Enough passenger seats from US to RP - DOT

The Department of Tourism is confident that its tourism targets this year will be reached because there are enough seats on international airlines that would carry US-based passengers to the Philippines. Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace" Durano, however, said pioneering flag carrier Philippine Airlines has to work harder to impress on its sales and travel agents that it has a good safety record. Durano sees the country remaining in the US Federal Aviation Authority’s Category 2 list for about a year. The last time the Philippines was in Category 2 was from 1995 to 1998. “There are enough seats that will cater to travelers from the US to the Philippines," said Durano. Hawaiian Airlines, for instance, will be flying to Manila beginning April, adding more passenger seats with its four times weekly flights. There are a total of 17,544 seats from different US points of origin to Manila via PAL, Northwest and Continental, or a total of 900,000 seats for the entire year. “We are targeting 640,000 arrivals from the US this year. Based on the existing number of seats, even without an increase in flight frequencies from PAL, there is enough [passenger] capacity," Durano said. The United States is currently the Philippines’ second leading source of tourists, after South Korea. A total of 578,983 travelers from the US visited the Philippines, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total foreign arrivals last year. The DOT is targeting an 8-10 percent increase in total tourist arrivals this year from last year’s 3.09 million head count. Total tourism receipts are projected at $5.8 billion this year, from $4.89 billion in 2007. "We’re looking for at least a year that we will remain in Category 2. It’s important that the [Air Transportation Office] doesn’t take more time than that [to fulfill the FAA requirements]," Durano said. On January 8, the FAA downgraded the Philippines to Category 2 status, after it found the government-run ATO failed to “provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization." ICAO is the United Nations body that oversees civil aviation. President Arroyo has ordered the release of P110 million to help upgrade ATO equipment, manpower, and training. Durano said the immediate passage of the Civil Aviation Authority bill pending in Congress would enable the ATO to have its own corporate charter and retain its earnings. The agency collects about P3 billion in fees from local and international carriers for takeoffs and landings, parking, use of the airport terminals, and aeronautical fees. The money is, however, reverted to the National Treasury because of ATO’s status as a regular government agency. As for the flag carrier, Durano said: “Now PAL must stand on their own safety record, which is a good safety record. The market should not think twice about its airworthiness. PAL should be meeting with its agents in the US, and we are also meeting with travel wholesalers who sell PAL tickets so they won’t lose confidence in PAL." The FAA ruling derails the plans of PAL to expand its routes to the US and add more flights to its existing routes. A PAL official who requested anonymity said the FAA is “now compiling" the maximum number of flights the carrier flew to the US last year. Based on the number, PAL cannot go over the said flight frequencies, although the Philippines and the US have an open skies policy and theoretically, each country can fly an unlimited number of flights both ways. For the Philippines, all it has to do is apply with the airport authority of their desired destination for the additional slots. With the downgrade, FAA will control the number of PAL flights into the US. The airline currently flies 33 flights a week to the US, including Guam. If its increase in flight frequencies pushes through, it would be flying over 40 flights a week. “We were already sure to get those [additional] slots," said the PAL source. The airline’s US flights account for about 30 percent of its revenues. - GMANews.TV