AFTER being tagged as the airline, which flew one of the greatest air disasters in the country in 2000, Air Philippines is now reinventing the company's image, aiming to entice passengers with its low-cost flights and great customer service.
For a start, the airline changed its name to AirPhil Express. "This is the 'Big Change,'" said Maria Java, the airline's marketing head.
"We don't deal with our past manufacturer anymore," Java said.
AirPhil Express team, composed of Java, Southern Philippines area head Roland Salaver, and OIC of Sales Snooker Jaranilla, boasted of their highly-reliable and ultra-comfortable new fleet of planes.
"As of now, we have three 50-seater Q300s, five 76-seater Q400s and 2 177-seater Airbus A320s, manufactured in France and Germany" Jaranilla said.
"By October, we are adding the A320s. By the end of the year, we will add another four. Next year, we are going to have another six Airbus planes," he added.
AirPhil Express currently has 568 flights a week, primarily from their Manila and Cebu hubs. They will be launching their Davao-Manila (P800) and Cebu-Manila (P600) flights on July 21 and its Davao hub is expected to open next year.
The airlines have seasonal promos such as Express Sales, Frideals, 20-kilo free baggage allowance, and even P1 fare.
Aside from the competitive promos, they are also looking into extensive advertisement.
"Noise in the media is what the consumer wants," Java said. "We are really serious in localizing our advertisements."
When asked about the complaints other airlines have been getting regarding their customer service, Java replied: "We consider ourselves a low-cost carrier but at the end of the day, we would like to be known as an airline of great customer service."