Transportation
Flying high!
Cebu Pacific, the listed aviation unit of taipan John Gokongwei, has beefed up its fleet, allowing it to fly international routes.
Last May 18, the carrier took delivery of the second of three Airbus A330 aircraft it will receive this year, while another one is due in August 2014.
By end of 2014, the airline will utilize five wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft for its long-haul operations.
With this delivery, CEB now operates a fleet of 52 aircraft comprised of 10 Airbus A319, 30 Airbus A320, 4 Airbus A330 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft.
Between 2014 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 11 more Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and 2 Airbus A330 aircraft.
Cebu Air Inc., one of the largest carriers in the Philippine air transportation industry, offers low-cost services to destinations and routes with high flight frequency within the Philippines.
It entered the aviation industry on March 1996 and pioneered the “low fare, great value” strategy. It has since then flown over 80 million passengers and counting.
CEB also operates flights to 24 cities in 13 countries in North Asia, ASEAN and the Middle East.
Cebu Pacific’s recent acquisition of Singapore’s low-cost Tigerair created the largest low-cost network to and from the Philippines.
The alliance allows both airlines to leverage on each other’s extensive route networks, flight frequencies and customer service, providing customers an even wider range of travel options at the lowest fares possible.
CEB has one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world.
Between 2014 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 12 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321 aircraft orders.
It began long-haul services in the 3rd quarter of 2013, and expects the arrival of three more Airbus A330 aircraft from 2014 to 2015.
CEB is also the dominant air cargo carrier in the Philippines, providing competitive and flexible air cargo services to a network of individual shippers and cargo agents.
Why SMC’s Us$10-B Airport Is Needed
SMC, which has diversified from food and beverage to infrastructure, plans to pursue the project under the government’s 25-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme.
MANILA – Foresight could have spurred powerhouse San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to build its proposed US$10 billion airport as the nation’s new international gateway.
Reflecting its dynamism as a major infrastructure builder, the airport takes into account the rapid rise of passenger traffic in Metro Manila, the nation’s trade and industry hub.
From 31.88 million in 2012, the traffic is projected to rise to 49.8 million in 2020, 75 million in 2030, and 106.7 million in 2040.
The projection, which includes expected traffic from neighboring Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions, is based on a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
As SMC has envisioned, the facility aims to replace the congested and more than three decades old
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in Pasay city.
BOT scheme
As it is now, the NAIA is handling over eight million domestic and international passengers a year, nearly double its designed capacity of 4.5 million.
Unlike the NAIA, the new airport would have four runways to cater to a high-passenger capacity.
Under SMC’s proposal, the airport will initially cover the NAIA’s 400-hectare area to be expanded later to 800 hectares.
The scheme allows SMC to operate the project to recoup investments before turning it over to the
The conglomerate’s proposed airport coincides with the expansion plan of its aviation unit Philippine Airlines (PAL), a joint venture with ethnic Chinese taipan Lucio Tan. SMC has a 49 percent stake in the national flag carrier, while Tan owns the remaining 51 percent.
Expansion plans
Eyeing the lucrative United States route, PAL’S plan calls for the deployment of its fleet of newly acquired Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for the long-haul flights to the US.
The flag carrier viewed the reclassification of the country’s aviation safety rating to Category 1 as a boost to tourism and trade that would open new and exciting opportunities for PAL.
Passengers can enjoy nonstop flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco aboard new aircraft equipped with the most modern cabin and state-of the-art amenities, including lie-flat beds in business class, PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said.
Currently, PAL operates a total of 26 weekly flights to the US, with frequencies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam.
The flag carrier intends to deploy six Boeing 777-300Ers costing about US$1.2 billion, part of the airline’s fleet modernization program, for the US flights.
For flights to Honolulu and Guam, PAL will continue to utilize new wide-body Airbus A330-300s and single-aisle A320-200s.
Apart from fostering a new era in the flag carrier’s transpacific service, Ang said PAL would also explore possible airline partnerships with foreign carriers to maximize the company’s growth potential.
MRT3: Six Years Of Failure?
Come 2016, the Aquino administration will be on its sixth year of failure to address MRT3 passenger overcrowding.
Even after PNoy’s term is over, the MRT3 station running from North EDSA to Taft will still be an unsafe place to be in during rush hour.
Studies on modern railways the world over all agree on one thing: overcrowded trains and train stations equals more accidents equals more passenger deaths.
There is a certain point when apologies become tiring, because it is becoming repetitive and scripted. Commuters have over-extended their patience these past four years.
Assurances by Secretary Herminio Coloma are becoming hollow and meaningless in light of the malfunctioning facilities in almost every MRT3 station.
If it’s not the often-broken escalators, it’s the comfort rooms that do not just have faulty faucets, but ill-maintained sanitation. Even the train station computers are reported to be malfunctioning.
Why can’t the MRT management emulate Tokyo train stations? They hired packers who help squeeze passengers into the train cars, and can do so in such an orderly manner.
BAYAN MUNA Rep. Neri Colmenares is only stating what has already been obvious: four years of failure to solve overcrowding is a sign of incompetence on the part of Malacanang.
If you want to see the current state of a country, you only need to look at how it runs train stations.
After a well-hyped press release on the government takeover of the MRT3 last January 2014, commuter woes are still mounting, with no solution in sight.
It makes one think that the promised takeover may save the government billions of pesos, but it will surely tax daily commuters.
It is like being between a rock and a hard place. Either you take the overspeeding buses in EDSA, or you get yourself squeezed like sardines in the MRT during rush hour.
That is not much of a choice. That is a threat to one’s life and safety.
Mactan-Cebu Airport Private Takeover In October
(Highlight: The public can expect private sector efficiency and more customer-oriented services at the airport beginning in October 2014)
Manila, Philippines – The country’s second-busiest airport will soon begin undergoing a major upgrade, after the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) signed the Concession Agreement for the Mactan-Cebu International Airport with winning consortium GMR-Megawide this morning, 22 April 2014.
The 25-year Concession Agreement was signed following the consortium’s fulfillment of all post-award requirements, including payment to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) of the P 14.4-Billion premium it offered as its financial bid.
Operations and maintenance (O&M) of the airport will be turned over by MCIAA to GMR-Megawide within the next six (6) months, which means that the public can expect private sector efficiency and more customer-oriented services at the airport beginning in October 2014.
The concessionaire should also begin constructing the new passenger terminal building (PTB) by January 2015, which it should complete in three (3) years, or by January 2018. This new terminal will be dedicated to international flights and will rise next to the existing PTB, to which it will be connected.
The existing PTB will then be renovated for completion in January 2019, when it will begin to serve the airport’s domestic clientele exclusively.
The project’s contract signing followed the expiration of the 15-day period to file any motion for reconsideration contesting the award, with no bidder having filed such a motion.
Neither has the transport agency received any temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court (SC), which would prevent the project from proceeding. Absent these legal obstacles, the Concession Agreement’s signing has fixed GMR-Megawide’s contractually-defined timelines mentioned above.
Expo Autoworld Brussels 2
Electric and Amphibious Cars
By Jun-Jun Junia
AFTER seeing a jeepney and seeing lots of old cars inside the AUTOWORLD Expo, it made me realize that I’m inside a vintage car museum. Now that made it more interesting. It’s car heaven.
There is one nook that caught our attention. It was a selection of different car models from vintage-looking to futuristic-designed vehicles. As we went closer to the area, there was a sign that read “EVOLUTION OF ECO CARS” and there I saw, in the corner, a 1916 Detroit Electric.
Yes, you read it right, there was an electric vehicle (EV) during those times. I’m not sure if it was running but the body is in perfect shape. This EV was popularly sold in the 1910’s, selling around 1000 to 2000 cars a year.
The Detroit Electric was mainly sold to women drivers and physicians, as this car starts immediately without the physically demanding hand cracking of the engine that was needed with early internal combustion engine vehicles. They outsold all other types of cars since they did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars.
The question is, what happened to them? In my research, I learned that in the 1920s, internal combustion engine autos became more common and inexpensive, sales of the Electric dropped. The stock market crash of 1929 forced the company to file for bankruptcy. Detroit Electric cars were available only until 1942.
Of course we all know that now, electric is in again due to imminent environmental concerns that made car manufacturers develop hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. So car manufacturers went back developing electric vehicles after all, to eliminate emissions and save the world.
Going to the second floor of the museum, we saw a car displayed near the stairs. It blew our minds away. We thought this type of car was only intended for films, perfect for a spy movie. It’s a 1950 Amphicar, a real amphibious car which can be driven into water and converts into a boat. Just like in the movies! I’m amazed with the design of this car.
At the back, underneath the car, near the location of the muffler, was a propeller. The propeller is sealed and there was no muffler in the area, meaning this can really be converted into a speed boat. Amazing! Looking at this car reminded me of the floods in our country.
I guess this car design is the answer to the flood prone areas in the Philippines since heavy rainfall nowadays causes chest deep waters, or sometimes even worse. Imagine if you have an amphibian car when it’s raining hard and you need to go to work…have nothing to fear, amphibian car to the rescue! You don’t have to be afraid of parking your car in flooded parking areas, all you need is an anchor.
Overall AUTOWORLD is a big car museum with over 300 interesting vintage cars on display. From an 1890s three-wheeled car to a recent electric one, race cars from the 60’s to 90’s with Formula 3 and formula 1 cars, to add, some vintage motorbikes and royal carriages were included as well. The place was really a car lover’s paradise!
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