Seair flies with new boss

After 38 successful years at the country’s flag carrier, Avelino L. Zapanta moved to Seair, a medium-sized fleet transporting tourists to their final destinations in the country most of which are "too missionary" for the flag carrier to service.

Zapanta was recently introduced to media early December as the new president of Seair.

Zapanta said he decided to join Seair because of "its unique service to the country in support of its tourism development goals."

"It is performing the vital mission of transporting foreign tourists as quickly and as conveniently from the Philippines’ gateways to the final tourist destinations particularly the many resorts located in many islands of the archipelago," Zapanta said.

Zapanta said he hopes to be able to help not only sustain this mission but also expand these services in as many more tourist spots of the country. "At the same time, these services are made easily available to our countrymen in support of domestic tourism as well."

"With 7,107 islands comprising the Philippine archipelago, there exist a great opportunity for medium-sized airlines to service and thrive," Zapanta said.

In September, Seair signed a contract with Singapore’s low-fare airline Tiger Airways to promote Philippine travel and tourism and boost Seair’s regional market presence. The airline will employ an additional 100 Filipino technical professionals, including pilots and cabin crew, to run this expanded operation. It is anticipated that this agreement will create up to 1,000 more jobs in and around Clark.

"Seair is the first and only passenger airline based in Clark. Our vision is to be the best and biggest airline operator in Clark to serve the riding public with low cost and affordable value for money air travel using brand new equipment and aircraft," said Zapanta.

Recruitment is now ongoing for 18 additional pilots and 32 flight attendants. For the convenience of the riding public, Seair added four check-in counters in Manila Domestic Airport and two at the Caticlan (Boracay) Airport.

Seair introduced to the public last June the integrated Airline Reservation and Ticketing System (ARTS), the first ever online booking system to offer flights to Caticlan, Palawan , Cebu , Clark and Manila . Revenue generated by the online system has reached the P6 million target this month and is growing by 20 percent month-on-month. The reservation and ticketing system is projected to generate as much as 30 percent growth in new business next year.

"Aviation has been denied the opportunity for optimal and viable operation because of heavily-penalized level of aircraft utilization since most of the airports have no sufficient navigational aids for a 24/7 accessibility. Many of the marginal airports are closed to flight operations when wet, a disincentive in the tourism campaign as well," Zapanta said.

Zapanta spent 38 years with Philippine Airlines starting from the very bottom to the very top of the totem pole covering marketing and sales, commercial and ground operation and finally top management functions.

"If I had been able to lead the turnaround of the national flag carrier to unprecedented level of profitability today there is no reason why I cannot do the same in Seair," he stressed.

He said Seair is in an "enviable position of operating a fleet of modern and cost efficient aircraft. Both the current fleet of Dornier 328s and the LET 410 UVP-Es, and the forthcoming A320s are noted for their fuel efficiency."