Zest Airways getting more aircraft

MANILA, Philippines - Zest Airways, Inc., the new name of budget carrier Asian Spirit, will soon have a fresh fleet and new routes as part of changes in the airline, its owner has said. Zest Airways President Alfredo M. Yao told BusinessWorld that the company has acquired seven new airplanes as part of a refleeting program. Mr. Yao said five of these are 50-60 seater turbo propeller airplanes for domestic travel, two of which have arrived. The rest will be delivered in December. The remaining two are Airbuses, scheduled to arrive in the next two months, he said. Without giving figures, Mr. Yao said the planes were paid for using a combination of internally generated funds from sister companies and loans from local banks. Zest Airways will still use its current fleet but plans to eventually retire older airplanes in favor of fuel-efficient aircraft. The firm has yet to set a timetable for the retirement of its older aircraft, Mr. Yao said. The airline will eventually have 10 planes, according to its marketing department. Mr. Yao said Zest Airways, which currently flies to Macau, Korea, and Sandakan, Malaysia, will expand its international routes to include Hongkong, Thailand, Xiamen, Macau and Canton. Mr. Yao, also chairman of juice maker Zest-O Corp., said the airline will also beef up local destinations,with the addition of seven routes in the Visayas-Mindanao area. Zest Airways’ Web site lists 17 destinations compared to the 12 listed in the old Asian Spirit site. Mr. Yao’s AMY Holdings, Inc. bought Asian Spirit reportedly for P1 billion in March. It also tried to acquire rival Southeast Asian Airlines, Inc. earlier this year but the deal fell through. — Don Gil K. Carreon, BusinessWorld