m

I dunno about top 10 but top 4 busiest airports in the Philippines are:

(Incoming ang Outgoing)
NAIA -
MACTAN IA-
DAVAO IA - 1,400,000 (2004)
ILOILO - 701,873 (2001)



Major Commercial International Airports
Primary International Airports

* MNL - Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila)
* CEB - Mactan-Cebu International Airport (Cebu)
* SFS - Subic Bay International Airport (Subic Bay)
* CRK - Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Angeles City)
Secondary International Airports

* DVO - Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Davao City)
* LAO - Laoag International Airport (Laoag)
* ZAM - Zamboanga International Airport (Zamboanga)
* GES - General Santos International Airport (General Santos)

Major Commercial Domestic Airports

* BAG - Loakan Airport (Baguio)
* BCD - Bacolod City Domestic Airport (Bacolod)
* DGT - Dumaguete Airport (Dumaguete City)
* PPS - Puerto Princesa Airport (Puerto Princesa)
* LGP - Legazpi Airport (Legazpi)
* TAC - Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport (Tacloban)
* CBO - Awang Airport (Cotabato)
* CGY - Lumbia Airport (Cagayan De Oro)
* RXS - Roxas City Airport (Roxas City)
* ILO - Mandurriao Airport (Iloilo)

Minor Commercial Domestic Airports

* WNP - Naga Airport (Naga City)
* MRQ - Marinduque Airport (Gasan)
* Mindoro Airport (Vigan)
* EUQ - Evelio Javier Airport (San Jose (Antique))
* KLO - Kalibo Airport (Kalibo)
* DPL - Dipolog Airport (Dipolog City)
* Calapan Airport (Calapan)
* MBO - Mamburao Airport (Mamburao)
* JOL - Jolo Airport (Jolo)
* TAG - Tagbilaran City Airport (Tagbilaran)
* PAG - Pagadian Airport (Pagadian)
* IGN - Maria Cristina Airport (Iligan)
* Sorsogon Airport (Sorsogon)
* VRC - Virac Airport (Virac)
* BXU - Butuan Airport (Butuan)
* TUG - Tuguegarao Airport (Tuguegarao)
* SUG - Surigao Airport (Surigao)
* MBT - Masbate Airport (Masbate)
* BSO - Basco Airport (Basco)
* OZC - Labo Airport (Ozamis)
* SFE - San Fernando Airport (San Fernando (La Union))
* OMC - Ormoc Airport (Ormoc)
* LBX - Lubang Airport (Lubang)
* CRM - Catarman National Airport (Catarman)
* CYP - Calbayog Airport (Calbayog)
* Plaridel Airport (Plaridel)
* BPH - Bislig Airport (Bislig)
* TDG - Tandag Airport (Tandag)
* MXI - Imelda R. Marcos Airport (Mati)
* SGS - Sanga-Sanga Airport (Bongao)
* TBH - Tablas Airport (Tablas)
* DTE - Daet Airport (Daet)
* AAV - Allah Valley Airport (Surallah)

Feeder Airports

* MPH - Malay Airport (Caticlan)
* SIA - Siargao Airport (Siargao)
* CYU - Cuyo Airport (Cuyo)
* USU - Busuanga Airport (Busuanga)
* Catbalogan Airport (Catbalogan)
* Ubay Airport (Ubay)
* CGM - Mambajao Airport (Mambajao)
* BQA - Baler Airport (Baler)
* Siquijor Airport (Siquijor)
* Palanan Airport (Palanan)
* Guimaras Airport (Buenavista)
* CDY - Cagayan de Sulu Airport (Mapun)

The Manila International Airport: (Windows were all scratched but you still see the airport)

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a138/CanadianAdmiral/P1010455.jpg

Thanks for posting, Canadian Admiral! :D Gotta love JAL's new livery...m))

Those figures are too low for an international airport to be feasible...

From what I understand though, it's not gonna be an international airport that they will begin with. They said that it will be an airport of 'international standards', and they say it means that it will just be a regional airport that is capable of being upgraded into an international one when the need arises.

I think the main concern is relocating the airport away from Mayon volcano, I'm not sure though.

The Manila International Airport: (Windows were all scratched but you still see the airport)

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a138/CanadianAdmiral/P1010455.jpg


thanks C.A. any more of these shots ?
keep them comming please, just love ´em.....!

NAIA starts using high-tech detectors

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, The Manila Times Reporter

The Manila International Airport Authority is now using powerful x-rays in baggage screening at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

To enhance security at the NAIA, four x-rays and two trace detectors were purchased.

The high-end x-ray machines are equipped with threat image projection (TIP), which are capable of detecting explosive materials in suitcases.

The United States Federal Aviation Administration uses the same technology in different airports.

The TIP feature, according to the MIAA management, enhances suspicious elements detected in bags that pass through x-ray machines by highlighting them.

The trace detectors, on the other hand, are capable of tracing compounds that are used in making explosives.

The Airport Security Inspectorate Office said that in the first week of October, officials assigned at the initial x-ray/checkpoint at the departure area of the NAIA Terminal 1 arrested persons carrying ammunition.

Airport General Manager Alfonso Cusi said more security personnel were added at the initial check-in area.

"I want to reiterate to passengers that by bringing prohibited materials at the airport, they not only risk missing their flight, they are also at risk of having a civil case filed against them," Cusi said.

From what I understand though, it's not gonna be an international airport that they will begin with. They said that it will be an airport of 'international standards', and they say it means that it will just be a regional airport that is capable of being upgraded into an international one when the need arises.

I think the main concern is relocating the airport away from Mayon volcano, I'm not sure though.

That make more sense Matteo.

Those figures are too low for an international airport to be feasible...

I agree with Chymera, the figures you supplied is not very significant for now, maybe in the long run once they have noticed a very notable increase, then that's the time to consider an airport expansion.

on following website i found data about PAL which i´m not sure is correct : www.answers.cm/topic/philippine-airlines
san diego, protland and toronto are supposed to be destinations flown by PAL. how come ? as far as i know they do not fly there, not even under codeshare alliances. anyone who know more than i do ?

from mindanao thread:

General Santos International Airport:

http://www.ato.gov.ph/Airports/APPICS/gensanterm.jpg

http://www.ato.gov.ph/Airports/APPICS/gensanrwy.jpg

http://www.ato.gov.ph/Airports/APPICS/gensanrwy3.jpg

http://www.ato.gov.ph/Airports/APPICS/gensanrwy2.jpg

Runway Designation: 17/35
Strength and Surface of Runway: 363,000kgs
RWY: Concrete; SWY: Macadam
Dimension of Runway: 3,221m x 45m
Stopway Dimensions: RWY17-300m RWY35-300m
Slope of Runway-Stopway: 0.315%
CWY Dimensions: RWY17-300m RWY35-300m
Apron Strength: 70 RBXU
Taxiway Surface and Width: Concrete; 23m

thank you sleepwalker ! it would be great to have shots and data like these on all big airports in the philippines.

as i recall, cebu pacific should be getting their 2nd A 319 soon (this month) ? and another 2 before years´end right ? any pics of them roaming around philippine skies or tarmacs (aprons) ?

Thai AirAsia gets permit for Clark-Macau-Bangkok flights

Published on Page B5 of the October 17, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THAI AIRASIA, A UNIT OF THE REGION'S most prominent budget carrier AirAsia Berhad of Malaysia, will start its Clark-Macau-Bangkok flights by the end of November after securing a provisional permit from the Civil Aeronautics Board last Friday.

CAB executive director Tomas Mañalac said the board had given Thai AirAsia a 30-day authority to fly the route. The permit is valid up to Nov. 15.

Thai AirAsia plans to sell one-way Clark-Macau tickets for as low as P1,500 and one-way Clark-Macau-Bangkok tickets for as low as P3,700. Cheap fares of budget carriers are very limited and are usually available only to those who would book their flights three months in advance.

Maalac said Tiger Airways Ltd., a low-cost carrier from Singapore, had not been given the go-ahead as there were still outstanding issues on its application for a Clark-Macau-Clark route.

Tiger Airways' application is classified as seventh freedom among aviation rights and is not allowed even under a regular bilateral deal. Thai AirAsia's route falls under the fifth freedom right, which is permitted in some bilateral deals.

Philippine Airlines, Cebu Air Pacific and Air Philippines Corp. have opposed the excessive aviation rights that the two low-cost carriers were seeking.

Thai AirAsia legal counsel Anna Paner said the low-cost carrier was originally scheduled to launch its flight to Clark last Oct. 15. But the maiden flight had to be moved most likely to the last week of November due to delays in securing the permit.

"We may have to ask for an extension of the provisional authority if we don't get the permanent approval before Nov. 15," Paner said.

CAB hearing officer Fred Villarin said his office would accept objections to the applications of Thai AirAsia and Tiger Airways until today.

PAL, the country's biggest carrier, is worried that the Macau stopover would cannibalize its Manila-Hong Kong route.

PAL president Jaime Bautista pointed out that most of the airlines in Clark were already operating outside of bilateral agreements forged by the Philippines with other governments.

Commercial aviation operations are governed by these bilateral deals, which specify routes, entitlements and frequencies that carriers from both countries could use. "They are already asking for fifth and seventh freedom when in fact, most of them are already flying outside what is allowed by existing bilateral deals," Bautista said in an interview.

He said PAL had already consented "for now" to the government's move last year to open up Clark to carriers even from countries like Singapore that have fully exhausted their air entitlements with the Philippines.

The Arroyo administration had fully deregulated cargo air rights in Clark since December 2003 and a year later, opened up the former military air base to passenger carriers to boost local tourism.

"Air agreements must be based on reciprocity. For now, PAL does not object to granting third and fourth freedom rights to carriers outside of bilateral deals. But fifth and seventh freedom is too much," Bautista said.

Flights of Thai AirAsia and the expansion of Tiger Airways are being counted on to almost double passenger traffic in Clark to 40,000 a month starting October from 22,000 a month.


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

technically, PAL and 5J have the right to claim that they're suffering, but I'm not so sure how long this protectionism to last. PAL had a virtual monopoly for over fifty years of its existence, and yet it didn't grow like SQ, MH, CX, or TG did.

but that doesn't negate the fact that Clark needs to grow, and PAL and 5J just can't address that need as long as they're hubbing in NAIA. And they shouldn't move from NAIA, at least not yet. NAIA operations are far more convenient than Clark, no matter what one says. Lucio Tan could give PAL a boost in the domestic sector by completely relocating 2P to Clark. But the cost of that would be enourmous, not to mention the fact that 2P would still be profitable in CRK without cannibalizing any more of PAL's routes.

This is indeed strange and sticky. But PAL and 5J don't exactly mention the fact that Singapore has granted us 5th freedom rights to Indonesia, and they would give a lot more; they're very generous with air rights. Also, we do have fifth freedom rights with Thailand. When PAL used to fly to Europe, it would always pick up passengers in Bangkok. PAL just isn't utilizing their fifth freedom privileges. As for seventh freedom rights, we've been giving UPS that right for a little less than a decade.





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


on following website i found data about PAL which i´m not sure is correct : www.answers.cm/topic/philippine-airlines
san diego, protland and toronto are supposed to be destinations flown by PAL. how come ? as far as i know they do not fly there, not even under codeshare alliances. anyone who know more than i do ?

err, you might not want to trust some of those sources. God knows who compiled them. PAL has never flown to those destinations in any time of its life.

^^ gr8 sources, i always wanna check out BKK, very cheap price. i hope its true, how long can u stay tho

Lucio Tan could give PAL a boost in the domestic sector by completely relocating 2P to Clark.

what or who is 2P ?

2P = Air Philippines... tama nga ba...:D

anyways.. does anyone knows what those 3rd, fifth, seventh freedom rights are?

I think that's just a wise thing to do on Lucio Tan's part, to move 2p to clark, maybe 2P can compete with other LCC carriers and rights.

Govt to Turn NAIA 1 into Hotel-Casino
Business World - 9/2/05

The Manila International Airport Authority
(MIAA) plans to turn over the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport Terminal I to Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corp. for conversion
into either a hotel-casino or a shopping
mall by late next year. This will be after
the transfer of international airport operations
to Terminal 3, which is expected to be
opened in March 2006. Other parts of Terminal
1 will be used to support operations
of freighters and airline companies with unscheduled
flights to the Philippines.

Govt to Turn NAIA 1 into Hotel-Casino
Business World - 9/2/05

The Manila International Airport Authority
(MIAA) plans to turn over the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport Terminal I to Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corp. for conversion
into either a hotel-casino or a shopping
mall by late next year. This will be after
the transfer of international airport operations
to Terminal 3, which is expected to be
opened in March 2006. Other parts of Terminal
1 will be used to support operations
of freighters and airline companies with unscheduled
flights to the Philippines.

I think that is just a stupid idea, they should save T1 for whatever future use or even just a back up terminal, it may also be for an additional domestic terminal.

at least it can be use for other purposes na kikita ang gobyeronkaysa naman nakatuwangwang lng, and i dont think its economical for the government to convert it to another domestic terminal meron ng t2 and t3 and those terminals are enough to handle domestic and international flights

2P = Air Philippines... tama nga ba...:D

anyways.. does anyone knows what those 3rd, fifth, seventh freedom rights are?

1st and 2nd rights deal with being able to fly over another country's airspace and being able to land for refueling.

3rd and 4th rights deal with point-to-point services. 3rd freedom, I think, is the right to disembark goods and passengers into a foreign country, and 4th is vice-versa.

5th freedom rights deals with serving a third point from the home country via another country, and being able to embark and disembark goods and passengers in the transit point (e.g. PAL has fifth freedom rights in Vancouver, from where it can serve Las Vegas. People may travel freely between Las Vegas and Vancouver on this PAL flight)

6th freedom deals with serving two points via the home country. Singapore Airlines is one of the world's most famous sixth freedom carriers. Sixth freedom is pretty difficult to restrict.

7th freedom is serving two points without reference whatsoever to the home country.

that's as far as I can name off the top of my head. there are others, including cabotage, but I don't know of any case where cabotage (being able to fly domestically in another country) is allowed, except for that brief time when CX flew our domestic routes when PAL collapsed.

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


Oh, as for NAIA-1 turning into a casino, it is a waste of terminal, but then again, having a huge terminal sit in villamor is a waste, too.

More NW pricing promo

FINANCIALLY troubled Northwest Airlines has pulled another pricing gimmick up its sleeve to boost capacity in its profitable trans-Pacific sector.

For $615, about the price of three roundtrip tickets to Hong Kong, Northwest is offering economy class-passage to the US West Coast good for departure from Manila throughout the Yuletide rush until Dec. 31.

Valid for six months, the "V" class ticket may be bought only through the NW website, thus cutting out the middlemen travel agents.

The promo ticket also allows free stopover in Japan during the return portion.

More NW pricing promo

FINANCIALLY troubled Northwest Airlines has pulled another pricing gimmick up its sleeve to boost capacity in its profitable trans-Pacific sector.

For $615, about the price of three roundtrip tickets to Hong Kong, Northwest is offering economy class-passage to the US West Coast good for departure from Manila throughout the Yuletide rush until Dec. 31.

Valid for six months, the "V" class ticket may be bought only through the NW website, thus cutting out the middlemen travel agents.

The promo ticket also allows free stopover in Japan during the return portion.

Wow, sounds like a good deal to me, I wish I can get away from family this winter.

at least it can be use for other purposes na kikita ang gobyeronkaysa naman nakatuwangwang lng, and i dont think its economical for the government to convert it to another domestic terminal meron ng t2 and t3 and those terminals are enough to handle domestic and international flights

Well, sooner or later T2 will also be too small for the domestic passengers , they eventually need to expand. NAIA also needs a cargo terminal building and I don't think that even if they construct a real big and ultra modern terminal building in DMIA they won't totally close down T3 as clark would be too far also for those who live in Calabarzon area.

Wow, sounds like a good deal to me, I wish I can get away from family this winter.
YOu know after 9/11 we flew to the states for only 519$!

^baka 1 way lang

Govt to Turn NAIA 1 into Hotel-Casino
Business World - 9/2/05

The Manila International Airport Authority
(MIAA) plans to turn over the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport Terminal I to Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corp. for conversion
into either a hotel-casino or a shopping
mall by late next year. This will be after
the transfer of international airport operations
to Terminal 3, which is expected to be
opened in March 2006. Other parts of Terminal
1 will be used to support operations
of freighters and airline companies with unscheduled
flights to the Philippines.


SO if they turn it into a casino, there wont be a T1 anymore, so we cant call centenial Terminal T2 and we cant call T3 as T3, so pano to...if theres no T1 there shouldnt be T2 and T3 to name subsequently....lol :bash:

Seriously, they should renovate the place to be updated with current times and use for further expansion of airline business and aviation in the Philippines. Hotel Right smack on the Airport is one stupid Idea, who would wanna rest there when Jets keep on Roaring so Loud next to ur suite. Think about it. Katangahan...wala talagang insight ang mga opesyales natin. Sinusolusyonan lang ang problema pag-andyan na. Hindi bigyan ng solusyon ang magiging problema sa darating na panahon.

^^ that would actually be a best solution if they made it the biggest duty free in the world w/casino. it would hustle people hu are waiting for their flight, and for sure theyre gonna add some hotel inside. wow that gonna b so awesome, as long as they put up a monorail around those 3 building. then it will be the best

well.. actually... if there is a hotel within the compounds of the airport... it could cater passengers whose flights are delayed or if there is a transit flight that is delayed, it could take in the passengers... rather than passengers sleeping in the airport itself...

anyways.. I don't know of any carriers transitting flights in NAIA... so this may give NAIA those kinds of flights... :D

in Austin, there is the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel that is within the compound of the airport.... so I don't see it bad to make NAIA 1 a hotel...

^but i thought megaworld allready got that commotion but im hoping that theyll just mutate NAIA 1 to hotel/casino/dutyfree et all for 1.

YOu know after 9/11 we flew to the states for only 519$!

Get outta here, which airlines? I've traveled to the Philippines a couple of times(or was it 3?anyway..) I've never been lucky to get that kind of deal, coming from the midwest. I live in Southeastern Missouri so I don't know if we can get an airfare to any point in asia under US$600.00, the lowest ever I've ever get lucky with was $700.oo something.

^but i thought megaworld allready got that commotion but im hoping that theyll just mutate NAIA 1 to hotel/casino/dutyfree et all for 1.
In an earlier news report from CUSI, in a previous thread and with ABS-CBN news,Apparently, they will turn T1 into a cargo building and then a portion of it is like, I'm not sure if I am right with this but it was supposed to be some convention or airport exhibit area.

Hotels within or next to the airport building is always a good idea ofcourse, they can always sound proof the interior so it won't pick up the noise outside.

Does anyone Know what the currenct capacity of T1, T2, and the projected capacity of T3. Can someone Tally separately? Tanx

Hotels within or next to the airport building is always a good idea ofcourse, they can always sound proof the interior so it won't pick up the noise outside.

ive seen internal airport hotel in orlando international, looks decent to me. are they kimber?

in Austin, there is the Hilton Austin Airport Hotel that is within the compound of the airport.... so I don't see it bad to make NAIA 1 a hotel...
Might as well throw in the Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport which is placed right in the McNamara Terminal/Northwest World Gateway and the Hyatt @ Dallas-Fort Worth which is right in Terminal D. Not a bad place for planespotters, I mean if I ever stay in the Westin DTW, I'd be welcomed each morning by a lineup of Northwest DC-9s. :D

ive seen internal airport hotel in orlando international, looks decent to me. are they kimber?

Orlando International Airport (MCO) does have a Hyatt hotel right inside the terminal, located between landside A and B. If you're a Delta Airlines passenger, you'll pass through the soaring atrium where you'll see the balconies of the hotel rooms to get to the security checkpoint before you board the tram to the airside gates. It's a nice hotel, they have a restaurant at the very top with a view of the whole airport property, you can watch planes take-off and land from the two runways. I believe the restaurant's name is Hemisphere.

^southwest c-nakyan ko, mura pero na denguy ako.

^^ Oh yeah....and Southwest Airlines too! :colgate:

I think that's just a wise thing to do on Lucio Tan's part, to move 2p to clark, maybe 2P can compete with other LCC carriers and rights.

good idea, it like playing chess....
on the other hand, try move just 2 planes to DMIA and test if competition picks up. but then they don´t´fly to macau, singapore or bangkok, so how can you compete. i believe flying to china and korea (regional 2P destinations and biggest tourist growth markets for the country right now !) and having direct access to T 2 (2P regional flights dock at T 2) and to PAL flights within the country are good tactics for the only existing domestic code-share partners and makes good sence. don´t you agree ?

I think that is just a stupid idea, they should save T1 for whatever future use or even just a back up terminal, it may also be for an additional domestic terminal.

i would suggest to convert T 1 into an exclusive cebu pacific terminal bringing in their regional passengers to all their connecting domestic services, just like PAL is doing in T 2, together with 2P´s regional incomming passengers (code-sharing with PAL). then you have fair play for all 3 philippine regional carriers. asian spirit, seair, pacific air, interisland airlines and all the other feeder air services could then dock at the back side of T 3, to pick up international passengers from international airlines for direct connections to boracay, siargao, busuanga, el nido, and other beach-resort islands, to those the "big three" do not fly to directly. again we would have another competative equaly distributed fair-play for all philippine carriers. and T 3 would not loose much income, if CEB moves to T 1. sounds complicated, but
actually is very simple common sence.

SO if they turn it into a casino, there wont be a T1 anymore, so we cant call centenial Terminal T2 and we cant call T3 as T3, so pano to...if theres no T1 there shouldnt be T2 and T3 to name subsequently....lol :bash:

Seriously, they should renovate the place to be updated with current times and use for further expansion of airline business and aviation in the Philippines. Hotel Right smack on the Airport is one stupid Idea, who would wanna rest there when Jets keep on Roaring so Loud next to ur suite. Think about it. Katangahan...wala talagang insight ang mga opesyales natin. Sinusolusyonan lang ang problema pag-andyan na. Hindi bigyan ng solusyon ang magiging problema sa darating na panahon.

well most transit passengers will probably use the hotel for day let or 1 night stay and besides i dont think modern jet engines are that far too noise to disturb sleeping guests or cause any inconvenience, the terminal itself is not too close to the runaway to cause so much noise from departing or arriving aircrafts, i agree they should build a hotel with soundproofed rooms

ive seen internal airport hotel in orlando international, looks decent to me. are they kimber?

The problem with these whole idea is that T1 is a long ways from T3, MCO, DTW, and other US airports with hotels connected to it are all within just a few walks away, Mactan airport has Waterfront Hotel just across the Terminal building which is a perfect set up, so, having a mall/duty free specialty mall and hotel at T1 would be a waste because even if there is a tram or train to connect the 3 terminals it will still take awhile to go from T1 to T3 for those passengers who wanted to pass some time for their next flight, besides. Marriot will soon be built within the area of T1 am I right?

I kinda agree with Oleneil about upgrading t1 and use it for future expansion of the airport, maybe for the time being partly for domestic departure and arrival as I think T2 will still be too small for all the domestic operations i can see it happening in 3-5 years time , the portion of t1 can be used for VIPs and foreign dignitaries. I've noticed that whenever the Phil President needs to visit other countries, they close a portion of t2 north wing to give way for the president departure. So, having a VIP receiving area it will not hamper the airport's operations even if it's not a daily occurance besides it would be nice to receive foreign dignitaries in a separate area .

^no, theyre connected by a monorail, walking distant u gota b kidding
anyway, they havent even open NAia3, n I'm all talk, lets open the airport first before planning to do anything w/the NA1.

well many airport hotels around the globe in london or paris are not exactly in the perimeter of the airport itself, they are at least 5 kms from the airport, but t1 if ever converted into an airport/casino/mall complex will be the closest and most convenient of all, i dont think it will take that much time to hop from t1 to t 3

^no, theyre connected by a monorail, walking distant u gota b kidding

Well, the hotels are still within the terminal main building or adjascent to it unlike t1 and t3 a monorail will have to cross a runway and t2. MCO's Hotel lobby is in the security and check-in counters of the main terminal if you are flying with Delta airlines.I said "almost" within walks away which means you maybe getting in a monorail/tram and out to the hotel lobby which is a short distance from the main terminal building and not having to go through a loop or the traffic to get in the hotel.

Besides, remember it's been discussed here that there is a planned Hotel which is Marriot Hotel? from my understanding it would be within T3 it maybe be next to it or across the street, I am not sure on that one.

well many airport hotels around the globe in london or paris are not exactly in the perimeter of the airport itself, they are at least 5 kms from the airport, but t1 if ever converted into an airport/casino/mall complex will be the closest and most convenient of all, i dont think it will take that much time to hop from t1 to t 3


yeah, but tigs is talking about a hotel connected directly by a monorail from the main airport terminal building, sure, all airport's in the world have several hotels within atleast 5 miles or better reach. You have to hail the hotel shuttle service and out of the traffic to get in those hotels.

I'm note sure about the use of mall and casinos, i don't think any passengers waiting for the next flight would have time to gamble or anything not that everybody gambles. IF there is a casino or Mall there it would just be for the public use and not directly for the use of the passenger. Remember, they said t3 will have a Mall or mini mall inside.

^remember that they suppose to dig up a tunnel, is that for customers or just for balikbayan boxs. well, if its for ppol then wouldnt they shove that tram in that tunnel, para mas ez access but like what u sed marriot is bilding a hotel in the vicinity of the erport.

o ye how come i never saw any1 wearing customs in naia when ur getting out trying to attract customer for their hotel unlike mactan. theyre even wering bota.

The tunnel was supposed to play a dual role for both passengers and cargo. It was meant to connect both Terminal 2 and 3.

As for in-airport casinos...McCarran Int'l Airport @ Las Vegas is good enough as it is. :D

^remember that they suppose to dig up a tunnel, is that for customers or just for balikbayan boxs. well, if its for ppol then wouldnt they shove that tram in that tunnel, para mas ez access but like what u sed marriot is bilding a hotel in the vicinity of the erport.

o ye how come i never saw any1 wearing customs in naia when ur getting out trying to attract customer for their hotel unlike mactan. theyre even wering bota.
Was that tunnel they were refering to(or planning to build) would go as far as T1? I have a feeling that it's between T2 and T3 only. If that's the case T1 would be useless if the authorities would convert it into a mall/casino/hotel. As far as I know the monorail is beyond the budget so they might just construct an access road between T2 and T3.

What's a "bota"? I only understood some of your typing because I'm used with the "internet typonese" and the shortened english words which is almost like a jargon to me.

^ boots, flood boots, bota yata tawag dun eh. well, just get used to it, bro, this is not inglis 101. dont kill yourself, i dont understand it either sometimes, and then when i try to correct it, i would forget what i was trying to convey but i guess i should start typing in a correct manner now huh :lol:, Not

Marriot will soon be built within the area of T1 am I right?

nope, it will be built afront T3. and there already is a hotel next to T2 remember ?

nope, it will be built afront T3. and there already is a hotel next to T2 remember ?
Indeed there is one next to Terminal 2 but the Philippine Village has been closed for quite some time already. I remember staying there back in 94 as our United Airlines flight from NRT came in late at night while the next PAL domestic flight to Iloilo was in the morning. Those were the days...:(

Well, one runway isn't too bad... LGW has one runway, too :) And that airport has more than double the traffic of NAIA.

Single RWY - It all depends on the usability factor of the runway, pending on wind directions / speeds / buildings or landscape that couse turbulance aswell. Therefore it's very important to choose the directions of the RWY carefully. Many aerodromes have only one RWY (acutally two as the run both directions) but crosswinds always affect the operation. In the case of a single RWY aerodrome it's important to have a alternate aerodrome as close as possible to serve the diverting traffic.

Rgds/Gudjon Atlason/ Iceland

Indeed there is one next to Terminal 2 but the Philippine Village has been closed for quite some time already. I remember staying there back in 94 as our United Airlines flight from NRT came in late at night while the next PAL domestic flight to Iloilo was in the morning. Those were the days...:(

That hotel by T2 is closed? Well then, they have the means to expand T2 then if PAL won't move to T3, or just merely expand to accomodate other domestic airlines, they can demolish that building and then occupy the old Nayong Pilipino, I've looked at the aerial view of the whole NAIA, there is an ample space from T2 down to the current domestic airport, so if they expand it to that point, with an access road from T3, it would be close enough to do the domestic transfers and cargo. It maybe even cheaper to build a monorail with that short of a distance. I don't know, it's just an idea.

yeah, but tigs is talking about a hotel connected directly by a monorail from the main airport terminal building, sure, all airport's in the world have several hotels within atleast 5 miles or better reach. You have to hail the hotel shuttle service and out of the traffic to get in those hotels.

I'm note sure about the use of mall and casinos, i don't think any passengers waiting for the next flight would have time to gamble or anything not that everybody gambles. IF there is a casino or Mall there it would just be for the public use and not directly for the use of the passenger. Remember, they said t3 will have a Mall or mini mall inside.

there are few airports hotels directly connecting to a terminal but i never heard of an airport hotel direcltly linked to an airports internal transportation systems, very few airports hotels in the world exist directly having access to an airport terminal building like for example the hilton heathrow in london in linked to terminal 4 by walkway or the sheraton in paris cdg which is located in terminal 2

malls and casino can be use by transiting pax to pass time by while waiting for their next flight, but of course using the casino could be restricted for outgoing passengers having the same day flights, as they could be cause of the delay of departing aircrafts

there are few airports hotels directly connecting to a terminal but i never heard of an airport hotel direcltly linked to an airports internal transportation systems, very few airports hotels in the world exist directly having access to an airport terminal building like for example the hilton heathrow in london in linked to terminal 4 by walkway or the sheraton in paris cdg which is located in terminal 2

malls and casino can be use by transiting pax to pass time by while waiting for their next flight, but of course using the casino could be restricted for outgoing passengers having the same day flights, as they could be cause of the delay of departing aircrafts

I don't think transiting passengers would have the energy to even gamble before their next domestic flight from an international flights especially if they all came from Europe and North America, neither do OFC would spend their hard earned money on gambling before they get together with their families.

As far as international transit passengers. Are there really such a thing in NAIA? I only know of one possible international transfer, it would be the flight to Brunei from south pacific islands via continental airlines transfering to/code share with Royal Brunei Airlines, i'm not so sure about it though.

Mactan Cebu International Airport Updates!

MCIA will borrow P600 million for immediate upgrading of facilities
to be completed last quarter of 2006 in time for the ASEAN ministers' meeting in Cebu City:

additional parking ramp P100 million
two movable air bridges & two high-end cargo X-ray machines P400 million
overlay of the taxiway P100 million

MCIA completed two months ago:
P123-million improvement of its runway
purchased nine brand-new X-ray machines

MCIA has currently four air bridges which could no longer accommodate the increasing number of flights landing in and taking off from Cebu.

P2 billion MCIA Terminal II to be ready in next three years!

From about 2.5 million passengers last year, the Cebu airport expects to handle five million passengers in five years


Flights to the Cebu airport has been steadily increasing:

Philippine Airlines is scheduled to mount Cebu-Guangzhou China four times weekly before the end of the year

Qatar Airways will introduce new flights of Middle East route direct from Cebu this quarter.

Silk Air, a unit of Singapore Airlines to double its flights to Cebu so it can mount Singapore-Cebu direct flights instead of its present Singapore-Davao-Cebu route.

updates from rusty18 on the cebu thread

how big is the terminal II whts its capacity

Speaking of MCIA...

AFTER 12 YEARS: Airport, Air Force ink P60M deal

The Freeman 10/17/2005

After 12 years, the airport authority finally and formally took over some 30 hectares of the Mactan Air Base in a P60 million deal.

Under the memorandum of agreement, the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority pays P60 million to the Philippine Air Force by way of restitution for facilities that may have to be destroyed with the takeover. The P60 million represents net of replication and relocation costs. Twice amended.
A copy of the agreement furnished to The FREEMAN showed that turnover and takeover arrangements date back some 12 years ago following plans to expand the airport and develop export processing zones. On May 27, 1993, the departments of defense, trade and industry and transportation entered into a memorandum of agreement delineating the areas at Mactan Air Base and the Mactan International Airport for economic and social development. Since then the draft was amended twice, first on October 23, 1993 and some eight months later on June 1994.

The pact that was entered into by and among DND, DTI and DOTC authorized MCIAA and the Mactan Export Processing Zone Authority to take over Mactan Air Base in phases. But it was after two years or on April 17, 1996 when Presidential Proclamation 786 was issued declaring portions of the Mactan Air Base into a special economic zone designated as the Mactan Special Economic Zone II.

The agreement also provides that PAF structures and facilities within the MSEZ II will be transferred to a relocation site. Upon payment by the airport authority, the Air Force would also turn over fuel tank areas and fuel tanks to MCIAA. Long wait over.
Locators have since opened factories at MSEZ II since 1996 but in September last year, Air Force soldiers reportedly tried to unilaterally enforce work stoppage at the zone facility. This prompted the resumption of negotiations on the takeover and transfer.

It was only in August 24 this year that the airport authority board adopted a resolution authorizing general manager Adelberto Yap to consummate the long overdue agreement.

The deal was signed last month with Defense Secretary Avelino J. Cruz, Jr. representing DND-PAF and Transportation Secretary Leandro R. Mendoza for DOTC. Air Force commanding general Jose L. Reyes and airport general manager Adelberto Yap signed as witnesses. - Ruth G. Mercado

cebu pacific´s next A 319 arriving :
So far, the airline already received two Airbus 320s for lease. One A319 was already delivered early this month and another one is scheduled this Sunday. Two more would be delivered in December. For 2006, two more aircraft would be delivered each month in June and July and one each in August and September. The last delivery would be in 2007.

Cebu Pacific Air seeks BOI incentives for refleeting plan
By BERNIE CAHILES–MAGKILAT

Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), the country’s second flagship carrier, is seeking incentives with the Board of Investments (BoI) for its multi-billion peso refleeting program for its aggressive expansion both in the domestic as well as international routes.

CEB, the airline unit of publicly-listed JG Summit Holdings Inc., has formally applied for registration for incentives availment purposes with the BoI.

Officials, however, refused to divulge the project cost but the acquisition cost for the 12 aircraft the airline is buying would amount to $670 million of which 85 percent is being financed through an aircraft-financing agreement with export credit agencies. Two more units would be leased.

BoI official said that as early as May 2004, CEB had intended to register its project as soon as the financial closure of the aircraft acquisition agreement is completed.

Recent reports said that CEB already concluded its financial closure agreement thus facilitating the project’s registration with the BoI. The BoI, however, is yet to act on the application pending clarification as to what approach should be taken to entitle the company of incentives.

The official said that CEB is clarifying whether or not the application for incentives should be treated on a per aircraft basis, per delivery basis since the aircraft would be coming in tranches between this year and 2007 or if the entire 14 refleeting program should be taken as a single project.

This issue is crucial because if the incentives would be given on per aircraft basis, CEB may be able to avail of a longer income tax holiday incentive.

Under a pioneer status, a project is entitled to as long as eight year ITH and four years for non-pioneer status. A meeting between CEB and BoI officials is set on the 24th this month to iron out the issue.

A CEB official noted that a refleeting entails a huge investment but it is difficult to quantify the incremental value of the investment.

"We are replacing all of our aircraft, should this be considered an entirely new project or just an expansion?" the source said.

CEB said it would bring in six aircraft this year, 6 next year and two more in 2007.

So far, the airline already received two Airbus 320s for lease. One A319 was already delivered early this month and another one is scheduled this Sunday. Two more would be delivered in December.

For 2006, two more aircraft would be delivered each month in June and July and one each in August and September. The last delivery would be in 2007.

Earlier, the company said it would double its net income this year with the acquisition of new low-cost aircraft to P300 million to P400 million from last year.

The $670-million refleeting program will make the company’s fleet the youngest in the Philippines and one of the youngest in the region. The program was meant to replace all its old DC-9s aircrafts, with ages averaging 25 to 27 years old.

With new aircraft and added frequencies, the company expects a more efficient operation. The Gokongweis through its holding firm own 49 percent in the airline.

^^ Oh yeah....and Southwest Airlines too! :colgate:
what about southwest airlines? Do they have international service? I thought it was just within the US?

^^ Yes, Southwest Airlines only serves the US domestic market, they don't fly international routes. But the airline uses Orlando International Airport, is that why you were confused? :colgate:

^^ Yes, Southwest Airlines only serves the US domestic market, they don't fly international routes. But the airline uses Orlando International Airport, is that why you were confused? :colgate:


I guess... I also thought you were saying you've got a cheaper airfare to the Philippines via Southwest airlines. I've never flown southwest before, I know it's cheaper. Is the Service good also. I can flyout of KC or STL if I wanted to fly with SWairlines.

how big is the terminal II whts its capacity

well, if they plan to double their passenger statistics within 5 years, the capacity of T2 would probably exceed 2.5 million passengers i suppose. do not have any further infos. have not seen any press releases so far. transfered this article from the cebu thread/rusty18 posted it. maybe he can answer that question ?

Someone told me in an earlier post here or was it on Cebu discussions that MCIA is currently building those bridges already and apparently, it's not just two but three additonal bridges. I would love to see a real world class and state of the art T2 in cebu even if it's a smaller airport.

BOC-NAIA distributes primers to international airlines
By Rainier Allan Ronda
The Philippine Star 10/20/2005

The Bureau of Customs-Ninoy Aquino International Airport (BOC-NAIA) distributed yesterday Customs primers to the different international airlines operating at the complex to improve services to passengers.

The primers intend to educate passengers of Customs procedures and laws as well as give them a mechanism for giving feedback on the service they were given at the airport.

The distribution of the primers was presided over by no less than Customs Commissioner Alexander Arevalo and BOC-NAIA District Collector Ricardo Belmonte.

Belmonte said international airlines are expected to immediately distribute the primers to their Manila-bound passengers, who will be informed of the goods and items that are prohibited from being taken into the country, those that are regulated, and those that are taxable.

The primers also has a section for a feedback form that encourages passengers to comment on the BOC services at the NAIA.

Belmonte said the information on the goods and items that are subject to Customs tax and duties intends to educate passengers extensively to prevent disputes at the Customs lanes at the NAIA Terminals I and II.

Carmelita Manahan-Talusan, NAIA collector, said the feedback form was included in a bid to provide passengers a forum, where they can vent their complaints and avoid to some degree, disputes that arise at the airport.

Talusan pointed out that the feedback form can also ensure transparency since passengers can point out irregularities.

He said they will soon have the Customs declaration forms attached to the Customs primers to make it more easy to distribute to passengers.

The glossy primers, printed out at no cost to government since printing was shouldered by a telecommuncations company, will also be distributed to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Tourism, Bureau of Quarantine, embassies, travel agencies and other agencies.

It was learned that the Customs primer program of BOC-NAIA had been recently hailed during a recent Solana Convention Summit conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman with Tony Kwok, Hong Kong’s famed anti-corruption czar, as guest, as a first of its kind initiative of a government agency meant to ensure transparency and improvement of delivery of service to the people.

Someone told me in an earlier post here or was it on Cebu discussions that MCIA is currently building those bridges already and apparently, it's not just two but three additonal bridges. I would love to see a real world class and state of the art T2 in cebu even if it's a smaller airport.

i think before they can build those 2 or 3 bridges, they have to pave the tarmac extension. otherwise on what will boarding bridges stand on. the airport extension is supposed to be on the north side, so supposedly around the corner of the terminal. they have to clear all the obstructions, like trees, gras, from there first. (check the aerial of the terminal once posted in this forum) so i do not believe they are already building any bridges yet. or is this photo posted old ?

Mactan Cebu International Airport Updates!
Oct. 19, 2005 - Inq7.net

MCIA will borrow P600 million for immediate upgrading of facilities
to be completed last quarter of 2006 in time for the ASEAN ministers' meeting in Cebu City:

additional parking ramp P100 million
two movable air bridges & two high-end cargo X-ray machines P400 million
overlay of the taxiway P100 million

MCIA completed two months ago:
P123-million improvement of its runway
purchased nine brand-new X-ray machines

MCIA has currently four air bridges which could no longer accommodate the increasing number of flights landing in and taking off from Cebu.

P2 billion MCIA Terminal II to be ready in next three years!

From about 2.5 million passengers last year, the Cebu airport expects to handle five million passengers in five years


Flights to the Cebu airport has been steadily increasing:

Philippine Airlines is scheduled to mount Cebu-Guangzhou China four times weekly before the end of the year

Qatar Airways will introduce new flights of Middle East route direct from Cebu this quarter.

Silk Air, a unit of Singapore Airlines to double its flights to Cebu so it can mount Singapore-Cebu direct flights instead of its present Singapore-Davao-Cebu route.


i think before they can build those 2 or 3 bridges, they have to pave the tarmac extension. otherwise on what will boarding bridges stand on. the airport extension is supposed to be on the north side, so supposedly around the corner of the terminal. they have to clear all the obstructions, like trees, gras, from there first. (check the aerial of the terminal once posted in this forum) so i do not believe they are already building any bridges yet. or is this photo posted old ?

an announcement from the MCIA was to build additional 2 airbridges (not 3 as previously posted). it was noted that those are gonna be movable airbridges. since i have no idea about airport stuff, will the paving of tarmac extension still necessary for these? movable sounds non-permanent for me but i dunno why the completion of the upgrades will finish late next year. but i hope someone could clarify on this. with regards to MCIA Terminal II, no rendering whatsoever is available. i'll do everything to gather more infos but as of now, we were only told that MCIA will need to have an airport terminal that can handle 5 million passengers before 2010. :)

i think before they can build those 2 or 3 bridges, they have to pave the tarmac extension. otherwise on what will boarding bridges stand on. the airport extension is supposed to be on the north side, so supposedly around the corner of the terminal. they have to clear all the obstructions, like trees, gras, from there first. (check the aerial of the terminal once posted in this forum) so i do not believe they are already building any bridges yet. or is this photo posted old ?


I think that was an old photo, they just started building the additional bridges and I am sure they will pave that area to extend the tarmac. I really have no clue where in the building they will add those 2 bridges as if you look t the left side in the picture, there is that firestation and the control tower, to the right, there is a little space where there are about 2 gates I think that doesn't have those contact bridges but there is a stair instead so the passengers can walk to the aircraft parked on that tarmac, further right to it, I think it is a cargo building if I am not mistaken, so I don't know how the whole set up is .

asean minister meeting meaning the head of states of asean countries will meet in cebu this coming december????

Cebu Pacific Air seeks BOI incentives for refleeting plan
By BERNIE CAHILES–MAGKILAT

Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), the country’s second flagship carrier, is seeking incentives with the Board of Investments (BoI) for its multi-billion peso refleeting program for its aggressive expansion both in the domestic as well as international routes.

CEB, the airline unit of publicly-listed JG Summit Holdings Inc., has formally applied for registration for incentives availment purposes with the BoI.

Officials, however, refused to divulge the project cost but the acquisition cost for the 12 aircraft the airline is buying would amount to $670 million of which 85 percent is being financed through an aircraft-financing agreement with export credit agencies. Two more units would be leased.

BoI official said that as early as May 2004, CEB had intended to register its project as soon as the financial closure of the aircraft acquisition agreement is completed.

Recent reports said that CEB already concluded its financial closure agreement thus facilitating the project’s registration with the BoI. The BoI, however, is yet to act on the application pending clarification as to what approach should be taken to entitle the company of incentives.

The official said that CEB is clarifying whether or not the application for incentives should be treated on a per aircraft basis, per delivery basis since the aircraft would be coming in tranches between this year and 2007 or if the entire 14 refleeting program should be taken as a single project.

This issue is crucial because if the incentives would be given on per aircraft basis, CEB may be able to avail of a longer income tax holiday incentive.

Under a pioneer status, a project is entitled to as long as eight year ITH and four years for non-pioneer status. A meeting between CEB and BoI officials is set on the 24th this month to iron out the issue.

A CEB official noted that a refleeting entails a huge investment but it is difficult to quantify the incremental value of the investment.

"We are replacing all of our aircraft, should this be considered an entirely new project or just an expansion?" the source said.

CEB said it would bring in six aircraft this year, 6 next year and two more in 2007.

So far, the airline already received two Airbus 320s for lease. One A319 was already delivered early this month and another one is scheduled this Sunday. Two more would be delivered in December.

For 2006, two more aircraft would be delivered each month in June and July and one each in August and September. The last delivery would be in 2007.

Earlier, the company said it would double its net income this year with the acquisition of new low-cost aircraft to P300 million to P400 million from last year.

The $670-million refleeting program will make the company’s fleet the youngest in the Philippines and one of the youngest in the region. The program was meant to replace all its old DC-9s aircrafts, with ages averaging 25 to 27 years old.

With new aircraft and added frequencies, the company expects a more efficient operation. The Gokongweis through its holding firm own 49 percent in the airline.

theyre going to give them tax incentives for investing on those planes and then wht benefit will the government and the public gets, jst yesterday they announced that they will increase their fares by 10% because of the EVAT, so if theyre going to buy those planes and ask the government not to tax them, i hope the government can also get some concessions from CEP by g not raising their fares

asean minister meeting meaning the head of states of asean countries will meet in cebu this coming december????

skyline, its gonna be on November next year. the upgrading of facilities will be completed just in time for that important event :)

I guess... I also thought you were saying you've got a cheaper airfare to the Philippines via Southwest airlines. I've never flown southwest before, I know it's cheaper. Is the Service good also. I can flyout of KC or STL if I wanted to fly with SWairlines.

All I can say is you get what you pay for. Southwest Airlines is a low-cost, no-frills airlines and they do live by that mantra. By the way, watch TLC on TV and look out for the show "Airline," it's a show about a-day-in-the-life of Southwest Airlines.

theyre going to give them tax incentives for investing on those planes and then wht benefit will the government and the public gets, jst yesterday they announced that they will increase their fares by 10% because of the EVAT, so if theyre going to buy those planes and ask the government not to tax them, i hope the government can also get some concessions from CEP by g not raising their fares
I totally agree, why would an airline get incentives. They even prevent other people from setting up airlines and they don't need to reinvest if they don't want to they can just choose to lose market share . These big business groups sobra talaga minsan kaya ganito bansa natin swapang.

PAL sets Beijing return 11 November; tourism boost seen

Philippine Airlines will start a regular service between Manila and Beijing on 11 November 2005, giving the flag carrier a direct link to the political and cultural heart of China, and a third gateway to one of the world's most dynamic tourist markets.

The service will operate three times a week, with departures from Manila (PR 358) every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Arrival at Beijing Capital Airport is at 11:55 a.m.

The return service, PR 359, departs Beijing on the same days at 12:55 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 5:15 p.m.

PAL will deploy widebody Airbus A330-300 aircraft on the first two flight dates, November 11 and 13, to accommodate the expected crush of passengers on the inaugural services. Thereafter, the airline switches to the Airbus A320, the reliable workhorse of its Asian regional operations.

The new-generation jet seats a total of 150 in a bi-class layout - 12 in Mabuhay (business) class and 138 in economy.

PAL will be returning to Beijing after 16 years, the long absence reflecting the giant strides the Chinese capital - and the nation at large - have taken in the last decade and a half.

When PAL first flew to Peking, as Beijing was known then, on August 1, 1979, the People's Republic was an austere, closed society that had little contact with the outside world. PAL made history then, becoming the first Asian airline to operate scheduled flights to communist China.

That pioneering service, initially routed via Guangzhou and, later, Xiamen, lasted until June 1989, when it was suspended for commercial reasons.

Today, Beijing is a cosmopolitan city of 7.2 million people and presides over the world's fastest-growing economy, which has transformed China into a regional superpower with increasing global clout.

Beijing is PAL's third destination in China. The airline already operates a daily service to Shanghai and four-times-weekly flights to Xiamen in southern Fujian province.

More importantly, Beijing provides PAL a bigger platform from which to access a burgeoning tourist market. The World Tourism Organization estimates that the number of Chinese traveling overseas will soar from the current 10 million a year to 50 million by 2010, and to 100 million by 2020. This will make China the leading source of tourists worldwide.

The Philippines has yet to take advantage of this booming traffic. In the first six months of 2005, the country welcomed only 55,426 visitors from China (compared to 328,673 from the top-ranked United States), indicating immense potential for expansion.

PAL will aim to accelerate that traffic stream, and in the process inject a much-needed boost to the Philippine economy.

The addition of Beijing extends the PAL international network to 26 points in 14 countries and territories. The airline also flies to 19 points in the Philippines

All I can say is you get what you pay for. Southwest Airlines is a low-cost, no-frills airlines and they do live by that mantra. By the way, watch TLC on TV and look out for the show "Airline," it's a show about a-day-in-the-life of Southwest Airlines.
Pare, it's A&E, not TLC. They run it on Monday or Tuesday nights (I dunno, I have to check again since they seemed to have shifted it these past couple weeks) and you can always just catch it again in Saturday afternoons. Awesome show IMHO. :D

^^ Ooops! My bad....thanks for the correction! It is indeed A&E, I like the show too! Have you seen the European version of the show? I forgot what LCC they used for it though. :dunno:

^ive seen part of the show, its really dumb, bunch of white hicks just bickering why were they waiting, such a retarded show.

Philippine Airlines is scheduled to mount Cebu-Guangzhou China four times weekly before the end of the year.....

how come there are no infos on PAL´s new service from cebu to guangzhou supposed to start this year ? googled without results, and nothing on PAL´s website either....are you sure this info is correct ?

All I can say is you get what you pay for. Southwest Airlines is a low-cost, no-frills airlines and they do live by that mantra. By the way, watch TLC on TV and look out for the show "Airline," it's a show about a-day-in-the-life of Southwest Airlines.

Oh yeah, I remember seing that show on TLC, they even featured William hung from the american idol outcast..LOL

I'm not sure if this thing belongs to Philippine Tourism section or Is it appropriate for this thread?

Gulf Air president visits RP to boost global sales


The top executive of Gulf Air is scheduled to arrive in the country Friday to further strengthen the airline’s worldwide operations.

James Hogan, Gulf Air president and chief executive, will be met by executives of the airline’s Philippine operations, led by Roberto Hukom, country manager.

This is Hogan’s first visit to the Philippines since he assumed the airline’s top post in 2002. Hukom said Hogan will be meeting with local Gulf Air executives and ranking government officials from aviation, transportation and tourism sectors.

During his visit, Hogan is expected to lay down plans to forge partnerships with local companies.

"[His visit] reaffirms how important Philippine operations is to the airline’s worldwide network," Hukom said.

Gulf Air operates to and from Manila nine times weekly to major destinations in the Gulf, Middle East, Europe and other key cities. The airline’s worldwide network covers 44 cities in 30 countries.

In December Gulf Air will start flying to Dublin, Ireland and Johannesburg, South Africa, to serve the growing travel market to and from those countries. The Philippines-Dublin flight is expected to benefit overseas Filipino workers, nurses and businessmen.

Hukom credited Hogan for Gulf Air’s dramatic turnaround in 2004 and a major corporate facelift that enable the airline to position itself as one of the world’s best airlines.

Jonathan M. Hicap

For comments, go to the message board.

don´t worry xdieseljockx,
anything that conserns the philippines and the airline business fits on this thread....

^^ arggh y johhanesburg such a bad town, all i can say is watch out for the egoys

Oh yeah, I remember seing that show on TLC, they even featured William hung from the american idol outcast..LOL

at first, i thought william hung was pnoi, he resemblance so much of some pnois somehow

at first, i thought william hung was pnoi, he resemblance so much of some pnois somehow[/QUOTE]

sorry tigidig but i object to that. no offence to william hung but he is not a pinoy.lol

^^ arggh y johhanesburg such a bad town, all i can say is watch out for the egoys

Why is Joburg a bad town? It looks rather scenic and beautiful from the photos I've seen, also the Amazing Race once had a pit-stop there, they may not have chosen that fine city if it wasn't in the least bit safe. And what's with the racial profiling? :dunno:

^^ Ooops! My bad....thanks for the correction! It is indeed A&E, I like the show too! Have you seen the European version of the show? I forgot what LCC they used for it though. :dunno:
They used Easyjet for the EU version. :D I believe I heard somewhere around Airliners.net that when they were going to make the American version of Airline, they tried getting American Airlines but that one fell through. Besides you don't that many colorful people on a legacy anyways. :D

Oh yeah, I remember seing that show on TLC, they even featured William hung from the american idol outcast..LOL
Oh gawd don't remind me of that episode... :runaway:

Anyhow here's some major news for PAL. (courtesy of absent-minded)

PAL to get more Airbus 320s
Link to the article (http://money.inq7.net/topstories/view_topstories.php?yyyy=2005&mon=10&dd=21&file=6)
Inquirer News Service | Oct. 21, 2005

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL), in a refleeting and fleet modernization program, is expecting delivery of three newly leased Airbus 320s starting this month up to December, company president Jaime Bautista said.

These will be in addition to three aircraft delivered by Airbus since November last year.

The first A-320 will be delivered on Oct. 31, the second at end-November and the third before Christmas, Bautista said.

PAL recently signed a lease agreement on two 150-seater Airbus 319s that will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2006, he added.

The company's plan is to replace 13 of its narrow-bodied planes and add three more Airbuses in the next two years.

The refleeting will give PAL more flexibility in exploring new routes, Bautista said.

PAL, which at present has 30 planes for domestic and overseas operations, including six Airbuses, plans to have an all-Airbus fleet by the end of 2009.

Bautista said having uniform aircraft would be more efficient and would give the company some savings.

Use of newer planes will allow faster turnaround, which is essential in improving PAL's on-time performance, he noted.

PAL has been profitable since last year but the surging prices of fuel have been increasing its costs substantially.

It is spending about $65 million on the modernization of its domestic fleet. The amount covers the spare parts provisioning required by the aircraft lessor to ensure that parts that have to be replaced during the term of the lease have been paid for.

PAL, controlled by Chinese-Filipino tycoon Lucio Tan, has entered into five-year leasing agreements for the meantime instead of buying new planes, unlike Cebu Air Pacific of fellow magnate John Gokongwei, which has bought 12 new Airbus 319s for $500 million.

Cebu Pacific, the second-largest airline after PAL, expects delivery of the A-319s between this year and early 2007.

It has also leased two new A-320s, which it has started to use on major domestic destinations like Cebu City and Davao City. Clarissa S. Batino, with INQ7.net

Saturday, October 22, 2005

CebuPac secures funds for refleeting

A DAY after receiving their new set of planes, Cebu Pacific signed Friday an aircraft financing agreement with three international export credit agencies for the acquisition of another Airbus aircraft.

The Gokongwei-owned airline secured a P25.83-million financing deal from the Export Credit Guarantee Department of the United Kingdom, Euler Hermes AG of Germany and Coface Group of France.

Earlier, Lance Y. Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific president and chief executive officer, told reporters the airline needed to raise $400 million to buy as many as fourteen Airbus A320s and A319s, which are 168-seater and 150-seater planes, respectively.

The new Cebu Pacific A320.
http://www.aviationnews.com.au/News_Stories/News_Story_Images/Cebu%20Pacific%20A320%20No1.jpg

While it has plans to acquire new aircraft until February 2007, Cebu Pacific currently uses a fleet of eleven DC 9-32 McDonnell Douglas aircrafts, each with a 110 to 115 seating capacity, as well as three Boeing 757s, which can carry 150 passengers.
--Cai U. Ordinario

this can be quite sad:

SAYS DFA
In APEC, only RP has no state-of-the-art passport system

First posted 09:56pm (Mla time) Oct 21, 2005
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net


AMONG the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, only the Philippines does not have a machine-readable passport believed crucial in tracking down terrorists and other international criminals.
Daniel Espiritu, foreign affairs undersecretary for international economic relations, said the Philippines has yet to comply with this APEC requirement.

“[APEC] recognizes that the major casualty of a terrorist attack is the economy,” said Daniel Espiritu, special assistant to Custodio. “The core activity is risk management.”

The APEC counter-terrorism framework includes discussions on the security of movement of people, goods, information, and capital.

A machine-readable passport, which falls under the movement of people category, facilitates the screening of “threat individuals” like terrorists, criminals, and even human traffickers.

But since APEC “is [a] voluntary” organization, Custodio said the agreements could not be forced upon its member economies.
principal question is capability,” he said, adding that those capable of implementing the agreements are encouraged to do so. “Also, this is still a developing framework.”

Espiritu said the only disadvantage that a non-machine readable passport has is that it takes a little longer to check the authenticity of passports.

The International Police (Interpol) already provides countries with a watch list on stolen and fraudulent passports, he said.

APEC leaders are set to meet in Busan, South Korea in November.

Some of the anti-terror measures the leaders will discuss include security of maritime and aviation ports, use of anti-money laundering laws to stop the financing of terror groups, and protecting websites from cyberspace attacks.

The 21 APEC member economies are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the United States.

Just a couple more headlines to post up...

More news from PAL (still trying to hunt down the article, this was originally posted in Airliners.net):


Philippine Airlines Plans to Acquire Six New Airplanes by 2009
October 21, 2005 01:15 EDT -- Philippine Airlines Inc., the Southeast Asian nation's biggest carrier, said it plans to acquire six new wide-body airplanes by 2009 and will choose either Airbus SAS A340s or Boeing Co. 777s.

And something on Caticlan Airport:

George Yang offers to fund airport project
Kerlyn G. Bautista
229 words
14 October 2005
BusinessWorld
S1/1
English
(c) 2005 Business World Publishing Corporation.

George Yang's Caticlan International Airport and Development Corp. (Caticlan Corp.) wants to shoulder the P4.79 billion needed to upgrade the secondary airport in Caticlan.

Mr. Yang's plan complements earlier property investments in adjacent Boracay, where his firm, MC New Coast Inc., will put up luxury hotels and residential villas in the Fairways and Bluewaters estate.

In a letter to the government, Mr. Yang said the Caticlan airport will be expanded to 40 hectares from 20 hectares and will be able to handle 23 flights daily. Flights will bring passengers to Manila, and as far as Seoul by 2015.

The airport will be developed under a build-operate transfer scheme for 25 years to 2030. If approved by yearend, airport renovation will start next year.

Mr. Yang said the planned airport will be wholly financed by Caticlan Corp., with the interest rate of borrowed capital at 12%.

The airport will earn by charging fees, rental of spaces, concession privileges, and advertisements, among others. All charges will be patterned after the fee structure of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal I starting 2006 and will increase by 100% every five years beginning 2010.

The Transportation department is set to review Mr. Yang's proposal this month and is expected to come up with an assessment by November.

Just a couple more headlines to post up...

More news from PAL (still trying to hunt down the article, this was originally posted in Airliners.net):


Philippine Airlines Plans to Acquire Six New Airplanes by 2009
October 21, 2005 01:15 EDT -- Philippine Airlines Inc., the Southeast Asian nation's biggest carrier, said it plans to acquire six new wide-body airplanes by 2009 and will choose either Airbus SAS A340s or Boeing Co. 777s.



A widebody acquisition!?!?!?! This is definitely news. There are already so many questions buzzing in my head.

Cool...I hope they go for B777s. A340s dont feel as spacious as B777s. But i see PAL leaning towards the Airbuses, since thats what they've been getting recently.

this can be quite sad:

SAYS DFA
In APEC, only RP has no state-of-the-art passport system


How sad....even Vietnam has it. RP better consider upgrading soon.

A widebody acquisition!?!?!?!
I know, this along with the A320 acquisitions, is just too overwhelming for us RP aviation enthusiasts. ;)

^i thought our airport except for Macapagal are not compatible with the new airbuses. is this means PAL needs to get a gate in Macapagal then?

I know, this along with the A320 acquisitions, is just too overwhelming for us RP aviation enthusiasts. ;)

:lol: but i'm sure its normal for Emirates enthusiasts;)

:lol: but i'm sure its normal for Emirates enthusiasts;)
lol, orders like these would be insignificant compared to what EK does. :lol:

^ True, its nothing for them:D

Cebu Pacific closes $25.83-M loan for Airbus purchase
By Zinnia B. Dela Peña
The Philippine Star 10/22/2005

Cebu Air Inc., the airline unit of tycoon John Gokongwei, has closed a $25.83-million loan from various export credit agencies for the purchase of one Airbus A319-100 in line with its ongoing refleeting program.

This was disclosed by Cebu Air’s parent firm JG Summit Holdings Inc. to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday. The airline company operates under the Cebu Pacific fleet.

JG Summit said it has agreed to be one of the guarantors for the transaction with export credit agencies Euler Hermes, Coface, and the UK’s Export Credits Guarantee Department.

Last month, Cebu Pacific, the country’s second largest airline in terms of fleet, sales and passengers, secured a $25.76-million financing agreement to fund the purchase of an Airbus A319-100, also from various export credit agencies, which weren’t identified. JG Summit also served as guarantor in the transaction.

The acquisition is part of the airlines expansion program as it aims to further strengthen its foothold in the industry.

Cebu Pacific positions itself as the first low-cost airline based in the country while serving regional destinations and eventually, other international routes.

Cebu Pacific has earmarked $500 million for the expansion of its operations through the acquisition of 12 brand-new Airbus 319 aircraft and lease of two A320s to complete its refleeting program aimed at overtaking flag carrier Philippine Airlines in the next five years.

Despite the huge investment, Cebu Pacific is expected to be profitable as the new refleeting program would reduce fuel operating costs. The 179-seater A320 aircraft is known for its low maintenance and fuel costs which would allow Cebu Pacific to continue offering its trademark value fares.

Cebu Pacific holds 38 percent of the market after only eight years of service.

With new planes in place, Cebu Pacific expects total passengers to increase to three million by the end of the year from an estimate of 2.5 million passengers last year. Of the projected passenger volume, 2.6 million to 2.7 million are expected to come from domestic flights.

Among the domestic routes being serviced by Cebu Pacific include the cities of Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Clark, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Manila, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Subic, Tacloban, and Zamboanga.

Despite the prevailing difficult business environment, Cebu Pacific is optimistic it can sustain its profitability this year. It is looking at a 20 percent growth in revenues with the new aircraft.

Last year, the airlines posted a net income of P130.3 million or more than 19 times the P130.3 million reported in 2003. Revenues rose 21.6 percent to P7.41 billion from only P6.09 billion largely due to improved domestic operations.

^^ arggh y johhanesburg such a bad town, all i can say is watch out for the egoys



at first, i thought william hung was pnoi, he resemblance so much of some pnois somehow

pnoi as in pinoy? nah, he looks very chinese to me...

^i was reffering about down syndrome pinoy

What's a "bota"? I only understood some of your typing because I'm used with the "internet typonese" and the shortened english words which is almost like a jargon to me.

Originally Posted by ILOVEMTL
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the only iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. And who siad seplilng is imporantt! ?

Amzanig, huh?

so did anyone see this

Philippine Airlines Plans to Acquire Six New Airplanes by 2009
October 21, 2005 01:15 EDT -- Philippine Airlines Inc., the Southeast Asian nation's biggest carrier, said it plans to acquire six new wide-body airplanes by 2009 and will choose either Airbus SAS A340s or Boeing Co. 777s

so did anyone see this

Philippine Airlines Plans to Acquire Six New Airplanes by 2009
October 21, 2005 01:15 EDT -- Philippine Airlines Inc., the Southeast Asian nation's biggest carrier, said it plans to acquire six new wide-body airplanes by 2009 and will choose either Airbus SAS A340s or Boeing Co. 777s
Yep, just posted earlier today along with the A320s. Still trying to make sure that I'm not dreaming... :runaway:

Cool...I hope they go for B777s. A340s dont feel as spacious as B777s. But i see PAL leaning towards the Airbuses, since thats what they've been getting recently.

the 777 will be the right choice for them, its far more superior than the a-340 imo, but since the airline is keen on keeping an all airbus fleet, the european consortium has a good chance to win the order

^i thought our airport except for Macapagal are not compatible with the new airbuses. is this means PAL needs to get a gate in Macapagal then?

A380s aren't the only wide-bodied airbuses :D There's also a thing called the A340-600 which is pretty cool. NAIA can handle A380s if one had to land for emergency reasons and whatnot, but for scheduled operations, just a few upgrades are necessary. I doubt that PAL will acquire the A380, though.

If PAL decides to go for the A346, then they'll most probably acquire the upgraded HGW version.

Although the 777 extended range series is indeed superior, but we haven't seen the actual performance of the new A346HGW yet. It could be better or at least equal the B777-300ER. Another plus of the A346 is that Lufthansa Technik specializes in the maintenance of the A340/A330 aircraft. That way, the planes can be serviced in Manila, and they don't have to go to TAECO for a C or D maintenace check, like they do with the 747 fleet at the moment.

I'm crossing my fingers for the A346

yes they might go for mixed of a-340-600 and 500 since the latter can be use for their european flights. the 500 carries less pax than the 600 but it has longer range, the 600 which is very long carries almost the same no of pax as the b-747 and 777 n can be use for their transpacific routes to north america. unfortunately their direct competitor the b-777 has incredibly outsold them

JUST WONdERING EVEN W/THE NEW AIRPORT THAT STILL DOESNT accomodate THE NEW Airbuses

^^ Why? whats your reasoning to thinking they wont accomodate new Airbuses? Solblanc explained it very well. PAL's fleet already has A340s, so it goes without saying that they can handle more new A340s:D

the exisiting terminals can accommodate b-747 and b-777 which are larger aircrafts than the a-340 bt if ur referring to the new a-380 then thats another story

JUST WONdERING EVEN W/THE NEW AIRPORT THAT STILL DOESNT accomodate THE NEW Airbuses

let me rephrase it-the newest airbuses, A380.;)

Philippine Airlines Plans to Acquire Six New Airplanes by 2009
October 21, 2005 01:15 EDT -- Philippine Airlines Inc., the Southeast Asian nation's biggest carrier, said it plans to acquire six new wide-body airplanes by 2009 and will choose either Airbus SAS A340s or Boeing Co. 777s.

the article said they are going to acquire by 2009 , they will most probably wait for another two years before they can completely deliver the whole 6 aircrafts, so by 2011 pal will have an all airbus fleet (although im still hoping they will opt to buy the 777), hey since lucio tan has 300m dollars to spare for the new terminal, in case he wouldnt get it he can use the money as downpayment to buy the brand new wide bodies he he he

can somebody tell me any developments in other airports(to be built) like tacloban, bacolod, bohol, caticlan.... i head that an international airport is about to rise in tacloban.. is there any developments?


hi guys... new here... been interested with this thread so i decided to post some of my ideas/questions... hehhehe

let me rephrase it-the newest airbuses, A380.;)

i don't think NAIA is ready for A380 at all in the 1st place,with it's weight and size especially when it's full of passengers and cargoes, maybe if the aircraft isn't full. They hve to make that runway asplt thicker, wider and a bit longer plus the fct that NAIA needs to have a tarmac &taxiway where other aircrft won't need to stop to give way for the 380 to manuver, then, there is the issue of the terminal, if it can accomodate 800 people in and out plus the bridges, it might need more than 2 contact point to upper and lower deck of the aircrft.

^ so, the new bridges that was made for NAIA 3 are not even compatible with the A380. ah good stuff,

^ so, the new bridges that was made for NAIA 3 are not even compatible with the A380. ah good stuff,

I don't think it is, because T3 was designed and built before Airbus company made a real big publicity about the new A380. Other International airports in the world just recently made some modifications in their terminals and I'm not sure about their runways though. Countries like Singapore and Australia nd I guess UAE just made some modifications in their airports this year.

^^ I guess what MIAA must do since they’re getting allotted funds to continue and fix the new terminal are to update atleast 4 gates specifically for the A380s. and if they can, relocate those shanties living along the side of the airport, and thus expand it.

first thing our govn should've done is to relocate those shanties living in the side of the airport such an embarassing welcome for our country.

^^ I guess what MIAA must do since they’re getting allotted funds to continue and fix the new terminal are to update atleast 4 gates specifically for the A380s. and if they can, relocate those shanties living along the side of the airport, and thus expand it.

first thing our govn should've done is to relocate those shanties living in the side of the airport such an embarassing welcome for our country.

Well, I think they outta look for the viability on the needs to upgrade atleast a couple of bridges and such, for one thing the big bulk of passengers coming from a long haul flights are mostly coming for the North America and none of the US and Canadian companies expressed the desire to acquire A380 they are both looking more into the "advanced" 747 model more than the 380. Singapore airlines surely would not land it's A380 to manila because of a smaller market and such a short flight, now perhaps Japan air companies "might be able to" (but I surely doubt it) because of the big influx of OFW to that country plus the fact Japan is a focal point for transit passengers from North America to all over asia.

^thanks for the information, didnt realize those option but definitely open my thought

lol, orders like these would be insignificant compared to what EK does. :lol:

since dubai is being promoted as a tourist , vacation destination, emirates is buying a lot of planes, the government spent a few billion dollars to expand their airport terminals and a lot more for real estate developments gearred especially for the leisure market etc., i beleive theyre planning to build a whole new airport in jebel ali in the ouskirts of dubai and this airport is going to be bigger than the existing airport, dubai is experiencing an unprecednted growth in tourism, u can see several hotels, resorts, villas, apartments being built

Well, I think they outta look for the viability on the needs to upgrade atleast a couple of bridges and such, for one thing the big bulk of passengers coming from a long haul flights are mostly coming for the North America and none of the US and Canadian companies expressed the desire to acquire A380 they are both looking more into the "advanced" 747 model more than the 380. Singapore airlines surely would not land it's A380 to manila because of a smaller market and such a short flight, now perhaps Japan air companies "might be able to" (but I surely doubt it) because of the big influx of OFW to that country plus the fact Japan is a focal point for transit passengers from North America to all over asia.

well there always a possibility that emirates or any middle east airline can field their a-380s to manila but this will not be in the near future, even european airlines may someday use this equipment to land and take passengers in manila

well there always a possibility that emirates or any middle east airline can field their a-380s to manila but this will not be in the near future, even european airlines may someday use this equipment to land and take passengers in manila

That's what I'm saying already, we don't know about the feasibility of upgrading T3 or NAIA itself because there is no big market for it yet, We don't get many tourist from UAE because the muslims would rather go to Mecca than go to a white sand beach, the passenger activities to and from that country are mostly OFW and arab businessmen/recruiters. I didn't say there is no possiblity whatsoever, it is just not feasible right at the moment.

oh not exactly we may have some the best beaches in the world but middle east people prefer a a muslim country where they are more comfortable like malaysia and indonesia, i know for a fact that thousands of middle east tourists (honeymooners and families) flock the beaches of penang n langkawi in malaysia during the me summer months of july and aug and even the beaches of phuket in non muslim thailand are attracting a lot of arab travellers

Happy Birthday Mr. Fischer!

That's what I'm saying already, we don't know about the feasibility of upgrading T3 or NAIA itself because there is no big market for it yet, We don't get many tourist from UAE because the muslims would rather go to Mecca than go to a white sand beach, the passenger activities to and from that country are mostly OFW and arab businessmen/recruiters. I didn't say there is no possiblity whatsoever, it is just not feasible right at the moment.

well, Emirates can in fact send an A380 here and make it profitable, primarily because of sixth freedom traffic. They already utilize their high-density 420+ passenger 773ER on daily flights here, and each one is PACKED. But this situation would be detrimental if PAL would want to start Europe flights.

the 777 will be the right choice for them, its far more superior than the a-340 imo, but since the airline is keen on keeping an all airbus fleet, the european consortium has a good chance to win the order

I agree with you. I was reading about this is airliners.net. I think the 777's are a better choice . I think though Airbus is far more agressive in giving discounts and financing and the like.

Of course with two conflicting articles above it could mean that:
1) This news is hogwash or;
2) Their posturing to play one side agains the other. To say that they will have an all airbus fleet before they order takes away their leverage with airbus BUT maybe they really are after the 777's.

My thinking with the Pnas being America's little brown brother I don't think they'd shut Boeing out, specially if they are given a juicy deal. It would make up for the commonality. On the other hand sister airline airphil is basing their business model on a low cost airline approach with the 737's.

The funny thing is that my nephew who flies for PR said that they were ramping up 747 training due to the imminent arrival of two more 744's. Although I would think these are most probably on lease.

Pareng Phil is it really your bday! Happy Happy then to SSC number one Fil german sky enthousiast:)

Happy Birthday Mr. Fischer!

why thank you tigidig ! i was off to paris for the weekend, and bang ! how many GOOD news for philippine carriers, especially PAL, in just 2 days ! that indeed is a grand birthday present ! it makes me very happy to see the philippines prospering so much lately !

if so many honeymooners from the near east fly to malaysian, muslim beach resorts, consider the muslim part of mindanao to be upgraded for these tourists. that could be a grand dollar owner for that part of the philippines too ! new markets should be selected and started to florish economical growth for all citizens in this marvelous country ! and it would help keep peace down there stable too.

I agree with you. I was reading about this is airliners.net. I think the 777's are a better choice . I think though Airbus is far more agressive in giving discounts and financing and the like.

Of course with two conflicting articles above it could mean that:
1) This news is hogwash or;
2) Their posturing to play one side agains the other. To say that they will have an all airbus fleet before they order takes away their leverage with airbus BUT maybe they really are after the 777's.

My thinking with the Pnas being America's little brown brother I don't think they'd shut Boeing out, specially if they are given a juicy deal. It would make up for the commonality. On the other hand sister airline airphil is basing their business model on a low cost airline approach with the 737's.

The funny thing is that my nephew who flies for PR said that they were ramping up 747 training due to the imminent arrival of two more 744's. Although I would think these are most probably on lease.

Pareng Phil is it really your bday! Happy Happy then to SSC number one Fil german sky enthousiast:)

airbus and boeing wont give generous discount to pal if theyre going to buy only 06 airplanes, of course each manufacturer would certainly present a glossy picture of their product and why pal should choose them over the other, but as i have said many operators around the world have chosen over and happy with the 777 for their long haul flights and in fact few of them are deciding to cancel and replace their exisitng albeit not very old a340-500/600 with 777 because they were not happy with their performance. pal has learned their lesson well that maintaining different types of airplanes are costly while having a fleet of planes from one manufacturer will save them money for maintenance, spare parts, crew training etc and for this important reason they may choose airbus over boeing, but pal cant jst neglect the superiority of the 777 in choosing their next major refleeting programme for their long haul flights.

George Yang offers to fund airport project
Kerlyn G. Bautista
229 words
14 October 2005
BusinessWorld
S1/1
English
(c) 2005 Business World Publishing Corporation.

George Yang's Caticlan International Airport and Development Corp. (Caticlan Corp.) wants to shoulder the P4.79 billion needed to upgrade the secondary airport in Caticlan. Mr. Yang's plan complements earlier property investments in adjacent Boracay, where his firm, MC New Coast Inc., will put up luxury hotels and residential villas in the Fairways and Bluewaters estate. In a letter to the government, Mr. Yang said the Caticlan airport will be expanded to 40 hectares from 20 hectares and will be able to handle 23 flights daily. Flights will bring passengers to Manila, and as far as Seoul by 2015. The airport will be developed under a build-operate transfer scheme for 25 years to 2030. If approved by yearend, airport renovation will start next year. Mr. Yang said the planned airport will be wholly financed by Caticlan Corp., with the interest rate of borrowed capital at 12%.The airport will earn by charging fees, rental of spaces, concession privileges, and advertisements, among others. All charges will be patterned after the fee structure of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal I starting 2006 and will increase by 100% every five years beginning 2010. The Transportation department is set to review Mr. Yang's proposal this month and is expected to come up with an assessment by November.
who is mr. yang ? what is his business besides this caticlan intern. airport corp. and what luxury hotels is or did he set up in boracay ? who knows more about this caticlan airport corp. are there any renderings on how the airport might look like ? anyone know anything more than i do please ?

George Yang is the owner of Mcdonalds Philippines. They are partners in MC home depot and in some Megaworld Projects. Am not aware of any aviation projects for their group.

Gulf Air seeks to triple flights to Philippines
24 Oct 2005

Bahrain-based Gulf Air is to begin talks with Philippine negotiators Monday to discuss its proposal to triple its flights to the Southeast Asian country.

"We are looking forward to expand our business, our flight frequencies here in Manila since most of our passengers are Filipinos," Gulf Air president and chief executive James Hogan told reporters late Saturday.

The carrier now flies three times a week to Manila from Bahrain, Dublin, and Johannesburg. The Philippines is a major exporter of skilled workers to the Middle East and elsewhere.

Airline officials would meet officials of the transportation and foreign departments as well as the Civil Aeronautics Board to discuss its request, said Gulf Air country manager Roberto Hukom.

He said the airline wants six more flights a week.

"We hope that we would be able to persuade them given the huge market that is available now," he added.

"We are expanding our office here to be able to meet the huge demand," he said.

Gulf Air is owned by Bahrain, Oman, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Low cost carriers still negligible in RP
By Ruth G. Mercado October 24, 2005

Despite its reputed popularity for budget fare, low cost carriers in the Philippine aviation market remains negligible.

Statistics from the Manila International Airport Authority show that Jet Star Asia has difficulty getting one percent share of international carriers operating at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. There is only one low cost carrier flying at NAIA while there is none at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

In August, Jet Star Air posted close to 4,000 passengers or .7 percent out of half a million passengers from 33 international airlines calling at NAIA. There were slight improvements in September posting 1 percent or close to 5,000 passengers out of some 450,000 of all international airlines.

There were additional flights to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga by low cost airline AirAsia Berhad involving two regular flights daily, six times weekly. Authorities reported a 9.7 percent growth in arrivals to 34,170 from 31,161 in 2004.

Three budget airlines launched new routes in Clark with Tiger Airways flying from Singapore to Clark for one-way fare of $25.90. Air Asia flies to Malaysia to Clark for $33 and Jet Star Asia has a special introductory price of $59 to Singapore.

Tourism and aviation officials strongly believe open skies policy attracts more tourists. But the proponents of open skies point out that Singapore, with 4 million population, can generate 8.3 million tourists per year. Malaysia and Thailand also enjoy tourist arrivals of around 11 million annually. The Philippines reported figures of 2.2 million in 2004.

Airport authorities noted that low cost carriers remain negligible despite cheaper fare and where legacy carriers have been imposing fuel surcharges over the past five months.

George Yang is the owner of Mcdonalds Philippines. They are partners in MC home depot and in some Megaworld Projects. Am not aware of any aviation projects for their group.

SALAMAT bustero.

where can i find more about his caticlan intern. airport corporation ? i´m sure we all want to see some more about that on this thread.

George Yang offers to fund airport project
Kerlyn G. Bautista
229 words
14 October 2005
BusinessWorld
S1/1
English
(c) 2005 Business World Publishing Corporation.

George Yang's Caticlan International Airport and Development Corp. (Caticlan Corp.) wants to shoulder the P4.79 billion needed to upgrade the secondary airport in Caticlan. Mr. Yang's plan complements earlier property investments in adjacent Boracay, where his firm, MC New Coast Inc., will put up luxury hotels and residential villas in the Fairways and Bluewaters estate. In a letter to the government, Mr. Yang said the Caticlan airport will be expanded to 40 hectares from 20 hectares and will be able to handle 23 flights daily. Flights will bring passengers to Manila, and as far as Seoul by 2015. The airport will be developed under a build-operate transfer scheme for 25 years to 2030. If approved by yearend, airport renovation will start next year. Mr. Yang said the planned airport will be wholly financed by Caticlan Corp., with the interest rate of borrowed capital at 12%.The airport will earn by charging fees, rental of spaces, concession privileges, and advertisements, among others. All charges will be patterned after the fee structure of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal I starting 2006 and will increase by 100% every five years beginning 2010. The Transportation department is set to review Mr. Yang's proposal this month and is expected to come up with an assessment by November.
who is mr. yang ? what is his business besides this caticlan intern. airport corp. and what luxury hotels is or did he set up in boracay ? who knows more about this caticlan airport corp. are there any renderings on how the airport might look like ? anyone know anything more than i do please ?

i hope the government accepts mr yang proposal but government in assessing his proposal should always put the public interest in mind

chinese that has last name with YA are indeed good people, it was Yap now, the Yang

PAL flights to Beijing return after 16 years


By JONATHAN M. HICAP
The Manila Times Reporter

After a 16-year absence, flag carrier Philippine Airlines will be flying again to Beijing, China, on November 11 to tap the growing number of Chinese tourists, seen to hit 50 million worldwide by 2010.

Beijing becomes PAL’s third gateway to China after Xiamen and Shanghai.

PAL said the service will operate three times a week, with departures from Manila every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Arrival at the Beijing Capital Airport is at 11:55 a.m.

The return service departs Beijing on the same days at 12:55 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 5:15 p.m.

For its first two flights on November 11 and 13, PAL will use the huge Airbus A330-300 to accommodate the expected surge of passengers. The airline will use Airbus A320 thereafter.

PAL first serviced Beijing on August 1, 1979, when China was still a closed society with little contact with the outside world. It made history as the first Asian airline to operate scheduled flights to mainland China.

The airline suspended its Manila-Beijing flights in June 1989 for commercial reasons.

PAL said Beijing is teeming with a population of 7.2 million. The World Tourism Organization said the number of Chinese traveling overseas will soar from the current 10 million a year to 50 million by 2010, and to 100 million by 2020.

PAL said Manila has yet to take advantage of the potential Chinese market. For the first semester of 2005, only 55,426 visitors from China visited the country compared with 328,673 from the United States.

The airline said resuming its Beijing flights will increase the tourist traffic. The addition of Beijing extends the PAL international network to 26 points in 14 countries and territories. The airline also flies to 19 points in the Philippines.

For comments, go to the message board.

well, Emirates can in fact send an A380 here and make it profitable, primarily because of sixth freedom traffic. They already utilize their high-density 420+ passenger 773ER on daily flights here, and each one is PACKED. But this situation would be detrimental if PAL would want to start Europe flights.

Well yes, any airlines can land an A380 in Manila, Cebu or anywhere in the Philippines, that is not the problem, It's the Philippine airport's capabilities in handling such an enormous aircraft, can the Philippines afford to make all major airports in the Phil to accomadate the aircraft? Considering an A380 can carry 800 passengers at a time and considering more than 2 or 3 A380 aircrafts would land in an airport, can they accomodate to check in or receive 2,400 or so passengers at a time? Does Cebu or davao airport have that capability also to handle all of the influx also wiht the 6th freedom traffic rights? Do you think if the Emirates would land one in Manila, it will have enough passengers to carry them up to cebu or davao and then pick up more passengers in those provinces to a foreign destination? do you think the companies will profit from it? supposed that singapore airlines, emirates, Qantas and NWA exercise the 6th amendments will they all profit with that much volume of passengers they can pick up? That's what I meant. It's not just to land that aircraft per se, it's the airline companies' profitbility to be able to keep that route for a long time.

PAL flights to Beijing return after 16 years


By JONATHAN M. HICAP
The Manila Times Reporter

After a 16-year absence, flag carrier Philippine Airlines will be flying again to Beijing, China, on November 11 to tap the growing number of Chinese tourists, seen to hit 50 million worldwide by 2010.

Beijing becomes PAL’s third gateway to China after Xiamen and Shanghai.

PAL said the service will operate three times a week, with departures from Manila every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Arrival at the Beijing Capital Airport is at 11:55 a.m.

The return service departs Beijing on the same days at 12:55 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 5:15 p.m.

For its first two flights on November 11 and 13, PAL will use the huge Airbus A330-300 to accommodate the expected surge of passengers. The airline will use Airbus A320 thereafter.

PAL first serviced Beijing on August 1, 1979, when China was still a closed society with little contact with the outside world. It made history as the first Asian airline to operate scheduled flights to mainland China.

The airline suspended its Manila-Beijing flights in June 1989 for commercial reasons.

PAL said Beijing is teeming with a population of 7.2 million. The World Tourism Organization said the number of Chinese traveling overseas will soar from the current 10 million a year to 50 million by 2010, and to 100 million by 2020.

PAL said Manila has yet to take advantage of the potential Chinese market. For the first semester of 2005, only 55,426 visitors from China visited the country compared with 328,673 from the United States.

The airline said resuming its Beijing flights will increase the tourist traffic. The addition of Beijing extends the PAL international network to 26 points in 14 countries and territories. The airline also flies to 19 points in the Philippines.

For comments, go to the message board.

For comments, go to the message board.

i hope i went to the right comment board. good stuff for tsinoy. so when are they going back to east coast or atleast dito ulit sa Midwest, my dad said PAL use to fly here in Chicago.

i hope i went to the right comment board. good stuff for tsinoy. so when are they going back to east coast or atleast dito ulit sa Midwest, my dad said PAL use to fly here in Chicago.
The return to the East Coast may take a while as there's pretty much no aircraft to do such a run (as the longhaul fleet is busy enough as it is). My parents were still living in Michigan when they did serve ORD, would've been nice to have flown them from there on my first trip to the RP in 1990. :D

PAL did serve Chicago shortly and they even had a 747-200 (N741PR) w/ a "Mabuhay Chicago" sticker.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/300313/M/

BTW happy belated birthday, Richard. :)

Yeah, that Mabuhay Chicago plane is cool. ahh...those were the days. Skyblade, could u answer my question in the PAL - Asia's First Airline thread in the main avation forum?

Yeah, that Mabuhay Chicago plane is cool. ahh...those were the days. Skyblade, could u answer my question in the PAL - Asia's First Airline thread in the main avation forum?
Indeed, too bad PAL doesn't do such a thing anymore. I'd love to imagine a "Mabuhay Beijing" c/s but then again, "Mabuhay" is streched enough as it is. :nuts: Anyhow I'll get right to it. :D

Yeah, that Mabuhay Chicago plane is cool. ahh...those were the days. Skyblade, could u answer my question in the PAL - Asia's First Airline thread in the main avation forum?

Where is this thread you speack of? Can you direct me to the main aviation forum?

I wonder why PAL does not fly to any destination in Europe. Particularly considering the hight Filipino population in Europe. Does anyone know why this is, doesn't make sence.

PAL is under rehabilitation and all this is put into consideration....i believe they have services in Frankfurt...i dont about now but i know they use too not that long ago...

For comments, go to the message board.

i hope i went to the right comment board. good stuff for tsinoy. so when are they going back to east coast or atleast dito ulit sa Midwest, my dad said PAL use to fly here in Chicago.


LOL, sorry about that "For comments, go to the message board" at the bottom of my post, it was off ABS-CBN news online. I copied and pasted it, I guess I must have forgoten to edit that part out.

Where is this thread you speack of? Can you direct me to the main aviation forum?

Here's the thread: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=272177

Just arrived from Taipei today. I got the chance their newly "leased" single class A320. It had overhead retracting LCD screens every about 5 seats. Plane looks fresh although cramped.... Service was good. Maybe it's because I looked chinese hehe

I wonder why PAL does not fly to any destination in Europe. Particularly considering the hight Filipino population in Europe. Does anyone know why this is, doesn't make sence.
Competition from Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Gulf Air seem to play a role. While also serving the Filipino expatriate community in the Middle East, they also have connecting passengers from Europe bound to the Philippines.

PAL is under rehabilitation and all this is put into consideration....i believe they have services in Frankfurt...i dont about now but i know they use too not that long ago...
FRA is no longer being served, let alone any other pre-1998 European destination since, well, 1998. Kinda ironic though, PAL is considered the first Asian airline to fly to Europe (1947, Manila-Calcutta-Karachi-Cairo-Madrid w/ a DC-4) and less than 60 years later, Europe has disappeared from it's immediate route network.

^they dont even fly to NY and almost everyones goes there

^they dont even fly to NY and almost everyones goes there
They used to, unless one doesn't consider Newark under New York. :nuts: Originally the routings were MNL-AMS-EWR and MNL-YVR-EWR (I'm kinda basing the latter off from my relatives in Vancouver). Occasionally PAL does serve Newark...though that's reserved only for GMA each time she visits the UN General Assembly.

But now that's the past... (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/401570/M/)

^NEWARK IS GHETTO

Well yes, any airlines can land an A380 in Manila, Cebu or anywhere in the Philippines, that is not the problem, It's the Philippine airport's capabilities in handling such an enormous aircraft, can the Philippines afford to make all major airports in the Phil to accomadate the aircraft? Considering an A380 can carry 800 passengers at a time and considering more than 2 or 3 A380 aircrafts would land in an airport, can they accomodate to check in or receive 2,400 or so passengers at a time? Does Cebu or davao airport have that capability also to handle all of the influx also wiht the 6th freedom traffic rights? Do you think if the Emirates would land one in Manila, it will have enough passengers to carry them up to cebu or davao and then pick up more passengers in those provinces to a foreign destination? do you think the companies will profit from it? supposed that singapore airlines, emirates, Qantas and NWA exercise the 6th amendments will they all profit with that much volume of passengers they can pick up? That's what I meant. It's not just to land that aircraft per se, it's the airline companies' profitbility to be able to keep that route for a long time.


For terminal facilities, terminal 3 is sitting in villamor. Considering the A380 won't be in commercial service until 2007-ish, its safe to assume that T3 will be open by then, and the runway-taxiway separation thingamajig will be done. While more than 2 bridges are advisable for an A380, it isn't really necessary. Look at T1 and T2, they load 747s with only one bridge. I doubt that 550 passengers are going to make a difference, considering PAL's 747s hold 433 passengers. Nobody is going to configure an 800-seater A380, as its an all-economy one to begin with, and its insane. Emirates could utilize a 600-seater 2-class A380, i suppose, and still make it profitable in Manila. And again, if our terminals can handle millions of passengers every year, what makes you think that we can't handle an extra A380 or two? That, and I don't expect ten A380s to land at NAIA daily. One daily A380 for Emirates could be quite possible.

I was talking about Emirates' capabilities, and Emirates does enjoy a very good load factor. I mentioned in a previous post that indeed, Emirates is flying PACKED 420+ seater 777s between Manila and Dubai DAILY. That does not include extra frequencies served by A332 aircraft, which are also packed. Try flying on Emirates sometime, the check-in lines in NAIA are horrible, not to mention that it is not uncommon for a flight to be overbooked. Plus, you underestimate 6th freedom rights. Northwest and Qantas are not sixth freedom carriers, as they utilize their fleet to serve their home markets. A sixth freedom carrier is one like Emirates, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines doesn't have as big a presence in Manila as the other two, as their fares are pretty high. Cathay Pacific, though, justifies flying HKG-MNL six times daily, and HKG-CEB daily. Is it because there are loads of OFWs in Manila? Possibly, but PAL flies that route, too, offers lower fares, and yet they have a similar load factor with Cathay Pacific, even though PAL flies only three times daily, sometimes with smaller planes. Why? the answer lies in CX's sixth freedom rights.

What is sixth freedom again? Just to refresh, its the freedom to transport passengers and cargo from one place to another via the home country. In Cathay Pacific's case, only half of their passengers are going to Hong Kong. Almost everybody else is going somewhere else.

Back to Emirates, while there are many Filipino workers in Dubai, there aren't enough to justify large planes. What justifies the large planes is the fact that Emirates has a wide network beyond Dubai, and that is where most of the traffic will go. An A380 is a possible step, since Emirates has been growing and nurturing the Manila route for years, and they do so easily, because their only competitors are other sixth freedom carriers, and Emirates has the lowest cost base among all the sixth freedom carriers. The fact that PAL doesn't touch most, if not all of Emirates' European, Middle Eastern, and African route network (the sole exception would be Riyadh) is one of the factors that contribute to the Manila-Dubai route's success. Another point is that no other airline flies Manila-Dubai direct. I know this route, and it is one of the very few routes from Manila that can support the A380, and it is very possible that Emirates will send an A380 here.

I DIDNT KNOW THAT FLIES DIRECT TO MANILA FROM DUBAI AND FULL PACKED IN A 420 + SEATER B-777. I ALWAYS THOUGHT IS STOPS AT BANGKOK BEFORE PROCEEDING TO MNL, THOU NOT SURE IF THEY LOAD PAX IN BKK BOUND FOR MNL, WELL AS U SAID ONE REASON WHY PAX TRAVELLING TO DXB VIA EMIRATES ARE ALWAYS FULL DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE DISEMBARKING IN DXB AS THEIR FINAL DESTINATION, IT COULD BE THAT THEY RE JST TRANSITING FLIGHT IN DXB VIA EK OF COURSE TO THEIR FINAL DESTINATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST OR ELSEWHERE

well, we will see what happens, when PAL utilizes their new 340´s end of the decade. there then will non-stop flights to europe i suppose, and transit pax via dubai will cut shorter. but by then there will be enough room for everyone i hope. just love to see all airlines docking at manila making profits, no matter which terminal they may "log in"

yes if the can do that non stop long haul flights by 2009. earrly next year pal is going to decide which aircrafts to buy a-340-500/600 or b-777-200/300 and they expect complete delivery of all 06 aircrafts by 2009

I remember all these routes were served long ago and the services were justified by the load. But PR was and probably still is a very inefficient airline with much politics and corruption down the line. Back then their eventual bankruptcy meant they had to scale back and cut marginal operations. If a player like 5j was operating those routes they probaly could have made a go of it but pr was to fat. So they only kept the best routes, and cut even the local routes. I think they'll fly back to that area when they can finally get back some new planes of their own. Hard to compete with leases it they'll go head to head with the deep pocketed airlines like EK.
Don't forget the Gulf Air does just as good business here, they also fly a340's on some day more than twice a day and hub in abu dhabi for passengers to transit. With the new split though with qatar air I don't know how this will work out.

Dang solblanc, your post is just too long to read...lol

I'm not dismissing the fact that Emirates nor any other airlines can't fly and land it to NAIA once they acquired that A380 aircraft, I was just saying, NAIA nor any airports in the Philippines aren't designed to handle such an enormous aircraft. It is not just designed for it, Maybe they can alot T1 for those aircrafts separately after redesigned and reconfigured the boarding bridges of T1 so it won't delay other smaller aircraft's activities. I just don't see any airline companies who purchased an A380 would not use it to almost maximum capacity, certainly not less than 600 px per aircraft when it's maximum is supposed to be 800. Putting a cargo in it would make the aircraft much heavier so NAIA need to make sure the runway can handle the weight and size of the aircraft with it's wider wingspan.

Great post, Solblanc. Very interesting to read:) This is a nice discussion we are having here

How embarrassing...Shame on our infrastructure and authorities for letting this happen:

In the dark

Hundreds of passengers and employees of international airlines at NAIA Terminals I and II were inconvenienced yesterday when the airport complex lost power shortly before noon.

The power outage affected all electrical components of the NAIA, including aerobridges, elevators, baggage conveyors and the computerized check-in system.

Passengers aboard an arriving Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, had to wait inside the airplane for almost an hour as the aerobridge became inoperable and could not be connected to the aircraft.

Arriving passengers who were at the baggage claim area had to wait for more than an hour as their belongings had to be manually carried by airline personnel from the ramp level, up the steep baggage conveyor.

Departing passengers caught off guard by the power outage had to queue in long lines at the check-in counters as airline staff had to check them in manually as all check-in computers shut down.

Arriving passengers also had to queue in the darkened hall of the immigration area as the back-up generators of the airport failed to start.

At the same time, several airport personnel were stuck inside elevators by as long as 15 minutes.

Robert Uy, executive assistant of MIAA general manager Alfonso Cusi, said the delay in the restoration of electricity at Terminal I and II stemmed from the inadequate power from the generators of their contractor PowerGen.

Uy said that PowerGen was only able to restore power gradually. He claimed that the gradual power restoration started at NAIA Terminal II after 12 minutes of the blackout.

At the old terminal, Uy admitted that the power restoration took longer, taking as much as 40 to 45 minutes.

He said that PowerGen’s limited capability in providing power for the whole Terminals I and II was greatly affected by the bogging down of one of their two generators.

"They should really have two generators but one bogged down months ago," Uy said.

He sought to downplay the effects of the blackout, saying that it "fortunately" occurred during a wave of arrivals of international flights instead of departures which would have been more of a problem.

Also affected by the power outage were the arriving and departing flights of Cathay Pacific, Korean Airlines, Eva Air, Philippine Airlines, Gulf Air and China Airlines.

Both arriving and departing passengers complained of the inconvenience they experienced due to the outage as they had to wait for a long time while bearing the heat inside the non-airconditioned terminal.

Normal power was restored at the airport complex after an hour.

Meanwhile, thousands of passengers were stranded yesterday as the trains of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) stopped operating due to a power outage.

Metro Rail Transit Corp. spokesman Mariano Gui said the operations of the MRT were disrupted for at least one-and-a-half hours after losing the electricity that passes through the Centenary power lines which gives power to move the trains. Some stations also lost all electricity.

The MRT stopped operations from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Light Rail Transit Authority said both LRT lines 1 and 2 also halted operations for a few minutes due to the power outage.

LRT 1 stopped operations from 11:32 a.m. to 11:48, while LRT 2 was disrupted by five minutes.

Thousands of passengers were stranded at all train stations of the three railway systems as engineers of both agencies attempted to get backup power for the trains to move. – With Sandy Araneta

Pambihira naman niyan. Shouldn't they have adequate backup power, they should make sure those backup systems should be reliable 24/7.

^^ mas magaling pa yung SM talga magmanage.

yeah... that power blackout yesterday is a shame for the NAIA maintenance people... they should have monitored their backup generators... and they even knew that one of the generators has already bogged down months ago....

anyways.. that power shotdown was unusual.. because.. you could see the power slowly dying... lights dimmed slowly and our computers died one by one... heheeh....

Dang solblanc, your post is just too long to read...lol


Well, what else am I supposed to do in the middle of the night? :tongue3:



I'm not dismissing the fact that Emirates nor any other airlines can't fly and land it to NAIA once they acquired that A380 aircraft, I was just saying, NAIA nor any airports in the Philippines aren't designed to handle such an enormous aircraft. It is not just designed for it, Maybe they can alot T1 for those aircrafts separately after redesigned and reconfigured the boarding bridges of T1 so it won't delay other smaller aircraft's activities. I just don't see any airline companies who purchased an A380 would not use it to almost maximum capacity, certainly not less than 600 px per aircraft when it's maximum is supposed to be 800. Putting a cargo in it would make the aircraft much heavier so NAIA need to make sure the runway can handle the weight and size of the aircraft with it's wider wingspan.

Yes, the A380 is heavy, but the modifications are indeed possible. If you look at Airbus' list of A380 airports, they predicted that by 2009 or 2012, NAIA will

Oh, and as for the seating arrangements, you're forgetting about first and business class cabins. If you are going to make a 3-class A380 using PAL's product, the number would be 550. Look at Singapore Airlines and Qantas, they're going to have only 500 passengers. 600 is possible for emirates, as it sometimes likes to get rid of the first class cabin, but regular 600 seaters? I somehow don't think so. Check out the seating arrangements for the 380 in the link http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a380/a380/cabin.html

The seat pitches that Airbus uses in their mock cabins aren't even industry standard. Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and virtually every other four star skytrax airline have seats that take up more space than that.


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

On another note, it is kinda sad that I'm talking about A380 upgrades when something as basic as electricity has a problem. *sigh*

Thai Airways need market for direct flight to Cebu
Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Thailand’s flag carrier is open to possibilities of landing directly in Cebu from Bangkok, Thailand.

But unless Thai Airways is able to find an inbound market for Cebu, the airline will continue to operate direct flights from Bangkok to Manila only.

“We are still looking for inbound market. It is difficult to sell inbound (passengers from Thailand to Cebu, and the Philippines in general) because Thailand basically has everything that Cebu can offer. Most of the Thais do not go out of Thailand for leisure,” Thai Airways passenger sales supervisor Malu Oclarence-Dueñas said.

She told the press during an informal dinner at the Krua Thai restaurant at the Banilad Town Center last week that most of Thai Airways’ inbound passengers to Cebu and the Philippines are overseas Filipino workers.

Thai’s operation in the Philippines, however, is doing “good,” which means that many people from the Philippines go to Thailand, Dueñas said.


Filipino tourists

She said many Filipinos, who spend their vacation in Thailand, are on incentive trips from their companies.

Some 1.5 percent of the 13.35 million tourists, who visited Thailand last year, are Filipinos.

Earlier, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) - Philippine marketing representative David de Jesus said that the Thais travel within their own country because the Thai government is very active in promoting local tourism, especially during lean seasons.

Thai operates 11 flights a week – with seven day-flights and four night-flights - from Manila to Bangkok.

According to a statement, the financial year 2003-2004 was Thai Airways’ 40th consecutive year of profit.

The company’s operational revenues reached 156.2 billion baht.

Thai Airways carried during the period a total of 19.5 million passengers over its international and domestic route network and launched flights to five new destinations: Milan in Italy, Chennai and Bangalore in India, Jinghong in China and Luang Prabang in Laos.

On its 45th anniversary this year, Thai will implement its expansion plans and rebranding that includes redesigning the airline’s insignia, known as the dancing man, which is a stylized image of a Thai classical dancer.

“The new design, created by Walter Landor Associates, is a purple, magenta and gold jumpee, which incorporated elements of traditional Thai imagery, the gold of temples and rich colors of tropical orchids and Thailand’s lustrous silk.”

wow... thailand is really doing good in their tourism program, i mean they reached 13.5 million local and foeign tourist.... i bet the philippines didn't reach even 5 million... but i can see a little improvement to our tourism... philippine airlines plays a big role o our tourism industry... i hope they'll do well so that the philippines will attract more foreign tourists... :)

Dang solblanc, your post is just too long to read...lol

I'm not dismissing the fact that Emirates nor any other airlines can't fly and land it to NAIA once they acquired that A380 aircraft, I was just saying, NAIA nor any airports in the Philippines aren't designed to handle such an enormous aircraft. It is not just designed for it, Maybe they can alot T1 for those aircrafts separately after redesigned and reconfigured the boarding bridges of T1 so it won't delay other smaller aircraft's activities. I just don't see any airline companies who purchased an A380 would not use it to almost maximum capacity, certainly not less than 600 px per aircraft when it's maximum is supposed to be 800. Putting a cargo in it would make the aircraft much heavier so NAIA need to make sure the runway can handle the weight and size of the aircraft with it's wider wingspan.


all existing airport around the world incl of course the philippines will have to do some modifications in their terminal to accommodate the airbus a-380, as far as i know there is no exisitng airport in the world today that can accommodate the aircraft without doing some revisions in their exisitng terminal, as far as the seating capacity of the plane, i dont think any operator who has purchased the plane will put 800 seats in the aircraft, most of them are going to configure their plane to put a maximum of 550 seats in three class configuration, and remember this plane is supposed to be fitted with several amenities never seen before in a commercial aircraft like shower room, beauty parlour, mini bar, business centre etc, will take space and most probably all these will be located in the upper deck where the first and business class section will be.

wow... thailand is really doing good in their tourism program, i mean they reached 13.5 million local and foeign tourist.... i bet the philippines didn't reach even 5 million... but i can see a little improvement to our tourism... philippine airlines plays a big role o our tourism industry... i hope they'll do well so that the philippines will attract more foreign tourists... :)

5millions haha, go to the toursim thread, 3 million lang , medyo hirap pa, bring your friends when they come here so you can add tourists!

Actually I'm very optimistic with the new routes to beijing that means the market is getting bigger. That's the real prize in my opinion. If we just look at the lower part of china, guangdong the richest province is only less than 2 hours away! what a huge market for us. but we need more flights because i think the market is price sensitive. But they would be a great 3-4 day long weekend market for us, and they have the money too. This is all the way till Shanghai. 2 and half hours to manila, and if they fly to laoag even shorter! So a great potential for winter vacationing for the chinese who are freezing their buts over. Of course there's a chicken and egg thing here in that you need the flights to bring in the tourist but you need the toursit to justify the route!

I can actually imagine a few years down the road that cattle carriers will be the rule from there to here if we do it right, much like ibiza et al. Maybe even a a380 cattle carrier. (Didn't ANA order 5 or am I mistaken - these are the only ones who configure 747's up to the max 550 or more pax isn't it?)

Perhaps if we can position the different islands as not in the philippines like cebu then they won't associate it with all the negative press. haha

Nope, neither ANA or JAL ordered the A380. Would be nice in NH colors though...:D

im not sure if nabasa nyo na ito... pero, here goes

Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Pinoy workers urged to boycott 2 airline firms

A MEMBER of the Municipal Council of Angeles said Monday Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and other passengers living in Central and North Luzon should reject Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Air (CPA).

Councilor Jay Sangil issued the statement as he expected the moves of PAL and CPA would essentially destroy the prospects of utilizing the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) as an international aviation gateway.

Sangil said a boycott of PAL and CPA flights is a deserved by the big airlines in retaliation for their protests against budget airlines applying for flights between Clark and other countries in the region.

The councilor's reaction came in consonance with the earlier call of Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) chairman Ruperto Cruz for governors, congressmen and local officials in Central Luzon to stand on the issue in favor of the speedy development of DMIA into an international airport.

He explained that the opposition filed by PAL and CPA with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) against Thai Air Asia and Tiger Airways, would favor the profitability of the big airlines while stunting the growth of DMIA into the country's premier international gateway.

"This is a clear indication that bigwigs in Manila are blocking the development of Clark Airport. Let's give them a dose of their own medicine. Our OFWs in Central and North Luzon should boycott PAL and CPA flights that do not deserve being patronized for their anti-DMIA attitude," he said.

Last week, Cruz said blocking Hong Kong flights at the Clark Airport would cause serious inconvenience on millions of OFWs employed in Hong Kong and other countries.

Reports showed that 60 percent of Filipino workers come from the northern part of Manila.

Sangil said the operation of DMIA as an international airport has been a long-time dream that Angeleños and Pampanga has been waiting for to boost economic opportunities in the lahar-ravaged communities.

He said the establishment of regional flights by the budget airlines would bring in more foreign tourists and infuse more dollar resources into the country aside from providing the impetus to transform DMIA into a full premier gateway for regular international flights. (DMF)

again we have these people who want to stop development for their own selfish purposes. instead of joining the trend, they are only bullish to keep their fat asses sticking to their golden thrones, a dreadful death for all development. as long as T3 in MNL is not opened, there will be lots of competition from cebu and clark, and that is great. alternatives can develope this way. by the time T3 opens, we will have 2 further major airports with double-digit growth numbers for th benefit of philippine tourism ! and then T3, the state of the art terminal in the country will mix the cards anew again, and MNL will see maximum growth too. and noone has reason to complain or slow down any other facility. that is democracy, and healthy, help everyone prosper !

Philippines OKs Singapore Tiger Air's Macau-Manila Route
Friday October 28

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones) -- Singapore-based low cost carrier (LCC) Tiger Airways said Friday it has received approval from the Philippines authorities for its Macau-Manila flights.

The approval, from the Philippines Civil Aeronautics Board, means Tiger's flights can commence Sunday as scheduled.

Philippine Airlines Ltd. (PAI.YY), or PAL, last month said Tiger - an affiliate of Singapore Airlines (S55.SG) - violated rules by selling its Macau-to-Manila tickets before getting approval to fly the route.

In a separate statement, Tiger said it is ready to use the low cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport if given approval from the respective authorities to fly the Singapore-KL route.

"We are very keen to fly between Singapore and Malaysia and will definitely take up the offer from Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. (5014.KU) to use the LCC terminal if we receive permission from the Malaysian aviation authorities to do so," Tiger Chief Executive Tony Davis said in the statement.

Davis was referring to news reports that MAHB Chief Executive Bashir Ahmad had invited all airlines that fall under the budget carrier category to use the new LCC terminal facility.

Tiger has been lobbying to fly the route as part of its efforts to widen its network.

It currently flies from Singapore to cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Macau, Philippines and Indonesia.

Northwest, Continental backtrack

AMID widespread backlash, Northwest and Continental have decided to immediately reinstate the luggage allowance for economy class travelers for transpacific passengers to and from Manila back to 70 pounds per piece.

The two US airlines had earlier announced that rising fuel prices had prompted them to limit the weight of the two free checked-in pieces of luggage accorded to economy passengers to 50 pounds each.

According to the grapevine, the about-face came after Asian airlines flying the same routes refused to follow the US competition.

And because of increased fuel costs, Northwest has also quietly dropped its popular, daily nonstop Tokyo-New York (JFK) flights, forcing East Coast-bound passenger to make a stopover in either Detroit or Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

That leaves Philippine Airlines (PAL), with its red-eye connections from either San Francisco or Los Angeles, the undisputed fastest airline to the Midwest and East Coast that passengers can take out of Manila.

Provided, of course, that PAL departs on time.

Asiana opens more flights in Asia, other countries
Friday, October 28, 2005

Multi-awarded Korean carrier Asiana Airlines has raised the bar in its countrywide performance with the opening of its latest destination, Cebu City.

Asiana Airlines had its inaugural flight last July 16 and will be servicing the Seoul-Cebu route four times a week flying to and from its acclaimed hub, Incheon International Airport, to Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

The airline also flies to Seoul and Pusan from Manila 11 times weekly and twice weekly, respectively, and flies from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark to Seoul five times weekly.

Asiana attributed its new flights to the Koreans' growing interest in local tourist destinations. The airline also hopes to spark interest in Korean destinations and beyond to Cebu locals.

Aside from Cebu City, the airline has also opened flights to Chicago from Incheon effective July 30. From Seoul, Asiana flies passengers to 10 points in Korea and 63 destinations in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States.

Goal, objectives

One of its objectives is to be the leading carrier of the China, Japan and Northeast Asia routes. Its goal is to be the best airline industry in the world. It is a member of the Star Alliance network of 16 member airlines.

Recently named among the world’s top 10 airlines by London-based aviation consultancy Skytrax, Asiana is rapidly expanding its route network worldwide.

It was cited among the world’s best airlines by Skytrax in the 2005 annual survey of millions of passengers covering business travelers, vacationers and backpackers. Skytrax has previously given the airline the Excellence Award for Asia, citing it as the best performing Asian airline.