MANILA - Air Philippines
Corporation has been designated by the presidential
office, Malacanang, as the official Philippine carrier
to the United States, Japan, China and Singapore.
Air Philippines is owned by taipan Lucio Tan,
who also owns Philippine Airlines.
Resolution No
149 stated that Air Philippines shall utilize its
designation within a period of six months, otherwise, it
shall be revoked.
A designation from the Office
of the President is necessary before a local carrier can
mount scheduled flights to an international destination.
The directive was signed by executive secretary
Eduardo R Ermita and was transmitted to Civil
Aeronautics Board (CAB) executive director Tomas T
Manalac.
Edilberto Medina, Air Philipines
president, said the designation of the carrier would
give the country's third-biggest airline the flexibility
to expand its routes.
"This supports our vision
to be the preferred low-cost airline in the country," he
noted. Last year, the carrier received the green light
to fly to Hong Kong.
Air Philippines is to
complete a re-fleeting program within the year with the
arrival of a newly leased 118-seater Boeing 737-200.
At present, the company has a fleet of seven
aircraft.
A modernization program started in
October last year aimed to improve operating efficiency
with the newest airplanes, allowing the airline to
establish new routes for domestic and charter
operations.
Air Philippines has an entirely
separate corporate structure from Philippine Airlines.
It is embarking on a re-imaging program to compete more
aggressively with other carriers.
On the
domestic front, the airline is eyeing routes such as
Zamboanga-Cebu and Zamboanga-Davao. For its
international flights, Air Philippines has started to
fly to Chengdu, Canton and Shenzhen in China.
In
July, the company launched twice-weekly chartered
flights to Guangzhou, China, following the introduction
in May of chartered flights to Kwangju and Daegu, both
in South Korea.
Air Philippines also
rationalized its routes to improve its finances. It has
reduced Manila-Cebu flights but increased operations to
other destinations.
(Asia Pulse/PNA)
Oct 28, 2004
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