Phl urged to ink open skies deal with Japan

MANILA, Philippines - Listed low cost carrier Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) is encouraging the Aquino administration to adopt an open skies policy with Japan.

Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said in a statement that an “Open Skies” agreement between the two bilateral partners would boost tourism and trade.

“An open skies agreement with Japan will benefit local tourism and trade, especially since we believe Japan can rival South Korea when it comes to tourist arrivals,” Iyog stressed.

In its position paper submitted to the Philippine Air Consultation Panel, the budget airline said carrier from the Philippines would not be able to mount additional flights to other countries including Japan due to lack of seat entitlements amid effots to increase capacity at the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Cebu Pacific said seat entitlements have to be given first by countries such as Japan, so airlines could increase flights to or add destinations internationally.

An open skies agreement would speed up this process and allow Cebu Pacific to immediately expand its Japan operations. The airline currently operates from Manila to Osaka thrice weekly.

“Cebu Pacific plans to aggressively expand into Japan in the future. We fully support the CAB in its efforts to further boost tourism and the Philippine aviation industry,” Iyog added.

Once the agreement is forged, Iyog said Japan could dislodge Korea as the major source of tourists for the Philippines. The Department of Tourism (DOT) sees the number of tourists arriving in the Philippines to hit 10 million by 2016.

Data showed a compounded decrease of two percent in Japan foreign arrival statistics from 2006 to 2011 due to the lack of additional seat entitlements.

 â€œAside from Japan being one of the Philippines’ biggest trading partners, it is also home to 350,000 global Filipinos. Cebu Pacific’s expansion in Japan will allow us to offer our trademark lowest fares to the Philippines to boost business and leisure traffic,” she explained.

Japan, once one of the most protective aviation sectors in the world, has signed open skies agreements with countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, France, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, US, Canada, and Mexico.

CAB deputy executive director Porvenir Porciuncula said in an interview that the Philippines and Japan has scheduled the RP-Japan Air Consultation Talks on Sept. 11 to 13 in Tokyo.

Porciuncula said the Philippine Air Panel is hoping to get additional seat entitlements to allow carriers in the Philippines to mount additional flights to Japan. The Philippines and Japan last held air talks in 2008.