Vol. XXI, No. 219 [ Business World Online ]
Monday, June 9, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
TWO MORE airlines will soon be flying international routes via the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga after obtaining an operating permit from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).
Permits were given to Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) and Spirit of Manila Airlines Corp., said Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President and Chief Executive Officer Victor Jose I. Luciano, who met with CAB officials last week
Spirit of Manila, a Filipino-owned company with Middle Eastern minority stockholders, intends to fly to Bahrain with its Boeing 767, which can accommodate 250 passengers, Mr. Luciano said. Spirit of Manila officials were not available for comment yesterday.
Mr. Luciano said the new airline could start international operations by September. "[With the operating permit] they will now proceed with aircraft acquisition. They also said they need two months to train their staff," he added.
Meanwhile, SEAIR President Avelino Zap-anta said the company had yet to finalize its plans for international flights. "We are still discussing internally," he said in a separate interview.
The DMIA is being groomed as the next international gateway of the Philippines, and Mr. Luciano said there would be "more airlines to fly from the Middle East to the Philippines" to serve Filipino workers abroad.
On Friday, a chartered plane from Trans-global Airline arrived in the Philippines from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) via the DMIA. It was the first airline to fly to the Philippines from the Middle East via Clark.
The same airline is scheduled to fly to Fujairah in the UAE on Mondays and Wednesdays starting today. It uses a 160-seater MD83 aircraft.
Mr. Luciano said Transglobal is also planning to open a route from Clark to Bangkok by the end of the month using a Boeing 737.
Other airlines operating domestic and international flights to and from the DMIA are Air Asia, Asian Spirit, Asiana Airlines, Cebu Pacific, China Southern Airlines, Deer Air and Tiger Airways. — Anna Barbara L. Lorenzo
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