Budget carrier AirAsia Philippines announces the suspension of their Clark to Kota Kinabalu route effective February 1, 2013. In their press release, the low-cost airline cited the the company's plan to realign its business and strengthen operations in core markets for 2013 as the reason for the take down. Clark - Kota Kinabalu is the latest route suspended by AirAsia. Last December 1, 2012, they stopped their Clark-Macau and Clark - Puerto Princesa routes.
Affected passengers were offered three options:
Similarly, passengers who have connecting flights on AirAsia or AirAsia X will be offered any one of the following options:
Except for PAL, all the airlines operates in a low-cost model, offering cheap promo fares to attract more flyers. Cebu Pacific became very successful in this model, surpassing the long time leader PAL as the largest airline company in the country. Others followed Cebu Pacific's steps. Airphil Express re-branded from Air Philippines to become a low-cost airline. They saw a relative success but also saw increase in competition. Couple that with increase in fuel prices, these factors drives airline profits down.
Affected passengers were offered three options:
- Flights will be moved to an earlier date to or from Kota Kinabalu/Clark without any additional charges (subject to flight availability)
- Offered credit shell for the value of purchase with 3 months validity
- Full refund
Similarly, passengers who have connecting flights on AirAsia or AirAsia X will be offered any one of the following options:
- Flights will be moved to any other available flight to/from their original connecting destination
- Offered credit shell for the value of purchase with 3 months validity
- Full refund
Increased Competition in Local Airline Industry
The boom in the local airline industry was tempered by increase in fuel prices and competition. Currently, there are six companies operating in local skylanes - Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific, Airphil Express, Tiger-Seair, Zest Air and AirAsia Philippines. Cebu Pacific lead the pack flying over 13 Million passengers last year, 2012.Except for PAL, all the airlines operates in a low-cost model, offering cheap promo fares to attract more flyers. Cebu Pacific became very successful in this model, surpassing the long time leader PAL as the largest airline company in the country. Others followed Cebu Pacific's steps. Airphil Express re-branded from Air Philippines to become a low-cost airline. They saw a relative success but also saw increase in competition. Couple that with increase in fuel prices, these factors drives airline profits down.
About AirAsia Philippines
AirAsia Philippines is an affiliate of AirAsia, a Malaysian-based airline company and is the largest low-cost airline in Asia. They began their operation in the country last March 2012 in their main hub at Clark International Airport, in Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga. They currently serve two domestic and three international destinations namely Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Singapore, Davao, and Kalibo.
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