FFCCCI backs PAL request

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI) expressed its support yesterday for Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) request to the government to negotiate for a calibrated open skies policy with the US.

In a paper, FFCCCI’s research arm the Federation of Institute for Business and Economic Research (FIBER), said that under the country’s current Air Transport Agreement (ATA) with the US, most of the terms are actually skewed in favor of the US.

The ATA is due to take effect in October next year.

For instance, the FIBER study pointed out, if the agreement is implemented, the rights granted to Philippine carriers will be subject to route and market access restrictions imposed by the US.

The paper said the terms of the current ATA with the US would limit the ability of Philippine carriers to fully tap the air traffic in the US.

Philippine carriers are not allowed to service US cities.

The US limits Philippine flights to the US by requiring them to stop in nine designated gateways and does not allow direct flights of Philippine carriers to service 16 US cities.

Moreover, Philippine carriers can effectively serve only one out of five countries beyond the US.

On the other hand, American carriers will have no route restriction which would mean that they would have nearly unlimited access to markets between the Philippines and third countries.

"If the RP-US ATA is implemented in its present form given local conditions, the policy environment will be disadvantageous to the Philippine aviation industry," the paper said.

It further belied arguments that an open skies policy would boost the country’s tourism industry.

"The tourism industry can gain more from an improvement in the peace and order situation, rather than from more aircraft flying into the Philippines," it said.