Luchtvaartnieuws / binnen en buitenland.

[Kano]

CEB takes delivery of 4 new planes, adds more flights


Manila Bulletin September 13, 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Cebu Pacific is adding more flights and destinations for its passengers as it takes the delivery of four more brand-new aircraft, with three A320 planes scheduled to arrive this month to October and a fourth due in December.

CEB is scheduled to add flights from Manila to Davao (7 to 8 times daily), Tacloban (4 to 5 times daily), Boracay (13 to 14 times daily), Dumaguete (2 to 3 times daily), Naga (3 to 4 times daily) and Cagayan de Oro (6 to 7 times daily), among others.

Furthermore, the airline will also launch a new destination, Tawi-Tawi, on October 14, with the start of our Zamboanga to Tawi-Tawi flights. A Cagayan de Oro-Iloilo route will also be inaugurated on the same day.

"Both routes will increase access to these key trade and tourism centers in the country, remarked CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.

The arrival of the four new planes in the last quarter of 2011 'benefits the travelling public and affirms our commitment to give even more people the chance to travel by air, to boost tourism and trade in all its destinations,' she added.

Earlier, CEB had announced it has ordered 30 new Airbus A321neo and 7 A320 aircraft.

The order at list price is valued at USD3.8 billion, the largest single aircraft order ever made by a Philippine carrier. The A321neos will be a first of its type to operate in the Philippines, being a larger and longer-haul version of the familiar Airbus A320.

The orders for A320 and A321neo aircraft will be delivered between 2015 and 2021. These are on top of firm orders for 18 Airbus A320 aircraft to be delivered from the 2nd half of 2011 until 2014.

CEB is likewise scheduled to take delivery of 2 Airbus A320 aircraft on operating lease agreements in 2012.

At present, CEB operates 10 Airbus A319, 15 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. By the end of 2011, CEB will be operating a fleet of 37 aircraft with an average age of less than 3.5 years, one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world.


Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/334183/ceb-takes-delivery-4-new-planes-adds-more-flights

[Kano]

Passagiers gescreend op Schiphol


Telegraaf, 21 sept

AMSTERDAM -  Een geavanceerd digitaal vangnet op Schiphol moet het luchtreizigers die op bijvoorbeeld opsporingslijsten staan, onmogelijk maken onopgemerkt ons land binnen te komen.

Lees verder: http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/10591483/__Passagiers_gescreend__.html?sn=binnenland

[Kano]

Chinese airline buys into Zest Air

Malaya Busines Insight, Oct 3 2011

HAINAN Air, China's largest non-state-owned airline, is buying into budget carrier Zest Air owned by Alfredo Yao.

Yao, chairman of the Zesto Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding with officials of the Hainan Air on the sidelines of the state of visit President Aquino to China recently.

Read more: http://www.malaya.com.ph/oct03/busi5.html

[Kano]

KLM blames high taxes for cut in flights to Manila


Manila standard Today, Oct 5 2011

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the sole carrier operating flights between Manila and Europe, said Tuesday it will cut the frequency of its flights to six weekly from seven starting this month as a result of the many taxes the Philippines has been imposing on carriers.

That would reduce the airline's offered seats each week by 400.

KLM and US carrier Delta Airlines had earlier said they were contemplating shutting down their Manila operations if the Philippines continued to ignore their calls to review the taxes it had been charging.

Steven Crowdey, first vice chairman of the Board of Airline Representatives, told the Manila Standard Delta had already reduced its seat capacity by 125 per flight. KLM would be flying from Amsterdam via Hong Kong to Manila instead of point-to-point Amsterdam-Manila by the end of the year.

Crowdey urged Manila to review its Common Carrier Tax (3 percent of the gross receipts) and 2.5-percent Gross Philippine Billings Tax on all cargo and passenger revenue originating from the Philippines in an uninterrupted flight, regardless of the place of sale or issue of a ticket.

"The Philippines is the only country that charges such taxes," Crowdey said.

"By contrast, other Asian countries offer incentives to foreign carriers. There has been an exodus of foreign carriers, primarily long-haul, from the Philippines for a number of years.

"Unlike hotels, aircraft capacity can be moved easily to countries that provide better returns."

The Philippines will start charging carriers a 12-percent value-added tax on crew accommodations on Nov. 1.

On Aug. 11, the International Air Transport Association wrote the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to urge it not to increase its telecommunications charges on foreign airlines.


Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=2011/october/5/news3.isx&d=2011/october/5

[Kano]

Roxas says foreign airlines want to move to NAIA 3


abs-cbnNEWS.com Posted at 10/05/2011

MANILA, Philippines - Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas said Wednesday "many" foreign airlines were still interested to set up shops in the partially operational Ninoy Aquino International Terminal (NAIA) 3.

"There are many foreign airlines. Jet Airways is interested. There are others that have indicated as well," he said.

In March, Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) began operations at NAIA 3, becoming the first foreign carrier to fly out of the terminal, which has been subject of an ownership dispute for several years now.

Japanese contractor Takenaka Corp., which has yet to complete an unfinished section of NAIA 3, gave the go signal for ANA to operate in the terminal.

Takenaka is the primary subcontractor of the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCO), the consortium that built NAIA 3.

The Philippine government and PIATCO have been in a legal battle over the ownership and operation of NAIA 3.

NAIA 3 was supposed to have been opened in 2002, but this was delayed when the Arroyo government cancelled PIATCO's contract due to alleged irregularities.

The Supreme Court declared PIATCO's contract null and void in 2003, prompting the government to take over the airport terminal a year later.

PIATCO was seeking over $842 million compensation for the expropriation of the terminal, but was only awarded a fraction of the amount by a local court early this year. PIATCO elevated its case to the Court of Appeals. In the meantime, a separate arbitration case filed by PIATCO and its German partner Fraport AG was still ongoing.

Currently, NAIA 3 is being utilized by Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines.

President Aqunio wants the terminal to be fully operational by the end of this year to cope with growing passenger traffic and soothe investors' concerns over legal uncertainties in the country.

Category 2 status

Roxas, meanwhile, hopes that the Philippines' aviation safety status will be raised by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) soon.

"There will be an interim review in December. We hope to get a good indication by December what else we need to do so when the final review happens next year we will be ready," he said.

The US FAA downgraded the Philippines' safety status to Category 2 in January 2008. Category 2 prohibits local carriers from expanding their operations in the US.

Philippine Airlines, for instance, can only fly 33 times a week to various US destinations, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Guam and Las Vegas via Vancouver.

"The basic challenge here has to do with rigor and comprehensiveness on our regulation. For example, not having a manual or checklist for all these regulations, is really something that has to be addressed," said Roxas.


Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/10/05/11/roxas-says-foreign-airlines-want-move-naia-3

[Kano]

Foreign airlines get reprieve from fee hike



Manila Standard Today, Oct 6 2011
by Eric B. Apolonio

Aviation authorities on Wednesday gave foreign airlines a three-month reprieve from the 10 percent increase in the overflight charges, which was supposed to have taken effect on October 1.

Director General Ramon Gutierrez of Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines ordered the deferment after a meeting with the airline operators' council, which said its 30 members were not properly informed of the increased overflight rate. Earlier, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said it would cut its flights between Manila and Europe because of the many taxes and surcharges imposed by the Philippine government.

Wednesday's meeting was the first dialogue between the head of the aviation body and the heads of foreign airlines operating in the Philippines, according to Ma. Lourdes Coseco San Juan, council chairman.

Cathay Pacific station manager Ed Monreal brought to the attention of Gutierrez that the 10 percent increase in overflight charge was not published in a daily newspaper and that the council members were not informed of the charge as required by law.

Gutierrez, however, pointed out that the increase in overflight charges was published in 2009, during the incumbency of Daniel Dimagiba, former head of the Air Transportation Office.

Apparently, the information was not widely circulated at a time when the ATO was being revamped and eventually replaced by the CAAP.

Admitting a lapse on the part of the government due to unforeseen events, Gutierrez assured the AOC that the 10 percent increase in overflight fee would not take effect until January next year.

The CAAP derives P2 billion of its P3 billion yearly income from overflights by international air carriers, crossing the Philippine flight information region (FIR). These flights originate from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, destined for countries in Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Thailand, Australia and Vietnam.

Gutierrez said that at the moment, the CAAP bills the aircraft manually for overflights, through the Air Traffic Services Division, whose personnel keep track of dozens of aircraft and charge them for the use of navigational aids (Navaids) according to distance travelled within the FIR.

When the P10-billion Air Traffic Management/Communication, Navigation Service (Atm/Cns) is eventually installed, the billing would be done automatically by computers, so that there would no longer be lapses or flights that do not get properly billed, he said.

An increase in overflight fee was sought by the CAAP as part of measures to raise revenue and bankroll a salary increase for its more than 2,000 employees, amolng other projects.


Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNation.htm?f=2011/october/6/nation5.isx&d=2011/october/6

[Kano]

Tas nooit meer open, schoenen niet meer uit
Veiligheidscontroles op de schop




Het checkpoint van de toekomst


Telegraaf 7 okt 2011
De veiligheidscontroles op luchthavens zijn hopeloos verouderd. Het grote gevaar is dat ze te voorspelbaar worden en dat terroristen daar gaten in schieten. Het moet anders, ook om de goedwillende vliegpassagier te bevrijden van lange wachtrijen en irritant gedoe bij de securityscans.


Dat is de conclusie van een veiligheidscongres in Amsterdam van IATA, de mondiale luchtvaartorganisatie. Met de verwachte groei van het vliegverkeer is het onmogelijk om die intensieve controle van alle reizigers vol te houden. Dat wordt straks onwerkbaar en onbetaalbaar, blijkt uit het congres.

Lees verder: http://www.telegraaf.nl/reiskrant/10684216/__Vliegpassagier_ontlast_door_nieuwe_controle__.html?p=2,3

[Kano]

Vaker compensatie voor vliegtuigpassagiers

13 okt 2011

LUXEMBURG -  Vliegtuigpassagiers kunnen bij annulering van hun vlucht in bepaalde gevallen ook een vergoeding voor immateriële schade claimen. Dat maakte het Europees Hof van Justitie in Luxemburg donderdag bekend.

Lees meer: http://www.telegraaf.nl/reiskrant/10718922/__Vaker_compensatie_voor_vliegtuigpassagiers__.html?p=14,1

[Kano]

Landing gear problem forces PAL flight to land


abs-cbnNEWS.com 10/14/2011

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) - A Boeing 777 plane of Philippine Airlines (PAL) bound for Hong Kong was forced to return to Manila after discovering its landing gear was not properly stowed.

Philippine Airlines flight PR 300 departed runway 06-24 at 7:56 a.m. at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 with 359 passengers including 2 infants and 13 flight crew.

Capt. Alejandro P. Campos, Jr., vice-president for flight operations, told ABS-CBN News that the PAL flight did not have an "emergency" landing, as earlier reported.

"The aircraft took off normally... But during the flight, the pilot saw the landing gear was not properly stowed. Rather than continue, they went back. This was a retraction problem," he said.

Campos also noted the pilot did not request for an emergency landing. "Even if we do not declare it as an emergency landing, the tower still considers it as an emergency," he explained.

Earlier, a report indicated that the PAL plane made an emergency request to return to the NAIA.

Passengers of the Boeing 777 jumbo plane said they experienced tremors even after takeoff. They were later informed that the plane would return to Manila due to technical problem.

Carol Tinio, who is  traveling with her son for a vacation in Hong Kong, said she felt the tremor and started praying for safety.

German national Dirk Roessler said he was unaware of any emergency until he saw rescue personnel following the plane after landing. He complained that PAL ground staff did not explain to passengers what happened and when they can resume their flight to Hong Kong.

He said passengers were asked to line up for a meal while waiting at Bay 49 of NAIA Terminal 2.

However, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the passengers were properly informed of the technical problem during the flight. Passengers were  transferred to another PAL flight, a Boeing 747, brought them to Hong Kong.


Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/10/14/11/pal-flight-makes-emergency-landing-naia

[Kano]

Airphil Express cancels flight due to 'gas leak'


abs-cbnNEWS.com   10/15/2011

MANILA, Philippines — Budget carrier Airphil Express has canceled its flight to Northern Samar on Saturday morning allegedly due to a gas leak, radio dzMM reported.

Radio dzMM's Dexter Ganibe reported that Airphil Express flight 2P029 was still on the ground at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport when one of its passengers noticed a yellowish liquid leaking near the plane's tire.

The passenger reported it to a flight attendant who, in turn, notified the aircraft's pilot.

All 50 passengers were immediately ordered to disembark from the propeller-type aircraft and the plane's flight was subsequently canceled.

The management of Airphil Express has yet to issue a statement regarding the incident. -- dzMM

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/10/15/11/airphil-express-cancels-flight-due-%E2%80%98gas-leak%E2%80%99