Luchtvaartnieuws / binnen en buitenland.

[Kano]

PNoy opens airport despite safety issue  (Noord Mindanao Laguindingan)


By Joyce Pangco Panares | Posted on Jun. 12, 2013


MISAMIS ORIENTAL–President Benigno Aquino III made a final inspection of the P7.85-billion Laguindingan Airport on Tuesday, approving the start of commercial operations of the new facility despite its lack of instruments to guide night flights.

The airport features a 2.1-kilometer long runway that can accommodate A330-300 aircraft.
Final inspection. President Aquino arrives in Misamis Oriental to lead the final inspection of the Laguindingan Airport.

Final inspection. President Aquino arrives in Misamis Oriental to lead the final inspection of the Laguindingan Airport.

"This new airport will address the limitations of Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City and Balo-i Airport in Lanao del Norte," Mr. Aquino said in a speech after inspecting the airport's facilities.

"This will provide safer operations for bigger aircraft. Its passenger terminal can also accommodate up to 1.6 million passengers annually."

"It is very clear that this airport is a symbol of the new face of government projects that are more cost-effective without sacrificing quality and are completed at a  faster rate."

The President made his statement even as the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said it will release within the next two weeks its final report on the Cebu Pacific A320 plane that overshot the runway at the Davao City international Airport on the night of June 2 during a rainstorm–even if the preliminary results pointed to pilot error.

"The Davao incident was a near-disaster," CAAP director-general William Hotchkiss said in his speech during the final inspection of the Langindingan airport.

"The CAAP will not flinch in imposing penalties on erring stakeholders."

A lawmaker had sought a congressional probe of the near-disaster at the Davao airport that put the lives of the plane's 165 passengers in jeopardy.

House Assistant Majority Leader and Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles said that when the plane skidded to a stop, the emergency exit doors were not opened immediately and the flight crew, including the pilot, panicked instead of helping the passengers calm down.

Back to the Laguindingan airport, stakeholders from Northern Mindanao had earlier appealed to the Transport Department to defer its opening to make sure its facilities were complete.

According to Arsenio Sebastian III, the private sector co-chairman of the Regional Development Council for Northern Mindanao, the lack of Instrument Flight Rules at the airport would result in the cancellation of night flights.

Laguindingan Airport would be operated using Visual Flight Rules pending the commissioning of air navigation equipment scheduled for completion by May 2014.

Stakeholders have warned that the cancellation of night flights will result in a significant drop in passenger and cargo volume.

But Mr. Aquino said that even without the IFR, Laguindingan Airport was still much safer for commercial operations than Lumbia Airport.

"Even without the navigational aids, Laguindingan is on a flatter plane than Lumbia, which is surrounded by mountain ridges. Weather-wise, Lumbia is affected more easily by weather changes," Mr. Aquino said.

"So the endpoint is Laguindingan, even without the navigational aids, is safer than Lumbia. The navigational aids will be there no later than May 2014, but we are trying to expedite that process to put all of these aids in place sooner than that."

The Laguindingan Airport was funded by a loan from South Korea and a counterpart amount from the Philippine government.


Source: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/06/12/pnoy-opens-airport-despite-safety-issue/

Zie: http://www.laguindinganairport.com/

[Kano]

Airline firm's credit card policy irks passengers



Inquirer net 4:06 am | Thursday, June 13th, 2013


MANILA, Philippines–Several passengers bound for Singapore early Wednesday were irked over a policy by an airline company, which refused to honor their tickets that were paid for online with credit cards owned by either their companies or by their travel agencies.

A ground team manning the Jetstar Asia check-in counter had informed passengers on Flight 3K78 about the budget airline firm's "no physical credit card, no accommodation" policy that required them to present the credit cards used to make the payments before they could be allowed to board the plane.

Selected countries

Apparently, this is a policy that applies only to passengers from selected countries, including the Philippines.

This despite the fact that the bookings were made online, after the airline firm's system had accepted the payments made through these credit cards, and after photocopies of the credit card were presented to the crew for verification.

Joanne Llavore, Inquirer.net's sales and marketing director, who was booked on the 6:20 a.m. flight for an advertising conference in Singapore, was forced to shell out cash for a two-way ticket because she could not even transfer flights on another airline back to the Philippines as she was told by the same staff that payment has been made for the entire trip.

Making matters worse for Llavore was that her money could be refunded only in 15-20 days–another airline policy. She had brought along her husband and child in the hope of spending a short vacation with them after the conference.

Quoting the ground crew, Llavore said she was told that if she wanted to have the credit card payment cancelled, she could do so when she reached Singapore.

Llavore's official trip was booked a week ago and paid for by Inquirer.net under a corporate account. Inquirer.net is the news website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Cancelled flights

Other passengers who were unable to make the cash payments were forced to cancel their flights.

Jetstar Asia of the Qantas Group was launched in 2004 in the Asia-Pacific.

The Inquirer tried to get a comment about the policy from Jetstar Asia Airways's Makati City office but officials there referred all queries to the airline's main office in Singapore.

One airline official, who asked not to be named due to lack of authority to speak to the media, said Jetstar's rule on credit card payments has been enforced for some time for selected routes, including the Philippines.

"It's the airline's protection against those who use fraudulent credit cards or unauthorized credit card use," the source said, adding that the rule is provided on the online and hard-copy booking forms for passengers and their agents to see.

The official said a similar rule is observed by many foreign airlines operating in the Philippines.

The rule is posted on the Jetstar's website (http://www.jetstar.com/ph/en/planning-and-booking/booking-with-jetstar/payment-methods), the source added.

On the website, the rule states: "On selected routes, it is a condition of sale, check in and boarding that the original, physical credit/debit card used to purchase the ticket(s) must be presented by the credit/debit card owner for verification at the airport.

No verification

"Where you book travel on these selected routes, you will be informed the need for verification during the booking flow. Prior to check-in, the credit/debit card owner must take the credit/debit card used to purchase the tickets together with his/her government-issued identification (such as a passport, identity card or driver's license) to the Jetstar check-in counter.

"This requirement applies irrespective of whether the credit/debit card owner is or is not a part of the traveling party. If the credit/debit card is not verified as required, the passengers whose tickets were purchased with that credit/debit card may be denied check-in and boarding at Jetstar's sole discretion. One verification is required for each return journey."–With Jerome Aning


Source: http://business.inquirer.net/126637/airline-firms-credit-card-policy-irks-strands-passengers-in-naia

[Kano]

Cebu Pacific receives its first A330 aircraft


GMA June 13, 2013

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) received its first A330 aircraft in France on Thursday, and is set to fly it to Manila on Friday.

"With the A330 we can embark on the next phase of growth for Cebu Pacific: long-haul flying," Cebu Pacific's Long Haul Division general manager Alex Reyes was quoted as saying during the delivery ceremonies in Toulouse.

The Cebu Pacific A330 is powered by two massive Rolls Royce engines and is currently the most efficient, quietest and cleanest engine for the A330 class.

According to the company, the A330 can seat about 59 average Filipino households, and is as long as 10 standard Philippine jeepneys and 13 African elephants.

In February 2012, CEB signed signed operating lease agreements with CIT Aerospace, a unit of the CIT Group Inc., for four new Airbus A330-300 aircraft leases to be delivered from 2013 to 2014.

It earlier said that it will lease up to eight aircrafts, which is in line with the company's plan to enter the long-haul business.

The Airbus A330 aircraft has a range of up to 11 hours, which will allow CEB to serve markets such as Australia, Middle East, parts of Europe and the US.

Dubai will be CEB's first long-haul destination, with direct daily flights beginning on October 7, 2013. – Danessa O. Rivera/BM, GMA News


Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/312753/economy/companies/cebu-pacific-receives-its-first-a330-aircraft

[Herbie]

Zouden beter op Brussel vliegen. Aan promo vluchten van 1peso   

[Ronny55]

Als de schadevergoeding voor het debakel Davao krijgen zullen hun kont flink moeten toepitsen om het te overleven

[Kano]

Incident: Cebu Pacific A319 at Manila on Jun 13th 2013, runway excursion



AVHerald By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Jun 13th 2013 20:34Z,

A Cebu Pacific Airbus A319-100, registration RP-C3197 performing flight 5J-448 from Iloilo to Manila (Philippines) with 95 passengers, landed on Manila's runway 24 at about 16:12L (08:12Z) in heavy rain but temporarily veered off the runway destroying 5 runway lights before coming to a stop on the runway. The aircraft subsequently taxied to the apron, where the passengers disembarked normally.


Source: http://avherald.com/h?article=463c5b71&opt=0

[Rich]

Incident: Cebu Pacific A319 at Manila on Jun 13th 2013, runway excursion



AVHerald By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Jun 13th 2013 20:34Z,

A Cebu Pacific Airbus A319-100, registration RP-C3197 performing flight 5J-448 from Iloilo to Manila (Philippines) with 95 passengers, landed on Manila's runway 24 at about 16:12L (08:12Z) in heavy rain but temporarily veered off the runway destroying 5 runway lights before coming to a stop on the runway. The aircraft subsequently taxied to the apron, where the passengers disembarked normally.


Source: http://avherald.com/h?article=463c5b71&opt=0

Ze zijn wel lekker bezig tegenwoordig 

[callebaut]

Misschien hebben ze enkel geld om de aankoop en leasing van toestellen , maar géén geld voor degelijk onderhoud ....? 

[Rich]

Misschien hebben ze enkel geld om de aankoop en leasing van toestellen , maar géén geld voor degelijk onderhoud ....? 

Idd, en ik heb sterke vragen bij de opleiding/bekwaamheid van de piloten. 2x in 2 weken tijd van de baan schuiven???   

[boldy]

de landingsbaan was bevroren en ja vorst zijn ze niet gewend dus hebben daar geen zout voor of andere antivriesmiddelen