Budget airline to invest $10 million in Subic Airport

MANILA, Philippines - Private low cost airline Pacific Pearl Airways (PPA) is investing $10 million for its start up operations in Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA). 

PPA president Kristoffer Jimenez said the airline will start with two advanced Boeing 737-200 jet planes capable of seating 114 passengers for international flights and turboprop aircraft for initial domestic flights from Subic to Boracay, Bohol, Cebu, and Davao.

PPA offers domestic and foreign chartered flights. It will begin its operations in December. Local flight destinations will expand as PPA establishes its presence in the local airline industry, Jimenez said.

He added that PPA will be offering competitive rates without sacrificing quality service costs — an advantage that he said was made possible by tax incentives and other perks offered by the free port.

Jimenez also said that PPA will eliminate stop-over hassles with its direct flights, enabling passengers to gain more savings and more quality holidays as it significantly cuts travel lag time.

 “A lot of tourists come here — foreigners and locals alike. It is also a booming place in terms of businesses,” said Jimenez, who also called on interested applicants for pilots, cabin crew, and maintenance personnel to inquire at PPA’s office at the SBIA here.

For his part, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza said the latest investment is a proof of Subic Bay’s economic resiliency.

“What we have witnessed now proves that there’s still life after Fed-Ex,” said Arreza, referring to the US courier giant which used the free port as its Asia-Pacific hub. Last February, FedEx transferred to China, where domestic cargo volume alone exceeds that of Asia.

Arreza said that being an international airport, the SBIA can host just about any kind of air transport requirements, singling out Subic’s cargo-sorting capability as its edge over other airports in the country today.

 “We urge cargo airliners to start making their inquiries here at the SBIA this early, and see for themselves its complete cargo-sorting facility, and the Freeport advantages that made FedEx’s operation here successful,” said Arreza.

Arreza also said he expects more flights to and from Subic in the near future, as the SBMA aggressively promotes business and tourism establishments in the area.

Pearl Pacific Airways was organized in September 2006 and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with necessary permits from the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Air Transportation Office (ATO).