Over half of RP-US entitlements unutilized

Forty to 60 percent of air entitlements between the Philippines and the United States is not being utilized, thus there is no justification to adopt open skies on the route.

This information surfaced during the recent forum on open skies in Manila conducted by the Free Trade Alliance (FTA), a group spearheading a series of discussions on aviation issues.

The forum was held in the wake of the stalemate in the dialogue between the Philippines and the US to discuss the full implementation of the 1982 RP-US Air Transport Agreement (ATA) that would pave the way for open skies on the route.

"History shows that since the effectivity of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 1996 between the Philippines and the US, neither the Philippines nor the US ever reached the maximum frequency," the FTA said.

"Thus, there is no justification to adopt open skies on the route considering that more than half of air entitlements being held by the two countries are unutilized," it added.

Former Sen. Wigberto Tañada, FTA lead convenor, warned: "Any bilateral agreement must be considerate of the country’s affected industries. An all-out, abrupt and immediate open skies will only hurt the Philippine aviation industry."

Aviation industry data showed that from October 2001 to September 2002, the American Airlines’ unused air entitlements reached 41 percent.

The data revealed that of the 36 weekly entitlements granted to American carriers, only 21 entitlements have been utilized. The remaining 15 entitlements were not used for lack of passenger or demand.

On the part of Philippine carriers, 46 percent of their entitlements was not utilized during the same period.

"With this information clearly showing that there is lack of passengers or demand on the route, how can we justify an open skies policy with the US," Romy Sauler, one of the convenors, said..

Open skies refers to a declaration by a government of unlimited access to international routes to and from its airports by a particular country, with no restraint on frequency or capacity.

Aviation industry leaders fear that since the 1996 MOU between the Philippines and the US was duly agreed and signed, to negotiate now for its deferment will require a quid pro quo in favor of the US. "This may then require the Philippines to trade off concessions needlessly," they said.

Robert Lim Joseph, president of the Save Our Skies (SOS) movement, said most foreign carriers have hundreds of airplanes in their fleet and extensive network. "Thus, to let them rule our skies will spell the death of our struggling aviation industry," he said.

According to Joseph, these huge foreign carriers have alliances with equally big airlines and have built hubs on almost both sides of the Pacific. As a result, they can mount much higher frequencies and thereby attract a bigger share of the passenger market.