ASIAN SPIRIT under new management
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Newspapers: Believe them or not!
Who ever guessed that Asian Spirit has so many aircraft?
What do you believe the newspapers over in the Philippines?
Untitled Document
What do you believe the newspapers over in the Philippines?
Untitled Document
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.
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.
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Crap
My god thanks for the post as you say in phil bola-bola.........right. They are flying two planes only. Can the really take on Cebu and PAL??? I do not think so so bye bye zesto what a name ......
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Saw the Ad in one of the local newspaper, think they advertised it as Zest Air, had 2 partial planes on the ad, the front of the MA-60 and the tail and wing of an Airbus.
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Asia's most refreshing airline?? Do they serve you gallons of zest-o inside? Thats probly necessary if you are inside the ma60. 
Mr. Yao , no offense but ,what were you thinking????
Orange and green??
You gotta be kidding!!!
Mr. Yao , no offense but ,what were you thinking????
Orange and green??
You gotta be kidding!!!
Last edited by 738FO; 13th Oct 2008 at 02:16.
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extracted from GMANews.TV...
MANILA, Philippines - Juice taipan and banker Alfredo M. Yao plans to merge budget carriers Asian Spirit, Inc. and South East Asian Airlines, Inc. (SEAIR) by yearend, in a bid to make the merged entity more competitive amid rising fuel prices by streamlining redundant destinations and cutting costs.
This as he completes negotiations for his takeover of SEAIR within the next two months, shortly after buying Asian Spirit last month.
"I still don’t know which [of the two airlines] will be the surviving entity after the merger," Mr. Yao said. He also did not say whether the merger would result in layoffs.
Mr. Yao, chairman of juice manufacturer Zest-O Corp., said his talks with SEAIR owners, including Nikos Gitsis, Iren Dornier and Tomas B. Lopez, are already at their final stage.
"There was already a meeting of the minds," Mr. Yao told reporters in a chance meeting in Boracay on Friday.
He said his group has started due diligence on SEAIR to prepare for the change of ownership. He admitted that the acquisition cost for SEAIR has been finalized, but declined to confirm reports that the price was around P1 billion, similar to the price tag of Asian Spirit.
Last month, Mr. Yao acquired Asian Spirit through AMY Holdings, Inc., an investment company that he owns with his siblings. The share purchase agreement was signed after five months of intense negotiations.
He said discussions on the SEAIR acquisition had started at about the same time, adding that a deal would be signed by June.
With his looming purchase of SEAIR, Mr. Yao can dominate low-cost flights to Caticlan, the gateway to the island of Boracay.
Data from the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Caticlan showed that Asian Spirit and SEAIR captured a combined 60% of the 7,352 reported flights to and from Caticlan last year.
The rest was cornered by Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines and Island Getaway. The latter two are owned by tycoon Lucio Tan, whose Philippine Airlines is also venturing into destinations with smaller airports after it bought nine small aircraft last week.
Mr. Yao, who also owns Philippine Business Bank and Export and Industry Bank, said he intends to merge the two airlines within the year to strengthen domestic operations.
Set up in 1995, Asian Spirit flies to 12 local and three international destinations like Incheon, Korea; Sandakan, Malaysia; and Macau using a fleet of 10 planes.
SEAIR was established in the same year and now has 11 planes that fly to 16 domestic destinations.
Mr. Yao said he would streamline redundant destinations once the merger is completed.
He added that the merger would consider the strength of Asian Spirit in its international flights, and of SEAIR, which has focused on its fast flights to local destinations like Palawan and nearby islands. - BusinessWorld
MANILA, Philippines - Juice taipan and banker Alfredo M. Yao plans to merge budget carriers Asian Spirit, Inc. and South East Asian Airlines, Inc. (SEAIR) by yearend, in a bid to make the merged entity more competitive amid rising fuel prices by streamlining redundant destinations and cutting costs.
This as he completes negotiations for his takeover of SEAIR within the next two months, shortly after buying Asian Spirit last month.
"I still don’t know which [of the two airlines] will be the surviving entity after the merger," Mr. Yao said. He also did not say whether the merger would result in layoffs.
Mr. Yao, chairman of juice manufacturer Zest-O Corp., said his talks with SEAIR owners, including Nikos Gitsis, Iren Dornier and Tomas B. Lopez, are already at their final stage.
"There was already a meeting of the minds," Mr. Yao told reporters in a chance meeting in Boracay on Friday.
He said his group has started due diligence on SEAIR to prepare for the change of ownership. He admitted that the acquisition cost for SEAIR has been finalized, but declined to confirm reports that the price was around P1 billion, similar to the price tag of Asian Spirit.
Last month, Mr. Yao acquired Asian Spirit through AMY Holdings, Inc., an investment company that he owns with his siblings. The share purchase agreement was signed after five months of intense negotiations.
He said discussions on the SEAIR acquisition had started at about the same time, adding that a deal would be signed by June.
With his looming purchase of SEAIR, Mr. Yao can dominate low-cost flights to Caticlan, the gateway to the island of Boracay.
Data from the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Caticlan showed that Asian Spirit and SEAIR captured a combined 60% of the 7,352 reported flights to and from Caticlan last year.
The rest was cornered by Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines and Island Getaway. The latter two are owned by tycoon Lucio Tan, whose Philippine Airlines is also venturing into destinations with smaller airports after it bought nine small aircraft last week.
Mr. Yao, who also owns Philippine Business Bank and Export and Industry Bank, said he intends to merge the two airlines within the year to strengthen domestic operations.
Set up in 1995, Asian Spirit flies to 12 local and three international destinations like Incheon, Korea; Sandakan, Malaysia; and Macau using a fleet of 10 planes.
SEAIR was established in the same year and now has 11 planes that fly to 16 domestic destinations.
Mr. Yao said he would streamline redundant destinations once the merger is completed.
He added that the merger would consider the strength of Asian Spirit in its international flights, and of SEAIR, which has focused on its fast flights to local destinations like Palawan and nearby islands. - BusinessWorld