Who ever guessed that Asian Spirit has so many aircraft?
What do you believe the newspapers over in the Philippines?
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Re-fleeting, collectibles top Asian Spirit’s agenda
Asian Spirit, the new acquisition of major juice maker and banker Alfredo M. Yao, may spend over P10 billion for its ambitious re-fleeting program that will make it a “significant” player in the local airline industry. The airline plans to initially acquire eight aircraft in the first phase of its expansion and another eight in the next stage as it modernizes fleet and trims its reliance on lease arrangements.
Ambassador and Asian Spirit chairman Donald Dee declined to say the exact amount of the re-fleeting program when pressed by this writer in a telephone conversation, but he hinted that it would be in excess of $200 million. Dee sounded upbeat during the interview as he disclosed that the airline was expecting the arrival of two Airbus jets by November.
Dee said Asian Spirit was no longer renewing its lease on old planes and would rather hire new ones to trim operating costs.
Standard Today reporter Elaine Ramos Alanguilan quoted Dee earlier as saying that the first phase of the re-fleeting program included the acquisition of two Airbus A-320 for regional and long-haul domestic flights and another five 60-seater Jetcraft ideal for short distance flights.
Set for phaseout in the airline’s current fleet of 18 are the BAe 146 aircraft, which are capable of transporting 80 to 100 people each. Asian Spirit had relied on BAe jets for its domestic and the Cebu-Palau and Davao-Palau routes. Manufactured by British Aerospace Systems, the BAe jet is known for having the best short takeoff and landing capability. The aircraft requires just a 1,100-meter-long runway to take off and land.
Minor irritants
Dee, meanwhile, denied talk that Yao and his group had a sort of falling out with the former owners of Asian Spirit. Yao, owner of Zest-O Corp., RC Cola and Philippine Business Bank, bought the airline from the Airline Employees Cooperative led by prominent businessman and CATS founder Antonio Ang, Antonio Turralba Jr. of the Active Group Inc., and investment banker Noel Oñate for P1 billion in March.
The grapevine said Yao’s group inherited a substantial amount of collectibles from the Korean general sales representative of Asian Spirit, who took care of the airline’s Korean routes. Asian Spirit operated the Davao-Seoul, Kalibo-Seoul and Laoag-Seoul routes before it was acquired by its new set of owners.
The grapevine said the former owners of Asian Spirit failed to collect payments from its Korean partner for servicing the Korean routes. The Yao group as a result ended up with the sizeable amount of collectibles. But Dee said the new owners were aware of the non-payment during the negotiations to acquire Asian Spirit and declined to blame Ang, Turralba and Oñate for the liability.
New thrusts
Fresh capital will now be the least of the problems of Asian Spirit. Its owners are relatively awash with cash and its management, initially in the hands of Dee, is well-connected. Dee is chairman emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry while Yao is a government special envoy for international trade and development of tourism with China.
Asian Spirit is expected to add China to its foreign destinations and boost its Korean flights. Its re-branding soon will give passengers a clear idea of the airline’s future thrusts. Asian Spirit’s merger with Southeast Asian Airlines, meanwhile, will have to take a backseat unless Seair’s owners finally agree to a minority stake. A bigger and modern Asian Spirit, however, will limit the options of Seair in the competitive budget airline industry.