Air Philippines plans to phase out its Boeing 737-200s and have its future fleet comprising Airbus A320s, newer 737 ‘Classics’ and Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s in addition to Q300s.
The carrier currently operates a fleet of eight 737-200s and one Q300 with two more on order. The second and third Q300 are to be delivered in March and April respectively, the airline’s president, Edilberto Medina, told ATI sister publication Flight International.
He says the carrier’s first 737-300 is due to be delivered on 16 January on lease from Air Philippines’ sister carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), which owns the aircraft.
This aircraft type used to be the mainstay of PAL’s short-haul fleet but now it uses A320s and only has two 737-300s left, one of which is leased while the one it owns was built in 1993, according to Flight’s ACAS database.
Medina says Air Philippines this year will begin grounding its eight 737-200s and he predicts that in 2010 it will only have two left and these will be grounded by the end of that year.
It is currently seeking to lease newer 737 Classics and prefers the 737-400 because of its additional capacity, says Medina, adding that it “may purchase the aircraft if the price is right”.
But he also says this is only an interim solution and that starting in 2009 it plans to start adding A320s which will be the mainstay of its future fleet.
PAL has options for five A320s with delivery slots starting in 2009 and Air Philippines hopes to get those aircraft, says Medina, adding that in 2009 PAL would have completed its A320 fleet renewal.
The 737 ‘Classics’ are still needed as interim solution because Air Philippines is no longer willing to wait and incur the high fuel costs that come from operating such old and inefficient aircraft, says Medina, adding that fuel now accounts for 50% of the carrier’s total expenses.
It also makes no sense for Air Philippines to spend money on a heavy maintenance check and lap joint airframe check for these aircraft because it would be too costly, he adds.
While the A320 seems destined to be the largest aircraft in Air Philippines’ fleet, the airline has become bullish about turboprops since its first Q300 went into scheduled operations on 15 December.
“We have had a good response from the Q300 and we never thought it would be a success so quickly,” says Medina.
The carrier is using its Q300 for a four-times-daily service from Manila to Caticlan, the gateway to the Philippines’ famous Boracay beach strip.
Medina says the carrier has until the end of this month to exercise the options it has for three Q300s but he is tight-lipped about the prospects of Air Philippines having a total of six Q300s.
But he says the carrier definitely plans to add Q400s and is now actively seeking leases on six and hopes to have the first arrive in April.
Medina says the airline chose to seek second-hand Q400s rather than new ones because if it ordered Q400s from Bombardier the first would only be delivered in the last quarter of 2009.
He says the Q300s will be used exclusively for services from Manila and Cebu to Caticlan but the Q400s will be used on other secondary domestic routes to cities such as Basco, Busuanga, Pagadian and Surigao.
The Q400s will be “focused on secondary route opportunities we can’t support with jet operations”, says Medina, adding that some will be routes PAL used to operate on before it grounded its Fokker 50 turboprops several years ago.
Air Philippines’ push into turboprops means it will be competing against Asian Spirit and Seair which operate older turboprops.
Source: flightglobal.com's sister premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news
Source: FlightGlobal.com
