Vintage plane goes on tourism blitz

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — It’s the only remaining aircraft of its kind in the world, and it has been fully restored and retrofitted by a team of 50 Filipino engineers and workers for its mission to fly to 52 countries to promote Philippine tourism and lure more foreign investors.

The 72.5-foot long, 18.25-foot high DO-24 amphibious aircraft, with wings spanning 88 feet, was finally unveiled at the Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) hanger here the other night.

"This is part of our contribution to the Philippines in the commemoration of the 100th year of aviation," said Iren Dornier, 59, founder and chairman of SEAIR.

Dornier is the son of Claude Dornier who, in 1929, built the 12-engine DO-X, then the world’s largest passenger aircraft which flew from Germany to New York two years later to douse skepticism about its practicality.

The restored DO-24 is the only one surviving among the 200 aircraft of its kind built since the 1930s. From being a seaplane that could land even in rough waters, it has been fully restored and upgraded, fitted with wheels to enable it to touch down on land, according to SEAIR director Nikos Gitsis.

$6-M Project

The project, which cost about $6 million and was completed in 18 months, has transformed the DO-24 into an amphibious luxury aircraft with a bar and a kitchen and TV monitors.

"Passengers will travel in style with its plush leather interiors and a love dome, a two-seater observation area that offers a 360-degree view of the skies as the aircraft flies," Gitsis said.

The aircraft’s two wings have jet skis attached underneath them so passengers can go water-skiing soon after the plane descends on water, Gitsis added.

Yes, the aircraft has a noble mission in its worldwide tour but when it returns, it will be rented out for local charter flights to exclusive resorts in Boracay and Palawan.

"The plane will be used to service primarily the high-end market like exclusive resorts in the country. There are no immediate plans to fly international on a commercial basis although we are not discounting the possibility of using it for international charter flights for select clients," Gitsis said.

International Promotions

Before the aircraft is made available to the country’s rich and famous, Dornier said SEAIR will fly it to 52 countries in the next eight months to one year.

"We want to hit about 52 (foreign) destinations and visit many, many people and show them (the aircraft). Of course, we want investors to invest in our company or anywhere else in the Philippines to improve anything that needs to be improved here in the country," he said.

"The Philippines is definitely a country with a lot of future and I hope to do my part so that this country will improve one way or the other. I like the Filipinos very much, they are very intelligent and very hardworking people. All they need is a little bit of guidance," he added.

According to Dornier, the Philippines "is a territory the rest of the world is scared of, but this is because the media are sometimes amplifying only the negative things and not so much the positive things. At this stage we have to do a lot to make the image of the country more attractive to investors."

Dornier estimated that SEAIR would need some $1 million for the DO-24’s international blitz. "There are already sponsors, but we are looking for the major sponsor," he said, noting that the 108-square-meter expanse of the aircraft’s wings could serve as an "advertising billboard."

Dornier said he obtained the DO-24 from a museum in Munich, Germany to which his family had loaned it out. The plane was transported to the SEAIR aviation complex here in December 2002.

The aircraft is now featured on a Philippine postage stamp commemorating the centennial of the aviation industry.

"The DO-24 became famous for rescuing over 11,000 people out in the open sea in Europe during World War II," stated one of the materials which SEAIR distributed.

According to some historical documents, the elder Dornier, after having successfully flown 12-engine aircraft from Germany to New York to disprove skeptics, turned his talent to military aircraft in 1932. He then developed aircraft for the German Luftwaffe, with the DO-24 designed for transport and reconnaissance operations of the German military before and during World War II.

Another historical account said the DO-24, while indeed designed before the last world war, was built for "a Dutch requirement" in Holland, "with initial examples being supplied to the Dutch East Indies."

SEAIR Plans

SEAIR officials are optimistic that this year, they will experience a 30 percent rise in gross revenue in their domestic operations.

"Compared with our figures from previous years, 2003 was a good year for us. The company’s gross revenue increased by 25 percent attributed to the increase in our share of the commuter market," Gitsis said.

SEAIR started here in 1995 as an air charter company with only one aircraft. Now, it has a fleet of nine 19-seater LET410 aircraft flying to 25 domestic destinations from Cauayan, Isabela to Tawi-Tawi.

"The company is positioning itself to enter the international market after its appointment as one of the official carriers of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)," Gitsis said.