P150-M aviation school opens in Subic

22 March 2019
By Denise A. Valdez

Subic -- FIRST AVIATION Academy, Inc. (FAA), the aviation school established by joint venture between MacroAsia Corp. and Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC) Holdings Corp., officially opened on Thursday at Subic International Airport.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, listed MacroAsia said FAA started welcoming aspiring pilots at its base in Subic International Airport, almost two years after the project was introduced in October 2017.

“FAA takes pride in being at the forefront of professional development for the airline industry, propelled by a comprehensive curriculum, experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to produce airline-ready aviation professionals primed for flight operations,” the company said.

MacroAsia had earlier said it is eyeing to generate $17 million in cumulative revenue within the first five years of FAA’s operations, and at the same time produce more than 300 pilots. It noted the initial development of FAA costs around $3 million, which covers two single-engine light aircraft and one twin-engine light aircraft.


“Two main features that set FAA apart from other aviation schools in the country are its fleet of brand-new TECNAM planes with full glass cockpit electronic instrumentation and the Redbird MCX and TD2 G-1000 simulators. Such a training platform will enable students to develop the skill sets necessary to excel in the international aviation space,” it said.

FAA is MacroAsia’s first foray into the aviation education sector. MacroAsia President Joseph T. Chua had said in 2017 the school is expected to provide aviation manpower to foreign airlines and the Philippine Airlines (PAL), which like MacroAsia, is owned by Lucio C. Tan, Sr.

PTC Holdings, which is under the PTC Group is, meanwhile, known for its background in crew management and maritime services. Its businesses cover ship and crew management, maritime education and training, chartering and freight forwarding, among others.

MacroAsia’s net income in the first three quarters of 2018 fell 14% to P804.3 million due to one-time gains in 2017. —

PAL Postpones New Delhi Launch

20 March 2019

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has confirmed the postponement of its New Delhi launch until further notice citing border tensions between India and Pakistan.

The airline said most booked passengers has either cancelled or postpone travel plans at a later date due to the conflict.

The sparring between India and Pakistan last month threatened to spiral out of control with the Kashmir region claim as the core of their enmity.

The simmering dispute erupted into conflict late last month when Indian and Pakistani warplanes engaged in a dogfight over Kashmir on Feb 27, a day after a raid by Indian jet fighters on what it said was a militant camp in Pakistan.

Pakistani and Northern India airspace were closed thereafter forcing civil aviation disruptions and long flight detours resulting to delayed flights at both region.

PAL is doing precautionary measure to avoid travel inconveniences of its passengers as the situation between two nuclear powers remained tense. It already booked affected passengers to other airlines or issued ticket refunds for those who cancelled their travel plans.

JFK Relocates To Terminal 1

LAX Gets AKL Slots, Moves Terminal 1 on Morning Sked

20 March 2019

By Ma. Cristina Arayata
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced Tuesday it will transfer some of its international flights from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 to Terminal 1.

"We want to distribute flights among the (NAIA) terminals where we operate to help minimize passenger congestion in these areas," PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.

Beginning March 31, flights to and from New York (JFK), Auckland (New Zealand), Hanoi (Vietnam) and Phnom Penh (Cambodia) will use NAIA Terminal 1.

Auckland service will also be re-timed from evening to morning flight as PAL starts utilizing its slot for the third Los Angeles flights.

Los Angeles flights depart from Terminal 2 and arrive at Terminal 1, Honolulu flights continue to use Terminal 2 for departure and arrival, and Ho Chi Minh flights will also continue to use Terminal 2.

Other US and Vietnam flights will continue to arrive and depart from Terminal 2.

For passengers with connecting flights, PAL has inter-terminal shuttle buses plying Terminals 1, 2 and 3, where PAL operates, Villaluna added. (PNA)

Qatar Forced To Fly Davao

Or Lose Morning Slots In Manila

18 March 2019

Qatar Airways was issued final warning by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to fly Davao or lose entitlement the regulatory agency granted the airline to fly additional four morning slots at Manila International Airport (NAIA) after the airline failed to comply its flight commitment in 2018.

The directive forced Qatar Airways to announced the start of Doha and Davao at the risk of terminating its morning slots at the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport effective April 1.

The airline said new service will begin in June and operated once a week with a Boeing 787 plane. The company said it will increase the flight in the future.

Qatar has made commitments to the Philippines for Qatar Airways to fly Davao City in 2017 in exchange for 4 more landing slots in the morning which Qatar Airways had taken immediately without launching flights to Davao in 2018. See Story here . The Qatari breach infuriated President Rodrigo Duterte who is from that region that he wants these slots revoked immediately.

The airline has been quick to attribute delay to aircraft availability but has been told by the Philippine regulator that it is not their problem if they lack planes.

Qatar Airways CEO Al Baker said they will comply with the Order but said Davao service will initially be only weekly, “because of the shortage of aircraft we have at Qatar Airways”.

Industry sources said this is the only destination of the airline flown once a week.

Hot Air Balloon Feast Goes On

16 March 2019

The long delayed hot air balloon festival just got better as two hot air balloon festivals will be held in Pampanga next month.

The Lubao International Hot-Air Balloon and Music Festival will be held on April 5-7, to be followed by the Front Row Hot Air Balloon Festival on April 12-14.

During the press conference in Taguig on Thursday, Front Row Hot Air Balloon Festival organizers vowed a "bigger, bolder, busier, and better" hot air balloon fair.

"What we will have is a tethered balloon festival. The balloon will fly 50 feet to 70 feet and it will be pulled down and we have 15 balloons that will do that," said Wilfredo Placino, vice chairman and president of Global Gateway Development Corp.

Noel Castro, event consultant, also assured that safety and security for the riders are top priorities in this activity.

"In our experience, tethered flights are safe because they are anchored to the chase cars and we have two or three ropes to prevent them from flying away. This is not the first time that we will do this," he told reporters.

This year, 15 regular-shaped and five special-shaped balloons will be floating in the skies of Pampanga. The tethered balloon flight in the morning and afternoon would be priced at PHP500 per person.

The week-long event is expected to gather some 70,000 people.

But aside from flying via hot air balloons, the organizers are also preparing musical performances by such popular artists as Ely Buendia, Kamikazee, Slapshock, Hale, and Unique Salonga. (PNA)

Will CEB have A Dreamliner?

15 March 2019

Boeing has gained traction in the race for Cebu Pacific (CEB) wide-body re-fleeting program as the airline intends to replace its A330-300 planes leases of which start expiring in 2022.

The airline leases six A330 aircraft from Avolon subsidiary Park Aerospace Holdings (three units) of Ireland, Voyager Aviation (two units) (formerly Intrepid) of the United States, and DAE Capital (one) of UAE. The first two are owned by Cebu's in-house leasing firm Cebu Aircraft Leasing (formerly with CIT Leasing), a subsidiary of JG Summit Holding.

CEB Chief Operating Officer Michael Ivan Shau said its a better eight hour aircraft passenger and payload wise.

The airline is currently evaluating performance characteristics between Boeing B787-1000 and Airbus A330-900Neos in single class setup.

The A339 however is a formidable plane able to carry maximum payload 1000nm than its older sibling besting almost the same characteristic as the Boeing plane. Both planes can carry 440 passengers on a single layout, but according to Shau Boeing flies farther for the same payload but costs more than the Airbus plane.

"It now depends on their proposal," said Shau.

Decision to acquire and to what type of aircraft will be made on the second half of this year. Cebu Pacific will replace all existing A330s with this plane as their leases expire and intends to grow this new fleet to 15 by 2025. 

The airline flies its widebody plane to Cebu, Davao, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Osaka, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, and Dubai. 

CEB has been complaining on the range of its current A330 certified to fly 4,000nm at maximum payload as it regularly leaves cargo behind in Dubai to put more fuel into the aircraft to arrive safely in Manila. The company has three variants of the A330 that seats 436, with the latest heavier variant doing rotations to Dubai, Sydney and Melbourne.
 
Shau said the additional fleet will be needed to fly Australia by 2022,  and Bangkok, China, Korea, Taipei, and Japan by 2024 from Manila and Cebu.

CEB To Start ATR Freight Service in April

15 March 2019

Low cost carrier Cebu Pacific is set to begin its long awaited cargo service in April as it joins the cargo market by having two of its ATR 72-500 passenger aircraft converted into freighters by IPR Conversions, a Swiss based company.

Vice-President (Cargo) Alex Reyes said the first ATR72-500(F)s freighters is currently doing certification test in France and is due to arrive later this month.

Reyes said the two aircraft will continue to operate through Cebu’s subsidiary, CebGo.

IPR is a major provider of ATR freighter conversions, and won contract to modify Cebu’s ATR 72-500 which involves installing a large cargo door, allowing standard containers and pallets to be loaded.

The aircraft will have space for seven AKE unit load device containers and carry more than seven tonnes of cargo.

Both aircraft will be converted at Sabena Technics’ Dinard, France facility, a provider of MRO services in France for both military and civilian aircraft.

Reyes said the full cargo aircraft would be used mostly to support the Philippines’ expanding e-commerce businesses by taking its logistical needs further across the country.

Presently Cebu Pacific has limited capacity to carry cargo on its ATR plane due to payload restrictions of the aircraft. With the freighter it can already offer cargo capacity to majority of airports that no other carrier in the Philippines can provide.

Cebu Pacific is the largest carrier in the Philippines that also flies to most tertiary and missionary airports across the country.

No B737 Max Ban In the Philippines

14 March 2019

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will not ban the use of the Boeing 737 MAX model to and from the country according to CAAP Director General Capt. Jim C. Sydiongo.

Sydiongco said the ban is not necessary as no Philippine carrier used this new aircraft type, nor are used by airlines flying into the country. There are also no B737 Max planes overflying Philippine Airspace.

“CAAP said all the aircraft flown by foreign carriers into the country and over its airspace are the old B737 variants and not the new max type plane.

US, PNG, Chinese and Singaporean registered planes fly the Boeing 737s into the country but none fly the new max model.

Boeing has grounded the entire B737 Max planes after the US Federal Aviation Administration grounded the plane yesterday following similar bans in Canada, EU, Australia, Indonesia, China, and Singapore.

Metrojet Builds MRO Base in Clark

13 March 2019

Hong Kong-based Metrojet Ltd. is spending $25 million to build its largest business aviation parking and maintenance facility in Clark, which will become the firm’s regional hub in the Asia Pacific Region.

The business jet operator broke ground yesterday to construct the 26,000 square meter facility for Metrojet Maintenance Clark Ltd., its single largest investment in the Asia Pacific region to date.

“We’re looking at (spending) around $25 million just for the facility and then obviously there’s the ancillary growth that will happen in the continued operations, capital investment that will have to continue year in and year out,” Metrojet chief executive officer Gary Dolski told reporters.

Dolski said the Clark facility would be leased for 50 years.

“This will be our largest facility where we will do our base maintenance,”he added.

The Clark facility has over 7,100 sqm of hangar floor space, which can typically accommodate up to 10 long range business jet and Boeing business jet or Airbus corporate jet.

Other features of the facility include over 2,500 sqm of customer accommodations and storage, fixed base operator (FBO) capability engineering support workshops and materials warehousing.

It also has a dedicated taxi-way and parking ramp of over 11,000 sqm that will provide secure and private aircraft parking, maintenance and FBO services.

“Clark is a very good area for us. The airport is a good airport. We have the government support. Geographically, its very well located and we can draw in work from the region from China and from Hong Kong,” Dolski said.

Metrojet first entered the Philippines eight years ago with its 1,200 sqm hangar in Clark.

It currently has a hangar facility in Hong Kong and offices in Singapore.

“With this Clark facility,we at Metrojet are strengthening our footprint in Southeast Asia,” Metrojet chief operating office Bruce Watson said.

“The growing strategic importance of Clark is with its freedom of operations and freeport zone enables us to provide clients with a high quality and very competitive hangar parking and maintenance facility in the region, especially with locations such as Hong Kong and Singapore becoming increasing expensive and having capacity constraints,” he added.

The company noted that the hangar for the upcoming Clark facility will be constructed by Aircraft Support Industries(ASI) under a design-build contract managed by MERx Construction.

Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief executive officer Vince Dizon said the project, is a good fit for Clark

“Clark is currently seeing rapid growth not only as a strong business district but also as an ideal aviation and logistics hub. The ongoing expansion of the Clark International Airport positions Clark as a premier international gateway in the Philippines,” Dizon said.

“I am optimistic that this will bode well for Metrojet’s new investment in Clark and for future investors from the aviation industry,” he added.

The Clark facility is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020

DOTR Starts Busuanga Airport Upgrade

12 March 2019

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has started construction of the new P953.4 million Busuanga Airport redevelopment project phase 1.

The redevelopment project involves the relocation of the airport as well as construction of a runway embankment and re-orientation of the airport’s runway aimed at improving the airport’s facilities and allow it to handle jet aircraft.

“A runway re-orientation was deemed necessary as both the approaches of the airport’s existing runway are facing the mountains,” Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General Capt. Jim Sydiongco said Tuesday.

According to Sydiongco the airport upgrade is meant to bring the facility to international standards by 2025.

The airport is the main gateway to the Calamian Group of Islands that compromises the islands of Busuanga, Coron and Culion.

The first phase of the airport development project is slated to  be completed on 2021.

CEB Connects Marinduque

8 March 2019

Flight Begins April 1

Low Cost Carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) will begin flights from Manila to Marinduque and vice versa starting April 1, 2019 thrice a week using ATR72-600.

The flight will be operated by CEB subsidiary Cebgo which will operate the route every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.