CRK | Clark International Airport - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 2

Solblanc

May 5th, 2005, 10:41 AM

PRESS RELEASE: Tiger Air To Increase Philippines Flights

Thursday May 5, 2005, 2:51 pm

Singapore, May 12, 2005--Tiger Airways, Singapore's low fare airline, will increase its services to Philippines from three flights a week to five flights a week starting June 6, 2005. This is barely two months after it inaugurated its regular flight to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Field, Pampanga on April 5, 2005.

"We hear the call from officials of Clark Development Corporation to increase flights to accommodate local travelers that also frequent other Asian destinations, and we have answered that request with an emphatic YES, WE WILL DO IT!" said Tony Davis, CEO of Tiger Airways.

Davis was making reference to reports in Philippine media that Clark Development Corporation (CDC) Executive Vice President Victor Jose I. Luciano said during the 6th Induction Ceremonies of the Pampanga Tri-Media Association (Patma) that he has received information from travel agencies in Pampanga and Manila that the Tiger Airways' flights are already fully booked until June this year.

"We are delighted by the support we get from officials and the people of the Philippines to work with low fare carriers like Tiger Airlines to play a greater role in the development of local tourism. Our offer of low-fare, secure and safe travel have met with resounding success since our debut in Asia Pacific skies," added Davis.

Tiger Airways have reported strong forward bookings for its flights to Clark in the June-July 2005 period. If this trend continues, the airline may consider putting even more services to Clark after June 2005.

Last month, Davis made a courtesy call on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during the inaugural flight of Tiger Airways to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Field, Pampanga and assured her that Tiger Airways is in the Philippines for the long haul.

Davis said Tiger Airways will bring the tourist and business passengers from the whole region to the Philippines with offers of consistent low fares and boost the Philippines economy in the process.

The Tiger Airways network expansion to the Philippines is a milestone marked with several significant developments for the airline:

-Expansion of Tiger Airways route network to almost twice that of all Singapore- based Low Cost Carriers (LCC) combined.

-Giving savvy travelers better value with low airfares to ten destinations in six countries, with even more new routes to be announced shortly.

Tiger Airways tickets are available at www.tigerairways.com. Payment can be made by Visa or MasterCard online.

Tiger Airways is fast developing itself into Singapore's biggest and most popular low fare airline and the clear benefits of affordable air travel have been enthusiastically embraced by customers in Asia.

richard fischer

May 9th, 2005, 03:00 PM

Skyblade

May 9th, 2005, 05:13 PM

what happened to philippine LCC´s like CEB and AirPhil ? why the hell are they sleeping and watching off-shore airlines take loads of tourists/OFW´s and loads of profits away back to sing and KL ? wake up philippines ! go for it !
any photos of the LCC´s at clark terminal around yet ??
Don't worry, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines seems to be growing steadily on their route expansion. Cebu Pacific experimented a bit with Singapore but pulled out but they serve Chengdu, Shenzen, Seoul, and Hong Kong and are planning to start services to Osaka later on. Air Philippines goes (dunno if it's chartered or scheduled) to Quangzhou, Shenzen, Chengdu, Kwangju and Daego.

richard fischer

May 9th, 2005, 06:41 PM

how come they both don´t post any of these destinations on their respective websites ? which both are aged old in respect of updating....CEB still praises 25 year old DC 9´s instead of showing their new airplanes comming in within the next 18 months ahead. not an international destination on either their sites, why not ? i wrote both airlines to do something about it AGES ago. no answer, no difference, no change.....

normandb

May 10th, 2005, 02:44 AM

SKYLINEPIGEON

May 10th, 2005, 03:52 PM

dont u think that with all these lccs operating in our country our domestic tourism will be affected coz pinoys would rather spend their vacations abroad lets say to kuala or singapore or hkg rather than lets say davao or cebu if the fares are almost jst the same

kiretoce

May 10th, 2005, 05:17 PM

Spending the money to fly there (HKG, SIN, KUL, BKK, etc.) is one thing, spending a lot more extra for your stay is another. I think it won't affect the country's local tourists much, besides Cebu, Davao and other tourist getaways in the Philippines are an hour or even less by air from any one point, one can get home quickly in case of an emergency.

SKYLINEPIGEON

May 10th, 2005, 08:05 PM

well they will certaily spend also on their accommodation, meals, tours and transfers etc if they plan to go on some local destinations , wht im saying is local tourists will be entice to spend their vacation in hkg (travel agents would certaily offer them) which of course they would say will be more exciting rather than in cebu or davao if the package cost is certaily almost the same given that these foreign lccs are offering these unbeleivable rates did i see somewhere in this forum an airfare ticket to singapore starts at 10 singapore dollars???

stephencua

May 18th, 2005, 08:32 AM

my gf said that at the DMIA you could park your cars overnight and longer.. perfect for people who have to travel from makati/manila and want to avail of the LCC operating there.. you just have to show a xeroxed copy of your OR and CR to show proof that you own the car when you take it back.. :D

bustero

May 18th, 2005, 08:41 AM

well the otherside of the coin is that it's cheaper for people to come here too.

Solblanc

May 19th, 2005, 11:58 AM

Philippines Eyes Removal of Travel Tax for Clark Flights

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050517/4/213a8.html

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga, May 17 Asia Pulse - The national government is eyeing the removal of the travel tax for airline passengers going to Southeast Asian destinations from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) to spur regional tourism and economic activity.
Tourism Undersecretary Oscar P. Palabyab said the DOT is now studying the proposal from the management of DMIA to remove the travel tax, a privilege enjoyed by passengers going through Mindanao.

"Most likely, the department will endorse that," he said.

Palabyab said he had endorsed the plan to DOT Secretary Joseph Ace Durano who will make a recommendation to the President.

"Surely, passengers bound for Singapore, Malaysia or Bangkok would benefit from the exemption," he said.

At present, several airlines are flying from DMIA, namely, AirAsia to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; Tiger Airways, which has a Clark to Singapore routes; and Asiana Airlines to South Korea.

"In Mindanao and Palawan, there is no more travel tax for travel to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). We are now studying the possibility of doing that in Clark," Palabyab said.

The government started to exempt Mindanao passengers from the travel tax in 1995 to encourage transit through Mindanao as a gateway to or from the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines-East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

Palabyab said the plan to remove the tax is part of efforts to make travel within ASEAN easier and to promote the region as a single travel destination.

"We can see the facilitation of travel in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand area. Because of ASEAN, travel in these formerly difficult-to-reach areas is now possible," he said.

"The Philippines is 'uniquely positioned' by the fact that it is separated from mainland Asia and can only be reached by air or sea," Palabyab stressed.

The DOT is projecting that tourist arrivals will reach 2.6 million this year.

(PNA)

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

Phil. Airlines not welcome in Clark: watchdog group
By Dante M. Fabian

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2005/05/16/news/phil..airlines.not.welcome.in.clark.watchdog.group.html

ANGELES CITY -- The Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) disclosed apprehensions Sunday that the budget airlines that recently began international flights to and from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Dmia) may be drowned out by the possible entry soon of the country's flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Ruperto Cruz, PGKM chairman, said the economic watchdog group is convinced that the viability of Tiger Airways, Air Asia and other budget airlines would be curtailed if PAL would be granted concessions to fly the same international routes they are now serving.

Dmia's international passenger airline operation is presently served by South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Malaysia's Air Asia Berhad, Singapore's Tiger Airways and Hong Kong's CR Airways.

Asiana Airlines flies five times a week between Clark and Korea. Air Asia launched flights from round trip flight between Dmia twice daily to and from Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur.

Tiger Airways presently flies thrice weekly to Singapore while CR Airways maintains three flights per week to Hong Kong.

Cruz said the PAL may be planning to fly Clark since its share of passengers has been affected by the new budget airlines which have established flights from Clark to neighboring Asian countries.

According to him, Clark Development Corporation (CDC) president and chief executive officer Antonio R. Ng deserves praise for the latest developments in the Clark ecozone, especially for the increase in Dmia's international flights.

He said Ng's efforts should be appreciated together with Dmia since the entry of the budget airlines is a concrete example of realizing Dmia's operation as an international airport for which it was intended under Republic Act 7227 or the Bases Conversion Act.

Cruz said the PGKM wants present airlines at Clark to survive and thrive as the entry of PAL in the near future will not be healthy for these airlines.

"Because these budget airlines began serving the Clark route only recently, they should be given the opportunity to make money first before allowing the PAL to compete and eat away at their markets," he said.

"At this point it would be counterproductive as far as ensuring the success of these airlines and the advancement of Dmia into an international gateway is concerned," Cruz added.

Cruz also suggested that business magnate Lucio Tan does not stand up well to be the owner of the country's flag carrier since he had not shown that he thinks for the Filipinos.

"Obviously he (Tan) did not care for Pampanga and Central Luzon because he has ignored earlier appeals from CDC and even local officials to maintain flights at Dmia. Tan is apparently inclined to support Taipans who formed and funded the Asia's Emerging Dragons Corporation (AEDC) that developed the Naia Terminal 2 instead of Dmia," he added.

The Taipans took in Antonio Henson, former CDC president to head AEDC after his tenure at the helm of the government-run corporation tasked to develop Clark into a major economic dynamo spurred by aviation-related activities at the Clark Airport.

Cruz suggested that if it cannot be avoided, it would be fair to Asiana Airlines, Air Asia, Tiger Airways and CR Airways to permit PAL to fly only domestic flights from Clark.

He said on the international level, authorities should limit PAL to routes not flown by these budget airlines.

Cruz added that Ng should also push the expansion of the Dmia passenger terminal and improve the safety of the airlines by speeding up the installation of flight safety equipment at the airport runways.

He said the CDC president should also work for the immediate installation of the radar at the Dmia which Emmanuel Y. Angeles, former CDC president failed to accomplish despite announcements of biddings for the radar equipment during his term.

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

for goodness' sake, why would PAL split its already overutilized fleet to develop routes in clark? Of course Lucio Tan would ignore the CDC in that respect. Not just that, it was only recently that the NLEX was completed. Air Philippines has its hands full, and Cebu Pacific only maintains service to Cebu. What are these people complaining about? PAL already flies to the destinations that the budget airlines fly to, albeit from their sparkling terminal that is actually convenient to go to if you're one of the millions of people who live within its 30-50 km radius as opposed to clark.

federal

May 19th, 2005, 01:48 PM

Actually, I think it would promote better competition at Clark. Although I don't know if PAL will survive routes from Clark to international destinations mainly due to its non-budet carrier status....But who knows, there could be a big business and upscale passengers market at Clark too like Manila. But IMO, I think Cebu Pacific could very well compete with newer planes and better arrival times with the international LCC's from Clark.

federal

May 19th, 2005, 01:50 PM

Press Release
Cebu Pacific to fly to Osaka by 3Q, offer competitive rates

Cebu Pacific (CEB) will start flying to Osaka, Japan four times weekly by the third quarter, just after it takes delivery of its A320 aircraft this April and May.

Cebu Pacific also bought 12 new A319s with a list price of $670 million for delivery between September 2005 and early 2007.

Bong Mojica, CEB general manager, said Nagoya is just the start of the airline’s expansion of its regional and domestic service.

“As the new planes come in, we will be unveiling new destinations to Asean countries, China, and add more flights to Korea. We are also looking at serving new domestic destinations,” he said.

He said the new flights could use the airline’s Cebu and Manila hubs for the convenience of travelers. CEB dominates domestic flights in the Viz-Min region using the Cebu hub.

Cebu, he added, has become a favorite for tourists because “its airport facilities there are more visitor-friendly.”

Osaka is a prime destination for CEB, being a major manufacturing area in Japan
and a base for many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Based on official records, more than 170,000 OFWs go to Japan annually; about 300,000 Japanese visitors come to the Philippines yearly.

The Osaka service, Mojica said, is a breakthrough for CEB, which has been seeking flights to Japan for years.

“More flights to a rich country like Japan mean more tourists and more investors, the very people our country needs. This is the role of airlines in a nation’s development when competition is given free rein,” he said.

Mojica said this would generate jobs in the provinces, which somehow would ease the congestion pressure on Metro Manila, create new tourist-oriented businesses, and generate a steady stream of investments and revenues for government and the private sector. “A seemingly simple government decision can multiply its benefits for the whole country.”

On rates, he said CEB will stay true to form and offer flyers “our trademark competitive rates plus on-time performance.”

renell

May 19th, 2005, 02:17 PM

A lot seems to be going for Clark. It's like a snowball down a ski slope. How about Lucio Tan just makes his own budget airline? Like Lucio air or something:D

kiretoce

May 19th, 2005, 02:45 PM

/\ Isn't Air Philippines the LCC subsidiary of PAL? Maybe Air Philippines should position themselves in that market and make DMIA their hub. :)

stephencua

May 20th, 2005, 02:49 AM

there are LCC to korea?? nice...... :D

ewh1

May 20th, 2005, 03:25 AM

Sorry.. its just a regular full service airline. Asiana Airlines is a regular commerical airline

absent-minded

May 20th, 2005, 08:53 PM

/\ Isn't Air Philippines the LCC subsidiary of PAL? Maybe Air Philippines should position themselves in that market and make DMIA their hub. :)

yeah, AirPhilippines is the low cost arm of PAL. but then the Philippines' two big LCCs (Cebu Pacific and AirPhils) don't seem to be very low cost compared to these newer budget carriers. they both seem to have almost similar inflight services to regular airlines, right?

about PAL at DMIA... I don't think they should do that. they already lack aircraft for their existing route network and adding services from DMIA to SIN or KUL doesn't seem to make much sense to me. if they can't offer competitive rates that these LCCs do anyway, then there's no point cause budget travelers are just gonna go for the cheaper LCCs and PAL will only lose the money it earns from its current flights coming out of MNL...

bustero

May 23rd, 2005, 05:37 AM

Lucio Tan can't run an airline on the cheap. He goes into businesses which are inherrently monopolistic and non competitive. A Low cost airline is not within his management teams skills.

richard fischer

May 23rd, 2005, 10:11 AM

any pics with LCC´s in front of the renovated terminal lately ? or line-up´s of UPS freighters in their area of DMIA ?
salamat

richard fischer

May 23rd, 2005, 10:20 AM

air phil now has to pick-up with CEB´s upgrade in fleet renewal. they cannot just renew with 737-200`s, a way old, fuel consumpting aircraft. they should coordinate their aircraft acquisations with PAL´s plans to renew their domestic fleet. that saves money. after all, both airlines are lucio tan´s babies. so why not combine and save a lot of cash, they can put into upgrading other customer services, for the good of the traveller. by the way : Air Phil´s tail logo is quite old fashioned too, an upgrade towards PAL´s logo would demonstrate the cooperation of both airlines, like a different design of the philippine flag. just look at what British Air did to their "union jack" on their tails, that is a modern and stable design to last decades! can you imagine doing something similar to Air Phil with the filipino flag ? that would be great and closer to PAL´s great tail logo !

absent-minded

May 25th, 2005, 04:00 AM

I believe they were actually planning to merge Air Philippines into PAL a couple years ago but it never really pushed through... I agree that Air Philippines currently doesn't look very appealing at all and seems to be way behind in comparison to Cebu Pacific.

SKYLINEPIGEON

May 27th, 2005, 11:11 AM

Singapore budget carrier to start daily flights to the Philippines
05/27 3:11:39 PM

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singapore low-fare carrier Tiger Airways said Friday it will begin daily flights to the Philippines from July 30, up from five times a week, due to strong demand.

"The increase will allow Tiger Airways to carry more than 180,000 passengers to the Philippines in a year, bringing about economic benefits to tourism and businesses in the region," the airline said in a statement.

Airline chief executive Tony Davis said the increase in flights was the "direct result of requests" from Filipino officials. He said Tiger Airways has noticed "strong forward bookings" for the June-July period.

Tiger Airways, which is 49-percent owned by Singapore Airlines, began flights to Clark Field, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Manila, on April 5. Clark Field is a former US air base converted into a commercial airport.

Commercial passenger buses are on hand to ferry passengers from the airport to Manila, which is about two hours away.

Airline tickets for a one-way trip between July 1 and August 31 had been selling for as low as 14.98 Singapore dollars (9.0 US), excluding taxes and other charges, according to the Tiger Airways website.

A one-way ticket to Manila on Philippine Airlines costs about 310 dollars. On Singapore Airlines, it will cost roughly 480 dollars.

More than 90,000 Filipinos reside in Singapore, according to the Philippine embassy. Singapore is also used as a travel hub by Filipinos working in other countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

A rival budget carrier, Jetstar Asia, which is backed by Australian flag carrier Qantas, flies from Singapore to Manila.

kiretoce

May 27th, 2005, 03:08 PM

:omg: US$9.00 for a one-way ticket between Singapore and Clark! That's way down-in-the-dirt cheap! Wish there were $9.00 airfares here in the US, I could go to New York for lunch and get back to Orlando for dinner! :lol:

tinkypot

May 27th, 2005, 04:59 PM

WTF! That is so damn cheap! That the equivelent of £5 GBP, the price of a large Mc Do meal haha!

Cant understand why Air Phil cant become a LCC as there is obviously a massive market there... Boost some Phil owned companies

bustero

May 30th, 2005, 05:13 AM

Dont' get to excited. I tried to buy some and can't get anyway. I think they only allocate 5 seats a flight or something.

Skyblade

June 2nd, 2005, 08:10 PM

Dont' get to excited. I tried to buy some and can't get anyway. I think they only allocate 5 seats a flight or something.
Hey bustero, what dates did you try?

kiretoce

June 3rd, 2005, 12:26 AM

North Luzon Expressway cited for increased flights
Thursday, June 02, 2005

CLARK ECOZONE -- A top executive of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) cited Wednesday the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) as a catalyst for the tremendous growth in activity in the airport.

Bienvenido Manga, Dmia general manager, said the easier access provided by the NLEX between other provinces and regions to Clark Airport in the former US military air base gave rise to the boom in passenger traffic generated by the low-cost carrier's (LCCs) budget package.

Manga said the travel time between Clark and Metro Manila has been dramatically reduced since the upgraded expressway has cut down travel time by about 150 percent.

This, he said, is one of the reasons for the increase in the volume of air travellers flocking to Clark, with NLEX being managed with sophisticated computer systems and well-trained office and field personnel.

He said all these contributed to the greater passenger comfort and safety at the new NLEX.

He said the LCCs using the DMIA at Clark Special Economic Zone were reportedly having a field day as passenger traffic kept growing over the past months.

Manga said outbound first-time travelers coming from as far as Cagayan province in the North, and the Bicol peninsula in Southern Luzon, have joined the increasing volume of local and foreign tourists using the DMIA as a springboard or transit point to their destinations.

He revealed that Tiger Airways of Singapore and Air Asia of Malaysia were the latest additions to the growing list of international airlines who have launched operations at the DMIA since last April, following the formal opening of the new NLEX early this year.

Both airlines have since increased their flight frequencies at the DMIA in an apparent reaction to the record-setting growths in passenger traffic at the Clark terminal.

Manga said two Boeing 737s of Air Asia, capable of seating 148 passengers in one class, arrive and leave Clark daily for Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. An Asiana Airbus of South Korea makes five flights a week between Clark and Inchon.

Tiger Airways, with a capacity of 180 passengers, now makes three flights a week between Clark and Singapore. The Clark International Airport Corp., which operates the DMIA, said Tiger Airways, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, will have five flights a week starting next month.

Air Asia president Tony Fernandez said they expect tourist arrivals at Clark to increase to one million this year, adding that the forecast is 20 million in three years.

bustero

June 3rd, 2005, 05:29 AM

Hey bustero, what dates did you try?
It was late april and I tried to book for late May. All I got was around 80$ one way, which is not a bad price but it's the super cheap fare they've advertised.

Skyblade

June 3rd, 2005, 07:55 AM

It was late april and I tried to book for late May. All I got was around 80$ one way, which is not a bad price but it's the super cheap fare they've advertised.
Yeah compared to the price SQ and PR charge...:runaway:

amras

June 3rd, 2005, 08:15 AM

Hey guys, is the shuttle bus service exclusive for Air Asia passengers only? Im taking tigerairways. I already emailed them but they haven't replied yet... :)

absent-minded

June 5th, 2005, 05:26 AM

Air Asia president Tony Fernandez said they expect tourist arrivals at Clark to increase to one million this year, adding that the forecast is 20 million in three years.

is that guy serious?!? 20,000,000 passengers at DMIA within three years?! that's even more than NAIA!! hahaha! is that just a typo or does he know something nobody else does...?!

ryanr

June 5th, 2005, 05:58 AM

is that guy serious?!? 20,000,000 passengers at DMIA within three years?! that's even more than NAIA!! hahaha! is that just a typo or does he know something nobody else does...?!

If thats the case, the govt should build the mega airport terminals in Clark very soon.:eek:

olineil

June 5th, 2005, 07:18 AM

richard fischer

June 5th, 2005, 09:29 AM

whatever tony fernandez says, i´m sure 20 million was not meant. possibly 2 million. but first they have to reach the predicted 1 million. so we should stay calm and with both feet on the ground about it. nevertheless it surely is very exiting what is happening at DMIA. they will have to build a new terminal very soon !

Skyblade

June 5th, 2005, 08:37 PM

If its not a typo error, then thats 1 hell of a good news for the country. We'll so to speak, I think Tony Fernandez knows what he is saying, this Guy was being mocked by the Airline Industry saying that AirAsia will be a flop. Look at them now, everybody is jumping into the band wagon Tony Fernandez is driving...lol
Indeed, I mean I guess you could consider him the Herb Kelleher or David Neeleman of Asia. :D

There was a small tidbit on Clark from the latest Airliner World magazine:

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

Along with a rotting Grand Air 737-200...

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

612bv3

June 6th, 2005, 04:33 AM

Is there any news of building a new terminal in Clark? Or is it dead for now.

SKYLINEPIGEON

June 8th, 2005, 07:46 PM

Bigger Clark airport planned

The Manila International Airport Authority will expand the operations of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (formerly Clark International Airport) to enable it to handle more passengers.

At a roundtable with The Manila Times Wednesday, Alfonso Cusi, MIAA general manager, said he is waiting for regulations in carrying out Executive Order 341, issued by President Arroyo in August 2004 and giving the MIAA direct supervision and control of seven additional international airports in the country.

Besides Diosdado Macapagal, MIAA supervises the La*oag International Airport, Subic Bay International Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao, General Santos International Airport and Zamboanga International Airport.

The President authorized the MIAA to act directly on matters involving the management, operation, maintenance or development of any of the international airports in the Philippines.

The MIAA can also direct any of the officials of the international airports to perform their duties or retrain the commission of acts; and review, approve, reverse or modify acts and decisions of the governing board, officials or units of all the international airports.

The MIAA also has the power to determine priorities in the execution of plans and programs, and to prescribe standards, guidelines, plans and programs.

The Arroyo administration is pushing for the development of the DMIA as it declared Subic and Clark priority development zones.

The MIAA said major airlines are interested in operating at the DMIA. Budget Airline Air Asia has started flying from the DMIA to Malaysia. Tiger Airways also flies from the DMIA to Singapore.

The MIAA sees a need to increase the passenger capacity of the DMIA from 1.5 million to 3.5 million a year when it completes the expansion project by 2007.

Leasing of land in the DMIA aviation complex has been temporarily stopped until a new land-use master plan is finalized.

Cusi said that with the President’s new executive order, resources from the MIAA’s earnings from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport can go to upgrading the facilities of the seven other airports.

He said the NAIA and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport are the only earning international airports in the country.

kiretoce

June 10th, 2005, 06:56 PM

If MIAA handles all major international airports in the Philippines, I think it's rather inappropriate to still have the name "Manila" in the corporate name, maybe they should consider changing it to "Philippine International Airports Authority" (PIAA) to reflect the scope of their jurisdiction.

kiretoce

June 15th, 2005, 07:05 PM

Low fares boost RP tourism and trade
By Juan P. Dayang

Boosting trade and tourist travel between the Philippines and Malaysia is one of the goals of AirAsia in offering a low fare, no-frills flight.

The tremendous success being reaped of late by Malaysian tourism has been attributed to its innovative and bold measures, as exemplified by extra low aviation fares being offered by Malaysia’s AirAsia, which now flies to over 32 destinations in the Southeast Asian Region.

Under its slogan "Now Everyone Can Fly," AirAsia has revolutionized air travel by a drastic reduction of airfare among passengers who come and go through its main KL routes to and from Thailand, Indonesia, Macau and the Philippines.

Cost-cutting measures, which do not in any way sacrifice the convenience of its passengers, have enabled AirAsia to charge airfares which are a lot lower compared to most domestic airlines through the program it calls "no frills" service.

Modeled on successful low-fare airlines such as the US-based Southwest Airlines and Dublin-based RyanAir, the AirAsia "no frills" flight has boosted trade and tourist travel to and from Malaysia as demonstrated in the record influx of foreign visitors who converged at Kota Kinabalu and nearby areas for Sabah Fest 2005, centerpiece of Malaysia’s tourism come-on for the year.

Since April 2005, AirAsia has started daily flight between the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga, and Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, using the Boeing 737-300s.

"However, to avail of the airline’s lowest fare, which is R900 one way to Kota Kinabalu, passengers have to book six weeks in advance during the lean season and three months in advance during the peak season like Christmas," said Jeamie Lee, AirAsia senior executive for publicity and promotions.

Passengers can book online by logging on to www.airasia.com. "This means no more phone calls and queuing. The website is also available in English or Tagalog," Lee said.

However, reservations and buying of tickets are also available at DMIA for the convenience of walk-in customers.

The low fare, no-frills service targets passengers who will do without such add-ons as complimentary drinks or meals, frequent flyer miles or airport lounges in exchange for fares up to 80 percent lower than those currently offered by traditional full-service airlines, Lee pointed out.

The airline has introduced "Snack Attack," a range of delicious snacks and drinks available on board at very affordable prices and prepared exclusively for passengers.

With the tagline "Now everyone can fly," AirAsia’s philosophy of low fares is aimed at making flying affordable for everyone. "AirAsia also aims to make travel easy, convenient and fun for its guests," she added.

The airline is able to optimize costs by operating a faster turnaround time, improving aircraft utilization and crew efficiency, providing a no-frills service, using one type of aircraft to save training costs, all of which result in savings which are passed back to consumers in the form of low fares.

Lee said AirAsia’s optimization philosophy is in no way at the expense of the airline’s safety.

The airline’s fleet of 30 Boeing 737-300 fully complies with the conditions of the International Aviation Safety and is regulated by the internationally reputed Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation.

The airline has signed a $20 million agreement with GE Engineering Services for engine maintenance and a $3 million aircraft engine and aircraft frame parts leasing agreement with Volvo Aero. It has also signed a $7 million agreement with ST Aero covering the airline’s engineering components support.

AirAsia, Malaysia’s second national airline, has introduced its low fare, no frills concept in December 2001 and now flies to over 32 destinations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Macau, China and the Philippines.

absent-minded

June 23rd, 2005, 01:14 AM

Transfer of NAIA flights to Clark seen in 2012
INQ7Money | Inquirer News Service | Jun. 23, 2005

CLARK SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE -- The earliest transfer of international and local flights from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Metro Manila to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in this former American air base, to the north of Manila, is expected between 2012 and 2014, an official said.

By that time, the runway capacity of the NAIA would have reached its limit, said Danilo Augusto Francia, president and chief executive office of the Clark International Airport Corp.

Francia made the prediction at a recent meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Airlines Operators Council, which had at least 60 senior executives of major airlines, such as Lufthansa and Continental Airlines.

"The transition from the NAIA to the DMIA would take place, the earliest in 2012 to 2014, when the saturation level of the NAIA is met," he said. "We foresee some of the flights coming to Clark by then."

That prospect became remote when the contract of Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (PIATCo) to build and operate the NAIA Terminal 3 barred the use of other passenger terminals like the one in Clark.

The contract is under litigation following the government's takeover of the NAIA 3.

The DMIA is four times as big as the 600-hectare NAIA.

Under an executive order issued by President Fidel Ramos, at least 2,700 hectares of this economic zone's 4,400 hectares have been devoted to what is called an "aerotropolis." The airport, since renamed Diosdado Macapagal International Airport -- after the father of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was prepared to take in more flights as early as three years ago.

Low-cost airlines operate in Clark: Air Asia Berhad, Tiger Airways and China Rich Airways, serving routes to Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The DMIA is also becoming a cargo freight hub, in a trend started by UPS. Tonette Orejas, with INQ7.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
finally! hahaha!! we've been waiting for some sort of timeline/timeframe thing from the gov't for so long now! so yeah... the plan to move the country's premier airport to DMIA definitely isn't dead (like we were kinda thinking) and isn't too far down the road as it is already in sight... I'm sure if nothing bad happens and PGMA isn't kicked out the plan is achievable. and if tourist arrivals continue to grow, no doubt at all this will happen by 2014.

bustero

June 23rd, 2005, 04:17 AM

Well I think this a bit optimistic. Requires a lot of money and it's only 7 -10 years away.

Kaitak operated till 97 and had over 30 million passengers a year. We're still quite away from that and Kai tak had only one runway and their no nightflight restriction, thereby cutting hours to 2/3rd of the day.

I think it's very possible for the two to grow at the same time though but it'll be a while before we see clark takeover MIA as the countries premier gateway.

richard fischer

June 23rd, 2005, 07:31 AM

i agree bustero,
lets just face the facts and keep our feet on the carpet. DMIA definately will grow thanks to LCCs. and that was a grand idea to open up to affordable no frills airlines. keeping them in clark leaves PAL and CEB a chance to addapt before they all get traffic rights to MIA. after all, we do want to see philippine airliners grow healthly and stand a chance. but they have to get up onto their feet and prepare, as lance gokongwe stated. and who knows, maybe one day the rivals PAL and CEB will code share to up-keep and behold filipino airlines plying tight and full international routes and skies like PAL and Air Phil. is doing for some time now.

kiretoce

June 27th, 2005, 07:52 PM

Arroyo asked to effect airport's operation
By Reynaldo G. Navales Tuesday, June 28, 2005

CLARK ECOZONE -- The Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) urged Monday President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to be true to her word that she would effect the full operationalization of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).

PGKM chair Ruperto Cruz reacted to news reports that flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) will be transferring to DMIA starting 2010. He said Clark airport will not be fully operational unless its aviation complex and terminal are developed.

He also cited other support facilities and infrastructure including the road networks, railways and a radar system.

He also said the only hope of the Pampangueños is the DMIA which is expected to spur economic development not only in the province but in the entire region once fully operational.

On Saturday, a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-400 aircraft stalled on the runway of the Naia after its pilot reportedly miscalculated a turn.

Because of the incident, Air Macau flight NX 852, which was expected to arrive at the Naia at 8:45 a.m. was diverted to Cebu.

Cruz said what the people of Pampanga need are an airport which will bring in economic progress and not SM Mall which, he said, would kill the local economy.

renell

June 28th, 2005, 10:23 AM

Gee.... talking about DMIA, when NAIA3 isn't yet opened. Please stick to the MAIN issue first.

Solblanc

June 28th, 2005, 03:46 PM

If money was really no object, then we would have created an airport in Manila Bay similar to Kansai and Centrair. However, we are broke. NAIA-3 is just sitting there, and it would be a waste to forget about it completely. Besides, DMIA is developing its own niche. A full transfer of all operations to Clark wouldn't be feasible in the short-term, even in the timetable given by the article. We should be starting the relocation at least at 2020 or something. As for all the complaints about how NAIA is congested, then the first thing that should be done is the transfer of general aviation in NAIA to the Clark or Subic airports. Even that isn't done yet.

SKYLINEPIGEON

June 28th, 2005, 06:12 PM

the naia airport is too close to the city centre and theres no space to expand, dmia is the logical choice look at other neighbouring countries malaysia and thailand their main international airports are located outside the city, and of course the main criteria here is the influx of passengers coming in if lets say from 2006 to 2012 we are increasing passengers at the rate of 1 million pax per year so by the end of 2012 we are adding up a total of 07 million pax , with naia 3 capacity of 15 million pax annually so we are talking abt here of 22 million pax annually and more pax means more flights means more planes, more landings and takeoffs etc, the terminal, the runway and all the systems that go with i believe can no longer take

sandrin

June 28th, 2005, 06:41 PM

the naia airport is too close to the city centre and theres no space to expand, dmia is the logical choice look at other neighbouring countries malaysia and thailand their main international airports are located outside the city, and of course the main criteria here is the influx

When on a business trip, are you the type of passenger who is willing to ride a 1 hour car trip or take a 30 minutes “express” train to get to the capital city after a jet lag?
According to a friend, the airport is 1 hour drive from Kuala Lumpur but if you’re willing to take mass transpo which is the express rail thing, it takes half an hour. And worse, when you get to the airport (the middle of nowhere), the terminals are located miles from each other so you're again forced to take a friggin train between them. If you're going to build out in the middle of nowhere, at least have the decency to build a single facility where you don’t have to hop on yet another train.

kiretoce

June 28th, 2005, 06:58 PM

In my utopian mind I'd like to see the NAIA complex be the Philippines' intra-Asian LCC hub (catering to business frequent flyers that shuttle between cities in Asia) with it's own domestic operations. And for DMIA to be the long-haul gateway for flights from North America, Europe, Middle East/Africa, South Pacific, and other East Asian cities more the six hours flying time from the Philippines, also with its own domestic operations for those passengers transferring from an international leg of their journey to the domestic leg. Add the high-speed rail link between DMIA and Metro Manila's city centers.

Solblanc

June 29th, 2005, 06:34 AM

sandrin

June 29th, 2005, 11:49 AM

^ Me too

richard fischer

June 29th, 2005, 02:05 PM

bustero

June 30th, 2005, 04:45 AM

Solblanc

July 1st, 2005, 05:59 AM

the only realistic solution.
but then again, NAIA T 3 will probably open in 2012 if they continue the way they are posponing by the latest news updates.....
on my next trip i will be traveling through singapore to cebu instead, and then take PAL to T 2. T 1 is out of discussion.
it´s a shame for the country

T1 isn't that bad if you're not transiting. Since PAL moved out of there, it takes around half an hour from the time you land to get out of the place

kiretoce

July 1st, 2005, 02:55 PM

It's got to do with time.

If you have to travel up to 2 hours by land to DMIA from various parts of Manila, then wait another 2 hours to board your plane for a 1 and a half hour trip to HK or Davao, then you just turned a short trip to a half day affair.

On the other hand if the trip was transpacific, an additional 2 hours is not going to matter much.

That's why I mentioned that NAIA be the hub for intra-Asian LCC carriers within a 5-6 hour flying radius from the Philippines, and the long-haul flights out of DMIA. :colgate:

bustero

July 2nd, 2005, 04:56 AM

Pare it's good to agree! :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1:

noli

July 2nd, 2005, 10:59 AM

"If money was really no object, then we would have created an airport in Manila Bay similar to Kansai and Centrair. However, we are broke. NAIA-3 is just sitting there, and it would be a waste to forget about it completely."

There is no need to create an airport island in Manila Bay. There is already an airport in Manila Bay. All it needs is to be extended a few or several kilometers if we want a bigger one and that would be much cheaper than creating an island from nowhere. I am referring to Sangley Airport in Kawit, Cavite. Since the reclamation is going to reach Kawit anyway, then we might as well include the reclamation so we can lengthen Sangley Airport and make it an international airport. The Philippine Air Force based there can move somewhere.

Solblanc

July 3rd, 2005, 05:27 AM

richard fischer

July 5th, 2005, 09:37 AM

sangley point infact was once considered to substitute NAIA. which, in my opinion would be the best alternative due to it´s closeness to manila. construction costs would not be so big because there is vast room for expansion and an expressway is already half way finished into that area. as far as i know , there also is a LRT extention planned into that area. this would also pave the way for high rise buildings at bay city/reclamation area, which now is in the way of landing approach to NAIA´s main runway. a passenger disembarking and driving into the city also would have a nice entrance passsing the planned "new cities" on the reclamation areas, once they are built.

noli

July 5th, 2005, 02:46 PM

Why do we need to have two air force base near manila, when our air force is one of the smallest in Southeast Asia. Can't we not put them all together in Floridablanca? Going to Manila is just a matter of a few minutes by jets anyway. If Basa Air Base in Lipa, Batangas was able to transfer to GenSan, then maybe Sangley Point can be transferred to Floridablanca also.

bustero

July 6th, 2005, 05:50 AM

hehe tutuo iyan brad

I think kasi they believe our jets baka di makatakeoff at least kung pumalapag nanaman ang bagsak sa tubig di sa tao!

actually sangley is a very active naval yard as well, that's where they refit all the armaments , and basic maintenance of the navy's ships specially the harbour coastal ones.

bustero

July 6th, 2005, 05:52 AM

but why bother with this when clark tapos na ang dalawang runway!

tapos may train na ginagawa at tapos na rin ang nlex.

richard fischer

July 6th, 2005, 08:21 AM

no intiendo tagalog, but i guess i should be happy that most of the posts are in english. salamat !

bustero

July 7th, 2005, 04:57 AM

hehe as an adopted pinoy you should be speaking pinoy already!

tutuo iyan brad
(translation) that's the truth brother

I think kasi they believe our jets baka di makatakeoff at least kung pumalapag nanaman ang bagsak sa tubig di sa tao!
(translation) I think (punctuation!!!) they believe their jets will not take off and if it will fall again at least it will fall in the water not on people!

but why bother with this when clark tapos na ang dalawang runway! tapos may train na ginagawa at tapos na rin ang nlex.
(translation and the word tapos is used differently in the two sentences)why bother when the two runways in clark are done( tapos -pronounced in malumi - accent on the second syllable)! And then(tapos - pronounced in malumay - accent on the first syllable)) they have a train which is being done and the nlex is finished. (did you get the last taposes :))

ok cige (translation) I hope all is well and that you have a nice day, I'll go ahead. (you lose alot when you have these things written in a transcript because as you know pinoys use their eyebrows and mouth to give extra meaning!:)

Auf Wiedersehen

noli

July 7th, 2005, 06:17 AM

Sounds like the Italians. They speak with their hands.

richard fischer

July 7th, 2005, 07:07 PM

Skyblade

August 3rd, 2005, 03:33 AM

New Flight Service Begins Between Taiwan, Philippines' Clark
Tuesday August 2, 03:22 PM Asia Pulse

MANILA, Aug 2 Asia Pulse - Taiwan's Far Eastern Airlines and SET Tours have started a new charter flight service to the Philippines' Clark Special Economic Zone.

The inaugural flight with 150 Taiwanese passengers on board arrived last Friday evening, July 29, 2005 at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.
ADVERTISEMENT

The twice-weekly flight service, with departures from Taipei on Fridays and Sundays, will utilize an MD 82 aircraft with a capacity of 150 passengers. The charter operator will initially run the flights until October with the possibility of extension if market reaction is good.

The airline also operates three regular charter flights a week between Laoag City and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. The flights were launched in April 2001.

On hand to welcome the Taiwanese passengers on board the inaugural flight was Presidential Adviser for Northern Luzon Renato Diaz, Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Director Ma. Isabel O. Golamco, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) CEO Antonio Ng, CDC EVP Victor Jose Luciano and top airport officials.

The regular charter flights were made possible through the joint efforts of MECO, Manila's representative office in Taiwan, and the Lee Young Union based in Taichung.

Accompanying the group, MECO Deputy Representative for Programs, Romulo V. Manlapig said that the chartered flights between Taipei and Clark came at the ideal time. With Indonesia still recovering from the effects of the tsunami last December, the Philippines is now being marketed as the best alternative tourism destination in the region.

"We are very hopeful that these flights would be extended even beyond October because we have been getting very good responses from tour operators in Taiwan," Manlapig said.

"We are also working closely with Far Eastern and we are in the process of negotiating flights between Taiwan and other parts of the Philippines like Bohol and Kalibo." For his part, Ng said the arrival of the Taiwanese tourists would boost tourism in Clark as well as in neighboring Angeles City.

"We always welcome with open arms tourists who decide to fly into Clark," he said. "There is just so much for them to see here in this part of the Philippines." "Part of MECO's mandate is to attract more Taiwanese tourists and investors into the country," said Golamco.

"In fact, this is not the first time we have worked with this particular group because they were also the same group that brought the first Taiwanese cruise ship from the port of Kaohsiung to Manila," Golamco said.

That particular cruise brought in over 800 Taiwanese visitors to the country. Lee Young Union has also organized corporate clients to bring their employees for their yearly vacations to the Philippines.

In a recent meeting with MECO Resident Representative Antonio I. Basilio, they expressed their continued interest in pursuing similar ventures in the Philippines.

Lu Yu Min, Lee Young President, informed Basillio that they were in the process of acquiring another cruise ship and that their initial plans include sailing to Manila again.

"We have always known the Philippines to be an ideal place to visit and feel that together with MECO, we can pursue other plans," Lu said.

For his part, Basillio assured that MECO would always be on hand to assist and guide the group in these endeavors.

bustero

August 3rd, 2005, 06:05 AM

der bustero,

vielen dank für deine hilfe ! translation : salamat po for your help ! maybe i can pick up tagalog in this forum. people like you are another reason to keep up the interest for the pilipinas ! so where did you leard your german ??? even tzhe initials are capitalized..very good ! so let´s keep up our communications, again salamat.

hehe I would like to say a cute german girl (will Cindy Corleto qualify???) taught me but alas no luck!

Actually just a few words I picked up while travelling there, actually attended a class in goethe here once but never did follow it up. Anyway Vielen Dank, I hope our Pilipino classes on the forum will help speed you up while we learn some german from you!

richard fischer

August 3rd, 2005, 07:25 AM

hehe I would like to say a cute german girl (will Cindy Corleto qualify???) taught me but alas no luck!

Actually just a few words I picked up while travelling there, actually attended a class in goethe here once but never did follow it up. Anyway Vielen Dank, I hope our Pilipino classes on the forum will help speed you up while we learn some german from you!

so you travelled to germany, great, where did you go to ? next time you come, i will take you to where the cute girls hang around. hehe..... :)

richard fischer

August 3rd, 2005, 07:41 AM

new flight service between taiwan and clark :
"We are also working closely with Far Eastern and we are in the process of negotiating flights between Taiwan and other parts of the Philippines like Bohol and Kalibo."
now that would be great, if at last foreign airlines get permits to fly to other destinations within the country. good for tourism, good for international trade, good for international relations. i just wonder why air phil or CEB don't offer their low fare charters and scheduled trips from these destinations kalibo(boracay), tagbilaran(chocolate hills). i recall PAL once flew charters from puerto pricessa to taiwan for a while. what ever happened to the continuation of those flights ? that was a fine beginning of flying international from other regional destinations outside manila, cebu and davao, the country's premier hubs. MAKE THE PHILIPPINNES THE HUB FOR TOURISM IN SEA ! keep up the good work !

tigidig14

August 3rd, 2005, 07:59 AM

so you travelled to germany, great, where did you go to ? next time you come, i will take you to where the cute girls hang around. hehe..... :)

gud thing u dont have any animosity against philippines from what they did to the german firm that built or design the naia3. its the govn not the ppol so dont blame it to us :)

what ur prerogative bout that btw

renell

August 3rd, 2005, 08:16 AM

that is a ridiculous excuse to ignore or not visit the Philippines.... one german firm that has problems in the country will not be a precedent for future Germany investors and tourists.

richard fischer

August 3rd, 2005, 10:16 AM

well, i´m not sure what started this "who´s to blame" thing. i don´t really care either. it´s not my point of view pointing at anyone. there are always 2 sides and views to a problem. if fraport did something wrong, they have to pay the bill. all i want is the country to prosper, to grow. and just get the damm thing open, otherwise it will rot before you may set a foot into it.

and dear renell, it may be ridiculous to you guys over on that side of the globe, over here (in europe, not germany alone) global players are watching the forthcome and they are planning their investments very carefully. in financial times europe you read about how alcatel or siemens or philipps are holding back investments until the outcome is to judge if or if not to proceed in the philippinnes or not. now that is the damm realistic truth, sorry. i myself would rather see the whole thing settled to the comfort of the philippines.
philpal

noli

August 3rd, 2005, 10:58 AM

Yes Richard, I sure do hope that this thing would be resolved the soonest possible time. Man, we want the fabled German precision here in the Philippines.

richard fischer

August 3rd, 2005, 01:14 PM

dear noli,
i´m glad we are "pulling on the same rope" (free translation from german =
"am selben strang ziehen"
best regards, philpal.

richard fischer

August 3rd, 2005, 01:21 PM

by the way.....
since the last T-3 thread was closed, i opend a new one. lets continue there. this was the DMIA thread, isn´t it ?

it is called : T - 3/NAIA
philpal

Solblanc

August 3rd, 2005, 05:13 PM

Monday August 1, 02:53 PM
source: Yahoo! Asia Pulse http://au.news.yahoo.com/050801/3/vbck.html

Philippines Airport Expansion To Cost $US35.6mln

CLARK ZONE, Pampanga, Aug 1 Asia Pulse - An expansion project for the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) at Clark Zone, Pampanga, is to cost P2 billion ($US35.6 million) and will start shortly, according to Executive vice-president Victor Jose I. Luciano of Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

He says the capacity increase will allow international flights to rise to at least 50 and cater for some 100,000 air passengers daily before the end of the year.

Mr Luciano said that international flights had increased to 17 as of Friday, with some 20,000 air passengers monthly.

Luciano said an $US11 million state-of-the-art radar system would be installed in October, which is expected to start full operations in three months.

Presently, airlines using DMIA are depending on the Manila International Airport (MIA) radar facilities.

The budget for the DMIA modern passenger terminal project was provided by the MIA and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) as approved by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her desire to develop the Clark airport into the country's premier international airport.

Luciano outlined the latest expansion and modernization program for DMIA during the launching of the maiden flight here last Friday of the Far Eastern Transport Corp. (FAT).

FAT, the oldest privately-owned airline in Taiwan established in 1957, will fly three times a week on the Taipei-Clark-Taipei route.

The airport's new passenger terminal will have three tubes for the conveyance of embarking and boarding passengers. The two-floor modern passenger terminal will have separate departure and arrival facilities.

Luciano also said that Tiger Airways would start on September 15 daily flights between Clark and Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, while daily flights between Clark and Macao will start on October 15.

(PNA)

richard fischer

August 4th, 2005, 01:46 AM

great news ! any renderings in the papers yet ? i wonder how it will look like ?
philpal

stephencua

August 4th, 2005, 02:21 AM

i hope that all goes to planned.. i was able to go to DMIA a couple of weeks ago to go to singapore.. the airport itself was small but very clean and comfortable.. it would be a great improvement if it was upgraded.. here's hoping that no complications would come like what happened to NAIA 3

richard fischer

August 4th, 2005, 11:25 AM

from DMIA expansion
wow, listen to this : (taken from http://au.news.yahoo.com)
.....He says the capacity increase will allow international flights to rise to at least 50 and cater for some 100,000 air passengers daily before the end of the year.....
that means 36 500 000 passengers by years end. so finally the 380 is comming in daily, and that 200 times !
:-)
philpal

absent-minded

August 6th, 2005, 05:45 PM

I think that was a typo.. hehe. maybe they meant 50 flights and 100,000 passengers monthly. 36,500,000 people per year cannot possibly be served in a tiny airport like that... even at NAIA. you would need an airport the size of the new BKK to do that. haha! but maybe in a decade we'll see DMIA emerge as a major Asian hub...

richard fischer

August 7th, 2005, 08:37 PM

i don't think so, but maybe a major hub among the 7 107 islands.....

Skyblade

August 8th, 2005, 03:08 AM

but maybe in a decade we'll see DMIA emerge as a major Asian hub...
We can hope...and hope I definitely will do! More planes to spot for me. :D

richard fischer

August 9th, 2005, 12:32 PM

yeeessss please ! spot, spot spot them all ! and please post the photos. i´d love to see those new airlines with their logos and jets and that embraer jet from HK express in front of the terminal.....
salamat !
philpal

kiretoce

August 15th, 2005, 10:21 PM

Taiwanese visitors increase as new air service opens

Taiwanese visitor arrivals rose in June and a new air service opened between Taipei and Clark special economic zone in signs the Taiwan market for Philippine tourism is rebounding amid strong tourism development efforts by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO).

Department of Tourism data shows arrivals from Taiwan increased 5.5% in June from year-earlier levels, the second month in a row that arrivals have increased since killer tsunamis in the Indian Ocean induced a travel slump across Southeast Asia. May arrivals had increased 3.9% year-on-year.

"We are back," said Gerry Panga, tourism representative at MECO, the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan. "Our efforts to project the Philippines as a viable destination and generate maximum trade support and mileage are paying off. While other affected countries are still experiencing decreased travel from Taiwan, we are seeing some growth already."

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Far Eastern Air Transport and SET Tours have started regular charter flights to Clark in a route breakthrough that opens up the SEZ as the newest tourism-industrial hub for Taiwanese. The inaugural flight with 150 passengers on board arrived July 29 at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.

The twice-weekly flight service, with departures from Taipei on Fridays and Sundays, will use MD-82 aircraft with a capacity of 150 passengers. The charter operator will initially run the flights until October with the possibility of extension.

"We are very hopeful that these flights would be extended even beyond October because we have been getting very good responses from tour operators in Taiwan," said Romulo Manlapig, deputy representative for programs of MECO.

Manlapig said the route opening comes at an ideal time. With Indonesia still recovering from the effects of the tsunami last December, the Philippines is now being marketed as the best alternative tourism destination in the region, he said.

The new service was made possible through joint efforts of MECO and the Lee Young Union based in Taichung. "This is the same group that brought the first Taiwanese cruise ship from the port of Kaohsiung to Manila," said MECO director Isabel O. Golamco.

That particular cruise brought in over 800 Taiwanese visitors to the country, Lee Young Union has also organized corporate clients to bring their employees for their yearly vacations to the Philippines.

The new charter service hopes to bring in 4000 passengers over the next three months. Friday arrivals will mostly be casino players who will travel and stay within Clark on three-day two-nights tour packages on a visa-free basis. Sunday arrivals would carry tour groups on five-to-six day tour package, including stays in Manila and side trips to Tagaytay or Subic.

Panga said efforts are being made to expand to market by tapping golf players and corporate accounts for short weekend leisure trips anchored on shopping as well as gaming.

He said Clark offers many advantages as a strategic gateway. Taiwanese visitors would face fewer inconveniences, such as no-visa travel options and faster transfer to hotels, being away from heavy traffic in Manila. Clark is also close to Subic, Pampanga, and other major destinations besides Manila and has world-class service and tourist facilities.

Clark represents a route breakthrough for Far Eastern, which has opened thrice-weekly charter flights between Laoag City and Kaohsiung in Southern Taiwan since April 2001, and for SET Tours, one of the largest travel agents in Taiwan.

The travel agency has been away from the country for some time, having last carried the Philippines in its programs in 2003, mainly featuring travel to Subic.

Clark Development Corp. CEO Antonio Ng said the arrival of the Taiwanese tourists would boost tourism in Clark as well as in neighboring Angeles City. "We always welcome with open arms tourists who decide to fly into Clark," he said. "There is just so much for them to see here in this part of the Philippines."

Manlapig said MECO is looking to develop other destinations in the Philippines. "We are also working closely with Far Eastern and we are in the process of negotiating flights between Taiwan and places like Bohol and Kalibo."

MECO Resident Representative Antonio I. Basilio said Lee Young Union has expressed interest in pursuing other ventures in the Philippines. He said the union’s president, Lu Yu Min, told him they are acquiring another cruise ship and that their plans include sailing to Manila again.

He quoted Lu as saying the Philippines is an ideal place to visit and that they feel they can pursue other plans together with MECO.

MECO is hopeful of getting bigger flows of Taiwanese tourists to the Philippines this year. "We want to increase the number of Taiwanese heading south for rest and recreation by 30% this year," Basilio said. "We also want to bring in high-end tour packages."

In 2004, 114,000 Taiwanese visited the Philippines, the highest level since 1999 when an aviation dispute cut arrivals to a low of 75,000. Panga said this year his team is targeting arrivals of 126,000 to 130,000.

marites4

August 15th, 2005, 10:39 PM

Don't mean to be negative but we shouldn't be proud of increasing tourists who only go to angeles city We know what kind of tourists those are.

olineil

August 16th, 2005, 02:36 AM

Don't mean to be negative but we shouldn't be proud of increasing tourists who only go to angeles city We know what kind of tourists those are.

How woould you know that they only go angeles city? So are you saying now that all the flights that go into clark are just headed for angeles city. So that means AirAsia, Tiger Airways and the rest of the tourist taking this flights are just whore hunters....c'mon isnt this being negative?

Ive seen most of ur posts, u've posted nothin but negative commnets. Sorry medyo asar lang.... :bash:

Culiat

August 16th, 2005, 02:54 AM

How woould you know that they only go angeles city? So are you saying now that all the flights that go into clark are just headed for angeles city. So that means AirAsia, Tiger Airways and the rest of the tourist taking this flights are just whore hunters....c'mon isnt this being negative?

Ive seen most of ur posts, u've posted nothin but negative commnets. Sorry medyo asar lang.... :bash:

I agree, how would you know that? dito samin Maraming flights ang inaasikaso ng lola ko sa sideline nya sa isang travel agency. Most of those sa Clark ang bagsak d dahil sa mga makikita sa fileds avenue (red light dist.) kundi dahil it would be closer for them kung uuwi cla o mamamasyal cla somewhere in central and northern luzon kesa naman sa NAIA pa cla. imagine the traffic from metro manila papuntang norte. :)

marites4

August 16th, 2005, 03:32 AM

I didn't say they would only go to Angeles City ONLY.. I said the ones that would go to Angeles city you know what they go there for. We don't need to sugar coat it. Because the article mentioned about increasing tourists also who go to angeles city. I'm not being negative I am only a realist . YOu have to see everything in a clear picture before you can correct it. In fact I'm a big cheerleader when it comes to promoting the PHilippines. touchy aren't we.

bustero

August 16th, 2005, 05:27 AM

A big chunk of people who go to Aneles city nowadays are actually students.While there are some who come as sex tourists, The lively bar scene, we had a long time ago is really a poor shadow of itself. The Koreans, Tainwanese, etc who go to Angeles actually just stay in clark in the different English speaking Schools. It's really just the way they book and register the tourist that it seems like they go jsut to Angeles.

olineil

August 17th, 2005, 09:42 AM

Diosdado Macapagal Int'l Airport (From Earth.google.com)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/olineil/Clark/clark.jpg

Angled View
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/olineil/Clark/clark2.jpg

richard fischer

August 18th, 2005, 09:41 AM

olineil

August 18th, 2005, 09:53 AM

hi olineil,
that is some great idea ! now everyone gets the idea of the layout of DMIA's runways. can you post similar photos of NAIA, mactan's new airstrip, davao and laoag ? THAT WOULD BE GRAND ! salamat po !
philpal

Im actually planning to, but so far this is so far the only hi-res sat photo for the phililppines. I guess google is concentrating on other major cities first. Manila area is still low-res, so is cebu, davao. Lets cross our finger and hope google updates the philippines soon.

richard fischer

August 18th, 2005, 02:12 PM

OK olineil,
just keep us posted, thank you !

ryanr

August 18th, 2005, 06:32 PM

Diosdado Macapagal Int'l Airport (From Earth.google.com)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/olineil/Clark/clark.jpg

Angled View
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/olineil/Clark/clark2.jpg

Wow, thats awesome. Are the two runways the same length?

I wonder where abouts they will build the new terminal. It seems like their space is limited, unless they demolish a few structures.
And i know it used to be an airforce base, but too bad the terminal wont be between the runways like Singapore's Changi airport. That way, the runways would be more efficient. And didnt we get news before that they will build another 3rd runway?

olineil

August 18th, 2005, 06:48 PM

Wow, thats awesome. Are the two runways the same length?

I wonder where abouts they will build the new terminal. It seems like their space is limited, unless they demolish a few structures.
And i know it used to be an airforce base, but too bad the terminal wont be between the runways like Singapore's Changi airport. That way, the runways would be more efficient. And didnt we get news before that they will build another 3rd runway?

Yup they are the same. Google Earth actually has this measuring tool u can use to measure up distances. Its so cool. According to the tool its about +-3180m excluding the aproach apron (the runway with the arrows) on both sides which is +-315m each. Anybody has a technical data about this so we can compare how accurate google is.Try downloading the software, its free anyway. earth.google.com

ryanr

August 18th, 2005, 06:51 PM

Thanks:) Im gonna download it now

ryanr

August 18th, 2005, 08:47 PM

I wonder why Google decided to make Clark and Cavite high resolution before Metro Manila?

olineil

August 19th, 2005, 02:18 AM

I wonder why Google decided to make Clark and Cavite high resolution before Metro Manila?

Beats the heck out of me too... :?

bustero

August 19th, 2005, 02:56 AM

Yup they are the same. Google Earth actually has this measuring tool u can use to measure up distances. Its so cool. According to the tool its about +-3180m excluding the aproach apron (the runway with the arrows) on both sides which is +-315m each. Anybody has a technical data about this so we can compare how accurate google is.Try downloading the software, its free anyway. earth.google.com
Hey how'd you do that. I've google earth too but when I drilled down to manila the details was not so great! i know about the change of angle (real cool). did you render something???

Your data is correct or very close I remember the numbers.

bustero

August 19th, 2005, 02:58 AM

Ah only clark and cavite, that answers my question, (di kasi binabas ang lahat ng post:))

The Manila portion is probably going to be sold kasi, there's a pro version of this thing were you can allegedly read the label lf the persons jackey!

Louman

August 19th, 2005, 04:41 AM

I wonder why Google decided to make Clark and Cavite high resolution before Metro Manila?

Google does update their satellite images, but the only ones I've seen so far are in LA. Some day you'll see 3d models of the buildings in Makati.

c0kelitr0

August 19th, 2005, 05:29 AM

hahaha i am a google earth addict...maybe the the high res photos of cavite bulacan and pampanga are already available when they made google earth.

richard fischer

August 19th, 2005, 06:45 AM

i envey you guys working on pc's. i work on apple macintoch (better for prof. photography and graphic design work), and it is not possible to load it down on this system yet. sayang....
philpal

kiretoce

August 21st, 2005, 05:54 PM

UPS to add freighters as part of $10B expansion
South China Morning Post August 19, 2005

United Parcel Service (UPS) will spend at least $ 10 billion to expand its fleet of Boeing freighter aircraft and increase its carrying capacity in the Asian market as well as on other international routes.

The Atlanta-based express parcel giant yesterday agreed to buy eight B747-400 freighters from Boeing. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in June 2007, in time for the launch of the company's new China hub at Shanghai Pudong International Airport later that year.

US-based UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre said the timing of the delivery was not a coincidence but that the new fleet would not be exclusively based in Shanghai. "As our volumes continue to grow in Asia, especially China, this deal will allow us to upsize to larger planes and shift the MD-11s we use there to other routes," Mr Giuffre said. "It's almost like the perfect plane at the perfect time."

The deal was the largest single order for the B747-400F model, which Boeing lists at US$ 209.5 million per unit. Discounts of up to 30 per cent are common, especially with record orders.

UPS' international package revenue rose 22.7 per cent in the second quarter to US$ 2 billion, fuelled by a boom in Asia, where export volumes grew 39.5 per cent.

In China, UPS said exports doubled year on year in the quarter.

The carrier's announcement last month that it would build its first China hub in Shanghai prompted speculation that UPS may abandon its hub in the Philippines in favour of a mainland base, following the lead of rival carrier Federal Express.

FedEx served notice at Subic Bay last month in favour of a new Asia-Pacific and intra-Asia hub at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

But one of UPS' most senior executives said the carrier had no intention of shifting its regional operations away from Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, the former Clark airforce base, north of Manila.

"We are happy with Clark. At this time we plan to use Clark as both our intra -Asia and Asia-Pacific hub," chief operating officer John Beystehner told the South China Morning Post at UPS' "technology summit" in Hong Kong last week. "Clearly, it is our intention that Shanghai will be our intra-China hub."

"While they have similar missions, the A380s have capabilities beyond what the B747F has," Mr Giuffre said. "We will be using the A380F in places where we can get the greatest efficiencies, maximise that large payload and limited landing rights."

Guangzhou's new airport is also likely to see the B747Fs. UPS serves South China's newest airport with 80-tonne capacity MD-11F aircraft six times a week.

richard fischer

August 22nd, 2005, 06:35 AM

if the philippines does not invest in clark appropriatly to keep up to UPS standards they will dissappear just like FedeX will.......china is MUCH to lucrative to deny the fastest growing market in the world. BE AWARE DEAR FILIPINO FRIENDS ! don't rest on todays requirements, work for tommorows goals, otherwise the awakening may be desasterous for DMIA, as it will be for subic airport !

bustero

August 22nd, 2005, 08:51 AM

I think Clark will be ok, all the needed equpiment is already in, and this is really seen in the long run as the county's main gateway. Plus they're still continously upgrading it so as to make it one of the Far East's aeronautical industrial hubs. Subic really couldn't have been a long term thing. I remember when Fedex came in , they were looking at Clark but at that time Clark was a mess and Gordon was a better salesperson. We have a plant in Subic and I know these guys were very happy living there. The lifestyle in Subic is fantastic and this key consideration kept the company around longer than it should probably have been. They know it'll be a much harder post in guangzhou, inspite of the fact that the city may be richer (very debatable compared to Manila actually), they can't talk the language, the people are not as hospitable, etc etc. But in the long run the runway could not be extended and they would be damned if they would share an airport with UPS as their main hub! Anyway good luck to them all. I think DMIA has a lot more interesting developments up it's sleeve from what I hear.

richard fischer

August 22nd, 2005, 12:35 PM

good to hear that DMIA is doing well. too bad fedex did not decide to go to cebu instead of guangzhou.

bustero

August 23rd, 2005, 05:53 PM

Well there's still DHL and Tiger(are they still around?). Sky guys does DHL operate it's own hub! Anyway without Naia 3 I think we'll see huge growth in the lowcost airline market in this airport.

kiretoce

August 23rd, 2005, 06:23 PM

^^ I believe DHL uses NAIA/MNL. I have a friend who works for DHL and he works near NAIA.

richard fischer

August 23rd, 2005, 09:46 PM

DHL has a joint venture with air hong kong in hong kong. that is their hub in south east asia. you can even see planes A300-600's painted with both liverys of both freight airlines. chech airliners.net for pics.
philpal

bustero

August 24th, 2005, 01:40 PM

ah ok, HKIA, what an expensive hub!

kiretoce

August 26th, 2005, 10:45 PM

Preparations on for transfer of NAIA flights to Clark airport; Transition seen to begin in 2012
By Fred Roxas

CLARK ZONE, Pampanga — Preparations are under way for the transfer of international and domestic flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Metro Manila to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here.

Danilo Augusto Rancia, president and chief executive officer of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIACor), disclosed this information after he attended a meeting in Manila which was participated in by at least 60 top executives of major international airlines, including Lufthansa and Continental Airlines.

The meeting was called by the officers of the Association of South East Asian Nations Airlines Cooperators Council (AAOC).

It was predicted in the AAOC meeting that the full development of DMIA into an international airport would take at least six years and that the transfer of the flights from NAIA to DMIA would begin in 2012 earlier when the saturation level of DMIA is met, Francia said.

One reason for the transfer is that DMIA is four times bigger than 600 hectare NAIA.

Some of the projects being undertaken in the DMIA complex with PhP2-billion funding released by the Manila International Airport Corp. (MIAC) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), as approved by President Arroyo, are the construction of a modern passenger terminal, upgrading of additional runways and installation of the $11-million state-of-the-art radar system.

The installation of these facilities is expected to fully modernize DMIA and enable it to accommodate big aircraft.

Formerly the biggest American military airport in the Asia Pacific Region until it was dismantled in 1991, Clark zone was declared in 1997 by then President Fidel Ramos as the "premier international gateway to the Philippines."

Through an executive order, Ramos set aside at least 22,700 hectares of Clark zone’s 4,400 hectares for what is called the "aerotropolis".

Renamed DMIA in honor of the late President Diosdado Macapagal, father of President Arroyo, the airport has been developed to take in more international and domestic flights as early as three years ago upon the initiative of former Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president Emmanuel Y. Angeles and Executive Vice President Victor Jose Luciano.

lochinvar

August 27th, 2005, 12:55 AM

"Through an executive order, Ramos set aside at least 22,700 hectares of Clark zone’s 4,400 hectares for what is called the "aerotropolis"."

I think it should be the reverse. 4,400 out of 22,700.

ryanr

August 27th, 2005, 07:52 PM

Sounds good! But they will open NAIA Terminal 3 this year... Oh well, we could get a Heathrow and Gatwick scenario when DMIA opens. Hopefully that airport wont get any of the delays NAIA 3 did.

SKYLINEPIGEON

August 28th, 2005, 05:13 PM

so six years from now, i hope they will build a terminal with 25m pax capacity and can handle 40 to 50 aircrafts at one time, an airport train to ferry people and luggages from the airport to metro manila

IsaganiZenze

August 28th, 2005, 09:28 PM

I wonder why Google decided to make Clark and Cavite high resolution before Metro Manila?

...maybe for clark, because it used to be U.S. property, well army base right? I don't know about cavite, but wasn't that really important for the U.S. during WWII? anywho, maybe i'm just making all these up....hahaha...

richard fischer

September 8th, 2005, 07:29 AM

what happened to DMIA, no news anymore since NAIA is in the headlines ? the difference between both airports ? DMIA is moving forward, NAIA is moving aukward......

richard fischer

September 10th, 2005, 09:03 AM

i heard DMIA is to be sold and developed to an english/swedish airport management group. thereafter DMIA will be developed to accomodate 88 million passengers per annum by 2025. 4 runways, 3 terminals, 65 airlines, and the biggest logistic hub in asia : UPS, DHL, World, Aboitiz 2Go. wouldn´t that be nice ?

tigidig14

September 10th, 2005, 09:32 AM

^^ thats a gr8 news ever well im hoping it'll be soon, wherd u heard that from btw.

dancethingy

September 10th, 2005, 02:08 PM

GO DMIA GO DMIA GO DMIA GO DMIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I go to Angeles a lot to visit my Boyfriend and people there really need the jobs that this airport would create if it were to move forward. GOD please do it for the people. Pretty please.

Sinjin P.

September 10th, 2005, 02:15 PM

are there renderings for DMIA already? :)

richard fischer

September 10th, 2005, 04:42 PM

oh i´m sorry this is a mistake ! it is not DMIA rather guangzho in china. this news was brought to me through a forum here in europe. i´m very sorry someone was mistaken and switched the airports. sorry, i wish it was DMIA, but it is not.

dancethingy

September 10th, 2005, 05:46 PM

Sucks, to good to be true. :( , i'm still staying positive

bustero

September 10th, 2005, 05:47 PM

Wondering where the heck you would get 88 million pax.

Mango

September 10th, 2005, 05:48 PM

^Oh, thats alright Mr. Richard. That's big news to be overlooked by Phil. media. Its not reported anywhere, that's why. But good news indeed for Guangzho, China.

Christerdom

September 10th, 2005, 06:02 PM

:) Amazing google earth

http://www.geocities.com/christerdom/dmia/dmia_01.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/christerdom/dmia/dmia_02.jpg

Christerdom

September 10th, 2005, 06:06 PM

^^^^ or perhaps this was posted here before :(

dancethingy

September 10th, 2005, 06:58 PM

Thanks for that Christerdom. The location looks so much better than NAIA. The place also looks so ripe for prime world class developments.

Anyways, here's a nice article for DMIA, it's not as great as Guangzhou, but we'll take what we can get right?

Macau in Clark

By CORNELIO R. DE GUZMAN

CLARKFIELD, Angeles City — Authorities here are now ready to receive new airlines coming from Macau bringing in great number of international tourists mostly Asians.

This was announced yesterday by Victor Jose "Chichos’’ Luciano, executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) and also a member of the board of directors of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), the agency mandated by law to manage, develop, and operate the Clark Special Economic Zone.

Luciano said construction of two new hotels here are now nearing completion to provide additional 500 hotel rooms to augment the available rooms provided by Mimosa cottages, Fontana and Holiday Inn Hotels.

He said on the planning stage is the construction of a strip of eight casinos here in addition to the two casinos already being operated by the Mimosa and Fontana.

He said "with this, we would replicate Macau, otherwise known as "Little Las Vegas of Asia.’’

Citing the big tourism potential of Clark, he said "it is only 45 minutes from Manila, and its airport is four times bigger than the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Centennial Airport put together.’’ He said it has two big and long runways that can accommodate the double-decker Superjumbo Airbus 380 that carries more than 500 passengers at a time.

He said its airport has several shuttle buses that ply between Clark and Megamall and Pasay and very soon between Clark and NAIA.

Luciano, a former president of Philippine Jaycees, was recruited from the private sector in April 2001 upon the invitation of Emmanuel Angeles then newly appointed by President Arroyo as president and CEO of CDC. At that time, Luciano was the president of Asiana Airlines Philippines, a joint venture company with Asiana Airlines Korea, which he formed in 1993.

Besides his principal function as managing the day-to-day operations of CDC, Luciano plays a key role in inviting investors and companies to set up shop in Clark and promote the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) to both foreign and local airlines. Upon assumption into office, there were zero flights to Clark. CDC had less than 200 company-locators with a total employment of about 18,000 people. Exports from Clark was barely US$300 million annually.

But to date, the Clark Airport or DMIA is becoming a byword in aviation industry as the alternate airport to NAIA. CDC is also host to 352 companies with a total employment of 35,000. Exports from Clark will exceed US$1 billion this year.

Starting with Asiana Airlines flights from Seoul to Clark in late 2003, to date there are 32 international passenger flights per week "bringing in not only Koreans but also Malaysians, Singaporeans, Chinese from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan tourists,’’ and this will farther increase to 56 international passenger flights per week by December 2005.

Clark is also home to the Intra-Asia Hub of United Parcel Service (UPS), where every night, nine large international cargo planes fly in and out of Clark to various destinations in Asia and US.

Citing the big potential of Clark for both international and domestic tourism, Luciano said the former US airforce base is only 45 minutes by land from Manila. He said many may not know it but Clark has many attractions such as casinos, a golf course with 35 holes; waterpark, duty-free shops, and trekking.

"Trekking starts with 4x4 vehicle ride for 40 minutes then followed by one hour mountain climbing up to Mt. Pinatubo crater where a spa run by Korean investors are located nearby,’’ Luciano said.

He said along the way to the mountain top in Porac town are the newly discovered hot spring and Miamic Falls twice the size of Pagsanjan Falls. He said the roads in the area are being upgraded by Mayor Dr. Exequiel Gamboa who together with local investors are putting up various tourism facilities in the town.

richard fischer

September 11th, 2005, 12:29 AM

i´m glad DMIA is growing, if not with 88 million passengers, but with 88 000. that is fine too.

bustero

September 12th, 2005, 05:45 PM

Chichos Luciano is a good guy , pretty perfect for this role. I think with the completion of the north rail plus a few more good planes flying in this could be the break Philippine Tourism is hoping for.

richard fischer

September 13th, 2005, 05:15 PM

hi christerdom,
great layout satellite shots you posted, thanks. where is the terminal though, is it that blue roof above the aircraft or is it the white building next to the newly paved white concrete apron at the right side of the 757 ?

amras

September 13th, 2005, 07:20 PM

i believe it's the one I circled:

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home2003/tu0001es/dmia_01.jpg

tyronne

September 13th, 2005, 07:42 PM

^^ang cute naman sa sobrang liit haha! akala ko nung una yung puti, hindi pala.

ryanr

September 14th, 2005, 04:05 AM

i believe it's the one I circled:

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home2003/tu0001es/dmia_01.jpg

I dont think so. I've been there and i remember it being further away from the main road. And there was a large parking area so i believe this is it:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v735/GreyX/dmia_01.jpg

bustero

September 14th, 2005, 05:12 AM

Grey x post is correct. It's the furthest building on that side of the field besides the old american office/terminal (bigger white building.) The blue one should be the UPS facility.

richard fischer

September 14th, 2005, 07:41 AM

salamat po ! everyone, very attentive you fellow forumers.
it looks quite big ! are there any photos of it from level 0 ? would like to see what it looks like under the roof.can anyone take a shot from the apron side with an airliner in front ? (possibly while boarding into the back causeway of the plane....

kiretoce

September 14th, 2005, 06:48 PM

Macau in Clark
By Cornelio R. de Guzman

Clark Field, Angeles City — Authorities here are now ready to receive new airlines coming from Macau bringing in great number of international tourists mostly Asians.

This was announced yesterday by Victor Jose "Chichos’’ Luciano, executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) and also a member of the board of directors of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), the agency mandated by law to manage, develop, and operate the Clark Special Economic Zone.

Luciano said construction of two new hotels here are now nearing completion to provide additional 500 hotel rooms to augment the available rooms provided by Mimosa cottages, Fontana and Holiday Inn Hotels.

He said on the planning stage is the construction of a strip of eight casinos here in addition to the two casinos already being operated by the Mimosa and Fontana.

He said "with this, we would replicate Macau, otherwise known as "Little Las Vegas of Asia.’’

Citing the big tourism potential of Clark, he said "it is only 45 minutes from Manila, and its airport is four times bigger than the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Centennial Airport put together.’’ He said it has two big and long runways that can accommodate the double-decker Superjumbo Airbus 380 that carries more than 500 passengers at a time.

He said its airport has several shuttle buses that ply between Clark and Megamall and Pasay and very soon between Clark and NAIA.

Luciano, a former president of Philippine Jaycees, was recruited from the private sector in April 2001 upon the invitation of Emmanuel Angeles then newly appointed by President Arroyo as president and CEO of CDC. At that time, Luciano was the president of Asiana Airlines Philippines, a joint venture company with Asiana Airlines Korea, which he formed in 1993.

Besides his principal function as managing the day-to-day operations of CDC, Luciano plays a key role in inviting investors and companies to set up shop in Clark and promote the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) to both foreign and local airlines. Upon assumption into office, there were zero flights to Clark. CDC had less than 200 company-locators with a total employment of about 18,000 people. Exports from Clark was barely US$300 million annually.

But to date, the Clark Airport or DMIA is becoming a byword in aviation industry as the alternate airport to NAIA. CDC is also host to 352 companies with a total employment of 35,000. Exports from Clark will exceed US$1 billion this year.

Starting with Asiana Airlines flights from Seoul to Clark in late 2003, to date there are 32 international passenger flights per week "bringing in not only Koreans but also Malaysians, Singaporeans, Chinese from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan tourists,’’ and this will farther increase to 56 international passenger flights per week by December 2005.

Clark is also home to the Intra-Asia Hub of United Parcel Service (UPS), where every night, nine large international cargo planes fly in and out of Clark to various destinations in Asia and US.

Citing the big potential of Clark for both international and domestic tourism, Luciano said the former US airforce base is only 45 minutes by land from Manila. He said many may not know it but Clark has many attractions such as casinos, a golf course with 35 holes; waterpark, duty-free shops, and trekking.

"Trekking starts with 4x4 vehicle ride for 40 minutes then followed by one hour mountain climbing up to Mt. Pinatubo crater where a spa run by Korean investors are located nearby,’’ Luciano said.

He said along the way to the mountain top in Porac town are the newly discovered hot spring and Miamic Falls twice the size of Pagsanjan Falls. He said the roads in the area are being upgraded by Mayor Dr. Exequiel Gamboa who together with local investors are putting up various tourism facilities in the town.

richard fischer

September 17th, 2005, 08:10 AM

does anyone have any renderings, pics, or drawings of the new terminal ? have not seen it at all so far.

tigidig14

September 17th, 2005, 08:18 AM

i saw it somewhere in this thread just look it up

richard fischer

September 17th, 2005, 08:22 AM

Philippines: The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has invested PHP 2 billion for the
expansion of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), the former Clark U.S. Air Force
base near Manila, into a world-class passenger and cargo facility. MIAA General Manager Alfonso Cusi said
the two-phased expansion fund will come from internally generated funds. “Of the amount, PHP 1 billion will come
from MIAA collections and the balance from the support of concerned agencies,” Cusi said.
The PHP 2 billion (USD 36.5 million) expansion of DMIA is the first phase of the project which started in
2004 and is scheduled for completion in November 2006. The project includes a passenger terminal for no-
frills carriers, and another for ‘traditional’ carriers operating domestic and international services, boarding bridges and
ramp, among others.

richard fischer

September 17th, 2005, 08:29 AM

is this the new terminal ?

http://tinypic.com/3cw28

In association with Ogden Aviation Services, Marshall Macklin Monaghan undertook a master plan for the redevelopment of the former Clark Air Force base into the new Clark International Airport.

The plan provides for a 23-gate terminal that can easily be expanded to 81 gates in the future. Development also includes an extensive access road system, parking garages and a renovated cargo area able to handle seven aircraft initially. Also included were upgrades to the existing infrastructure to meet ICAO operational requirements, including a runway extension to 3,600 metres to handle B747-400 aircraft, taxiway improvements, navigational and visual aids, and a control tower.

Alternative plans were provided for the development of a third parallel runway to handle the increase in traffic were the facility to become the new Manila International Airport. The final Phase 1 and ultimate site plans were accompanied by a detailed report outlining the various features of the plan to provide an economical, fully functional airport in the shortest time possible.

---->wow.. 81 gates in the future... hay....

ryanr

September 17th, 2005, 08:30 AM

is this the new terminal ?

Most likely not. Thats an old rendering of it.

richard fischer

September 17th, 2005, 01:22 PM

i would appreciate a suggestion to what it looks like, and not to what it does not look like.....anyone please.....thank you

bustero

September 17th, 2005, 04:47 PM

I don't think they have a serious design yet. The present simple terminal with no tubes with airplanes unloading on the aprons(?) is good for about 2million as I understand it. They're original focus was really cargotrying to lure a lot of big players to use it as a regional maintenance place. THe advent of the it's use as an active passenger terminal is good but it still is way off from it's present capacity which can easily be expanded. I think when they hit 1 million pax and it's still trending high they'll seriously look at it once again.

richard fischer

September 17th, 2005, 06:59 PM

thank you bustero, nevertheless no pictures of the terminal anyone ?

ryanr

September 17th, 2005, 07:34 PM

We used to have a newspaper print scan of a rendering. It was more modern, but not that big.

richard fischer

September 18th, 2005, 08:58 AM

what happened to it ? don´t you have some files or so ? you see, that is my hobby : to archive anything on modern philippine civilian aviation. to show how forward this country is and will be. to pass it on to people here in europe, who sillily still think the philippines is old fashioned and not up to date with other southeast asian countires, which is NOT TRUE ! so please help me PROVE IT. feed me with all you can find on modernization of civilian air-developments in the country ! thank you very much.
PHILPAL

bustero

September 23rd, 2005, 05:01 AM

Just passed by CDC yesterday. There's a new terminal design (sorry had no camera) sponsored by JICA. They actually have a model there if you go to the marketing office. Just go to the main building. Anyway they've essentially stopped moving forward on the big investments because of the supreme court ruling taking out their privilidges so that means everyone has to go to BOI which is a far cry from their one stop shop policy. For the moment their main focus is on that or getting new legislation specifically for it. If they don't get it even UPS will leave! Anyway they're very seriously considering acellerating the development of a new runway. Apparently the present ones are too close together for present rules (this is what i knew of long ago but people kept saying different things). So the the second parallel runway may just be turned into a taxiway/ apron for the big Operation Maintenance Locators they are trying to lure. In the meantime they'll still be tyring to add as many flights as possible.

Richard I could not take the pix of the present terminal but it's really no big deal a one story affair which looks generic. If they continue with their plans it will be torn down soon.

absent-minded

September 23rd, 2005, 09:40 AM

cool info!!! thanks, bustero!!

was the new design for the terminal nice? how big was it? is it the one they're working on now with the P2B upgrade? sorry for the questions... hehe

anyway, hopefully the government will seriously make an effort to fix the incentive granting thing for other ecozones and especially Clark. whether they appeal the SC decision or work to ammend the current legislation, the really should act on it ASAP. the big plans for Subic-Clark as a major logistics center are never going to be realized if all the investors move out now... it's going to be real hard to get anything done now though with politics the only thing going on in Congress.

dancethingy

September 23rd, 2005, 09:45 AM

This fucking supreme court is pissing me off

First EVAT and now this

What is wrong with providing incentives for business. What the hell?!?!?! That's the way you attract major companies!?!?!!? Chicago did a great job in 2002 in providing incentives to Boeing when they were looking for their headquarters. Now we freakin own boeing chi-town. these F&&^%& judges, they don't even now jack shit about business.

bustero

September 23rd, 2005, 11:29 AM

Unfortunately our supreme court is very agressive with their version of judicial legislation in the craziest of places. Anyway I think maayaos naman this thing but it will take a little time. The big locators are a bit nervous but they know this is temporary. All the legislators opposing a new bill (to provide incentives to other ex US bases) are just politicking for something, so the usual horsetrading, happens everywhere.

Absent, I would be surprised if they could get the building whose model I saw for 2b Php. It's far to big. It's actually very very nice I think. Not like other terminals. It's supposed to be like a new modular island design and is square not rectangular! With tubes on 3 sides, about 4 to 5 gates per side. The marketing person who I spoke with was not sure of the capacity but it's not a 2 million person terminal probably closer to 6-7 million . They intend to just keep adding island terminals similar to this in the long run to build up capacity.

Sorry for not taking a picture, my phone cam is not so good kasi and I had no camera. Next time I go there I'll take a better one.

richard fischer

September 28th, 2005, 10:36 PM

thanks bestero, a picture of that model would be great !

richard fischer

September 29th, 2005, 07:51 AM

There's a new terminal design (sorry had no camera) sponsored by JICA. They actually have a model there if you go to the marketing office. Just go to the main building.

can anyone make a picture of this model of the new terminal/airport masterplan of DMIA please ? i´m sure everyone would love to see that !

ryanr

September 29th, 2005, 07:52 AM

whats JICA?

lochinvar

September 29th, 2005, 08:25 AM

JICA is a Japanese research agency. They do feasibility studies of any project in the world that has economic potential.

richard fischer

September 30th, 2005, 08:35 AM

do you know JICA´s website lochinvar ? maybe the model of DMIA is visible there. what do the initials jica stand for, maybe i can google it.....

c0kelitr0

September 30th, 2005, 10:40 AM

^^ Japan International Cooperation Agency

dancethingy

September 30th, 2005, 07:58 PM

Mr. Fischer, what are your reactions toward the proposed model?

richard fischer

September 30th, 2005, 09:51 PM

Mr. Fischer, what are your reactions toward the proposed model?

what do you mean dancethingy ? i haven´t seen any model yet, that´s why i asked if anyone can photograph it for us to discuss it on the forum.

richard fischer

September 30th, 2005, 09:52 PM

by the way, my name is richard, everyone in the forum is welcome to call me by my first name.

tigidig14

September 30th, 2005, 11:11 PM

^^ can I call u Mang Carding or Ricardo

Lili

September 30th, 2005, 11:28 PM

^ LOL! (Loco ka talaga @Tigs)

dancethingy

October 1st, 2005, 02:12 AM

oh, i read your post wrong Richard. I guess it was too late already.

ramvingar

October 1st, 2005, 07:07 AM

New flights between Clark, Asian cities to spur tourism
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
The Philippine Star 10/01/2005

Clark Development Corp. expects Philippine tourism to be the biggest winner with the opening of new flights between Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga and various Asian cities in October.

With additional flights to Clark, the Philippines will attract more tourists from China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, and other East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, according to Patrick Gregorio, CDC vice-president for business development. Gregorio, only 37 year old, was formerly president of Waterfront Hotels and Casinos in Cebu.

Gregorio, the founding chairman of the highly successful private sector-led Cebu Visitors and Convention Bureau, said he expects the volume of tourist arrivals at Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga to double starting October, with the opening of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) for flights from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.

This will translate to additional revenues of $8 million to $10 million in revenues for the airline industry every month, or close to $100 million annually, he said.

The Department of Transportation and Communication has estimated that passenger arrivals at Clark would most likely exceed 40,000 in October from an average of around 20,000 a month in the January-to-August period.

From around 37 flights each week, the DMIA is expected to accommodate up to 50 flights a week with the entry of new carriers in October. "This is expected to spur tourism in Central Luzon and attract more foreign visitors to the Subic-Clark economic growth corridor," Gregorio said.

Among the foreign airlines that have already expressed to serve the Clark route are Hong Kong Express, Thai Air Asia, Malaysia’s AirAsia and Singapore’s Tiger Airways Ltd. The last two along with Korea’s Asiana Airlines have actually started serving the Clark route early this year and eye increased flights beginning October.

Clark hosts more than 300 companies, including industry giants AOL, UPS, DHL, Rolls Royce, and Yokohama Tire.

The Arroyo administration is trying to transform the Subic-Clark economic growth corridor into the next commercial and tourism hub in Asia. In particular, industry players see Clark as Asia’s cheapest gateway, with the opening of DMIA to low-cost carriers.

"Our vision is to establish Clark as Asia’s most affordable gateway, compared to other regional centers such as Hong Kong and Singapore," Gregorio said.

Gregorio added that aside from DMIA, two other major infrastructure projects are underway to transform the Subic-Clark growth corridor into a leading logistics hub in the Asia Pacific region.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the financing arm of the Japanese government providing long-term, low-interest loans to developing countries, has extended more than P25 billion in concessional loans for Subic Bay Port Development Project and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project.

richard fischer

October 1st, 2005, 08:59 AM

oh, i read your post wrong Richard. I guess it was too late already.

don´t worry, be happy !

anyone with some pictures of that DMIA model ???

richard fischer

October 10th, 2005, 01:52 PM

i read somewhere that the new low cost airlines and their new flights to clark/DMIA will double the airports income to 100 million $ by next year !

kiretoce

October 17th, 2005, 08:49 PM

Execs urged to push int'l flights at Diosdado Macapagal airport
By Dante M. Fabian Monday, October 17, 2005

ANGELES CITY -- The Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) has asked Pampanga and Central Luzon officials to take a stronger stand for the increase of flights at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).

Ruperto Cruz, PGKM chairman, said this as he aired PGKM's challenge to public officials to fight for the interest of the people and manifest their commitment to the improvement of the economic climate for the welfare of their people.

Cruz said it is time for well-meaning and honest elective public officials to act for the welfare of their constituents by fending off efforts of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Air (CPA) to stop the applications of two "budget airlines" from flying the Clark route.

Claiming that the flights violated fifth and seventh freedom rights, PAL and CPA are reportedly opposing approval by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) of the request of Tiger Airways for two flights daily for a Singapore/Macau/Clark/Singapore route.

PAL and CPA are reportedly also opposing the request by Thai AirAsia of Thailand to conduct international passenger charter flights for the route Bangkok/Macau/Clark for the period October 15 to November 15.

Cruz added that Governor Mark T. Lapid, Senator Manuel "Lito" Lapid, and Pampanga congressmen would bring more economic opportunities for their constituents by giving their full support to airlines flying at Clark to speed up the operation of the DMIA as an international airport.

Cruz said that PAL has not opened commercial flights at DMIA while Cebu Pacific Air had phased out its flights at Clark, which it reluctantly established.

The PGKM believed that CPA was reluctant in serving the Clark route because it has not been serious in marketing DMIA flights.

The PGKM chair explained that CPA reluctantly established flights in DMIA apparently just to pacify the protests mounted by various sectors frustrated by the long wait for the full operation of DMIA as international gateway.

He added that it became obvious that then Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez, who was facing criticisms from local groups led by PGKM, wooed CPA to put up flights in Clark to deceive Kapampangans and other stakeholders into believing that Alvarez and the government had been working to start making Clark Airport fully operational.

He recalled that during that time, Alvarez was facing strong opposition submitted by the PGKM and other groups against the confirmation of his appointment as secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Cruz also related that the Lucio Tan group used PGKM to fight for the revocation of the Philippine International Air Terminals Company (Piatco) deal, which allegedly contained provisions believed onerous, disadvantageous to the government and detrimental to the full operation of DMIA.

He said that PGKM broke off later from its alliance with the PAL group after learning that Tan's group was not truly intent in developing Clark Airport.

Cruz recalled that PAL was only against the Piatco contract impositions that require PAL to transfer both its domestic and international operations hubs to the new Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3, which entail increased expenditures for the flag carrier of the Philippines.

He said that CPA did not embark and spend much for a serious promotion campaign to encourage bigger number of passengers to take its flights in Clark Airport. He noted that CPA allotted very little money on advertisements in newspapers, local and national, and even scrimped on billboards to promote its flights between Clark and Hong Kong and other destinations.

Cruz also cited as example CPA's neglecting to put up even just a single billboard along the North Luzon Expressway.

He explained that the opposition of PAL, headed by Lucio Tan and CPA, owned by the Gokongwei family would be detrimental not only to Pampanga but the entire Central and North Luzon as well.

According to Cruz, CPA, which had flights at DMIA, apparently invested on flights in Clark and moved out to show there was not enough demand for flights and DMIA is not a viable airport.

Cruz said by opposing the operation of Tiger Airways and Thai Air Asia at DMIA, Tan and CPA are trying to influence government for their own interests.

"Because of this, people cannot be convinced that taipans are truly serving the interest of the Philippine government and the Filipino people, and stopping the "budget flights" will sacrifice the only convenience in travel enjoyed by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who propel the country's economy," he added.

olineil

October 18th, 2005, 02:29 AM

Hahaha, what else is new...isnt this the typical Filipino Businessmens strategy...Monopolize the Market so they can dominate. But once monopoly is penetrated they cant survive coz they dont know how to compete.

Execs urged to push int'l flights at Diosdado Macapagal airport
By Dante M. Fabian Monday, October 17, 2005

ANGELES CITY -- The Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) has asked Pampanga and Central Luzon officials to take a stronger stand for the increase of flights at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).

Ruperto Cruz, PGKM chairman, said this as he aired PGKM's challenge to public officials to fight for the interest of the people and manifest their commitment to the improvement of the economic climate for the welfare of their people.

Cruz said it is time for well-meaning and honest elective public officials to act for the welfare of their constituents by fending off efforts of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Air (CPA) to stop the applications of two "budget airlines" from flying the Clark route.

Claiming that the flights violated fifth and seventh freedom rights, PAL and CPA are reportedly opposing approval by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) of the request of Tiger Airways for two flights daily for a Singapore/Macau/Clark/Singapore route.

PAL and CPA are reportedly also opposing the request by Thai AirAsia of Thailand to conduct international passenger charter flights for the route Bangkok/Macau/Clark for the period October 15 to November 15.

Cruz added that Governor Mark T. Lapid, Senator Manuel "Lito" Lapid, and Pampanga congressmen would bring more economic opportunities for their constituents by giving their full support to airlines flying at Clark to speed up the operation of the DMIA as an international airport.

Cruz said that PAL has not opened commercial flights at DMIA while Cebu Pacific Air had phased out its flights at Clark, which it reluctantly established.

The PGKM believed that CPA was reluctant in serving the Clark route because it has not been serious in marketing DMIA flights.

The PGKM chair explained that CPA reluctantly established flights in DMIA apparently just to pacify the protests mounted by various sectors frustrated by the long wait for the full operation of DMIA as international gateway.

He added that it became obvious that then Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez, who was facing criticisms from local groups led by PGKM, wooed CPA to put up flights in Clark to deceive Kapampangans and other stakeholders into believing that Alvarez and the government had been working to start making Clark Airport fully operational.

He recalled that during that time, Alvarez was facing strong opposition submitted by the PGKM and other groups against the confirmation of his appointment as secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Cruz also related that the Lucio Tan group used PGKM to fight for the revocation of the Philippine International Air Terminals Company (Piatco) deal, which allegedly contained provisions believed onerous, disadvantageous to the government and detrimental to the full operation of DMIA.

He said that PGKM broke off later from its alliance with the PAL group after learning that Tan's group was not truly intent in developing Clark Airport.

Cruz recalled that PAL was only against the Piatco contract impositions that require PAL to transfer both its domestic and international operations hubs to the new Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3, which entail increased expenditures for the flag carrier of the Philippines.

He said that CPA did not embark and spend much for a serious promotion campaign to encourage bigger number of passengers to take its flights in Clark Airport. He noted that CPA allotted very little money on advertisements in newspapers, local and national, and even scrimped on billboards to promote its flights between Clark and Hong Kong and other destinations.

Cruz also cited as example CPA's neglecting to put up even just a single billboard along the North Luzon Expressway.

He explained that the opposition of PAL, headed by Lucio Tan and CPA, owned by the Gokongwei family would be detrimental not only to Pampanga but the entire Central and North Luzon as well.

According to Cruz, CPA, which had flights at DMIA, apparently invested on flights in Clark and moved out to show there was not enough demand for flights and DMIA is not a viable airport.

Cruz said by opposing the operation of Tiger Airways and Thai Air Asia at DMIA, Tan and CPA are trying to influence government for their own interests.

"Because of this, people cannot be convinced that taipans are truly serving the interest of the Philippine government and the Filipino people, and stopping the "budget flights" will sacrifice the only convenience in travel enjoyed by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who propel the country's economy," he added.

richard fischer

October 18th, 2005, 10:21 PM

Hahaha, what else is new...isnt this the typical Filipino Businessmens strategy...Monopolize the Market so they can dominate. But once monopoly is penetrated they cant survive coz they dont know how to compete......

VERY TRUE AND ON THE POINT ! you have a very strategic mind pared with a great sence of humor olineil, keep it up !

richard fischer

October 19th, 2005, 05:48 AM

Solblanc

October 20th, 2005, 11:33 AM

CEB (not CPA, that´s Cathay Pacific Airlines) and 2P could shuttle services from clark to NAIA, to MCIA and to Davao and cash in on all those OFW´s and tourists comming in with the LCC´s in DMIA. their marketing people are not creative, instead they just complain to the CAB. how destructive.....

to begin with, none of the local airlines have enough planes for such a venture. They're already utilizing their fleets in the most profitable way, and that means flying to NAIA, not DMIA. For PR/5J/2P to jeopardize their existence by trying to develop an airport in the middle of nowhere with little or no connecting infrastructure and not a lot of people surrounding it would be just stupid. Clark will become the next gateway, yes, but not today, and not for another ten years. Complaining to CAB is all they can do at the moment. PAL is using every plane that it needs. Cebu Pacific is in the middle of refleeting. And Air Philippines' planes are sometimes commandeered by PAL.

NAIA is still convenient. They don't call the capital "Imperial Manila" for no reason :D

richard fischer

October 20th, 2005, 08:33 PM

Solblanc

October 21st, 2005, 02:55 AM

.....trying to develop an airport in the middle of nowhere with little or no connecting infrastructure and not a lot of people surrounding it would be just stupid....

first of all, it´s not in the middle of nowhere. it happens to be the bussiest economic cluster after manila&cebu (including subic/olongapo). second, it´s the fastest growing airport in the country if not in SEAsia, with more than doubling their passenger capacity by end of the year. third, infrastructure is growing faster than anywhere else in the philippines. within 2-3 years, an expressway and a railway will connect the airport with the international subic port (also being enlarged) and with manila via NLEX, it soon will be the only airport in the philippines with a rail connex.
forth it´s the only airport in the philippines with adequate room for expansion, and fifth it has 2 identically 3200m. long runways, again another first in the philippines. so you don´t really want to suggest, that this place is in the middle of nowhere, do you ? (and i´m sure millions of people live in the vicinity of clark and subic, tarlac, etc. ...)

I don't doubt that clark is where the future lies, but our own carriers simply cannot allocate any more of their resources to develop the place. Expressways by themselves aren't enough connecting infrastructure. You need rapid rail, and in Northrail's current phase, Clark isn't even covered. Northrail isn't rapid rail, either, and having a rapid rail service to clark at the moment isn't even feasible due to the costs. The infrastructure of Clark and Subic was supposed to be done during the Estrada administration as a way of finishing up what Ramos started. We all know what happened to that.

As for the population around Clark and Subic:

Zambales has a population of around 595,000 (that's the 1995 census. with our birthrates, let's say that its double.

Pampanga has a population of around 1,635,767 (again, 1995 census. let's double that)

so, we're gonna end up with a figure of the population of the somewhat immediate vicinity of Clark and Subic as around five-odd million. And that's spread over a large area. Compare that to Manila's population of some nine or ten million, all within a fifty or sixty kilometer radius of NAIA. NAIA hasn't even reached its full potential yet.

But I digress. My main point is that PR/5J/2P have better things to do with their planes than land it at clark. 2P could try doing the clark routes, but they also serve routes for PAL that PAL can't. These airlines would rather piss off the Kapampangans and deprive them of direct service than abandon or cannibalize their hub where the Manilenos, the majority of their paying passengers, feel more convenient.

xDieselJockx

October 21st, 2005, 05:17 AM

I don't doubt that clark is where the future lies, but our own carriers simply cannot allocate any more of their resources to develop the place. Expressways by themselves aren't enough connecting infrastructure. You need rapid rail, and in Northrail's current phase, Clark isn't even covered. Northrail isn't rapid rail, either, and having a rapid rail service to clark at the moment isn't even feasible due to the costs. The infrastructure of Clark and Subic was supposed to be done during the Estrada administration as a way of finishing up what Ramos started. We all know what happened to that.

As for the population around Clark and Subic:

Zambales has a population of around 595,000 (that's the 1995 census. with our birthrates, let's say that its double.

Pampanga has a population of around 1,635,767 (again, 1995 census. let's double that)

so, we're gonna end up with a figure of the population of the somewhat immediate vicinity of Clark and Subic as around five-odd million. And that's spread over a large area. Compare that to Manila's population of some nine or ten million, all within a fifty or sixty kilometer radius of NAIA. NAIA hasn't even reached its full potential yet.

But I digress. My main point is that PR/5J/2P have better things to do with their planes than land it at clark. 2P could try doing the clark routes, but they also serve routes for PAL that PAL can't. These airlines would rather piss off the Kapampangans and deprive them of direct service than abandon or cannibalize their hub where the Manilenos, the majority of their paying passengers, feel more convenient.

Very good and sensible analysis if you are to ask me. I think T3 will be connected with LRT (or is it MRT?)in the future also so if ever DMIA gets the rail that rail transit it would be the same with NAIA. The only thing that would really be a big problem in NAIA is expanding and adding another runway but I guess that shorter runway, can be extended and widened when the old Manila Domestic terminal is relocated in T2 or elsewhere. Again, like in the previous comments, DMIA can help with decongestion of NAIA airport so they can co-exist.