AirAsia to launch more Manila-Tacloban flights

Photo by Mehdi Nazarinia / Wikimedia Commons

TACLOBAN CITY — Banking on increasing demand for air travel, AirAsia’s big boss Tony Fernandes announced plans to add more flights from Manila to Tacloban.

Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AirAsia Group, said in a recent press briefing here that the 90 percent load factor of Tacloban-Manila route after super typhoon Yolanda struck is very encouraging.

“We are very positive of passenger growth for Tacloban. Our plan is to add two or three more flights as soon as the airport is fully operational,” Fernandes told reporters, adding that the airline is waiting for installation of navigational aids before launching night flights.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is targeting to complete immediate rehabilitation project for storm-hit Daniel Z.

Romualdez Airport within two months.

Currently, AirAsia flies to Tacloban from Manila three times daily, carrying about 800 to 1,000 passengers. Each flight carries 140 to 170 travelers.

The airline is bullish of 50 percent passenger volume growth for 2014 to about three million from two million last year.