Risky business

The House of Representatives is considering the revocation of the congressional franchise of Laoag International Airlines. Air Transportation Office chief Adelberto Yap grounded the entire Laoag Air fleet. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs announced it was rushing its investigation of reports that Laoag Air smuggled in Fokker planes. The probe started two months ago.

Too bad it had to take a plane crash and 19 deaths for public officials to get moving on these little-known airlines. Until the crash, how many people had heard of Laoag Air?

I’m not saying small airlines are more prone to accidents. But because their operations are small, they could be easily overlooked by air transportation officials. Once Congress issues a franchise, who bothers about checking an airline’s fleet for airworthiness?

Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III said that even before getting a congressional franchise on April 9, 2001, Laoag Air had already been operating for five years. The airline received a certificate of authority to operate from 1995 to 2000 from the Civil Aeronautics Board, which issued the permit by virtue of an executive order signed by then President Fidel Ramos. The airline sought a congressional franchise because it wanted to expand and invite investors, Sotto said. Congress approved the franchise after being told that the airline would modernize its fleet, at the time consisting of four planes.

The buzz in Congress is that former Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas was the one who pushed for the approval of Laoag Air’s franchise.

Yesterday Laoag Air owner Paul Ng huffed that envious competitors had sabotaged Flight 585, putting water into the plane’s engine oil. He said his planes weren’t that old – about 15 to 19 years. ATO officials laughed off the sabotage angle, and I shudder to think that business rivalry could be to blame for this horrific tragedy. Then again, anything is possible in this land of hooligans.

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On the day Flight 585 crashed, there was a report that the Philippine National Police was preparing for Philippine Tourism Year, which happens to be in 2003.

I wish I could write something more encouraging about our tourism industry. But if the few brave souls who ignore terrorist threats in this country also have to worry about planes crashing because of mechanical failure, the industry will have to forget Tourism Year 2003. Among the fatalities in the plane crash was an Australian who had reportedly planned to go surfing. Put that photo of his body being pulled out of Manila Bay alongside the photo of President Arroyo surfing in Siargao, and which one do you think Aussies will remember?

Reviving our tourism industry will require more than arresting suspected bombers and members of Jemaah Islamiyah, confiscating explosive materials and rounding up every Indonesian, Arab and South Asian visitor for deportation.

Reviving tourism also requires making transportation by land, air and sea safe in our 7,100 islands. But which form of transportation is safe? Commuter buses driven by men who keep themselves awake with shabu keep plunging into ravines. Ferries – the cheapest mode of inter-island transportation – keep sinking, killing thousands of passengers in the past 15 years.

Air travel, which doesn’t come cheap even when an airline offers budget fares, has its risks everywhere, but the dangers increase with poor plane maintenance.

Pilots have told me that even a 50-year-old plane would be safe to fly if it has received regular, proper maintenance. But let’s face it – maintenance becomes harder and more expensive as an aircraft ages. And I don’t think an F-27 can be as young as 15 or even 19 years. Malacañang reporters used to have an Air Force F-27 for their use. It was so rundown that in one trip we had to disembark from the plane and push its wheels to jumpstart it for takeoff. That plane was retired a few years ago. I hope it didn’t end up in the fleet of some budget airline.

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My bet is that Filipinos will quickly forget this tragedy with the usual fatalistic shrug and continue patronizing smaller airlines that offer budget fares. Even Laoag Air could recover quickly if it offers bargain basement fares, unless its franchise is revoked. Then it will just have to look for the right sponsor to recover its franchise.

And once air transportation officials are sure that they won’t get the blame for the crash of Flight 585, they will also forget the tragedy – until the next plane falls from the sky.

We probably should be thankful that Flight 585 did not crash into the crowded streets of Parañaque and Pasay City. I still remember a light plane plowing into a residential neighborhood in Parañaque a few years back, killing a Japanese expat who was asleep in his home.

It’s not just the performance of air transport officials, however, that is being scrutinized in the wake of this plane crash. People are also wondering how Congress decides on applications for a franchise to operate an airline. Obviously, almost all lawmakers lack the technical expertise to evaluate the airworthiness of an applicant’s fleet of planes. So who vets the planes for airworthiness? If the plane model doesn’t date back to World War II, is that enough to consider it airworthy?

Lawmakers will also have to consider a proposal to make personal accident insurance for passengers mandatory on all domestic flights. This could greatly reduce the hassle of injured victims or relatives of the dead collecting from an airline in case a plane goes down.

But insurance costs are an added burden to operators, who are sure to pass on the expenditures to the public. That means higher plane fares. Do passengers want this?

Low fares are still a prime consideration for air travelers. Smaller airlines also service routes that are ignored by the bigger companies. Such factors guarantee the survival of little known airlines, no matter what the risks.

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FOR LACK OF A PHOTO OP… Gen. Benjamin Defensor will get another 10 days as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Malacañang confirmed yesterday that Defensor received another 10 days. The reason: President Arroyo had a tight schedule and couldn’t make it to the turnover ceremonies on Nov. 18. On such factors decisions are made in this country.