Pearl dust in Davao

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much to connect Clark in Pampanga with Davao City down south, beyond the distance of just over 1,000 kilometers that lies between them. There was, of course, the historical coincidence of being the first two sites bombed by the Japanese in the Philippines shortly after Pearl Harbor. That circumstance aside, there’s little to bring up — unless you figure in the fact that both places have large international airports sprawling across rustic, largely traffic-free territory. These airports, and the cities they are adjacent to, also happen to be gateways to the regions around them — Clark to Central and Northern Luzon, and Davao to Southeastern Mindanao, and parts beyond.

That’s the reason behind budget airline AirAsia’s decision to open a new route between Clark and Davao — the economic, tourism, and cultural potentials of connecting these two hubs on either end of the archipelago. Last week, on March 28, a brand-new Airbus 320 took off from Clark for Davao for the first time on Flight PQ7023, and I was lucky to be on it, thanks to an invitation from AirAsia Philippines, whose bosses must have known what a budget-fare freak I am. (Freebies and press junkets aside, budget fares are all I can afford.)

As it happened, by some happy coincidence, I had fairly fresh memories of both places, the past two Taboan literary festivals having been held in Davao last year and Clark just last February. I recalled a discussion we had on the organizing committee for the Clark event, wondering aloud about how many airlines flew directly to Clark from the Visayas and Mindanao, given that our delegates were coming in from all over the country.

Apparently, we weren’t alone in asking that question. Clark Airport president Chichos Luciano would recall at the launch how Davao businessman Angie Angliongto, having some business to do in Clark, felt frustrated by having to fly in to Manila, slog through Manila traffic to get to the North Luzon expressway, then ride another 80 kilometers to another airport he could have flown to in less than two hours.

Situations like that prompted AirAsia founder and group chairman Tony Fernandes — a London-educated and driven but very amiable Malaysian — to explore the possibility of setting up shop in the Philippines. Since 2005, it has been running flights out of Clark to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu; the Clark-Davao route, as well as a Clark-Kalibo route also inaugurated on the same day, marks AirAsia’s entry into the domestic market. Puerto Princesa is next on the schedule, come April.

“We’re not after taking market share away from others,” said Tony at the launch. “Our aim is to grow the market. There are vast opportunities for an ASEAN airline serving 600 million people. Especially in a rich tourism market like the Philippines, connectivity will bring more first-time visitors in. We want to be able to offer safe, affordable, and enjoyable flights, so that, as our slogan says, now everyone can fly.”

I remember seeing the AirAsia livery in Kota Kinabalu for the first time two months ago. I was traveling with Beng on another budget airline and was curious about this one, especially since so many passengers, both Filipinos and Malaysians, were boarding the Clark-bound flight.

Sun, sand, and sea in Davao’s Pearl Farm Beach Resort

What I didn’t know then was that AirAsia, now just ten years old, has been voted the world’s best low-cost carrier by passengers on Skytrax for the past three years. From two old planes at the start, the airline has grown to a fleet of 100, and Fernandes expects to deploy from 13 to 20 new Airbus 320s out of Clark by 2015. For the Philippine operation, Fernandes partnered with another Tony, Tonyboy Cojuangco; businessman Mikee Romero also chipped in some money, and after the necessary paperwork was completed, AirAsia Philippines was born, with the pleasantly familiar Ma-an Hontiveros — like Tony Fernandes, a former music industry executive — at the helm as CEO.

So what can this peso-challenged traveler say about the new kid on the block? Very simply this: it’s great to fly on a budget airline that doesn’t look and feel like one. Not only are the planes spotlessly new; the seats are better cushioned, and there are many inches to spare between my knees and the seat before me. Working on a laptop, as I’m doing right now, is a breeze. The red-and-black motif of the interior, picked up by the uniforms of the flight attendants (black for the men, red for the women), looks smart and professional. A hot chicken adobo meal and the usual snacks and sandwiches can be bought onboard (you can even reserve your adobo online, for a discount).

And one more thing: to travelers frustrated by ultra-cheap “budget” fares that turn out to be many thousands of pesos costlier after all the surcharges and taxes are figured in, Ma-an promised that AirAsia would publish only “all-in” fares with no hidden charges. Depending on how early you book and what options you choose, the fares can vary across a broad range of tiers from dirt-cheap to competitive. There are buses that now service the Manila-Clark route, so even for us Manileños, the Clark gateway has becomea viable option.

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The other part of our trip was pure R&R — more rest than recreation — in some of Davao’s best and most popular hotels and resorts. I drew a night at Pearl Farm Beach Resort on Samal Island, and, well, I can’t complain.

The last time I was on Samal in the mid-1990s, we stayed in an adequate but relatively and appropriately modest resort. This time, we were being treated to the best Davao had to offer, and it was everything I’d expected it to be, and more — a postcard-pretty strip of white-sand beach, emerald waters, rows of cottages either on or overlooking the water, an infinity pool, a spa, a sports center, a nature trail, shuttles to neighboring islands, a sumptuous buffet, a view to die for.

All that may sound like a cliché to the blasé, but to the dog-tired, the hungry, and the agitated — a fair description of our lot, especially those like me who’d gotten up from bed at 4 that morning to make the dash to Clark and then to Davao — Pearl Farm was nothing short of nirvana. I had to continue working at an overdue job, but an ice-cold beer at the Parola Bar at sunset proved such a sedative that I put the work aside and took in the scenery until nothing remained of the light but a pale gash on the horizon and its reflection on the water.

And then a firefly appeared, and then another, and suddenly a swarm of them was dancing before my laughing eyes. I tried to take a picture but my point-and-shoot was too slow to catch the action, which was just as well. Some of the best images and memories are ephemeral; I came to Pearl Farm expecting pearls but it seemed more like someone had powdered one and scattered the shiny dust in the air for me.

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E-mail me at penmanila@yahoo.com and check out my blog at www.penmanila.ph.