CAAP approves AirAsia Inc. Philippines license to operate
Clarke, 8 February 2012 – AirAsia Inc. (Philippines) yesterday received from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) its air operator certificate (AOC) as a commercial air carrier that will allow it to fly passengers from its hub in Clark to domestic and international destinations.
In a handover ceremony held at the CAAP office in Manila, AirAsia Inc. CEO Marianne Hontiveros thanked CAAP officials led by Director General Ramon S. Gutierrez and expressed confidence that the new rigid process and requirements for issuance of the AOC which AirAsia Inc. fully complied with will enhance a system of checks and balances to ensure safety conscientiousness in Philippine Aviation.
“Today is a wonderful day indeed not only for us in AirAsia Inc. but for Filipino travelers here and around the world who have been looking forward to flying with us. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to make air travel more fun, affordable and accessible to all Filipinos. With the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Angeles, Pampanga as our hub, we look forward to helping revitalize tourism and significantly increasing passenger traffic at DMIA.” Hontiveros said.
“We are excited to announce that in the coming weeks, AirAsia, Inc. will begin its domestic and international operations utilizing two brand new Airbus A-320s flown in from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France. Today is also a source of national pride as our all-Filipino crew begins to fly travelers across the country and overseas,” Hontiveros added.
AirAsia Inc. registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March last year to engage primarily in the business of air transportation in the Philippines and abroad for passenger and cargo.
AirAsia Inc. is a 60-40 joint venture between Filipino investors Antonio O. Cojuangco, Michael L. Romero and Marianne B. Hontiveros, and Malaysia’s AirAsia International Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of AirAsia Berhad, which has won SkyTrax’s best low cost airline for three consecutive years.
AirAsia Inc. keeps abreast with the social media community via Facebook and Twitter accounts. Guests are able to receive real-time updates on latest promotions and interact viafacebook.com/AirAsiaPhilippines andtwitter.com/AirAsiaPh.