Air Asia starts domestic operations next month
AIR Asia Philippines yesterday said that it will start its domestic operations next month with its new Airbus A-320 planes.
Air Asia also targets to beef up its fleet to between 14 and 16 aircraft in five years.
Marianne Hontiveros, chief executive officer of AirAsia Inc., said the local airline will be flying out of Clark to Davao on March 15 in time for Davao’s 75th founding anniversary, and from Clark to Kalibo.
Hontiveros said the airline company hopes to start its regional flights within the year, adding that it has already secured air rights for regional flights to Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan.
However, she said that the airline still has to get seats from the respective countries after submitting the air operator certificate (AOC) which it just secured from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) yesterday.
"We are excited to announce that in the coming weeks, AirAsia Inc. will begin its domestic and international operations utilizing two brand-new Airbus A-320s flown in from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France," she said after the signing ceremony for its AOC.
The contract allows Air Asia to fly passengers from its hub in Clark to domestic and international destinations.She said two more aircraft will be delivered within the year.
Hontiveros did not disclose the amount of investment the company put in for the new fleet, saying the aircraft that will be coming are all leased.
"After we have started our operations, we will evaluate if we need to acquire our own aircraft," she said.
She added that Air Asia is ready for a price war, and assured that the carrier has the lowest airfares while offering the best service.
The airline company originally targets to carry around 850,000 passengers in its first year of operation.
This may be revised given the delays it has faced to secure the license to operate.
Ramon S. Gutierrez, Air Asia director general, said the company has successfully completed the five phases of certification.
Gutierrez expressed confidence that the rigid process and requirements that AirAsia Inc. has fully complied with will enhance a system of checks and balances to ensure safety conscientiousness in Philippine aviation.
"We reaffirm our commitment to make air travel more fun, affordable and accessible to all Filipinos. With the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Angeles, Pampanga, as our hub, we look forward to helping revitalize tourism and significantly increasing passenger traffic at DMIA," Hontiveros said.
AirAsia Inc. registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March last year to engage primarily in providing passenger and cargo air transportation in the Philippines and abroad.
AirAsia Inc. is a 60-40 joint venture between Filipino investors Antonio O. Cojuangco, Michael L. Romero and Hontiveros, and Malaysia’s AirAsia International Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of AirAsia Berhad.
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