Macau International Airport

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Macau's skies set to get crowded as three new airlines take wing
12 August 2005
South China Morning Post

The dust appears to be settling on the airline shake-out in Macau, with three soon-to-be start-ups having carved out the niches they will serve - at least in principle.

Shun Tak Holdings managing director Pansy Ho Chiu-king is on the verge of getting a stake in an as-yet unnamed but nevertheless coveted low-cost carrier.

Shun Tak will share minority interests with Hong Kong-listed China National Aviation Co (CNAC).

Air Macau, which is majority held by CNAC Macau and which has been gracious enough - albeit with some state prodding - to surrender its monopoly in the city and negotiate sub-concessions with the newcomers, will receive 51 per cent.

According to people on the ground in Macau, Ms Ho's budget carrier has gained approval in principle to fly to 16 regional destinations, including cities in Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea and on the mainland.

The same source told Below Deck the airline already had a deal in place for six Boeing 737 aircraft.

Ms Ho, the source said, was expected to make an announcement about the airline - and its closely guarded name - in a matter of days.

An executive who works for one of the shareholding companies was more cautious.

"We are about to submit all the legal documents and the sub-concession to the government," he said.

"Until the government approves, we cannot announce other details. It is no secret that the low-cost carrier will be a subsidiary of Air Macau. But no final decision has been made on the number or type of aircraft."

There had been speculation that the airline would favour A320 aircraft to capitalise on the benefits of sharing a common fleet with its majority shareholder; Air Macau has eight A320 family aircraft.

However, the executive did acknowledge that an agreement in principle had been reached with Air Macau on a route network.

That was all it took last week for Golden Dragon Airlines, the new airline controlled by Ms Ho's father, casino magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun, to trumpet its arrival. So we could be hearing from Ms Ho's entourage soon.

None of the three Macau start-ups have signed a sub-concession agreement yet.

It is understood that a deal with the third new entrant, Wow!Macau, will be reached after Ms Ho's venture gets the requisite attention with its pending launch.

According to the source, Golden Dragon and Wow!Macau, which has been approved in principle by Air Macau's executive committee to serve destinations outside a four-hour flight zone, have agreed to a 10 per cent capital levy as a condition of their sub-concessions.

None of the contracts have received the government's stamp of approval, so it all remains up in the air.

But one would think that officialdom would be amenable to most arrangements, given Macau's acute need for more flights than its airline can offer.

Macau's Cotai strip is expected to see a sixfold increase in the number of hotel rooms on offer in the next five years to 70,000.

Most of the rooms will be high-end and will require a different mix of clientele than those who now frequent Macau. At present, the average length of stay for a Macau visitor is 1.3 days, compared with 3.7 days in Las Vegas, the city it aspires to emulate.

Only 6 per cent of visitors to Macau arrive by air, against 50 per cent in Vegas.

Macau needs to liberalise its aviation regime to attract a higher calibre of visitor.

As the monopoly carrier for the city, Air Macau utilises only 25 per cent of its 42 air service agreements with other countries.

A dose of competition will be just what the doctor ordered to awaken the sleepy enclave.

China, of course, is the market with the most potential visitors. With Ms Ho's airline apparently destined to compete on some of the eight mainland routes recently awarded in principle to Golden Dragon, there is even the prospect of market-regulated ticket prices. They are targeting different markets - Golden Dragon is more a premium economy provider with its 76-seat Embraer aircraft, however, there should be some overlap.

Wow!Macau, on the other hand, looks well positioned for the longer-haul market.

"It looks initially to be a crowded environment with four carriers," Wow!Macau chief executive Andrew Pyne told Below Deck last month.

"There could be quite a tangle in terms of the two- to three-hour short sectors. But I think we're a little further afield and that is one of the strengths of our business plan."

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Shun Tak to take stake in Macau low-cost airline-paper

HONG KONG, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Shun Tak Holdings , the property and entertainment group controlled by casino magnate Stanley Ho, will take up to a 30 percent stake in Air Macau's planned US$30 million low-cost carrier, the Standard newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Air Macau Co. Ltd. will control a 51 percent stake in the venture and its parent China National Aviation Co. (CNAC) will hold the rest, the paper said, quoting unidentified sources.

Shun Tak has already signed an agreement that Air Macau and CNAC will hold the majority stake in the low cost carrier, the paper said.

Air Macau will also transfer 22 routes to the new carrier, including 11 routes to mainland China and the rest to cities in the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, it said.

The venture is the third airline scheduled to start operation in 2006 since Macau's government cut short Air Macau's monopoly two years ago.

Shares in Shun Tak ended on Monday at HK$7.

The stock had gained 2 percent in the last month but is up 81 percent in the last year as investors bet on strong growth prospects for Macau's gaming and tourist industries.

The tiny territory is the only place in gambling-mad China where casinos are legal and companies from around the world are pouring in billions of dollars to build more opulent gaming parlours, plush hotels and shopping malls.

CNAC owns a 43 percent of Hong Kong carrier Dragonair and 51 percent of Air Macau.

[SeeMacau]

MACAU - Taiwan passengers made up the bulk of total arrivals at the Macau International Airport in July, as the airport braces for more and more visitors from around the world with the opening of new routes, airport authorities said August 23.

The airport received a single-month record high of 416,131 arrivals in July, 59% of which were travelers from Taiwan, airport authorities said. For the first seven months of this year, the airport registered 2.46 million arrivals, up by 23% year on year. It is estimated that the airport will see 4.2 million arrivals for the whole of this year. Routes between Macau and China provided the second-largest number of passenger arrivals, while those from Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea followed, in that order.

With Macau well positioned as a preferred entry point to China and the Asia-Pacific region, the 24-hour Macau International Airport is an attractive alternative for the region's increasing airfreight traffic, allowing easy access to numerous destinations in China and other countries, airport authorities said.

(Asia Pulse/CNA)

[SeeMacau]

Air Macao's flights from cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan to Macao were all canceled on Thursday due to the typhoon Talim, which is rocking the Chinese island province.

Staff on duty at Macao International Airport told Xinhua through telephone that Air Macao's flights taking off from Macao to the two cities in Taiwan will also "possibly" be delayed over the typhoon concern.

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

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

Source: Xinhua

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MACAO, Sept. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- "The Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Symposium-- Macao 2005" was held here Thursday at the Macao Tower, a multi-functional convention center.

Representatives from 24 international airports and low-cost airlines including Air Asia and Tiger Airways attended the symposium, co-hosted by the Institute of Macao Civil Aviation and Macao International Airport Company Ltd.

Chui Sai Cheong, president of the Institute of Macao Civil Aviation, told the opening ceremony that low fares, high efficiency and safety awareness are in the characteristics of LCC operations.

He said the symposium will offer an opportunity for the delegates to share the management and service experience.

The topics for discussion in the symposium covered the LCC basics, LCCs in the region and the impact of the LCC industry.

[SeeMacau]

China's Macao Special Administrative Region and Israel have signed an Air Service Agreement on opening air services in the near future.

A press release issued by Macao's Information Bureau said representatives of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao and the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel clinched the deal at the conclusion of a two-day meeting Thursday.

The press release described the discussions as being held "in a friendly and cordial atmosphere."

Macao has sealed air services agreements with 43 countries and regions, according to the press release.

Source: Xinhua

[SeeMacau]

A Hong Kong-registered CR Airways jet was involved in an incident at the Macau International Airport this afternoon, the Civil Aviation Department says.

While the aircraft was holding near Runway 34 at about 1:28pm, its tailplane was slightly damaged by the left wing of a taxiing Boeing 747 aircraft. No one was injured.

The aircraft was conducting aircrew base training with four flight crew members on board and no passengers.

According to international practice, Macau's Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the incident. Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department will provide any assistance needed.

[SeeMacau]

HONG KONG, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said that the tail of a Hong Kong-registered aircraft was slightly damaged by a wing of a taxing Boeing 747 aircraft while it was holding near Runway 34 at Macao International Airport at 1:28 p.m. (0528 GMT) on Friday.

No injuries have been reported, the CAD said.

It said, the CRJ700 aircraft of CR Airways which was conducting aircrew base training at Macao with four flight crew members on board and no passengers.

According to international practice, the incident is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao and the CAD will provide necessary assistance.

[SeeMacau]

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Philippine Airlines Ltd. (PAI.YY) won't wait long to compete with regional low cost carriers Tiger Airways and AirAsia Bhd. (5099.KU) on their proposed Macau-Manila flights, analysts say.

They say with the entry of the LCCs, an estimated 200,000 passengers will fly the route every year in the near future, and the Philippine state carrier will do whatever it takes not to be left out.

"There's strong potential for increased travel not only from tourists between Macau and Manila but also from the thousands of overseas Filipino workers based in Macau and Hong Kong," an analyst with a regional brokerage said.

Both Tiger Airways, the low-cost affiliate of Singapore Airlines Ltd. (S55.SG), and Malaysia-based AirAsia plan to start flying the Macau-Manila route from Oct. 30.

PAL currently offers code-share flights using Air Macau's aircraft three times a week, but the entry of the low cost carriers will likely push it to fly its own planes as it's the favored carrier of Filipino overseas workers around the world.

"We may need to review our stand if and when we decide to operate on that sector," a PAL spokesman said.

Tiger Chief Executive Tony Davis expects his airline to carry more than 100,000 passengers a year between the two points when its flights are in full swing.

AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes declined to comment on the potential of the route.

Meeting the challenge from the LCCs won't be easy for PAL, said Andrew Miller, chief executive of Sydney-based Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation.

"The cost of a plane seat for a full service airline is about 2-3 times that for a LCC and you need a minimum of one flight a day to make it worthwhile for a full service airline," Miller said.

"Operating 2-3 flights a day will be better," he added.

Tiger has already filed the necessary documents and flying the route "is clearly in the public interest and will have a significant positive impact on the further development of Clark as an important regional aviation hub," Davis said.

Tiger already serves both Macapagal International Airport - the former Clark International Airport near Manila - and Macau from Singapore.

PAL appears to have accepted competition from LCCs, but for now, it appears confident of its own attraction to travelers through the Air Macau flights.

"Most of the LCCs operate out of Clark Field airport in Pampanga, which is over two hours away by shuttle bus from Manila. This is great if the passenger resides in that area, but if he is based in Manila, it's inconvenient," the PAL spokesman said.

"Only a limited number of seats on the LCC flights are allotted for the super-low fare category. The bulk of the seats are sold at higher fares, which, while still lower than fares of full-service airlines, may not be attractive enough to convince Manila-based passengers to shuttle all the way to Clark Field," he added.

In late 2004, when Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long announced the approval of LCCs coming in through Clark Field, PAL warned that this would cripple the aviation industry and displace scores of workers.

[ViVoN]

[SeeMacau]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Thailand's Nok Air picks gambling enclave Macau as first foreign stop
AFP
October 26, 2005

Thai budget carrier Nok Air plans to expand into foreign markets in 2006 with the launch of services to Asia's casino capital Macau, a top company official said here Wednesday.

"Probably mid-year we are going to Macau. It will be the first foreign destination," Nok Air's chief executive Patee Sarasin told AFP on the sidelines of a regional aviation forum.

According to Patee, Thai AirAsia is the only budget airline servicing the Bangkok-Macau route, which means there is room for further growth. It is a subsidiary of Malaysia's discount carrier AirAsia.

Owned partly by flag carrier Thai Airways International, Nok Air was launched last year to tap growing demand for no-frills travel especially in key Southeast Asian economies like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

It is the third budget airline in Thailand, where One-Two Go, owned by Orient Thai, is already in fierce competition with Thai AirAsia.

Nok Air currently flies to Chiangmai, Udon Thani, Hat Yai and Phuket.

Despite soaring fuel costs, Patee said the airline has been enjoying an "operating profit" since January and is expected to break even by the end of the year, but he gave no details.

Aside from Macau, Nok Air will also be looking to expand to other parts of Asia over the next few years but the carrier will not rush into any markets until its distribution network has been established properly, Patee said.

"So therefore in terms of moving into foreign destinations, we are going to be very, very careful in terms of how we are going to make sure that we understand the consumers over there as well," the chief executive said.

"And so therefore in terms of distribution of our tickets and so forth, it will have to fit that particular demand," he said.

Nok, which means "bird" in Thai, has adopted a playful theme by depicting a golden bird's beak on the nose of its purple and white aircraft.

[SeeMacau]

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Singapore-based low cost carrier (LCC) Tiger Airways said Friday it has received approval from the Philippines authorities for its Macau-Manila flights.

The approval, from the Philippines Civil Aeronautics Board, means Tiger's flights can commence Sunday as scheduled.

Philippine Airlines Ltd. (PAI.YY), or PAL, last month said Tiger - an affiliate of Singapore Airlines (S55.SG) - violated rules by selling its Macau-to-Manila tickets before getting approval to fly the route.

In a separate statement, Tiger said it is ready to use the low cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport if given approval from the respective authorities to fly the Singapore-KL route.

"We are very keen to fly between Singapore and Malaysia and will definitely take up the offer from Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. (5014.KU) to use the LCC terminal if we receive permission from the Malaysian aviation authorities to do so," Tiger Chief Executive Tony Davis said in the statement.

Davis was referring to news reports that MAHB Chief Executive Bashir Ahmad had invited all airlines that fall under the budget carrier category to use the new LCC terminal facility.

Tiger has been lobbying to fly the route as part of its efforts to widen its network.

It currently flies from Singapore to cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Macau, Philippines and Indonesia.

[hkskyline]

Budget air carrier for Macau close to launch
24 January 2006
South China Morning Post

The long-awaited Macau-based budget airline is about to take off. A venture formed by Air Macau, China National Aviation Co (CNAC) and Shun Tak will be incorporated today and is planning to operate flights to about 20 cities in the mainland and the region.

It is understood that Air Macau, which is majority-held by CNAC will hold 51 per cent of the new venture, while Shun Tak, which is controlled by the casino tycoon Stanley Ho, will share the balance with CNAC.

An official from the Macau Civil Aviation Authority said there was plenty of room for the new venture to flex its muscles due to the low utilisation rate of Macau's traffic rights.

"Macau has rights to fly to more than 30 mainland cities but at present only nine are ulitilised [by Air Macau]," said an official from the Macau Civil Aviation Authority.

Air Macau has launched services to the major first-tier cities in the mainland where the high income tourists and gamblers come from, namely Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen, Nanjing and Shenzhen.

That means the new carrier could fly only to the second-tier cities which Air Macau did not cover. Market talk ahead of the today's incorporation, however, was that Air Macau had reached a deal with the new venture which would allow the new carrier to fly to the existing points that Air Macau served after a quarantine period of three years.

Southeast Asian destinations, which remain under-developed markets for Macau airlines, are known to be another focus of the new venture.

"It could fly to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, the major sources of tourists coming to Macau," the official said. Since Air Macau served only Seoul, Manila, Bangkok, Taipei and Kaohsiung in Asia, there was plenty of room for a newcomer, he added. Shun Tak's share price rose 3 per cent to $8.7 yesterday, against the trend of declining Hong Kong share prices. Shares of CNAC fell 4 per cent to $1.47 due to the leap in oil prices.

The negotiations between Air Macau and Shun Tak over the new budget airline began in earnest last summer after Virgin Blue withdrew from talks. Though it holds the concessions to run airlines in Macau till 2020, Air Macau has been forced to surrender its monopoly and negotiate sub-concessions with newcomers. In order to fulfil the requirement of the concessions, it also set up Viva Macau and Golden Dragon to tap into different market segments.

Sub concession agreements will now be signed after the new venture hands in all the details of the shareholders background, professional management and the financial plan of the company and gains approval from the Macau government. Viva Macau and Golden Dragon are still pending approval.

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Macau aims to double airport capacity
Operator awaits government approval for project designed to handle 12 million passengers annually
26 January 2006
South China Morning Post

Macau is planning to double the passenger capacity of its airport to handle the anticipated influx of international travellers as the city's investment boom boosts its reputation as a leisure destination, according to an official.

The project will expand the airport's capacity to about 12 million passengers a year and has been forwarded to the Macau government for evaluation, according to John Chan Wai-leong, an executive director of CAM Societe do Aeroporto Internacional de Macau, the company that owns a 50-year concession to operate the airport.

"The project is still in its planning stages and was forwarded last month to the government to sound them out about funding," Mr Chan said yesterday. "We expect to see more foreign carriers calling over the next few years and we need to grow."

Initial positive discussions had already been held with CAM shareholders, which include the Macau government, Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau and other minorities.

Mr Chan said he expected the approval process to take six to eight months, indicating building may start next year.

Construction would take about two years, he said, adding that it was too early to discuss capital costs.

Macau's tourist arrivals hit a record 4.27 million last year, up a comparative 14 per cent. Based on those growth levels, the present terminal, which was designed to handle six million passengers a year, will reach capacity in three years.

However, a study conducted this year for CAM by Netherlands Airports Consultants offered a more conservative forecast of 7 to 8 per cent growth over the next five years.

"A lot of our volume is still Taiwan, but we expect to see a lot more traffic from the Middle East and Europe, especially from charter operators that have come under pressure from the low-cost carrier boom," Mr Chan said.

However, he ruled out building the second terminal exclusively to cater to budget carriers, as Singapore has done.

"We are constrained by a lack of land," he said.

Macau's foreign investors have been pressing the government to ensure there are enough air links to bring the travellers and punters to their multibillion-dollar entertainment complexes.

The number of hotel rooms is expected to triple to 30,000 in the next four years, according to research by brokerage CLSA.

Two budget carriers to be based in Macau moved along their launch plans this week.

Macau Asia Express said it would start flying in the fourth quarter, while Viva Macau drew nearer to its June launch plans and a US$1.75 billion aircraft order with Boeing.

Both airlines have plans to operate fleets of about 20 aircraft, which will strain the airport's existing infrastructure in the longer term, especially its aircraft parking bays, which are already in short supply.

CAM, which has committed to extend the airport's runway and expand the cargo handling terminal, is also examining the possibility of filling in the water between its two taxiways to cater to interim aircraft parking needs.

Mr Chan said the airport's runway could handle aircraft movements sufficient to bring 25 million people a year to Macau, so another runway was not being planned.

[hkth]

Xinhua News:
Air Macao to open routes to two mainland cities

[hkth]

The same news videos from the TDM (Teledifusao De Macau):
Cantonese News with Chinese Subtitles

Portuguese News

English News (Between 3:45-5:22)

[SeeMacau]

direct flight to guangzhou? but guangzhou is so close to macau ..

[hkth]

Originally Posted by AsIaBoYz

direct flight to guangzhou? but guangzhou is so close to macau ..

GZ also has filghts to HK too! Those routes are for the connection between Mainland China and other parts of the world.

[hkskyline]

Air Macau also flies to Shenzhen, which is even closer than going to Guangzhou.