- Air Philippines
Infobox Airline
airline = Air Philippines
image_size = 150
IATA = 2P
ICAO = GAP
callsign = ORIENT PACIFIC
founded = 1995
ceased =
hubs =
*Mactan-Cebu International Airport
*Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila)
secondary_hubs =
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
subsidiaries =
fleet_size = 10
destinations = 8
parent = Philippine Airlines, Inc.
company_slogan =
headquarters =Pasay City ,Philippines
key_people =
website = http://www.airphils.comAir Philippines Corporation is a
low-cost airline based inPasay City ,Manila , thePhilippines . It operates extensive domestic scheduled services fromManila and Cebu. Its main base isSubic Bay International Airport , with a hub atNinoy Aquino International Airport , Manilacite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work=Flight International | page= 65 | date= 2007-03-27] .History
Air Philippines was incorporated on
13 February 1995 , with the base of operations being the formerNaval Air Station Cubi Point . Flight operations started on1 February 1996 with a Boeing 737-200 between Subic Bay, Iloilo and Zamboanga. In April1996 sixNAMC YS-11 aircraft were delivered. In1997 the airline carried over 675,000 passengers and over 773,000 in1998 . InSeptember 1998 the airline was temporarily grounded by the Philippine Air Transportation Office, but was reactivated when U-Land agreed to purchase a stake. InMarch 1999 , Air Philippines was granted approval to operate international services toHong Kong ,Japan ,South Korea ,Taiwan and the USA.In May
2001 two Boeing 737-300 aircraft were delivered. In mid-2002 charter flights were started from Subic Bay andLaoag City to Hong Kong. Passenger numbers carried rose to nearly 881,000 in 2002. In July2004 charter flights started from Subic Bay toGuangzhou . [ [http://www.airphils.com/about.asp "Air Philippines History"] ]Air Philippines significantly increased ties with
Philippine Airlines (PAL), including the merging of frequent flier plans, timetables, and ticket sales. Air Philippines also recently moved into the PAL terminal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila). Some of PAL's major stockowners are also owners of Air Philippines.Fact|date=February 2007Though Air Philippines will officially cease to be part of thePhilippine Airlines Frequent Flier Programme "Mabuhay Miles" as of the 1st of October, 2007. [ [http://www.airphils.com/whatsnew.asp "Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Miles tie-up to be suspended"] ] Air Philippines has said that they chose to back out of the Mabuhay Miles program to benefit their passengers, so rather than flying numerous flights to gain miles and wait to a certain point to receive bonuses, passengers can benefit with lower fares and more discounts with quicker bonuses, much more like today's modern daylow-cost airline .Air Philippines also boasts a number of regional and international airline awards, Air Philippines has been Awarded as "Most Outstanding Domestic Airline" four times by the Consumers Union of the Philippines [ [http://www.airphils.com/about.asp "Air Philippines About-us Page"] ] and numerous other Regional Awards.
On 24 July 2008, it moved all its operations to terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Incidents and accidents
* On
April 19 2000 ,Air Philippines Flight 541 , a Boeing 737-200 crashed nearFrancisco Bangoy International Airport ,Davao City , killing 131 people. [Citation
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/2008892.stm
title=Air disasters timeline
date=November 30 ,2007
publisher=BBC
accessdate=2008-06-01] [Citation
url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20000419-0
title=Accident description
date=April 19 ,2000
publisher=Aviation Safety Network
accessdate=2008-06-01]* On
June 24 ,1996 , an Air Philippines YS-11 aircraft struck a ground power unit while taxiing atNaga Airport (WNP). The aircraft caught fire. There were no fatalities among the 34 aircraft occupants. [Citation
url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19960624-0
title=Accident description
date=June 24 ,1996
publisher=Aviation Safety Network
accessdate=2008-06-01]Destinations
Air Philippines serves the following cities [ [http://www.philippineairlines.com/files/Codeshare_Winter_11Jan2008.pdf Philippine Airlines Code-Share Flights Timetable] ] :
*
Luzon
**Manila (Ninoy Aquino International Airport ) - main hub
**Naga (Naga Airport )
**Puerto Princesa (Puerto Princesa Airport )
*Mindanao
**Davao (Francisco Bangoy International Airport )
**Ozamiz (Labo Airport )
*Visayas
**Bacolod (Bacolod-Silay City International Airport )
**Cebu (Mactan-Cebu International Airport ) - hub
**Iloilo (Iloilo International Airport )Fleet
External links
* [http://www.airphils.com Air Philippines]
* [http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/Air_Philippines?show=all Air Philippines Fleet Detail]References
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