CAB documents dated May 7 showed that the carrier will be bagging 224 more seat entitlements for Macau, to be added to the 1,036 allocation previously given to AirAsia Philippines, bringing its total entitlements to 1,260 seats per week. Several aviation authorities such as Transportation Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II, who serves as CAB chairman will have to sign the resolution for it to be final. “We are planning to [mount] daily Clark-Macau flights and vice versa, which will require a total of 1,260 weekly entitlements,” read the AirAsia’s letter to CAB submitted in March. “In this regard, we are respectfully requesting the grant of extra bilateral rights of 224 [seats] in Macau,” the letter further read. Similarly, documents dated May 7 showed that AirAsia Philippines is a step closer to securing additional 168 seat entitlements for Hong Kong, bringing the existing 1,092 entitlements to 1,260 seats per week. Sought for comment, Marriane B. Hontiveros, the airline’s chief executive, said the firm is readying Macau flights after bagging an aviation permit last week. “We got the Macau [Civil Aviation Department] approval already and just finalizing slots and ground handling,” Ms. Hontiveros said in a text message on Friday, noting that the launching for Macau flights will be announced soon. “We are awaiting approval from Hong Kong,” Ms. Hontiveros added. The airline, which is the local partner of Malaysian carrier AirAsia Bhd., will be launching its first international route -- Clark, Pampanga to Kuala Lumpur -- in June. The carrier started its domestic operations late last March. The local carrier is a joint venture among AirAsia Bhd., which owns 40%, and Philippine businessmen Antonio O. Cojuangco III, Michael L. Romero along with Ms. Hontiveros, earlier reports show. She had said the company would launch its second regional flight once it secures necessary approval from foreign aviation authorities. The airline has submitted applications to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Macau, shortly after being granted a permit to operate by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Feb. 7. The local regulator, here, has granted the carrier rights to fly to Malaysia, Cambodia, and Japan. The carrier was granted 1,260 seats a week on the Clark to Kuala Lumpur route. It was also granted seven flights per week on the Clark to Cambodia route. AirAsia Philippines was also granted six flights per week that it can utilize either on the Clark-Osaka route or Clark-Nagoya route. The company aims to serve 857,000 passengers for its first full-year operations. The airline currently operates two 180-seater Airbus A320, but Ms. Hontiveros said the company plans to add two more airplanes to its fleet in the second half the year. -- CHCV

The company has submitted applications to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau for airport slots and flight permits two weeks ago, Marianne B. Hontiveros, AirAsia Philippines’ president and chief executive, said in a briefing. “I think it would take two to six months,” she said. “For instance, it would depend on the diplomatic agreement between countries,” she added. Flights will be immediately launched should papers be completed, Ms. Hontiveros said. This, after the airline bagged on Feb. 7 a critical permit from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines that would enable them to apply for permits to other countries. The company fulfilled additional requirements such as data on its aircraft, proposed initial training for crew, documentation of maintenance system, among others. In the meantime, AirAsia Philippines said it will start operating domestic flights on March 29 in Clark, Pampanga with two flights per week going to Davao and Kalibo. The carrier is a joint venture between AirAsia Bhd. which owns 40%, and Philippine businessmen Ms. Hontiveros, Antonio O. Cojuangco III and Michael L. Romero. The firm’s entry poses competition to local carriers Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines which likewise operate routes from the Philippines to elsewhere in the region. AirAsia Philippines’ parent has been flying to the country since 2005 from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu In the last quarter of 2011, AirAsia Philippines had been granted seat allocations by the Civil Aeronautics Board for flights to Malaysia, Cambodia and Japan. The carrier was granted seats on the Clark to Kuala Lumpur route. It was also granted allocations for flights on Clark to Cambodia route. AirAsia Philippines was also granted flights either on the Clark-Osaka route or Clark-Nagoya route. The company expects to serve 857,000 passengers for its first full year of operations by offering the lowest possible rates and matching cheap flight offerings of rival carriers. In August last year, the carrier’s first aircraft, a 180-seater Airbus A320, arrived at its hub in Clark. Its second aircraft, meanwhile, was delivered latter part of 2011. She also said that the company would be adding two more airbuses in the second half the year, while it is eyeing to have 14-16 airbuses in its fleet in the next five years. -- Cliff Harvey C. Venzon http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=Local-AirAsia-unit-seeks-permits-abroad&id=47533