CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—If the founder and group CEO of AirAsia Berhad will have his way, he wants the government to remove the excise tax on jet fuel of aircraft using the Clark International Airport (CIA).
“We are hoping we can persuade the government to remove the excise tax in Clark to give it a chance,” said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia CEO.
“I think the excise tax should be removed everywhere,” he added during a news conference at the sidelines of the 27th North Luzon Area Business Conference at the LausGroup Event Center here attended by various business chambers from Central Luzon last week.
Fernandes said the Philippines is the lone nation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that imposes an excise tax on airplanes operating in the country.
“That affects tourism, and the Philippines will earn much more money by removing that excise tax,” he said.
Looking back, Fernandes added AirAsia lost a lot of money in their initial venture in Clark in 2012. “We lost a lot of money in Clark Part 1, but we’re back,” he said.
“This is Clark Part 2. We never give up. Maan [Hontiveros] has always been the biggest believer in Clark,” he added. Hontiveros is the chairman of Philippines AirAsia (PAA), a subsidiary of Air Asia Berhad.
Fernandes said the initial idea of setting up PAA was to try to do something in Clark.
“But we were small. We were kind of crushed by competitors, and we lost a lot of money,” he lamented. “But we are bigger and stronger now, and so this is round two.”
Fernandes said PAA now has two planes in Clark.
“We are going to keep adding planes,” he said.
“I’m thrilled that, on Friday, we’ll start out to sell our first international flight from Clark,” he announced. PAA will mount thrice weekly flights from the CIA to the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which will service Taipei starting July 12.
“I think there is a huge potential in Clark. But we need some help from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and from the Clark Development Corp.,” he said.
Fernandes added PAA has been getting help from a lot of congressmen who have supported it.
“The prospects are great. Really, the sky is the limit. It’s down to us; it’s down to support on the airport,” he said.
Fernandes added PAA has big plans for the future.
“We have big plans. Captain Dex [Commendador] wants to take flights much farther and longer. So let’s see,” he said. Capt. Dexter Commendador is CEO of PAA.
“We have a plan for the next five years but, as I said earlier, plans are plans. I’d rather do the plan. The time for planning and talking is over. The time for doing is now. We hope the government will do with us, and then we will do the rest,” Fernandes added.
Meanwhile, Fernandes said PAA will also be mounting flights to Seoul before the end of the year.
“It’s time for Filipinos to also go to [South] Korea,” he said.
PAA is also looking to fly to Japan from CIA “most definitely in the first quarter of next year,” Fernandes added.
The Air Asia chief flew in from Kuala Lumpur to keynote the 27th North Luzon Area Business Conference at the LausGroup Event Center on May 17.