Macau International Airport

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From May 18, Air Macao will double its daily flights to Beijing, said Li Hua, general manager of northern China with the airline company, on Tuesday.

Li said since the establishment of Air Macao, it played an active role in transporting passengers across the Taiwan Straits. Some 70 percent of passenger come from Taiwan. So far there are 72weekly flights between Macao and Taipei, as well as 28 flights between Macao and Gaoxiong.

The new added flights will provide more convenience for the mainland individual travelers to Macao, said Wen Qihua, deputy director of Macao Tourism Bureau.

Since the mainland implemented "individual traveler" policy instead of "group traveler" policy in 2003, over 5.6 million mainland residents visited Macao.

Established in 1994, Air Macao now fly to Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Haikou, Bangkok, Manila, Seoul and other cities. It has Asia's youngest aircraft fleet.

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Asian airlines place bets on Macao
Enclave is a natural hub but Chinese airports pose long-term threat
By JUSTINE LAU
9 May 2005
Financial Times

Low-cost carriers are making strong inroads into southern Asia. In Australia, Virgin Blue flies one in three domestic passengers. Malaysia's Air Asia accounts for roughly the same share of that country's domestic market and Singapore is building the region's first low-cost airport terminal.

But with the exception of Japan, the region's biggest aviation market, North Asia has remained reluctant to embrace the budget airline industry due to the slowness in deregulating the sector.

This is set to change. Although still keen to protect its three big airlines, China is slowly relaxing its rules to allow some carriers to offer discount domestic flights. In Hong Kong, the recently formed Oasis Airline is reportedly planning to launch low-cost, long-haul services by end of the year.

Industry executives and analysts say Macao, the former Portuguese colony that is already a destination for low-cost carriers including Air Asia and Singapore's Tiger Airways, is taking the lead and looks more likely to become a North Asian hub.

"Macao is a natural hub for low-cost carriers, with substantially lower costs than neighbouring Hong Kong and a highly incentivised environment for tourism development," says Ian Thomas, senior consultant for the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Macao's economy has been growing rapidly since last year, when foreign-owned casinos began operations. Tourist arrivals grew 40 per cent to 16.7m in 2004, or 36 times the enclave's population. Airport arrivals, however, remained low at 3.7m, partly because Air Macao, the monopoly carrier, has been under-utilising the city's 42 bilateral air service agreements.

The airline, awarded a 25-year exclusive operating licence in 1995, only flies to three countries other than China and Taiwan.

"We made a deliberate decision in June 2003 that Macao should become a low-cost hub. We are fully aware that things will have to change if we want to achieve this," says John Chan, executive director of Macao International Airport.

To this end, Air Macao, 51 per cent owned by mainland state-controlled China National Aviation Corporation, has been in talks with three carriers on sub-concession agreements.

Mr Chan expects Virgin Blue to be the first airline to strike a deal with the home carrier by end of the year while start-ups WOW! Macao and Golden Dragon are likely to win similar rights in the next 12 months.

After that, Mr Chan expects the number of budget flights in Macao to rise from about 5 per cent of the total now to as much as 15 per cent in two years.

Macao airport, which likes to compare itself with London's Stansted airport, will then serve as a cheaper entry point to the Pearl River Delta, or PRD - the southern Chinese industrial region around Hong Kong.

Landing fees in Macau are about 30 to 35 per cent lower than those of Hong Kong, Mr Chan says. Hong Kong, in turn, is about 30 per cent cheaper than Chinese airports, according to the International Air Transport Association.

But Macao is not without its own challenges.

The 10-year-old airport is set to reach its passenger capacity of 6m in three years, according to Simon Chan, acting president of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Although it is currently building five new cargo parking stands, the airport has not yet finalised a proposal to expand its passenger capacity.

The other challenge is Macao's small home market. More than half of the 3.7m people who used the Macao airport last year were transit passengers travelling between Taiwan and China. The bulk of its tourists come from China and Hong Kong by bus or ferry.

The airport, therefore, is heavily exposed to competition for passengers with its bigger and - some argue - more efficient rivals in the PRD. Besides, some budget carriers are already bypassing Hong Kong and Macao and flying to China direct, although they are unlikely to gain access to premier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing in the near future.

Macao's supporters are optimistic.

If the enclave's casino industry continues its breakneck growth, many believe Macao, which aims to become Asia's Las Vegas, will emerge as a significant destination for tourists worldwide.

Sheldon Adelson, owner of Las Vegas Sands, which is building a USDollars 12bn casino project in the city, has forecast that 35m to 40m people will be visiting Macao annually in seven to 10 years.

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VIRGIN Blue has abandoned its high-profile attempt to start a joint venture airline in Macau, as it turns its international focus on a potential trans-Pacific airline.

Virgin terminated the long-running Macau talks on Friday, after it was unable to reach an agreement with potential partners about starting a low-cost operation from the fast-growing gambling destination.

It is understood the decision was made by Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey. Virgin Blue spokeswoman Heather Jeffery last night confirmed reports that the Macau talks had ended. "Yes, it is the case that we've formally concluded our discussions," she said.

"Suffice to say, it didn't meet the requirement of all parties at this point in time."

Virgin had hoped to form a low-cost airline with incumbent carrier Air Macau, China National Aviation Corp and Shun Tak Holdings, controlled by casino tycoon Stanley Ho.






In 1995 Air Macau was granted a 25-year exclusive operating licence but the undercapitalised carrier was only servicing nine of the 31 Chinese cities to which it has rights to fly.

The joint venture airline aimed to boost services and feed the territory's booming casino industry with gamblers.Virgin Blue had been locked in talks for months when low-cost carrier WOW announced in April it would start services in Macau, and another company, Golden Dragon, also started talks with Air Macau.

Virgin's decision to pull out of Macau comes as the airline confirmed it had submitted documents to the Australian Department of Transport outlining proposals for a trans-Pacific airline. Ms Jeffery would not comment on the substance of the airline's proposal but confirmed it had lodged a document outlining its thoughts on the route.

"We have had discussions and we'll be presenting more of our position in time," she said.It is understood the airline is lobbying the Government to delay Singapore Airline's entry into the market until it can develop its own plans to fly across the Pacific.

It reportedly argued that it needed at least a year to 18 months to develop its international model and Singapore's entry during this time would damage both its international ambitions and domestic assets.

Cabinet discussed the issue briefly this week and is expected to return to it next month.The entry of Virgin chairman Chris Corrigan into the debate will be setting off alarm bells in Singapore, which now finds itself battling both Australian domestic carriers.

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Shun Tak Holdings, flagship company of gaming mogul Stanley Ho, said yesterday Virgin had pulled out of the plan.

It added the plan was still being "actively" discussed with Air Macau, currently the only airline based on the island.

The two companies have been exploring the possibility of operating low-cost air services from Macau to serve the booming mainland China market since late last year.

Shortly before Virgin Blue Holding Ltd's decision to shelve its Macau plans became known, the company said it had submitted documents to the Australian government outlining proposals for a trans-Pacific airline.

Macau, a former Portuguese colony that reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1999, draws thousands of gamblers from mainland China and Hong Kong, just 64km to the east.

Its government has been taking measures to liberalise and boost competition in its tourism-dependent economy after it ended a four-decade monopoly held by Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho on its gambling industry in 2002.

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MACAO, May 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The Macao-based Air Macau on Wednesday operated its second daily flight on the route from Macao to Beijing.

To mark the opening of the fresh flight, merchant prizes as free tickets, digital cameras and mobile phones are offered to passengers who get thewin-cards from Air Macau's web-page, said the company.

Air Macau has reinforced its 12-strong air craft squad by purchasing a new A321 air bus, making the total 13, it said.

The air company is to open the third daily flight between Macaoand Beijing early in 2006, it said.

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1.Air Macau inaugurates its second daily flight between Macau and Peking and increases its daily service between Macau and Taipei on 18 May 2005 following the acquisition of another Airbus A321. The blessing ceremony was held in Hangar, Macau International Airport, at 9:00 am on 18th May, 2005. This arrangement further enhances the carrier’s one-plane service between Taipei and Beijing.

2.Effective from 18 May, NX521 will depart daily from Taipei at 17:00 and arrive in Macau at 18:50, the flight number of the plane will then change to NX008, which will depart Macau at 19:35 and arrive into Peking at 22:45.

3.Returning from Peking in the following day, the plane will depart Peking on NX 007 at 10:00 and arrive in Macau at 13:25 and then bound for Taipei with a flight number of NX 522, which is to depart Macau at 14:15 and arrive Taipei at 16:00.

4. To celebrate the inauguration of the second daily services between Macau and Peking, the carrier offers passengers traveling between 18 May and 30 June:
1,000 bonus miles each time they travel on NX008/NX007Lucky draw with grand prizes to be offered to eligible FIT passengers, who successfully register their travel on NX008/NX007 at Air Macau’s website: www.airmacau.com.mo. The lucky draw will take place in early July and names of the winners will be announced in Air Macau’s website.A prize will be given to each eligible passenger, who is successful in registering his travel at the carrier’s website.

5.With the acquisition of the other Airbus 321, Air Macau’s passenger fleet is now strengthened to 13 aircraft – Airbus 321 X 7, Airbus 320 X 1 and Airbus 319 X 5

6.The carrier is planning to inaugurate its third daily flight between Macau and Beijing at the beginning of 2006.

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China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region signed an agreement here Tuesday to build up a "sister airports" relationship.

The signing was officiated by Deng Jun, chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Macao International Airport Company Limited, and Dong Zhiyi, general manager of Inner Mongolia Civil Airport Group Company.

Deng Jun said while addressing the signing ceremony that Macao and Inner Mongolia are to seek "a long-term cooperation relationship" in aviation industry to overcome the highly competitive market environment facing both sides.

Dong Zhiyi told the gathering that the sealing of the sister airports deal will hopefully bring benefits to the development of aviation businesses of the two regions.

Some 960,000 passengers and 46,000 tons of airfreight were handled at Macao International Airport in the first quarter of 2005, representing a 24.7-percent and 16.8-percent growth, respectively, over the same period of last year, according to Deng.

Meanwhile, nine airports in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have connects with over 28 cities in and outside China, said Dong.

The sisterhood cooperation will cover the fields of training, marketing development, management cooperation, passenger and cargorelated business.

Edmund Ho Hau Wa, chief executive of the SAR, and Yang Jing, chairman of the government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, attended the signing ceremony.

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Air Macau, the only air company in the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, saw a record high of over 170,000 passengers flow in May.

The total passenger turn-out of was 170,551 in May, breaking record in the company's decade-long operation history, according to statistics issued by Air Macau on Sunday.

The figures showed that the passenger turn-out has also witnessed a 26-percent increase in the first five months over the same period of 2004.

Air Macau has recently implemented a package of management policies as increasing international flight numbers to achieve a 14-month non-stop pay-off.

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Macau resumes budget carrier hunt
Investors being courted but authorities are ready to go it alone if necessary
Russell Barling
7 June 2005
South China Morning Post

Aviation authorities in Macau are again courting strategic investors for a low-cost carrier to replace the deal that collapsed last month when frustrated management at Virgin Blue walked away after 18 months of talks.

The authorities, including the Macau branch of the General Administration of Civil Aviation for China (CAAC Macau), are talking to executives and airlines from the low-cost industry to slot into the place vacated by Virgin Blue.

"[CAAC Macau officials] believe it is a project with good potential and they are determined to go ahead even if it means proceeding by themselves," said a Macau-based executive. "They have contacted some airlines, and some of them appear to be interested."

It is understood the latest courtship, successful or not, will have minimal impact on talks with Golden Dragon and Wow!Macau, two start-ups in talks with Air Macau for sub-concession licences to operate from Macau.

Golden Dragon, which had been targeting mainland destinations to serve with a fleet of 70-seat Embraer aircraft, has completed the negotiations for its sub-concession and requires only a formal signing, according to sources close to the company.

Wow!Macau chief executive Andrew Pyne, who has been pushing for regional and medium-haul destinations in Europe and the Middle East, said negotiations with his company were also progressing well.

"There may be some regional points that we will be disappointed on because of the new [low-cost carrier] development, but we'll take the rough and smooth," Mr Pyne said yesterday. "The main thing is that we end up with a working network and something that makes sense."

Mr Pyne would not say which regional destinations had been taken off the table during the talks. But with Air Macau flying to or having aspirations for Seoul, Singapore, Manila and Bangkok, the possibility of approval for those cities is thought to be remote.

It is understood Virgin Blue walked away last month after Air Macau, majority owned by China National Aviation Corp, waited until the 11th hour to pull Hangzhou and Taiwan from its destination list. Budget heavyweights Ryanair and Air Asia are also thought to have failed to work out a deal with the Macau negotiating team.

Mr Pyne said he was prepared to co-exist with a new low-cost carrier, which will probably be 51 per cent owned by Air Macau. "We know we can't go into Macau and encroach on Air Macau's patch," he said.

An expected flood of gamblers and tourists to Macau over the next few years prompted the government to order Air Macau to surrender its exclusive concession. The airport handled 960,000 passengers in the first quarter, up a comparative 24.7 per cent.

"It looks crowded with four home carriers but, to a certain extent, we're clear of that entanglement because we are still focused on the longer sectors that for technical reasons are beyond the reach of the others," Mr Pyne said. "There will be quite a tangle on the two to three-hour sectors, but I think we are a little further afield and that is the strength of our business plan."

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Golden Dragon wins flights deal
Alman Loong, Hong Kong Standard
June 16, 2005

Golden Dragon, one of three start-up airlines in Macau, has won regulatory approval to fly to 10 destinations, after agreeing with the Macau government to largely avoid routes offered by Air Macau's new budget airline and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines.

Golden Dragon received rights to fly to mainland cities Nanning, Shijiazhuang, Nanchung, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Changsha, Guangzhou and Hohhot, as well as Hanoi in Vietnam and Vientiane in Laos, said an industry source.

The approvals came after it reached a sub-concession license agreement with Air Macau to operate from the city. Sources earlier said tycoon Stanley Ho's helicopter unit, East Asia Airlines, will take a majority stake in Golden Dragon after the sub-concession talks.

"Golden Dragon only has three destinations overlapping with Dragonair's existing ones, reflecting the government's arrangements during the negotiations," said the source.

Dragonair and Air Macau are controlled by China National Aviation Corp. Golden Dragon's approved destinations also largely avoid competition with Hong Kong Express, a Hong Kong-based budget airline also controlled by Ho, which has been granted rights to fly to Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and Ningbo.

"Both companies will not complete with each other," said Hong Kong Express chief executive Andrew Tse.

Golden Dragon will need to invest 160 million patacas (HK$155.3 million) to develop the business and pay 10 percent of total investment to the Macau government for the license. It will lease two 75-seat Embraer aircraft this year and plans to schedule flights next year, said the source. "Golden Dragon will act as a regional airline in the future, not a low-cost carrier," he said.

Macau is an attractive base for budget carriers because of its low airport charges and the rosy outlook for its gaming-led tourism sector.

Air Macau along with two partners plans to start a budget airline at the end of the year in which it will invest US$30 million (HK$234 million) for a 51 percent stake. The new carrier will fly 22 mainland and regional routes with four aircraft to be delivered next year. Wow Macau, another start-up in talks with Air Macau for sub-concession licenses, has been pushing for medium-haul destinations in Europe and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has applied to the Air Transport Licensing Authority for six destinations - London Gatwick, Cologne/Bonn, Berlin, Milan, Oakland and Chicago.

However, the Civil Aviation Department said it has not yet granted it an air operator's certificate.

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Macau eyes Zhuhai airport for growth
Zach Coleman
17 June 2005
Hong Kong Standard

Macau could emerge as the dark-horse winner among the prospective suitors of troubled Zhuhai Airport.

Hong Kong International Airport has been keen to link up with Zhuhai on concern that airports in Guangzhou and Shenzhen are diverting mainland- bound or originating traffic that would have previously come to Hong Kong. Partnering with Zhuhai could give Hong Kong a route to recapture profit from this development.

Guangzhou's Baiyun International Airport is also reportedly eyeing Zhuhai.

Macau, however, might be the most logical partner for Zhuhai. Only Macau is a neighbor of Zhuhai and, where Macau is crowded and strapped for space, Zhuhai's vast undeveloped acreage is already attracting attention from Macau investors and officials seeking room to expand.

Zhuhai Airport, which has been losing money since its opening 10 years ago due to under-utilization, would fit into this pattern.

John Chan, executive director of Macau International Airport, said European consultants are currently drawing up a plan on how to meet the airport's needs for facilities in the next five years. He expects the consultants to recommend doubling the size of the airport's terminal and reclaiming land to move maintenance facilities to create more plane parking spaces.

Already, the airport is adding five parking stands and doubling its cargo terminal space. The current terminal can handle six million passengers a year.

Chan said he expects airport traffic this year to come close to a record 4.2 million passengers handled in 2002. Given plans afoot for new airlines and resorts in the territory, Chan said: "In 2007, I think we will cross six million.''

The airport has just one runway and the cost of building it in the waters of Macau's outer harbor accounted for much of the airport's HK$9.3 billion construction budget, said Chan.

Building a second runway at today's costs and starting from the greater depths further offshore would require a huge outlay.

Consequently, aviation officials are eyeing Zhuhai's runway as an expansion outlet, especially for domestic mainland traffic. Chan said many visitors from northern China are already flying to Guangzhou and Shenzhen and proceeding to Macau by bus or ferry. With coordination, these passengers could be channeled via Zhuhai.

The two airports have held several rounds of talks, and Chan said he believes Zhuhai will have to make a decision among its suitors soon.

Andrew Miller, director of consulting for the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney, said support from Macau airport management could help turn around Zhuhai's fortunes. The center chose Macau as its airport of the year in 2004. "They're entrepreneurial, they're on the ball,'' Miller said.

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As it nears its 10th anniversary, Air Macau has appointed World Aviation Systems as General Sales Agent for passenger sales in Australia and New Zealand, effective immediately.

The appointment also covers five Pacific destinations - Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Noumea and Tahiti.

Air Macau (IATA code NX) operates frequent jet services between Macau and 15 Chinese and regional international destinations.

The majority of the airline’s business is corporate traffic across the Taiwan Strait, on the Macau-Taipei and Macau-Kaohsiung routes.

The airline also flies to 10 destinations in China - Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Haikou, Kunming, Shenzen, Chengdu, Nanjing, Ningbo and Xiamen, as well as to Singapore, Bangkok, Manila and Seoul.

Air Macau operates a fleet of 13 dual class Airbus twinjets - seven A321s, five A319s and one A320.

It is increasing service on key routes to accommodate strong growth in tourism and trade to Macau.

With the recent acquisition of its seventh A321, the airline has just added a second daily Macau-Beijing flight, and announced plans for a third daily service on the route from early 2006.

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Air Macau plans to strike out to new markets in an aggressive response to the wave of competitors invading its home turf.

Brian Chien, senior manager for e-commerce and loyalty programs, told a Macau tourism forum Air Macau will shortly buy its first wide-body passenger jets, launch long-haul cargo flights and add new routes to Northeast Asia.

Air Macau earned 71.4 million patacas (HK$69.3 million) last year, reversing a 145.6 million loss the year before due to the effects of SARS. Revenue climbed almost 50 percent to 2.1 billion patacas. But 2004 also saw the arrival of discount airlines in Macau. AirAsia launched flights to the territory from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Tiger Airways joined the fight this year with flights from Singapore and is expected to soon announce flights from Macapagal International Airport near Manila. Nok Air is preparing to fly from Bangkok soon too.

Air Macau, which operates under a 25-year government concession as the territory's exclusive home carrier, last month agreed to share its rights with Golden Dragon, a start-up carrier that plans to operate regional jet flights to the mainland. A second start-up, Wow Macau, aims to finalize a subconcession agreement with Air Macau this month to allow it to serve medium- and long-haul routes.

Under this competitive pressure, Air Macau has given up its own services to Singapore and Bangkok, abandoning a strategy of using Southeast Asian routes to diversify from its precarious core business of carrying Taiwanese to and from the mainland.

The new plan is to look north. Air Macau began daily charter flights from Seoul in December. On Monday, the carrier will start a twice-weekly, summer-season charter flight from Pusan, South Korea. The Korean traffic will feed into a twice-weekly seasonal charter to Siem Reap, Cambodia, relaunched last Monday

Chien said Air Macau will fly twice a week from Kwangju, South Korea, next year. South Korean visitor numbers rose 130 percent in Macau in the first five months of this year.

The next target will be Japan. Chien said Air Macau will begin scheduled charter service to Tokyo next year. It operated charter flights to Takamatsu and Okayama in Japan earlier this year.

Chien said Air Macau will also begin daily service to the mainland cities of Hangzhou, Nanjing and Chengdu next year. The carrier doesn't presently serve Hangzhou, but flies to Nanjing and Chengdu three and four days a week, respectively.

Air Macau will acquire two Airbus A300-600R jets next year to operate the Tokyo flights as well as those to Shanghai and Taipei.

The jets will be the biggest and longest-range passenger aircraft in Air Macau's fleet, but even its mainstay planes are getting bigger. Chien said the airline will get rid of its remaining five A319 jets and one A320, bringing in seven A321s in their stead next year and three more the following year.

Air Macau is moving to even bigger planes for cargo. Chien said Air Macau will add one Boeing 747 jumbo a year until 2007. It will use the new planes to expand routes this year beyond Taiwan and the mainland to Los Angeles and Ho Chi Minh City. Another new route will land in Guangzhou, then next year, flights will go to New York, New Delhi and Frankfurt, he said.

Chien said Air Macau expects to achieve annual passenger growth of more than 10 percent through 2008. In February, the carrier launched a new frequent-flier program, which enlisted 33,000 members in three months.

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Air Macao recorded 174,956 passengers in June, a year-on-year increase of 17 percent, the Sino-Portuguese jointly operated airline announced in a statement on Monday.

The total cargo movement reached 9,915 metric tones in the month, a 28.2 percent rise over the same period of last year, according to the statement.

The airline also said that it, in a bid to boost the passenger flow, will operate a number of charter flights during the summer holidays, covering flights to Pusan in South Korea, Siem Reap in Cambodia and Tokyo.

The airline, which is to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its flight services in November, will also run special package for families and students during the holiday period, according to the statement.

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MACAO, July 18 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 39 flights between China's Taiwan and Macao will be canceled Monday due to the typhoon Haitang, which is forecast to be the most powerful storm to hit Taiwan in five years.

Staff on duty at Macao International Airport told Xinhua through telephone that most of flights by Air Macao, Eva Airways and TransAsia to and from Taiwan will have to be canceled over the typhoon concern.

Air Macao also announced in Taibei that it would cancel all its flights Monday, according to local media reports.

Air Macao and Macao International Airport both opened the hotline telephone numbers through media for passengers to check needed information.

Macao operates daily passenger flights to and from cities of Taibei and Gaoxiong in Taiwan.

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BEIJING, July 19 -- Macao airport reports that about 39 flights between Taiwan and Macao will be cancelled as typhoon Haitang sweeps trough the island.

Staff on duty at Macao International Airport says that most of the flights by Air Macao, Eva Airways and TransAsia to and from Taiwan will be cancelled because of the typhoon.

Air Macao and Macao International Airport have both opened hotline telephone numbers for passengers to check for latest information.

Macao operates daily passenger flights to and from the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

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Tiger Airways, a Singapore-based low cost airline, is offering seats on its new Manila (Clark) – Macau flight services from just 188 MOP (Sin$39.98 or 1318 Pesos) for one way travel excluding taxes and fees.

Tiger Airways launches daily flights between Macau and Manila (Clark) from 30 October 2005. Flight TR777 leaves Macau at 13:55 arriving in Manila at 15:55. The return leg, flight TR778, departs Manila at 15:40 for a 17:40 arrival in Macau.

The service is expected to be a boon to tourists and the many Overseas Filipino Workers based in Macau and Hong Kong.

“We are pleased to offer our first flight service out of Singapore with direct services between Macau and Manila (Clark). We are delighted to offer our low fares for this popular route and look forward to good response from our customers. At the same time, the route allows us to utilize our aircrafts more efficiently which helps us keep costs low,” said Tony Davis, CEO of Tiger Airways.

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2005-7-26 15:26:30 CRIENGLISH.com

Macao International Airport now ranked 82nd on the list of the world busiest airports in 2004 .

More than 220,000 tons of cargo passed through the airport last year, a major increase on 2003.

The figures come from the Airports Council International (ACI), the worldwide professional association of airport operators. It reviewed the world's 984 major airports in terms of volume of passengers and cargo as well as comparing the number of plane landings and taking-offs.