Aviatour Piper Down

DILG Secretary Dead, Aide survive

August 18, 2012

A Piper Seneca PA 34-200 (RPC-4431) plane owned by Aviatour, a Cebu-based aviation company crashed Sunday off the waters of Masbate killing all but one passenger.

The plane was piloted by Jessup Bahinting, Aviatour chairman and CEO, and Kshitiz Chand, a Nepalese national, and was supposed to fly to Naga City frorm Mactan Cebu International Airport. The secretary’s aide, Senior Inspector Jhun Abrasado survived and was rescued.

The plane was on final approach to Masbate Airport before it fell short of the runway after declaring distress call and emergency landing around 4:30 PM.

Aviatour Cessna Crash in Camiguin

Clips coconut tree on approach!

March 5, 2012


A 37-year-old Norwegian woman and a Filipino pilot died after their Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP plane (RPC209), crashed seconds before it landed at the Camiguin airport in Mambajao town around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Three other passengers survived the crash.

The fatalities were identified as Christian Cesar Cebracus and Racquel Strande. The others were identified as Indonesian co-pilot Nurmala Dewi, the woman's husband Lance Strande, and their 3-year-old child Jensola.

The plane owned by Cebu-based charter company Aviatours departed from Mactan airport at 7:30 a.m bound for Camiguin for sight-seeing tour before it clip a coconut tree on approach to Mambajao airport.

Aviatour to buy Seaplanes

As Charter flights grew 25%

February 13, 2011

Cebu-based aviation school has been growing leap and bounds as its charter business grew 25% of its previous figures reported last year.

FoBinky C. Veniegas, senior marketing director of Aviatour, said the 25 percent increase in chartered flight tours are mostly bound to Bohol using non-conventional transport to Central Visayas' main tourist destinations.

Veniegas said their clientele consists mostly of married couples from South Korea, Europe and the US on their honeymoon who wish to visit such places as Olango Island, Bohol and white-sand beaches like those in Bantayan Island.

Aviatour offers three tour options which costs P3,000 to P7,000 per person. The first tour package covers a trip to Olango and nearby islands while the second package covers a tour of the Chocolate Hills in Bohol and Olango Islands.

“The third option which is the most expensive at P7,000 per person will take them to Panglao Island, Chocolate Hills and Olango Islands,” she said. On a busy day they get 20 tours with a minimum of two tours on slow days.

Aviatour currently flies to the following destinations from Cebu with the following rates:

* Tagbilaran, P2,095
* Bantayan, P2,454
* Maasin, P2,454
* Camotes, P1,736
* Siargao, P5,087
* Guiuan, P5,087
* Dipolog, P4,728
* Camiguin, P3,771
* Caticlan, P6,823
* Tacloban, P3,771
* Surigao, P4,190
* Masbate, P5,506

She said they would upgrade their fleet to include seaplanes this year and send their pilots to the US for additional training.

“Some people don't like to line up in the airport and some also wants to transport products especially in areas with less airline companies servicing. We see this as another growth area for us as well,” Veniegas added.

Aviatour operates one of the largest fleet of Cessna 152 and Cessna 172 aircraft in the Philippines.--- with reports from PDI cebu