CAB Shuts Down Emirates Request For More Flights

10 September 2019

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has denied Emirates Airlines request for more additional flights to Manila citing underutilized slots from the Philippine side and plenty of unused slots to international airports outside the country's capital.

CAB Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla said there are unallocated entitlements on the Philippine side, while the UAE side also has “unutilized entitlements.”

Under the expanded bilateral agreement between the two countries, both are given 35 flights on each side per week, and the UAE carriers are allowed unlimited flights to destinations outside Manila.

According to CAB, Emirates was allocated 18 flights to Dubai while Etihad got 17 flights to Abu Dhabi. On the Philippine side, Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines Corporation and Cebu Pacific got 7 entitlements each to Dubai while Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific got 7 entitlement each for Abu Dhabi.

Arcilla said only Emirates used all their allocations, while Etihad has not used its 3 new allocations. Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific used up their allocations to Dubai while Air Philippines Corporation has not used the 7 entitlements they have. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific also don't fly to Abu Dhabi making their collective entitlements unused.

“All in all, their are 24 underutilized flights to Manila. It must be flown first or most of it must be flown first before we entertain proposal to increase frequency,” says Arcilla.

Emirates Airlines Country Manager Satish Sethi admitted over the weekend that they have profitability problems on its operations outside Manila as all of their revenue, particularly taken from Business Class travelers, are all from Manila.

Emirates has flown Dubai-Cebu-Clark-Dubai route daily for 3 years now.