Airphil Express to increase number of flights to Davao

Posted on 09:33 PM, July 19, 2010
Business World

DAVAO CITY -- Air Philippines Express is resuming its daily flights to this city on Wednesday and will have three low-fare Davao-Manila flights starting in October, company officials said.

Air Philippines Boeing 737 -- www.wikipedia.org“We are a low-cost airline but that does not mean that we are the cheapest,” said Maria R. Java, marketing, media, e-commerce and product head of the company.

“We assure our customers that they will get the value of their money,” she added.

The company suspended its Davao operations on Oct. 1, 2009 due to economic reasons. With the resumption of the Davao flights, Air Philippines is offering an P800 fare for its Davao-Manila route and P600 for its Cebu-Manila route.

A regular discounted ticket for a Davao-Manila flight costs about P2,500.

Ms. Java said the airline has invested heavily in its fleet. The fleet includes two 180-seater Airbus A320s with one servicing the Davao-Manila route.

Some of its aircraft, particularly the Q300s and Q400s, are slightly older but are well-maintained, she added.

The budget airline will add six Airbus A320 units next year, said Snooker D. Jaranilla, company sales head, adding it hopes to double its destinations from 24 this year to 48 next year.

Air Philippines is also looking at servicing the Manila-Singapore route, Mr. Jaranilla said.

Ms. Java added that the company, a sister firm of Philippine Airlines which has five daily flights from this city, is finalizing its plan to make the Davao International Airport its Mindanao hub.

“We might launch the [Davao] hub next year,” she said.

If this plan pushes through, the company will consider the possibility of servicing the Davao-Singapore and the Davao-Malaysia routes.

Ms. Java said the company has been studying these routes as it continues to look for other Mindanao routes to service.

“We want to be part of the community. We want to be known as a community-based airline,” she added, pointing out that the re-launching of the company did not only mean a repackaging but also a change in the management team.

“Air Philippines Express is in a unique position. We have a history of deliberate attentive service to uphold yet we intend to meet our customers’ expectations of efficiency, as is expected by most businesses today,” she said.

The company figured in an accident on April 19, 2000 when Flight 541 from Manila to Davao crashed on Samal Island, killing all 131 people on board.

Considered the worst plane crash in this part of the world, it was blamed on a 20-year-old aircraft leased from an American firm.

Three years ago, an out-of-court settlement resulted in an agreement that gave out roughly $1 million in cash for each of the family’s victims. -- Carmelito Q. Francisco |