MANILA, Philippines — Low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines is negotiating with the new operator of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to resolve disputes on rising fees, as the airline prepares to turn the gateway into its hub to North America.
Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia’s parent Capital A Berhad, is leading talks with the New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) on mitigating the impact of spiking rates in airport services.
Although nothing is final yet, Fernandes said negotiations with NNIC president Ramon Ang are focused on securing a package that would enable AirAsia to sustain its budget-friendly model to the benefit of travelers.
“We are working on something with Ramon (Ang). It is not resolved yet, but he is cognizant of it and supportive. The most important thing is we have a good dialog. We are looking at various packages, nothing is confirmed, but we will keep you posted,” Fernandes said.
Under the Manila International Airport Authority’s Administrative Order 1, airlines are charged a monthly rate of P950 per square meter for lease of office spaces. Fernandes said the NNIC came up with a solution to soften the blow on carriers’ rental costs.
“Office rent went through the roof, (our team) would have been in tents outside of NAIA because we couldn’t afford the rent that was being charged,” Fernandes said.
In a letter obtained by The STAR, the Airline Operators Council (AOC) is requesting the NNIC to defer the lease increase scheduled to take effect tomorrow.
On top of this, the AOC, headed by Edgar Allan Nepomuceno, is asking the NNIC for a meeting to discuss measures that would mitigate the impact of the lease hike.
Fernandes said AirAsia is preparing to transform Manila into a regional hub to US destinations. He said the goal is to bring widebody aircraft into the fleet of AirAsia Philippines to enable it to reach the eastern and western coasts of the US.
Fernandes believes turning the Philippines into a Southeast Asian hub to the US would make it a popular jumpoff point for Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists. He said AirAsia has the advantage of pricing compared to airlines flying to the US from the Philippines.
AirAsia Philippines manages a fleet of 16 aircraft, but this is expected to go up with four coming back from the maintenance yard.