Tiger Airways completes purchase of 40% of Seair

SINGAPORE-based budget carrier Tiger Airways has completed the purchase of a 40-percent stake in a Philippine aviation firm, Southeast Asian Airlines, for $2.5 million.

In a disclosure statement filed on Tuesday morning at the Singapore Exchange, Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. said it would also lend $40 million in working capital to Seair over a five-year term.

On Monday night Seair officials and their lawyers from the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles Law Offices hammered out the final details of the Tiger Air investment with the latter’s lawyers from the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices.

The meeting took place at the AccraLaw’s board room in its building at The Fort, Taguig City, and started at 5 p.m., ending past 10 p.m., according to sources.

At the meeting, elected chairman of the board of Seair was Koay Peng Yen, chief executive officer of the Tiger Group. Other members of the board are Patrick Tan, Chris Ward, Tomas B. Lopez, Geraldine Olivares and Olma Inocentes. The sources said the board seats “may be expanded to nine.”

Appointed new president and chief executive officer was Patrick Tan, Seair former vice president for marketing, and chief operating officer, vice Avelino Zapanta.

Patrick Tan, newly appointed president and chief executive officer of Seair. (Photo courtesy Patrick Tan)

“This deal represents a significant step forward for Seair and will allow the airline to continue its tremendous growth and job-creation drive for Filipinos, bringing increased prosperity, highly-skilled jobs and tourism to the country,” newly appointed CEO Patrick Tan said in a separate statement.

He added that Zapanta, who was “instrumental in helping Seair grow into the airline that it has become today, will continue to share his expertise and wealth of experience in his new position as senior adviser to Seair.”

Zapanta has contributed over six years of his career to bring this transaction to a close and secure a proper succession with the appointment Tan as Seair’s new chief.

According to Tiger Air’s disclosure statement to the SGX, “The purchase price of $7 million, which was agreed with the sellers, has been reduced by the liabilities determined in a due diligence review. The investment will be held through Tiger’s wholly owned subsidiary Roar Aviation II Pte. Ltd.”

The BusinessMirror sources said shares of co-founders Iren Dornier, a German pilot, businessman and scion of the historic Dornier aviation family; and Greek-American Nikos Gitsis were the ones purchased by Tiger Air. The rest of the Filipino shareholders led by Lopez will continue to hold their investments in Seair, representing a 60-percent stake.

Seair is helping promote the Philippines as a key tourism destination in Asia by painting two of its Airbus A320-232s with the Department of Tourism’s new campaign slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.” (See “Seair takes ‘more fun’ to the skies” in the BusinessMirror, August 13, 2012.)

In its disclosure to SGX, Tiger Air said it “is committed to supporting the working capital needs of Seair, including pre-existing liabilities, with shareholder loans of up to $40 million. The loan tenure will be five years.”

The logo of Seair Inc.

Koay Peng Yen, chief executive officer of the Tiger Group said, “Together with our Philippine business partners, our immediate focus will be on scaling up the business through network expansion, building a strong customer base and establishing the airline’s brand presence.”

He added, “The Philippines has tremendous growth potential and we welcome the opportunity to be at the heart of it.”

Tiger said its investment in Seair is the Singapore firm’s second joint venture. In January 2012 Tiger bought 33 percent of Mandala Airlines of Indonesia. “The acquisitions are in line with Tiger’s strategy to expand and develop its business in the region.”

Seair will be adopting Tiger’s LCC (low-cost carrier) business model that includes “offering value fares to domestic and international destinations within a five-hour flying radius of the Philippines.”

Established in 1995 in Clark, Pampanga, Seair was one of the pioneers in the local aviation industry flying to Caticlan, Aklan, the gateway to Boracay Island and picking up a few of the missionary routes, which flag-carrier Philippine Airlines was forced to abandon when it underwent financial rehabilitation.

Under a strategic partnership agreement with Tiger, Seair is leasing two A319-200s and three A320-232s. “More aircraft will be progressively added to build Seair’s network,” as per Tiger’s disclosure to SGX.

Still branding itself as the “fastest flight to Boracay,” Seair now flies to Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Batanes, and Kalibo, while its international routes are to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, and Kota Kinabalu, and flying out of Clark.

The local airline is currently expanding its network domestically and internationally, and aims to fly some 2 million passengers this year.

According to its website, Seair has over 350 employees.

Former Seair president Avelino Zapanta will be retained as adviser to the flag carrier. He is currently helping set up another airline affiliate for Seair.

Established in 2004, Tiger Airways’ majority shares are held by Singapore Airlines Ltd. (32.84-percent) and Dahlia Investments Pte. Ltd. (7.37 percent). It currently has a fleet of 34 aircraft, mostly Airbus A319s and A320s located in Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Operating from Singapore and Australia, Tiger Airways’ network extends to over 30 destinations across 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

In fiscal year 2011, Tiger recorded a loss (after tax) of S$104.3 million, a reversal from the S$39.9 million it posted in FY 2010. The loss was attributed to disruption in services due to the ash cloud in Chile, the suspension of the carrier’s operations in Australia due to a “violation of procedures,” and higher fuel prices, according to its annual report to shareholders.

Tiger was listed on the SGX in January 2010.

(This is the unabridged version of my piece which was originally published in the front page of the BusinessMirror, Aug. 15, 2012.)

Seair takes ‘more fun’ to the skies

Seair flight DG7792 (registered as RP-C6320) taxis toward the Budget Terminal of the Changi International Airport in Singapore, after arriving from Clark, Pampanga. Seair operates a once daily flight between Clark and Singapore. This aircraft was delivered to the airline just over a month ago as part of its partnership agreement with Singapore-based budget carrier Tiger Airways. This is one of the two Airbus A320-232s which sports the Philippines’s new tourism slogan “It‘s More Fun in the Philippines,” and is a way for the carrier to help promote the country as a key destination in Asia, officials said. (Photo courtesy Andre Giam/Jetphotos.net)

NOT only is it more fun in the Philippines, but apparently, it’s also more fun to fly one local carrier, as well.

Two Airbus A320-232s of Southeast Asian Airlines are now sporting the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” slogan, an initiative of the carrier to help promote the country as a key destination in Asia.

A photo of one of the planes repainted with the slogan and taxiing on the runway of the Changi International Airport in Singapore has been making the rounds of the Internet via the Facebook account of Tourism Paradise Philippines, a local travel guide web site.

Nikos Gitsis, Seair co-founder and incumbent vice chairman of the board, confirmed to the BusinessMirror the new livery on the carrier’s planes. “Two of our new Airbus A320s assigned to the international routes [are sporting the slogan]. Those two are doing the Singapore-Hong Kong-Bangkok-Kota Kinabalu routes [from Clark International Airport in Pampanga].”

Gitsis even reposted the “fun” plane photo on his Facebook wall on August 7, 2012, captioning it thus, “Seair is [a] pioneer in many ways—This is another first for us!” He disclosed that he hasn’t actually seen the planes yet because they’re in Clark. The A320s were leased from Tiger Airways Inc., which had purchased a 32.5-percent stake in Seair in February 2011 for $6 million. The Singapore-based low-cost carrier plans to raise its stake in Seair to 40 percent, paying up an additional $7 million for the additional shares. (See, “Tiger Airways eyes bigger pie of local carrier Seair,” in the BusinessMirror, April 18, 2012.)

“It’s been 17 years in the making,” said Gitsis about the carrier’s “long amazing struggle” in the local aviation industry. “But when I saw that pic [of the repainted plane], it all makes sense.” Established in 1995, Seair is a pioneer in the local airline industry, one of the first to fly to Caticlan, Aklan, the gateway to Boracay Island, and other missionary routes that had been earlier abandoned by Philippine Airlines.

(Nikos Gitsis, co-founder of Seair)

For his part, Tourism Assistant Secretary Eugene Kaw disclosed it was Seair “which came up with the idea [of using the slogan for its plane], and approached us.”

He said the Seair team met with DOT officials regarding the proposed use of the slogan “some three to four weeks ago…. They’re going to do it for free and DOT agreed, on a non-exclusive basis.”

By “non-exclusive,” this means other local carriers such as PAL, Cebu Pacific, and Zest Airways can use the slogan on their respective planes as well, if they also make a request to the tourism agency.

Kaw explained that Seair “shouldered the cost of the painting. No charge to DOT also for the placement,” adding that “it will be for an international flight as per our discussion. ”

He added that Seair had actually planned to use the old DOT slogan hatched under the term of former Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, but this was eventually scrapped after the slogan was ditched following massive outcry from tourism stakeholders. “They’ve [Seair] allotted the space for it since ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda’, but got deferred,” Kaw disclosed.

Meanwhile, the photo of the Seair plane sporting the “fun” slogan used by Tourism Paradise and Gitsis was taken from Jetphotos.net, a photo web site dedicated to aviation enthusiasts. The plane photo was captured by Andre Giam, a member of the Ninervictor Spotting Group, a group of aviation enthusiasts in Singapore.

In his caption of the plane photo posted on Jetphotos.net on August 5, 2012, Giam said: “DG7792 taxiing toward the [Changi] Budget Terminal after arriving from Clark. Seair, based in the Philippines, operates a once-daily flight between Clark and Singapore. This aircraft was delivered to the airline just over a month ago (leased from Singapore based carrier—Tiger Airways). First photo of Seair’s A320 in the database. Last but not least, this particular aircraft carries a special quote in order to promote Philippines as a ‘better’ holiday destination among the Southeast Asian countries, which says ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines.’”

As per the photo, the plane sports a registration number of RP-C6320, with Serial Number CN 5194.

With its strategic partnership with Tiger Airways, Seair is currently expanding its network domestically and internationally. It recently acquired, via lease, from Tiger two A319-200s and three A320-232s. The carrier is targeting to fly 2 million passengers to its international destinations this year.

(UPDATE:) The Seair plane sporting the logo was inaugurated this Sunday morning, Aug. 19th, after the inaugural flight of the carrier from Manila to Davao. On hand was DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. Will post the photos once they're in.

(My piece was originally published in the Aug. 14th, 2012 issue of the BusinessMirror. Photo of Nikos Gitsis from Routes News.)

The new Caticlan airport terminal

I HAVE been going to Boracay Island since the late 80s, back when it was still basically, an open stretch of pure powdery white sand, with lush coconut trees dotting the shore, and just a smattering of resorts and restaurants. Much of the electricity was still supplied by generators.

Going to Boracay was still by land – driving all the way from either Iloilo City, Roxas City, or Antique - if you were not from Aklan. If you managed to find a plane to fly you, you would still usually land at the Kalibo airport, in Aklan, then still make the drive to Caticlan, the jump off point to the gorgeous resort island. From Caticlan, pump boats could take you to Boracay, for a minimal fee.

Since regular scheduled air services began in Caticlan in 1996, travelling to Boracay has been faster but not necessarily more convenient for tourists. Tourists arrived in a third-class provincial airport, which was not airconditioned until this year, and where passengers were expected to get their own luggage directly from the airline trolley as there were few porters.

On my second trip to Boracay this year, last July 30, I was amazed at the major improvements in the Caticlan airport, courtesy of San Miguel Corp. president, Ramon Ang. The terminal seemed larger, it was now airconditioned, and there was, for joy! a baggage carousel. Not to mention, the restroom was clean and smelled good, thanks to the burning of perfumed oils, and actually reminded me of a hotel washroom. There was also a money-changer on hand to enable foreign travelers to exchange their currencies for our local pesos.

At the departure terminal, check-in counters are sleek and brightly lit, everyone is courteous - from the airport security to the terminal fee collectors. It is a two-story affair w/ even VIP lounges for departing guests checked in at Shangri-La Boracay, and Discovery Shores. There are a few food counters where passengers can satiate their hunger pangs and last-minute pasalubong shopping. The most notable feature of the departure terminal, however, is a small private breastfeeding room for nursing mothers and their babies. My, my...will wonders never cease?!

The modernization of the Caticlan airport is said to cost $300 million, which includes the improvement of the passenger terminal and the extension of the airport runway. During the summer season, small jets and and most turbo-props of the leading airlines are able to land in the short runway.

But when the rainy season comes around, it is usually only the Dornier 328s of Seair, and the Dash 8's of Airphilippines Express which are able to land in the slippery runway. The rest of the planes such as the larger ATRs of Cebu Pacific are either diverted to Kalibo or return to Manila or other points of origin.

How true is it though that the newly-improved Caticlan passenger terminal is actually only temporary and a permanent structure will rise in the municipality of Nabas, once the runway extension is completed? According to Boracay resort owners, this was the tradeoff for the Nabas local government to allow the mountain in their midst to be lopped off to give way to the runway extension. If that is true that will take tourists a longer time to get to Boracay because it is farther than Caticlan, as you can see from the Aklan map below.


While having a passenger terminal will definitely boost the living standards in Nabas which is currently a fourth class muicipality, hopefully San Miguel's Ang will reconsider and keep the comfort of Boracay tourists top of mind.

In the meantime, I wish the Caticlan local government would fix this:


This is where we landed, the tiny dock in Tabon, Caticlan, after crossing from the Tampisaan port in Boracay (the severe weather condition as we left the island prevented many from leaving via the usual Cagban jetty port). Tabon is considered an emergency dock where pump boats can park when the waves make it impossible to cross to the main Caticlan port.

The bamboo crosspaths, however, are very unstable, and there were a few times I almost lost my footing. This is an accident waiting to happen, and its sturdiness needs to be addressed immediately.

*I own the copyright to all the photos published here, except for the Aklan map, which I borrowed from the Makato Community eCenter.

WIRED

I TRIED.

For four days, I really, really tried to switch off from my usual wired world as I went on a short vacation in Boracay last week. (It was a sort of post-Mother’s Day break Big Sister and I hatched up for Mama.)

The night before we left, I switched on the vacation response settings in all my e-mail accounts. I had informed most of my bosses I’d be away, had advanced a column and some news stories, but you know how it is. There could be some last-minute questions or requests made, though I was pretty sure if it was anything really urgent, the bosses would know how to reach me. Otherwise, all the e-mails could wait.

I also did not bring my MacBook. I know for some people, especially in my line of work, the computer is as vital as, well, our underwear. It’s part of our everyday wardrobe. I have friends who don’t leave home without their iPad, their MacBook Air and a Kindle!

But I thought bringing the Mac would just defeat the purpose of being on vacation. I usually don’t even watch the news on TV when I’m on a holiday, just to forget for even a teensy-weensy moment that there’s mayhem ongoing in the world. There’s nothing like a vacation killer than thinking of, for instance, the incredulous and irrational arguments against the reproductive-health bill while I’m sipping my mango shake and splayed out under the sun. (For a while there I was worried I would take so many photos of our vacation, space would eventually run out on my digicam’s memory card. Not having my Mac with me would mean I couldn’t transfer my photos and refresh the camera’s memory card.)

The entire time, I used only one cell phone with my personal number, which I needed to communicate with Big Sister as we were riding separate airlines. It was also a way for us to find each other in case we’d be going on separate walks while on the island. But usually, I’d just leave the phone in my bag, so I wouldn’t be bothered by text messages nor phone calls. For quite a few years already, I’ve kept the alert on my incoming text messages switched off even in Manila. So using just one phone and not checking messages wasn’t really such a big adjustment for me.

I had the vacation all planned out. I would lie on the beach or lounge by the pool just reading a book. There was this one book I had been meaning to finish since I bought it—gasp!—in 2005. It was a collection of short stories by various well-acclaimed writers (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie, Günter Grass, Arthur Miller, John Updike, Margaret Atwood, etc.) edited by Nadine Gordimer, called Telling Tales, which was published in 2004. And it’s been on my bedside table since I bought it—just waiting to be picked up again and read. (There are four other books on my night table, in the same state of unfinished reading. Sigh.)

But as is the usual, the best laid plans always come unhinged. The bad habits will always stomp all over my good intentions.

While I did manage to finish a few short stories while I was lying in bed—not by the pool—I wasn’t able to quite get off the Internet.


I’ve been a Facebook and Twitter user for quite some time. Although I’ve managed to unplug during Sundays, even switching off my phones, I knew four days away from the social-networking sites while on vacation would be trying. Of course, I was able to go offline during the last Holy Weekend and the years before that, going online again only on Easter Monday. But being good while Jesus was dead was a powerful incentive; a vacation, not so.

So, yes, I eventually cheated. My commitment to get off cyberspace while on vacation was broken. I posted one vacation photo on Facebook, and a couple of status updates from my phone. Yes, I’m an addict and an oversharer. I should be locked up in the basement of Makati Med.

(It was easier to stay away from Twitter though, since I usually use it to monitor breaking news. But, well, Big Sister and Mama are news junkies so I had virtually little choice when it came to channels to watch at 6:30 pm or 12 midnight when we were back in our room at the resort.)

Then when I got word that our Seair flight back to Manila had been moved to an earlier schedule—thank God!—I had to use the resort’s business center and print the new e-ticket sent to my e-mail account. Needless to say, I caved in and started checking all my e-mail, then some interesting news items, and then...hay naku! It took a lot of willpower on my end to quit the session; but it was a good 10 minutes to 15 minutes before I got back to my senses and remembered that I was on vacation. I guess I had just been longing too much for the simplicity of a bygone age when all that we actually brought on vacation was just a book and a bathing suit. There were no distractions at all. In Boracay, especially in the ’80s, it was just the sun, the sea and the sand that made everyone’s vacation a blast.

Nowadays we can’t travel anywhere without our cell phones, our laptops, the cable TV—technology is everywhere these days that it’s really quite easy to just switch on, go online, and reengage with the rest of the world. Even cell-phone manufacturers now promote handsets that are Wi-Fi-ready, or HDSPA-equipped, you don’t even need to bring a laptop anymore. You can do everything on your cell phone!

And I’d be hard-pressed to think of any island resort in the country or any part of the world for that matter that is so isolated that technology hasn’t reached it yet. And even if such island existed, I’m sure I’d be online anyway making reservations to fly to it and book a room.

Maybe next time, I shouldn’t try so hard to be offline. Technology is part of who we are, it’s really useless to fight it, even while on vacation. Most hotels and resorts now offer free Wi-Fi and even the free use of computers in their business centers. Even these establishments know that offering such kinds of free services is a big come-on to guests.

When it comes to technology, resistance is futile.

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the BusinessMirror. This piece was originally published on May 20, 2011. Photos courtesy Discovery Shores Boracay.)

Angara, HSAI Raintree partner to boost tourism in Aurora

(Dikasalarin Cove in Aurora province.)
THE province of Aurora promises to be the next go-to travel destination with the establishment of two new resorts: one for high-end tourists, and the other, a mid-priced hotel to cater to the average middle-income travelers.
In an interview with select reporters, Sen. Edgardo Angara, who hails from the province, said these resorts will be built on land his family owns and will be managed by HSAI Raintree Hospitality Management Inc.

HSAI Raintree president Annabella Wiesniewski said: “We want to open Aurora as the newest exciting tourist destination in the country. It is paradise, undiscovered.” The province sits on the northeastern portion of Luzon and faces the Pacific Ocean.

The first establishment is an 88-room hotel that will be located on a three-hectare property in the capital of Baler.

“It’s ready to break ground,” she said, and will be designed by architect Ed Calma, which promises a modern aesthetic but “will incorporate organic materials that are native to Baler,” such as local wood and stones, and its unique flora. The hotel is projected to be completed by June 2012.

It has a 150-meter beachfront on Sabang beach and will be geared primarily for local travelers. The Angara family already has a beach resort there called Bahia de Baler.

“It will be moderately priced, about P4,000 per night, and will be geared for domestic tourists. The provinces around Aurora are mostly land-locked so Sabang is the nearest beach for them. We have to make [the hotel] reasonable, but still very nice. Government offices and corporations around there can hold their meetings, conferences and seminars there,” said Wiesniewski. A 300-seat ballroom will also be built on the property where functions like conferences and wedding receptions can be held.

The second resort will be 20 minutes away from Baler central on a 100-hectare property located at the private Dikasalarin cove. On it will rise “60 rooms or villas of SLH [small luxury hotels] quality,” she added, ranging from about 50 square meters (sqm) to 200 sqm.

(Traversing one of Aurora's many clean rivers.)
“It’s like Monterey [California]. You drive along the coastline, and you see a very big cove,” she said. The beach is off-white but as fine as the sand of Boracay and with clear waters, she said, so it’s ideal for lounging about and swimming.

The villas, she said, “will be modern with glass, set against the mountains,” taking advantage of the picturesque view of the land- and seascapes. It will also feature a wellness center with a world-class spa. Those who are staying in the Sabang resort, she added, will be given the privilege of taking a day tour in the Dikasalarin property and enjoy its facilities and scenery.

Adjacent to the luxury resort, Angara donated a 10-hectare property, where an artist’s village is currently under construction. “This will give an opportunity for artists to just be away and indulge in their passions. We’ll take care of them, they won’t have to worry about [food and accommodations],” the senator said. The village will also feature an amphitheater where the artists can show off their works or perform.

“We’ve already been able to solicit the assistance of several well-known Filipino artists here and abroad to build individual cottages where the visiting artists can stay,” he added.

Angara cited the many activities that could be pursued in Aurora such as hiking, diving, trekking, mountain biking, bird watching and surfing.

“Baler was the first to introduce surfing in the country with its swells reaching 10 to 12 feet,” he said. A portion of the film Apocalypse Now where soldiers were catching waves was filmed at Charlie’s Point in Baler. A number of international bird societies also have been tracking migrating birds that summer in Baler.

“We have natural beauty - every 10 km. spectacular waterfalls—we have abundant water sources, we have streams, rivers, clean seas that’s why we nice dive sites there. We have a rich supply of marine life—Blue marlin, tuna, Spanish mackerel.” He stressed that travelers are safe in Aurora, being “the first province that was declared insurgency-free.”

(The historic Baler Church which 57 Spanish soldiers turned into a fort during the year-long Siege of Baler.)
Baler is also rich in history, he said, because it is where the infamous “Siege of Baler” happened. Fifty-seven Spanish soldiers held out at a local church for a year against Filipino troops, not knowing the Spanish-American War had already ended. The story was actually made the basis for the local film Baler, which was said to have helped boost travel arrivals in the province, as it showcased the local tourist spots. The event is also commemorated every year on June 30 during the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day.

Asked why he decided to collaborate with HSAI Raintree, Angara said, “We hear they’re the top in the business [of hospitality management].”

HSAI Raintree currently manages the Discovery properties of the Tiu family (of the JTKC Group) in Ortigas, Tagaytay and Boracay Island, and opened Albay to high-end travelers when it initially managed Misibis Bay Resort in Cagraray Island. (It terminated its contract with the resort’s owner, the Sunwest Group, in March.) HSAI Raintree is a partnership between Wiesniewski's Raintree Partners Inc. and the Tiu family's Oakridge Properties.

Although travel time from Manila to Baler currently takes about five hours—“it’s just like going to Baguio”—Angara said the completion of the SCTEx until Aurora will cut travel time by about 1.5-2 hours.

The proposed 60-km. four-lane expressway will start from La Paz, Tarlac and pass through Nueva Ecija, and traversing a scenic route to Baler.

“So it’s going to be such a beautiful drive like going from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe,” Wiesniewski said. Construction on the Tarlac-Aurora portion of the SCTEx is scheduled to start next year, Angara noted, and will be completed in time for the resorts’ opening.

Wiesniewski added that HSAI Raintree is already talking with major carriers Philippine Airlines, Southeast Asian Airlines and Cebu Pacific so they could explore the possibility of flying to Baler, once the resorts are completed.

There are two main airports in Aurora—one is the Dr. Juan C. Angara Airport in Baler with a 1,100 meter-runway, where Seair used to fly a twice-weekly route. Another airport with a 2-km runway is currently being constructed in the municipality of Casiguran, which will be able to accommodate larger jet aircraft and will turn into an international airport.

Currently, a provincial bus line connects Manila to Baler, passing through the Sierra Madre mountain range.

(Photos courtesy office of Sen. Edgardo Angara)

Dontcha just love the low travel season?

THIS is the time of the year when travelers can take advantage of low airfares and hotel/resorts promotions all over the country. It's great if you have tons of cash to spend on vacations abroad, but if not, this is the best time of the year to go around the country.

(Cebu's Hilutungan Channel from the beach of Microtel Mactan.)
Because of my profession as a journalist, and when I was working for the government in the 1980s, I have been fortunate enough to travel around the Philippines. By God, if you haven't seen the Philippine countryside just yet, you are missing out on a lifetime experience! A beautiful sunset seen from the white beach of Boracay, the massive limestone cliffs in Palawan, the clear blue waters of Cebu, the comforting Christmasy smell of the pine trees in Baguio, looking eye-to-eye with ostriches in Davao, and driving through the lush rolling hills of Batanes --- these are just some of the awe-inspiring sites to behold and experience when traveling through the Philippines. None of these can compare to just another shopping trip abroad. Besides, you can bring the entire family to enjoy the experience.

So in the words of Susan Calo-Medina, "Wag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan! (Don't be a stranger in your own land.)"

* * * *
Here are just some of the great travel promos currently being offered:

From PAL: "Seat-All-You-Can" – now benefits even passengers of PAL Express, with fares as low as P688. The latest round of low-fare tickets on 26 domestic destinations is on sale from July 22 to 27, for travel between August 16 and December 15, 2009.

PAL's all-jet, full-service domestic flights are priced as low as P888 on one-way economy tickets from Manila to Bacolod, Cebu, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Kalibo, Laoag, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tacloban or Tagbilaran. One-way economy tickets to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, General Santos, Ozamiz and Zamboanga are only P1,888. (For more inquiries, go to PAL's web site or call tel. no. 855-8888, in Cebu (032) 340-0191, and in Davao (082) 222-0366.

Discovery Shores in Boracay is offering The Great Luxurious Getaway Package w/c allows guests to enjoy a glorious three-day, two-night accommodation, a calming Mandala Spa Qi Massage, a daily sumptuous breakfast, plus one Chef’s Dinner at Sands Restaurant as well!

Rates start at P16,888 net per person, based on triple occupancy in a Junior Suite. The package is inclusive of roundtrip airfare, boat and land transfers. The promo is valid until Oct. 31, 2009. For details, call (63 2) 720.8888 / 683.8227 / 683.8236 to 38.

SEAIR offers fares from Manila to Boracay for as low as P350 per way all-in and other low fares are available online for booking and travel up to October 15, 2009. It's the only airline that flies direct to Caticlan, the gateway to Boracay. It has just relaunched its Cebu-Caticlan service.

Seair passengers enjoy complimentary transfers from Caticlan airport to Boracay and vice versa, shortest queues and check-in procedures at the airport, fastest baggage claim, privileges for their boarding pass in partner establishments in Boracay and Manila, and ‘35 minutes’ fastest flights to Boracay. These low fares are available via the airline's web site.

Microtel Grand Resorts Mactan's "Leisure Within Reach" promo offers guest P2,900 net w/ breakfast or P2,500 net room only, until September 2009. Choose from fun activities like jet-skiing, banana boat ride and island-hopping capped off with a soothing massage in the privacy of your own room. What’s more, all rooms at the Microtel are equipped with a chiropractic-approved bed that would surely leave your backs happy.

For reservations and inquiries please contact 032-236-8888 or email mactan.rsvn@microtel.ph

(via press releases)

Caticlan monopoly may ease Seair’s revenue losses

So despite the drop in passenger traffic in the first five months of the year, Zapanta said its revenues only dipped by 18 percent. “At the onset of 2009, while the other airlines continued to bleed, Seair has stopped the bleeding. We are happy to even have just a slim margin for the whole, but with the new development in Caticlan, we will have to revisit the plans for the rest of the year.” (Click Caticlan monopoly for the rest.)

(Blogger's note: In the statement, "Lean, mean and small is our aim through the current business climate we are experiencing, and awaiting opportunities as they come to assess how we move," the quote was attributed by our editor to Seair president Avelino Zapanta, but actually it was said by Seair co-founder and director Nikos Gitsis. Apologies to both gentlemen.)

(Boracay-bound passengers board a Seair DO-328 for a flight to Caticlan.)

Boracay guests rue longer travel time, shorter vacation

THE new runway configuration implemented at the Caticlan Airport in Aklan is already reaping some opposition from resort owners on Boracay Island.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has promised to look into concerns of tourists to the resort island famous the world over for its long white beach.

In an e-mail, Nenette Graf, owner of Boracay Beach Resort and former president of the Boracay Foundation Inc., the association of resort owners on the island, said: “Our guests are starting to complain because their vacation is now short of half a day because of the travel time to Kalibo.”

As president of the Boracay Windsport Association, Graf said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) rule particularly impacts on those guests coming from Hong Kong on the weekend to windsurf and kitesurf during the current habagat (southwest monsoon) season.

(Photo from Boracay-budgettravel-tips)
“Before, they can still enjoy three hours of kiting before sunset on their first day, or windsurfing if they leave Hong Kong in the morning. Now it is not possible with three to four hours travel time from Manila to Boracay, or more if domestic flights are delayed. Like [yesterday], the guests arrived in Manila at 11:30 a.m. and [were] supposed to fly at 1:30 p.m. to Caticlan with Cebu Pacific, only to be told that their flight is diverted to Kalibo, and the flight will be delayed by an hour-and-a-half. They arrived at 6:30 p.m. in the resort. They traveled for one day and they will go back on Monday via Kalibo again. They complained, and were given a free ticket valid for one year, but I doubt if they will come for the weekend again,” she explained.

Usually, if traveling to Manila via Caticlan, say on a 12 p.m. flight, passengers only have to check out of their resorts and leave Boracay by 10:45 a.m. to make the flight. If traveling via Kalibo, however, guests have to make sure they leave Boracay by 8 a.m.

Edd Fuentes, owner of the Sun Villa resorts also said his guests have been complaining of the inconvenience of traveling via Kalibo. “They’ve been so used to landing in Caticlan which is so near Boracay, just 15 minutes away by boat. They think Kalibo is too far, and now that’s it’s raining, the travel time is slower and longer.”

He added that the problem is even if his guests want to transfer to Seair, which is the only carrier flying to Caticlan, they’re unable to do so “because its flights are limited, considering it’s the low season. I, too have been trying to get a booking with Seair for my trip this Saturday and I’ve been told that all flights are already fully booked. So my guests may not have a choice but to still fly via Kalibo.”

Guests have also started complaining of the confusion in the major carriers’ check-in procedures owing to their pullout from Caticlan.

Gina Policarpio, a housewife on the PAL Express PR 324 return flight to Manila on Monday back to Manila told BusinessMirror that her family was told by the carrier to check into Caticlan “and we will just pick up our bags in Manila. They even told us not to worry about it.”

But when their group arrived in Kalibo, she said the PAL Express counter told them to get their bags and check these again at the counter. “Why were we told to check in Caticlan if we will check in again at Kalibo anyway? Ang gulo nila.”

Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano expressed concern over the new CAAP ruling on Caticlan’s runway configuration. He promised to look into ways for the Boracay guests to keep flying into Caticlan without compromising their safety.

(The 70-km road from Kalibo, right, to Caticlan. Photo from Travelsmart.net)
The CAAP’s ruling effectively shortened the takeoff and landing distance for planes in Caticlan, forcing major carriers like Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to cancel their routes there. They now fly Boracay guests via Kalibo and are currently footing the costs of transferring passengers to Caticlan. Only Southeast Asian Airlines continues to fly to Caticlan.

In a text message over the weekend, Durano told the BusinessMirror: “We are studying alternative policies now that we can propose to CAAP, policies that ensure safety of flights to and from Caticlan without unnecessarily hampering passenger traffic.”

He declined to disclose what these alternatives are pending their finalization.

Department of Tourism Western Visayas Director Edwin Trompeta earlier expressed confidence that Boracay would still see continued strong tourist arrivals despite the pullout of major carriers from Caticlan.

“There is no major impact because the number of flights of these airlines to Kalibo are the same number of flights before the CAAP measures were imposed.”

In the first half of the year, tourist arrivals in Boracay grew by 6 percent to 383,313 from the 362,228 registered in the same period in 2008.

Since Zest Air’s second accident on June 25 involving its China-made MA60 plane—the first accident being in January 2009—the CAAP had decided to reassess the runway configuration and landing/takeoff procedures at the Caticlan Airport.

Most analysts noted that due to the larger size of their planes, PAL, Cebu Pacific and Zest Air are unable to fly into Caticlan with the shorter runway, especially during the southwest monsoon, when an aircraft is buffeted by strong winds.

Most airlines agree that the permanent solution to the Caticlan Airport is to extend the runway.

In 2007 officials of CEB, then Asian Spirit, and PAL had already discussed funding the runway extension, but nothing came out of it.

On June 22 the Department of Transportation and Communications signed a build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) agreement with a consortium led by McDonald’s Philippines franchise holder George Yang which would upgrade the Caticlan Airport to international standards.

The improvement of the airport, projected to cost some P2.5 billion, will be shouldered entirely by the Caticlan International Airport Development Corp.

Under the terms of the BOT, the company has up to seven years to build and expand the airport, and 25 years to operate the facilities, before it is eventually turned over to the government.

The upgrade includes the extension of the runways, which would allow larger planes to use the airport.

Attached to the project is a commercial component allowing Akean Resorts Corp., owned by investors led by Francisco Alba, former ambassador to the Vatican, to develop the 16-hectare area beside the Caticlan terminal into a hub for hotels, resorts and shops. “Akean” is the old name of Aklan.

The government allows investors in pioneering tourism projects to avail themselves of duty-free importation of capital equipment and income-tax holidays up to five years.

The upgrade of the Caticlan airport has been dubbed as the first-ever privatization of an airport in the country.

(Blogger's Note: This is the unabridged version of my story on how Boracay guests are reacting to the new runway configuration in Caticlan. The original was published in BusinessMirror's Perspective, July 14, 2009.)

Cebu Pac cancels Caticlan route*

(Kiteboarding in Boracay during the habagat season)
THE Department of Tourism sees tourist arrivals in Boracay to remain strong despite the pullout of major carriers from the Caticlan airport.

This developed as Cebu Pacific (CEB), the aviation concern of the Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc., has confirmed that it too had withdrawn from its Caticlan route as of Thursday morning.

This is a result of a new order by the recently-formed Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, implementing a long-ignored rule on “one runway-take off, one runway-landing” procedure in the main runway of said provincial airport, effectively shortening the runway maneuverability of most carriers.

In a press statement released at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, CEB president Lance Gokongwei said: “CAAP has designated Caticlan, for the time being, as a one-way airport for all carriers: takeoff should be towards the sea and landing in the opposite direction. A technical re-definition also in effect shortens the runway, despite its actual length.

“We have therefore decided to divert all Caticlan flights to Kalibo instead and from there bus all our Boracay-bound passengers [to Caticlan] at no extra cost,” he added.

While CEB spokesman RG Orense told this reporter Wednesday night that the carrier’s first two flights on Thursday would land in Caticlan as scheduled, apparently these two were also diverted to Kalibo. “[Both flights] landed in Kalibo. The instructions [to the pilots] were given early [yesterday morning],” Orense said.

The carrier said more than 60,000 booked passengers will be affected by the cancellation of its Caticlan route.

(Cebu Pacific President and CEO Lance Gokongwei)

Caticlan is the gateway to the resort island of Boracay, considered a “bread-and-butter” route in terms of domestic destinations by most major carriers.

Yesterday, Philippine Airlines also pulled its Caticlan flights and transferred them to Kalibo. In the meantime, PAL said it will shoulder the land-transfer expense of passengers who had booked Caticlan flights. But Francisco Yngente, vice president for airport services said the cost of the transfer, however, will already be tucked into the cost of the PAL ticket in future bookings.

Passengers interviewed by this reporter who originally booked their flights to Caticlan and flew Thursday morning said PAL customer service called them Wednesday afternoon, informing them of the switch in the landing destination.

Nikka A. Policarpio, a marketing consultant, who rode PR 037 which left Manila at 6:10 a.m. Thursday, said “our transfer was organized. We were provided a Starex van to ferry us to Caticlan from Kalibo. And the trip was alright, short, about an hour-and-a-half only.”

As a result of the CAAP order, only Southeast Asian Airlines, because of the smaller size of its planes, will be able to fly into Caticlan.

The Caticlan airport’s new runway configuration was announced Wednesday in a meeting between CAAP and the three major carriers – PAL, CEB, and Seair.

Sources said Zest Airways, whose plane overshot the Caticlan runway on June 25 and caused the CAAP to review the airport procedures, did not attend the meeting which adjourned at 4 p.m. Since its June 25 accident, the second since January when its plane undershot the runway, Zest Air already closed its Caticlan route.

Meanwhile, Edwin Trompeta, regional director of the DOT region 6 (Western Visayas) expressed confidence that the pullout of the carriers from Caticlan will not affect tourist arrivals in Boracay. “There is no major impact because the number of flights to Kalibo of these airlines are the same number of flights before the CAAP measures were imposed.”

But he admitted that some passengers may be “inconvenienced” because the land trip from Kalibo to Caticlan take an hour and half, before the 15-minute pump boat ride from the Caticlan jetty port to Boracay. “Plus it could add up to the cost of the airfare and their tour package because of the transfers,” he said.

Trompeta said ultimately, the diversion of the flights to Kalibo by these major carriers, “will be good for our visitors because we’re concerned for their safety. These carriers are now using bigger aircraft and considering the length of the runway and it now being habagat (southwest monsoon) season where winds from the southwest are coming in, we’re a little bit concerned with the safety of the passengers.”

The tourism official intimated that the CAAP measure “could be temporary” until the amihan season (northeast winds) starts in October. The amihan season usually last until May or June, allowing the carriers to use runway 06, which is the approach from the sea. “I think this is a temporary arrangement. But the final decision is with the CAAP.” At present, all carriers have been using runway 24.

Still, he explained that even before the CAAP ruling, “those planes were not filled to capacity [because of the difficulty in the landing and takeoff considering the short runway]. Most of them incurred penalties for not loading their planes.”

According to data from the DOT, tourist arrivals in Boracay in the first half of 2009, grew by 6 percent to 383,313 from the 362,228 registered in the same period in 2008.

Trompeta said the bulk of the tourists continue to be Filipinos, accounting for 71 percent or 271,498 of total arrivals, while foreigners numbered 96,102. Balikbayans or returning Filipinos totaled 16,213.

(The pristine white sands of Boracay make it one of the best beaches in the world according to international travel magazines.)

Of the foreigners, arrivals from Korea were the largest at 34,818 in the six-month period; followed by China at 11,584; Taiwan at 8,074; and Americans at 7,130.

Total tourism receipts for the period reached P7.06 billion.

The DOT official said Boracay tourism arrivals continue to be “strong” despite the global economic crisis and the (A)H1N1 global flu outbreak. Before the H1N1 outbreak, DOT projected tourist arrivals in the island to increase by 10 percent to 697,799 from the 2008 arrivals of 634,363. Last year, the island brought in total tourism receipts amounting to P11.66 billion.

In a press statement, CEB president Gokongwei said: “We continue to work closely with our industry partner, the CAAP, to find a speedy resolution, to these airport issues, to allow Cebu Pacific to re-instate flights to Caticlan.

He added that Boracay continues to be one of the country’s most important tourism destinations. “CEB’s low fare service has been integral to the growth and development of the island’s tourism industry and has increased its accessibility to both local and foreign tourists.”

CEB said it has been operating direct flights to Caticlan since February 29, 2008 and has since carried “over 340,000 passengers.” Its schedule, especially during the peak summer season, reached as high as 15 round-trip flights daily to Caticlan.

(*This was my original piece for BusinessMirror but due to space constraints, was folded in a general story on the issue along with other reporters' stories.)

Carriers pull out of Caticlan

"STARTING Thursday (July 9, 2009), major carriers are expected to discontinue flights to Caticlan, the gateway to the resort island of Boracay, in anticipation of a government order aimed at implementing a long-ignored rule on a one-takeoff and one-landing procedure.

Sources who attended a hearing between airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Wednesday said the new order will virtually leave only one carrier, Southeast Asian Airlines, plying the route." (Click here for the rest of the story. Apologies for the alarmist headline in the paper. Thanks!)

(Only Seair will be left flying to Caticlan, giving it a virtual monopoly over schedules and airfares. Let's pray it doesn't take advantage of the situation and unnecessarily jack up its airfares.)

Dealing with mortality

"The rest of our team rallied on, and we completed the first lap successfully. But on the second round, I lost my breath completely, and I could feel my heart struggling in my chest. The kids in the group were still energetic enough to speed on, but I was panting mercilessly. 'Tita, you can do it! You can make it!' egged Benjamin Spock. I didn’t want to let the kids down, but all I could think of was to sit down with a nice cold bottle of regular Coke and just enjoy burping the carbonation through my nostrils." (Click Something Like Life for the rest.)

Juday and Ryan wedding photos!

(Photo by Patrick Uy via PEP. Click here for more.)
WHILE I'm not a Juday fan (nor any of the new local showbiz personalities, period), I love weddings! Juday looks so pretty here. In fairview, she has really grown up! No longer a the little fat kid, she is really gorgeous. Aliw. And from what I hear, she also a really nice, sweet personality that goes with the package.

Congratulations and best wishes to the newlyweds. Ryan you lucky dawg! (ala Randy Jackson)
* * * *
Speaking of artistas, I was on holiday in Boracay in last weekend (Seair's the only way to fly there), and there was a has-been actor walking along the beach with his gorgeous wife and cute daughter. Even though a has-been, he should be thankful that people still wanted to have their photo taken with him. Among those hapless fans were some young friends of mine. Pero wow, ang yabang ni Mr. Has Been daw! He didn't even want to look at the camera, and looked as if he was bored with all the fuss over him, like he couldn't be bothered. (I've seen the photo and my friends were right. Such posturing, hmmph!)

Well I never really thought he was a great actor to begin with, even if he did get paired up w/ the best among the local actresses. Apparently, he has always been this way, cold and aloof towards his fans, according to Miggy, another friend who got turned off by his attitude. No wonder his star flickered out so fast! And here I thought all along that his lola raised him properly. Hmmm...watch out dude. McDo wasn't really that long time ago you know.

Just for the record...

Nikos Gitsis, co-owner of Seair, just wants everyone to know that it was Seair owner Iren Dornier and he who first splashed their plane into the Hudson River. Been there, done that. Belat to you Sully!

And Nick has the photos to prove it!

(Flying near the Statue of Liberty)

(Landing in the Hudson River)
Twitter that Janis Krums!

In all seriousness though, the conditions under which Dornier and Nick landed their plane in the Hudson, were very much different than that of United Airways Flight 1549 of course. It was a much happier occasion as it was part of the World Tour of the DO-24ATT, an old seaplane built by Dornier's grandfather Claude Dornier (yes, yes, the aviation engineer/designer for Germany's Luftwaffe) and restored by Iren in 2003. The tour was meant to raise funds for UNICEF's programs on child education and lasted from 2005-2007.

Btw, the seaplane (if you look closely, it is actually registered in the Philippines) did land in the Hudson River in Aug. 2005, according to old press reports. Hmmm...I wonder if Nick and Iren will get their own Facebook fanpage now.

* * * *
In a related note, Miracle on the Hudson hero Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III and his crew of five, as well as their families, have been invited to participate in the Miracle in Washington DC, i.e. the inaugural ceremony for U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. (Matt Lauer of NBC's Today show is said to have snagged the first press interview of Capt. Sullenberger supposedly today. Hopefully, it will be shown on local cable TV (Ch. 19) this morning.)

Gads! This is soooo exciting! I'm so looking forward to watching the inaugural ceremony later. I believe the telecasts on CNN and the BBC begin at 6 pm. I can't wait 'til George Bush goes bye-bye! What was that old Dick Van Patten show on Ch. 7 back in the day? Ah yes, EIGHT IS ENOUGH!

Right now, I'm channel surfing as all the U.S. TV networks' morning shows are broadcasting from DC near the venue of the event. Our own Jessica Soho (GMA7) and Charrie Villa (ABS-CBN) are also supposedly covering the ceremony, although I dunno how close they can get in their coverage. But sana it will be live and not just a phone patch like one local TV network did during the November election in the U.S.

(Btw, did anyone watch the reruns of Soho's old interview w/ Cristeta Comerford, the executive chef at the White House? Chef Cris kinda looked masungit and impatient in answering Soho's questions. I wonder if she got bitten by the old fly-on-the-carabao bug. Tsk, tsk.)

Roaches attack Zest Air passengers...eeew!

LAST week I received an email w/c apparently has been making the rounds of several friends in the tourism business and email groups. I am publishing it to warn travelers about the hazards of riding on Zest Airways (formerly Asian Spirit), which in the past, I've written about because they flew w/o any insurance. I forwarded the same email to Butch Rodriguez, the carrier's VP for Commercial Affairs and official spokesman, but have not received any reaction to email writer Ms. Polintan's concerns.

Gee, Seair's Nikos Gitsis must be thanking his lucky stars he didn't accept the buy-out offer of Zest Airways' Alfredo Yao.

Here's the email:

On Tue, 11/25/08, Marge Polintan <******@yahoo.com> wrote:

Customer Relations/ZEST AIR:

We are a party of 17 (15 adults and 2 minors) who all took the Manila-Caticlan on Nov. 22 and returned to Manila on Nov. 24 via Kalibo-Manila when our return flight was diverted from Caticlan to Kalibo.

We checked in all 17 of us at Caticlan about 4:10PM only to be told that we have to motor to Kalibo as our flight was diverted. When we asked why, we were given the most stupid reasons that only a moron can accept. Your MR. RODEL URGUELLES informed us that the plane could not take off as sunset was at 5:20. (1) Our flight was supposed to leave at 5:00PM so clearly we would have been up in the sky when sunset was supposedly setting in. (2) Another stupid reason given to us was that the Caticlan airport had no runway lights making it impossible for us to take off!!!! Why in heaven's name do you schedule late afternoon flights knowing that the Caticlan airport is not fitted with lights (I seriously doubt if is this is true). (3) We also asked why we were not contacted to let us know that they were moving our flight earlier. They were able to contact us before we left Manila that our departure was moved to an earlier time. (4) We informed your Mr Urguelles that we had a pregnant lady in our party and were concerned about the long trip from Caticlan to Kalibo. We were asking for a guarantee that should she suffer a miscarriage, the airline will be made answerable for it. Of course he could not give any guarantee. Having no choice we took the risk and motored to Kalibo for a good one hour motor ride. Upon reaching Kalibo, we found out that two other Zest Air flights were likewise diverted. We were made to wait some more as the planes coming from Manila were delayed. I surmised that this was the main reason why our flights were moved from Caticlan to Kalibo.

We were finally herded to an airplane for our flight to Manila. With grumbling stomachs and exhausted from the trip from Caticlan, we had to make our way inside the airplane in darkness. When we asked the flight attendant why there were NO cabin lights, we got another STUPID response and were informed that they are conserving energy and therefore we have to grope for our seats in darkness without any airconditioning. Madilim na Mainit pa!!!!!! What would have been a one hour flight seemed like an eternity as it took us about an hour and a half to reach Manila in darkness.

Having undergone all these nerve wracking experience what was more irritating apart from the stupidity of your staff is the fact that they did not even offer any apology for all the inconvenience we were experiencing. I think you should all go back to school and take courses on basics of good manners, effective management and people skills. Your staff is sorely lacking in all of these!!!!!!

This is our first and last time we are flying ZEST AIR. You can be assured that the 17 of us will be your worst advertisement and will make it a point to inform all our friends and other concerned agencies.

Passengers
MARGARITA S. POLINTAN
LUIS MANUEL S. POLINTAM N
MIA MARGARITA S. POLINTAN
JOSEFINA S CRISTOBAL
MARIANO CRISTOBAL III
RIZZA JOIE CRISTOBAL
EMMANUEL UBIADAS
CATHERINE UBIADAS
GABRILLE ERIN UBIADAS (Minor)
VIRGINIA AGALOOS
BERNARDO AGALOOS III
AILEEN AGALOOS
RACHEL EUSTAQUIO
BERNADETTE NEWELL
ZANDRA NEWELL
ANDREW NEWELL (Minor)
TIMOTHY BLANK

AFTER two weeks, below is the response of Zest Air's Customer relations department. Geez, not even a personal call to apologize to Ms. Polintan? No offer of a comp hassle-free trip next time? How totally lacking in respect for their passengers. Tsk, tsk.

From: Customer relations
To: Marge Polintan <****** @yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 3, 2008 3:53:54 PM
Subject: Re: [stcqchs'65] Fw: ZEST AIR/ASIAN SPIRIT NEVER AGAIN-A HARROWING EXPERIENCE

Mam,

I apologize for the inconvenience and have noted your concerns and complaints, the old planes will be grounded and 5 new planes will be in placed.

Best regards

NOW I know Rodel Arguelles, who has been Asian Spirit's Caticlan station manager for the longest time. I've never had a problem w/ him. He has been one of the more efficient employees I know in Asian Spirit. So I'm not so sure what has happened to him. Could be a reflection in the change of management style and their policies.

And yaaak! Ipis! I've also heard that the planes' toilets are not cleaned well. Plain soap and water are used instead of that blue toilet-duck product. So Zest Air management would rather cut expenses that make sure their passengers are safe from health risks huh? Sweet.

There was a time when Asian Spirit was one of the best and most efficient budget carriers in the country. Now that it's been transformed to Zest Air, it is just sh**. Sad.

The GSIS Monster and a Seair special

BEEN feeling really bleah since Sunday evening but I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say my brain has lost some matter and so I shall be making lazy posts today. Seeing GSIS president Winston Garcia's pigface on TV didn't help; it just made me feel even worse as I tried to recuperate while watching TV. (I appreciate the objectivity of ANC, and Maria Ressa's crew should really be commended for covering all sides of the Meralco takeover issue very well, but perhaps that was just a tad too long a spot for Winston's blathering in his presscon, much too long. I mean, really. Ick!)

What's up with Winston anyway? Hasn't he made enough trouble over at the GSIS, using up members' monies to buy art pieces, delaying members' medical reimbursements (I should know, my Dad was one of them), and making it difficult for members to take out loans? Now he wants to take over Meralco, too?! Hey, I'm not happy w/ my Meralco bill either but having the government take over this company is just going to make things worse. Since when has government been efficient?

Buti nga na-heckle si taba kanina sa Meralco stockholders' meeting! And he talks about Meralco's arrogance? Who's been acting like a spoiled brat over this issue anyway? I'm pretty sure he threatened the SEC commissioners their jobs that's why they issued that cease-and-desist order (a first time in Philippine corporate history, mind you!) for the stockholders meeting this morning. (Bravo for the SEC though because I think the commissioners deliberately fudged the order so it could be forever questioned.)

Winston should go back to Cebu where he belongs.

UPDATE: Lopezes retain control of Meralco (Read it here)

* * *

Anyhoo, I just got this email from Lino Zapanta, president of Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair), and he has good news for all you travelers out there:

Dear colleagues,

The airline bargain season is upon us. This is the time to take advantage of truly budget flying to your fantasized leisure destinations like Boracay, Busuanga, Baler and Daet from Manila; Busuanga and Boracay from Clark, and from Caticlan to Busuanga. For this period, starting June 2 we're selling these routes for a song, a real low, all-in, no hidden charges, roundtrip price per passenger of:

P2,999

for flying starting June 16 or any day up to mid October. Seats are quite limited so the sooner you book the better. Take the whole family. Prices are never like this in SEAIR, the airline that operates the fastest flights to your favorite leisure destinations such as Boracay and Busuanga.

Lino Zapanta
SEAIR P&CEO

Wow! I like!

Let the low-season travel fun begin!

Seair revives talks with investors

(I've been on vacation so this is another lazy post...a story I wrote for BusinessMirror for its May 9/10 issue.)

SOUTHEAST Asian Airlines (Seair) is reviving talks with international investors following the rejection of a purchase offer by the group of industrialist Alfredo M. Yao. Yao is the founder of Zest-O Corp.

A highly-placed source from the local carrier told BusinessMirror “these talks were stalled when we thought we were already going to have a deal with Yao by June. So we’re just reviving them.”

The source declined to identify the foreign groups only saying that these were “from Singapore and Brunei,” for possible “capital infusion” into the local carrier.

Seair owners headed by co-founders Iren Dornier, Nikos Gitsis and the Filipino group led by marketing guru Tomas B. Lopez Jr., declined the offer by Yao to purchase their shares for $2 million (or P84.63 million). This was $1.75 million (P74 million) lower than the “original consensus price” of $3.75 million (P159 million), before Yao’s group conducted due diligence on the airline.

Yao said he still intends to pursue the purchase of the carrier.

Sources familiar with the matter said the $2-million offered by Yao’s group will only pay for the cost of the brand and takeover of employees. The group does not intend to buy the 10 aircraft Seair is currently leasing from Dornier’s Aviation Enterprise Inc. (AEI) and spare parts. Yao’s group will also not cover the debts of the carrier including the payables on the aircraft leases to AEI. “All of the liabilities of Seair will have to be paid by Gitsis [and company],” the sources added.

In the proposed share purchase agreement, “[Yao’s group] will lease aircraft from AEI on a “power-by-the-hour” basis, the same sources added. This means that Yao’s group will pay only for the actual use of the leased aircraft, even if these are parked in the airline’s hangar. With this commitment to lease AEI’s planes, “it’s like the offer price is still the same as what we had initially discussed,” explained another source from the Yao group.

There is also a non-compete clause in the proposed share purchase agreement between Yao and Seair shareholders. This means that Dornier and Gitsis, who are both pilots and who currently own 40 percent of Seair, cannot put up another carrier to compete with Yao’s airline.

BusinessMirror sources observed that “this clause was not present in the initial agreement between Yao and Asian Spirit’s former owners.” Yao said he intends to merge Asian Spirit and Seair into one airline company.

Yao bought Asian Spirit for about P1 billion but turned over a check amounting to only P700 million because his group was taking over the debts and liabilities of the airline.

In an earlier interview, Gitsis said Seair was “open to all possibilities” in terms of investments either through capital infusion or selling the owners’ shares “lock, stock and barrel.”

“We’re still open to selling [even just the shares owned by the foreign group]. In the long run, the airline needs partners that can help in [our] growth, to keep us up with the growth opportunities that are still open in the market,” he said.

Referring specifically to the negotiations with Yao, Gitsis said: “If the need for capital and aircraft is the main motivator, [we] don’t want to sell out. Our hearts are in the company and we are more than willing to stay, and more than willing to work another 13 years. [Dornier and I] love this country and we no longer consider ourselves foreigners. On the other hand, everything has a price in business.”

He said the airline sees massive potential growth in local tourism “and we can contribute to that in many ways.” But he said he hoped the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) would allow the airline to do just that by approving its lease purchase agreement with Tiger Airways.

In January 2007, Seair signed a lease purchase agreement with Tiger Air, the low-cost carrier subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. The deal was for the lease of two Airbus 320s from the regional carrier which would enable Seair to fly to Singapore and Macau, as well as other Asian destinations. Local carriers have opposed the agreement saying the partnership would give fifth-freedom rights to Tiger Air, thereby allowing it to transport passengers to a second country and onwards to a third country.

Due to opposition by local carriers, the CAB has yet to approve the agreement, preventing Seair’s efforts to expand its routes to international destinations using the Clark International Airport as a regional hub.

“Tiger Air gave us a challenge. We thought we could live up to the challenge and we’re still optimistic that we can overcome that challenge,” said Gitsis. He admitted that the regional carrier has also expressed interest in buying into Seair, “but we [foreign shareholders] would have to sell out.”

- - - -

P.S. I flew to Caticlan and back to Manila over the weekend via Seair and noticed that the drinks served to passengers were made by Zest-O. Hmmm...

Seair ‘rejects’ Yao offer, but talks ‘active’

(Seair owners: Iren Dornier, Nikos Gitsis, and Tomas B. Lopez Jr. representing Filipino shareholders. Photos of Dornier/Gitsis from the Iren Dornier Project. Photo of Lopez from AIM.)


THE owners of Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair) said they have rejected the offer of industrialist Alfredo M. Yao to purchase the airline, but the fruit-juice king’s camp stressed the two sides are still “actively talking.”

A highly placed source in the carrier told the BusinessMirror: “The deal is off. The offer is $2 million. [It's] too low from the original consensus price [between the owners and Yao’s group].”

Contacted for comment, Yao said, “Their group and ours are still talking. Nick [Gitsis, co-founder and director of the carrier] is still in the States, so we haven’t spoken to each other.”

While Yao did not wish to confirm how much his group’s offer price was, the Seair source said the owners had agreed to sell their shares to Yao at $3.75 million (or roughly P158 million at P42.315 to the dollar).

The price only covers the cost of the airline brand and the takeover of the staff, but not the planes. The 10-plane fleet of Seair — composed of three Dornier 328s and seven LET-410s — are turboprops currently leased from Aviation Enterprise Inc., a company owned by Seair founder Iren Dornier.

The source added that the notice to formally reject the deal has already been transmitted to Yao’s group.

Yao is widely known for having developed the fruit-juice drinks under the Zest-O brand, now the largest-selling ready-to-drink fruit-juice brand in the country. His recent purchase of Asian Spirit boosts his interests in the tourism sector, where he also owns a hotel in Subic Bay. (See my profile interview of Yao in the blog entry below.)

Despite the rejection of Yao’s offer, the Seair source was confident that the airline would continue operating. “We have a good safety record. We are No. 1 in our market.” He added that Dornier will continue to infuse capital in the airline even if the local shareholders won’t.

Gitsis earlier said a deal with Yao’s group could be announced before the end of June. (See “Yao bucks tide, may buy 2nd airline,” BusinessMirror, April 14.) The two parties have been negotiating Seair’s purchase since July 2007.

(Industrialist Fred Yao)

Meanwhile, aviation analysts who requested anonymity said that with Yao’s recent purchase of Asian Spirit, he doesn’t need to purchase another carrier. “He has his own airline already, with its own staff and planes.

Both of them [Seair and Asian Spirit] serve almost the same markets, so he [Yao] really doesn’t need another airline.” The analysts added that unlike Asian Spirit, Seair does not have a congressional franchise and is not a designated flag carrier.

A source in Yao’s group confirmed this. “Strictly speaking, we don’t need them [Seair]. It’s not imperative that we buy them. But we can learn from their expertise and benefit from their niche marketing.”

Yao has already successfully lured Seair’s operations manager, Eli Tabora, to join Asian Spirit, but is still keen on recruiting Avelino Zapanta, current president of Seair and former president of Philippine Airlines, to be head of a merged airline company. Yao’s group is also impressed with the marketing savvy of Patrick Tan, Seair’s vice president for commercial affairs.

Despite the rejection of the offer, a source in Yao’s group said the businessman is still pursuing his plan to buy Seair. “The upside for us buying Seair is, they have good people, and we can do single administration [of routes and ticketing], and let’s face it, they have a good reputation in the niche market they are serving. The downside to us, of course, is there is a cost to all of that.”

The source stressed that both groups are still “actively talking. There are just some areas of confusion [with regard to the offer price]. I think it just wasn’t explained to them very well why the offer is such. They may have interpreted it differently.”

While he declined to go into specifics, he noted that since Seair’s planes are not included in the purchase price, “why should we pay for the spare parts? But essentially, our offer to them is still the same.” Other sources said the carrier also has debts which are going to be taken over by Yao’s group.

This was essentially the same tactic Yao used in taking over Asian Spirit. While the purchase price for that carrier was P1 billion, the actual check turned over to its former owners was only about P700 million because of the debts and liabilities of the carrier that Yao’s group would be assuming.

As for Yao’s offer to Seair’s owners, the source said: “We didn’t offer an inordinately low price. I think we just have to explain to them how we came up with this figure.” The offer to purchase Seair for about $2 million (or P84.63 million) was made after Yao’s group completed its recent due diligence of the airline.

In an interview on February 13, Gitsis admitted to BusinessMirror the pinch the carrier has felt with the entry of larger carriers in its major routes: “We’re still the fastest flight to Boracay (Caticlan). We still have the most modern planes. But we have felt a reduction in revenues, and a softening in the market prices.”

The Manila-Caticlan route, a major revenue earner for Seair, is now being serviced by major carriers such as Philippine Airlines through its subsidiary PAL Express/Air Philippines, and Cebu Pacific. Current fares to Caticlan have dropped to about P588, one-way, excluding insurance, taxes and other surcharges.

The carrier’s plans to tie up with Tiger Airways so it could lease two planes from the regional airline to service more domestic points, and enable Seair to fly to Macau, Singapore and other regional routes from the Clark International Airport, have also been strongly opposed by other local carriers.

“We’ve had delays with the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) in trying to lease planes from Tiger Air to put in service in the Philippines. We have had no approval for that. It’s been a long process. We’re surprised why we’re getting this reaction from larger companies when we’re a small company,” Gitsis said of the other challenges Seair has had to overcome.

Dornier and Gitsis own 40 percent of Seair while the rest of the shares are owned by a Filipino group led by marketing guru Tomas B. Lopez Jr.

(My story on Seair was published on the front page of the BusinessMirror on May 6, 2008. Blog entry contains corrections with regards to the offer price.)