AirAsia Philippines eyes Macau route

Budget carrier AirAsia Philippines is awaiting regulatory approval to offer flights between the Philippines and Macau, the company said in a statement yesterday.
However the local aviation regulator has so far received no application from the joint venture, a spokesperson told Macau Daily Times.
The MSAR office of Air Asia approached the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM) two weeks ago “to obtain the necessary information about the flight approval process between Philippines and Macau,” the spokesperson acknowledged.
“However, we have not received the formal flight application for operating flight services between Philippines and Macau by the airline yet,” she added.
The joint venture launched by Southeast Asia’s budget carrier king Tony Fernandes is also seeking to fly to Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Incheon as well as two local destinations.
The airline will take delivery of four aircraft from this year until 2012, including an Airbus A320 that arrived at the Clark freeport zone yesterday.
AirAsia Philippines was launched last December. At the time Fernandes said flight operations should begin this month, using either Clark or Subic – two former US military bases near Manila – as its base.
In December Fernandes described the Philippines as an under-served market. “We do expect to be profitable straight away,” the Malaysian added.
“Many of the routes that AirAsia Philippines will be going to are already being exploited by other AirAsia companies, so the set-up cost for AirAsia Philippines is very low,” enabling low fares, Fernandes said.
There are currently four airlines flying from the Philippines to Macau: Spirit of Manila, South East Asia, Cebu Pacific and Philippines Airlines.
Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia holds a 40 percent stake in the carrier while Philippine investors led by Antonio Cojuangco, a cousin of President Benigno Aquino, hold a combined 60 percent, the minimum local equity stake set by law.
AirAsia currently flies from Macau to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. But since beginning operations in Macau in 2004 the carrier has already cancelled services to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, as well as to Penang from March 29 last.
At the time AirAsia said it was looking at the business potential for routes to Phuket and Chiang Mai.

By:Vítor Quintã
Macau Daily Times