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CAMBODIA has committed to the Philippines that it will extend
favorable consideration to local airlines seeking permit
to fly there despite the lack of an air services
agreement (ASA).
During
the air talks between the two countries held last week,
Civil Aviation Authority (CAB) deputy executive director
Porvenir Porciuncula said in an interview that Cambodian
officials assured it will “accept and process”
applications from any Philippine carriers interested to
service the Manila-Cambodia destination.
The
Philippine air panel was hoping to sign its first ASA
with Cambodia. The CAB official said that “in some way,
we were able to establish an air transport agreement
with them.” However, Cambodian officials present during
the one-day negotiation held at the CAB office said the
Philippines’ request for 32 weekly flights would still
have to undergo regulatory approvals in Cambodia.
“While
our request remains pending they said that they will
help our carriers in seeking permits there. They were
cordial and helpful. They also want an agreement in
place and they were very positive about that. As to the
number of flight entitlements, that is what they are
trying to work on now. In the meantime, they assured us
that they will consider the applications of our local
airlines,” said Porciuncula.
The CAB
official revealed that Philippine Airlines and Cebu
Pacific have both informed the board of their intentions
to mount flights to Cambodia.
The flag
carrier is looking at servicing Manila-Cambodia three to
four times a week, added Porciuncula.
After
Cambodia, the panel will hold talks with counterparts in
Hong Kong this week to seek additional flight
entitlements.
“Hong
Kong is next in line. We will ask to get more flights
outside of Manila like Clark, Cebu and Davao. Manila
airport is already saturated,” added the CAB official.
Under
the current ASA between the Philippines and Hong Kong,
Philippine carriers can fill up 13,000 seats for flights
to Hong Kong from the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport, and 2,300 seats for airports outside of Manila.
Next
month the CAB, along with other members of the panel,
will also pursue a similar negotiation with the
Netherlands.
The
other agencies involved include the Department of
Transportation and Communications, Department of
Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry and various
airline representatives.
“The
Netherlands air talks will be held first week of July.
Right now, KLM is the only airline operating a daily
Manila-Amsterdam direct flight. There is a requirement
for KLM to mount more flights but we don’t know just how
many more until the negotiations take place,” he said.
KLM
utilizes the Boring 777 200 and 300 aircraft which can
carry 327 and 425 passengers, respectively. German
carrier Lufthansa Airlines used to mount flights from
Manila to Europe until it decided to stop servicing this
route last March.
PAL,
meanwhile, gains Europe access with KLM code-share deal.
“There is a demand to increase the frequencies
particularly for business people and investors who are
always on the go and prefer direct flights. These are
the reasons why we need more flight entitlements,”
Porciuncula added.
The
panel also plans talks with Australia, Thailand, and
Japan this year. “We have yet to set dates for these
negotiations,” he said.
Porciuncula said Cebu Pacific has recently informed the
board of its interest to mount flights to Australia.
PAL, on the other hand, wants to add more flights there.
“We
received a letter from Cebu Pacific. It is planning to
fly to Australia in September this year. PAL already
flies there but it had reduced its flights before. Now,
they want to add more flights to Australia,” said
Porciuncula.
For
Japan, Porciuncula said the panel also wants to take
advantage of Japan’s new policy of opening up airports
in Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, which are all outside of
Tokyo. |
