Airline to invest $10M in Subic

By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer


MANILA, Philippines - A private airline offering domestic and foreign chartered flights is spending $10 million to set up its home base at the Subic Bay International Airport.

Pacific Pearl Airways aims to start operating out of SBIA in December this year, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza said in a phone interview. Arreza signed the memorandum of agreement last week with PPA president Kristoffer Jimenez.

Pearl Pacific is set to start operations with two Boeing 737-200 aircraft capable of seating 114 passengers for international flights, and turboprop aircraft for initial domestic flights from Subic to Boracay, Bohol, Cebu and Davao.

Local flight destinations will expand as the company establishes its presence in the local airline industry, according to Pearl Pacific’s Jimenez.

Jimenez said that the airline would be offering competitive rates without sacrificing quality service costs. He said this was made possible by tax incentives and other perks offered by the free port.

Jimenez added that Pearl Pacific would eliminate stopover hassles with its direct flights, enabling passengers to gain more savings and more quality holidays as it significantly cuts travel lag time.

Pearl Pacific also plans to fly to other destinations like Taiwan.

Jimenez noted that Subic has a “very strategic location.”

“A lot of tourists come here—foreigners and locals alike. It is also a booming place in terms of businesses,” he said.

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

“[Pearl Pacific is] just waiting for approvals from abroad. They want to fly to Taiwan and are awaiting government permits for that,” Arreza said.

Arreza said the investment proved that Subic was still an investment attraction despite the current global crisis.

“What we have witnessed now proves that there’s still life after FedEx,” 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’s.

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.

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