|
MALAYSIAN budget airline AirAsia is still keen on
expanding its operations in the Philippines,
particularly to new routes such as Cebu and Davao, the
carrier’s director said on Wednesday.
Right
now, AirAsia flies daily to
Clark from Kota Kinabalu and
Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. “In due course, we will probably
increase our flights here. It may take some time
though,” said Raja Azmi in an ambush interview after he
made a presentation at a forum sponsored by the
Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).
It was
reported earlier that AirAsia had elicited the support
of the Malaysian government to talk with its Philippine
counterpart on the possibility of getting more flights
for the airline.
AirAsia
was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001,
offering more than 100 domestic and international
flights to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore,
Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Azmi
said AirAsia continues to look at new destinations,
including Cebu and Davao. He, however, did not say
when the company plans to expand the carrier’s
operations in the Philippines. “There are some
destinations which will take more time for us to be
there.”
AirAsia
is among the several no-frills carriers taking advantage
of the country’s “liberalized charter program,” which
aims to boost tourism, cheapen air travel for Filipinos
overseas, and drive activity in airports outside Metro
Manila.
Malaysia,
he said, fully supports an open-skies regime, though he
noted that some countries in Asia are reluctant to
implement a more liberalized approach. “Some countries
hold back. They may be protective but it is better to
open up because there are benefits to be generated from
it as a whole. Their governments have to look at it,” he
said.
AirAsia
is a subsidiary of Tune Air Sdn Bhd, with hubs at the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Senai Airport in
Malaysia, Bangkok International Airport in Thailand, and
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia.
|
