Air Asia: Where quality service and cost efficiency meet

MANILA, Philippines — Fly to Aklan and Davao in an airline where you don’t have to pay much and yet where service is of the highest quality.

This is what AirAsia Inc. seeks to provide its passengers as it flies to Aklan and Davao starting Wednesday, with its inaugural flights taking off later this Wednesday in Clark, Pampanga.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said that the reason why they chose to offer flights to Davao was because it was the gateway to Mindanao while Boracay in Kalibo, Aklan proved to be still, a very popular tourist destination.

Transportation Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II led in the send off ceremonies.

He was joined by Fernandes, Hontiveros, AirAsia Deputy Group CEO Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani, President Director of AirAsia Indonesia Dharmadi, AirAsia Inc. Chairman Antonio Cojuangco, AirAsia Inc. Vice-Chairman Michael Romero, AirAsia Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan, Clark International Airport Corporation President Victor Jose Luciano, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, and airport officials and representatives from Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and Civil Aeronautics Board.

Philippines’ AirAsia Inc. CEO Maan Hontiveros said that this was only the beginning of their plans to introduce flights to local destinations and in “revolutionizing air travel in the Philippines.”

The Clark to Davao and Clark to Kalibo routes will not only make air travel for those living in Northern and Central Luzon more convenient but definitely make them feel more comfortable, she added.

Passengers can even beat EDSA traffic and avoid the long lines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

She then told reporters that they planned on launching flights to Puerto Princesa this April.

To date, Philippines’ AirAsia Inc. owns two brand new Airbus A320s for its daily trips to Davao and two flights per day for Kalibo. She said that they were “luckier than most” because some of their counterparts usually started with old aircraft.

Hontiveros said that they were expecting two more aircraft within the year.

Low cost does not necessarily mean low quality in service as Fernandes shared that the key to their services was their people whose “can do” attitude ensured that passengers received quality service.

Fernandes said that the Philippines had a lot of potential in the tourism industry.

The first flight during the launch was PQ7001 which left for Kalibo, Aklan at 7 a.m. with 143 passengers.

Philippines’ AirAsia flight PQ7023 left for Davao at 10 a.m. while PQ7005 in particular will embark on its very first flight to Kalibo, Aklan at 2:45 p.m. from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.