Friday, April 27, 2007 Asian Spirit revives Zamboanga-Sandakan route By Bong Garcia
TOURISTS and businessmen from Zamboanga City who regularly travel to Sandakan in the state of Sabah, Malaysia may soon cut travel cost and time as regular flights along this route are set to resume next month.
Davao-based Asian Spirit head John Baricuatro said they will start flying the Zamboanga-Sandakan route on May 7 on a twice a week service for the first two weeks and will consequently increase to thrice a week flight in the third week of May.
Baricuatro said they decided to serve the Zamboanga-Sandakan route and vice-versa to enhance traffic movement within Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia- Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
As a domestic passenger airline, Asian Spirit will also fly the Zamboanga-Jolo starting May 1 and the Zamboanga-Tawi-Tawi on May 2, according to Baricuatro.
He said they have scheduled Monday-Wednesday-Friday flights from this city to Jolo and Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday flights from here to Tawi-tawi.
The Zamboanga-Sandakan flights will also follow the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule.
Baricuatro said the air links had to be increased in support to the growing demand for air traffic in these areas, particularly Zamboanga and Sandakan.
"We are reestablishing our links between Zamboanga and Sandakan because we see the growing business opportunities within these areas," said Baricuatro.
"The more than one million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) population in Sabah, Malaysia offers a bright prospect for air travel between Zamboanga to Sandakan," he added.
Baricuatro cited the need for strong government support as airline industry players endeavor to serve the skies.
The Mindanao-Malaysia route was previously being served by South Phoenix Airways, which opened operations in December 2004 until July 2005.
In 2006, a Filipino-Russian joint venture Mosphil Aero revived the link but was not able to sustain it.
"We are seeing this as another significant gain of President Arroyo's bold support for making Mindanao and Palawan as international gateways by laying down policies that strengthen the country's participation in the four-country cooperation," said Medco chair Virgilio Leyretana.
Leyretana said Asian Spirit's one-hour and forty-minute flight from this city to Sandakan offers an alternative to the 14-hour sea travel sustained by the SRN Fast Seacraft and Alesson Shipping Lines.
It also offers a cheaper flight option to the Kota Kinabalu-Clark (Pampanga)-Manila-Zamboanga route taken by most traders, said Leyretana.
Baricuatro said the Zamboanga-Sandakan route provides an alternative link between Sandakan and other economic centers in Eaga such as Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in Malaysia, Tawau in Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.
He said Asian Spirit is now requesting the Malaysian Airports to waive the corresponding airport tax, parking fees, and landing charges at the Sandakan International Airport to help ensure a viable operating cost for its first two years.
He said this incentive would help the airline achieve a reasonable operating cost for the development of the said route and other air routes in the BIMP-Eaga.
Asian Spirit is a domestic passenger airline with the mission to operate scheduled services to tourist destinations and secondary and tertiary airports where other airlines don't dare to operate.
During the 4th BIMP-Eaga Transport, Infrastructure, Information and Communication Technology Development (TIICTD) Cluster Meeting on April 9 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, the Philippines has requested Malaysia's urgent assistance in considering that Sandakan airport be declared as an additional Eaga entry point for air service.
During that meeting, the Eaga working group on air linkages agreed to grant fifth freedom traffic rights to all passenger and cargo services in the airports of Manado and Tarakan in Indonesia, State of Labuan and Miri in Malaysia as well as in Puerto Princesa and General Santos City in the Philippines.
These are the new Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights (FFTR) designated points in BIMP-Eaga in addition to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei Darussalam, Balikpapan and Pontianak in Indonesia, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in Malaysia, as well as Davao and this city here in the Philippines.
Leyretana said the BIMP-Eaga countries have been pushing for the expansion of air links in the sub-region in an effort to promote and enhance intra-regional trade, tourism and investment cooperation among the focus areas.
He said the provision of air services in the BIMP-Eaga is envisioned to bring about greater accessibility, facilitate mobility of people, enhance flow of goods and commodities and attract investors to locate in the sub-region.
