The Philippines and Malaysia have signed a new air service agreement that doubles the current capacity of weekly flights between the two countries.
“The Philippines and Malaysia signed late Wednesday (October 29) in Manila a new agreement that increased by 100% the capacity between Manila and Kuala Lumpur from the previous 4,820 seats per week to 9,640 seats per week,” Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) executive director Carmelo Arcilla said in a text message.
The agreement, which updates the 2011 air pact, also provides for unlimited seats per week from the current 2,000 seats weekly between all points in Malaysia and the Philippines except for Manila.
“The new agreement will allow our airlines to expand on the routes between the Philippines and Malaysia, especially (since) the market continues to grow and our airlines have been fully utilizing their entitlements,” Arcilla added.
The CAB noted that budget carrier AirAsia Zest “has been operating beyond the limit and is utilizing temporary rights.”
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines and budget carrier Cebu Pacific Air also operate flights to Malaysia.
Air talks with Malaysia have been cancelled twice. The first cancellation was in April following the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, and the second in August after Malaysia Airline flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine.
Aside from Malaysia, the Philippine air negotiating panel, composed of officials from CAB, Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Clark International Airport Corporation as well as representatives of Philippine carriers, has also concluded agreements with Canada, Ethiopia, France, Hong Kong, Macau, Myanmar, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.
Image courtesy of noppasinw at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
