CAB approves rebranded AirAsia Zest

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has given AirAsia Inc. Philippines and affiliate Zest Airways Inc. the green light to launch the rebranded “AirAsia Zest”.

Together with the new brand name, the CAB also approved the new logo of Zest Airways, Inc., wherein the Zest name has been incorporated into the iconic red hot circle together with the signature logo of AirAsia.

Michael Romero, chairman of Air-Asia Zest, said passengers would benefit from the combined network of the two airlines that entered into a strategic alliance way back in March.

“We are excited to introduce AirAsia Zest, and what it represents. With our alliance, we are well positioned to offer our guests the strength of our combined network of domestic and international routes and unrivalled daily low fares, proving a world class travel experience that every Filipino deserves,” Romero said.

The airline is currently updating its records with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to include the new business name “AirAsia Zest” in its permits.

“We hope this brand new look is the first of many steps towards making AirAsia Zest an airline that continues to revolutionize air travel in the Philippines. We are geared up and committed to ensuring that AirAsia Zest lives up to the same incredibly high standards of AirAsia,” Romero added.

Romero earlier told The STAR that all the shareholders of ZestAir including AirAsia Philippines committed to pump in $100 million worth of investments between May and December this year to recover heavy losses booked arising from the suspension of its operations by CAAP last month.

CAAP suspended the permit to fly or Airline Operators Certificate (AOC) of ZestAir last Aug. 16 due to several violations of the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulation (PCAR). The suspension was lifted by the CAAP last Aug. 19 but the four-day suspension resulted to losses amounting to P280 million or P70 million per day and affected close to 8,000 passengers.

Ahead of the rebranding, AirAsia Philippines announced that it was temporarily suspending its operations at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga while AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes announced in his Twitter account that AirAsia Philippines was moving to NAIA.