Asian Spirit
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| Asian Spirit | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA 6K |
ICAO RIT |
Callsign ASIAN SPIRIT |
| Founded | 1996 | |
| Hubs | ||
| Focus cities | ||
| Fleet size | 18 | |
| Destinations | 26 | |
| Parent company | AMY Holdings, Inc. | |
| Headquarters |  Manila, Philippines |
|
| Key people | Alfredo M. Yao (President and CEO, Donald Dee (Chairman) | |
| Website: http://www.asianspirit.com/ | ||
Asian Spirit, Inc. is an airline based in Pasay City, Manila in the Philippines. It operates scheduled domestic and international tourist services, mainly feeder services linking Manila and Cebu with 24 domestic destinations in support of the trunk route operations of other airlines. Its main base is Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, with hubs at Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in the Clark Special Economic Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga.[1]
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[edit] History
The airline was established in September 1995 by three friends, Antonio "Toti" Turalba, Emmanuel "Noel" Oñate, and Archibald Po, who contributed $1 million each to start up an Airline Employees Cooperative(AEC/AS). They invited their 36 Filipino friends, mostly former Philippine Airlines employees to run Asian Spirit through salary to equity swap deal.[2] [3] [4]
It started operations in April 1996 with two second hand Dash 7 aircraft servicing only one scheduled commercial route with two flights per day from Manila to Malay (Boracay), then a fledging island resort. To maximize its aircraft utilization, it introduced new routes to the present-day towns of San Jose, Virac, Daet, Tablas, and the cities of Cauayan and Masbate regarded as secondary and tertiary routes by Air Transportation Office, and are not serviced by major airlines. In 1997, the cooperative changed to a corporate set-up with the establishment of Asian Spirit Inc., whose registration was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2005.
Asian Spirit has the distinction of being the first scheduled airline to serve Boracay. Other operators served the airport on charter basis then. It became the Philippines's fourth flag carrier (after Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines) in 2003.
Asian Spirit flies to Sandakan, Malaysia three times weekly from Zamboanga utilizing NAMC YS-11 and used to fly to Palau, Micronesia, three times weekly from Cebu and every Wednesday from Davao using BAE-146. It also previously flew to Seoul, South Korea three times weekly from Kalibo, Laoag, and Davao using its McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft.[5].
It will fly to Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore in 2008 using Airbus 320 and MD-80 aircraft slated for delivery in 2008. [6].
On March, 2008, Asian Spirit inc. was sold for around 1 Billion Philippine Peso's. Juice king and banker Alfredo M. Yao completed the takeover of flag carrier Asian Spirit Inc. (ASI), with the signing of a share-purchase agreement Wednesday evening with the Airline Employees’ Cooperative (AEC) and individual shareholders led by prominent businessman and CATS founder Antonio Ang, Antonio Turalba Jr. of the Active Group Inc. and investment banker Noel Oñate. Alfredo M. Yao is the owner of the Zest-O Corp one of the largest fruit-juice makers in country—and also chairman of Private Business Bank. Yao disclosed that he would “initially be the president” of the airline and Donald Dee will be chairman. Dee is chairman emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and, like Yao, holds a government-appointed title as special envoy for international trade. Yao is special envoy for the development of tourism with China.[7]
After the takeover bid was successful, the new CEO and owner expressed interest in merging with its competitor airline, South East Asian Airlines or SEAIR. The two airlines have been in talks with merging, and are expected to make a decision soon.[8] The New Owners of Asian Spirit, is apparently eyeing for a majority 60 percent stake in SeaAir.[9]
[edit] Incidents and Accidents
On December 7, 1999, Asian Spirit Flight 100, an Let L-410, crashed between Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya and Cabarroguis in Quirino. The plane was headed for Cauayan Airport in Cauayan City, killing all 15 passengers on board and 2 crew. The accident forced the closure of the Manila-Cauayan route, which remains closed to this day.[10][11]
On September 4, 2002 Asian Spirit flight 897 was the last flight of the day to Caticlan and departed the Manila domestic airport for at 15:36 for a one hour flight. On approach to Caticlan the right main gear failed to deploy. The approach was abandoned and the crew decided to return to Manila for an emergency landing. The plane circled for about 35 minutes over Las Piñas to burn off fuel. The crew then carried out an emergency landing with the right gear retracted on Manila's international airport runway 24. After touchdown the aircraft swerved off the runway onto a grassy area.[12]
On November 14, 2005 Asian Spirit Flight 587, a British Aerospace BAe-146-200 reportedly aquaplaned and overran runway 04/22, a 4429 feet (1350 m) long concrete runway at Catarman National Airport. The aircraft came to rest in a muddy rice field.[13]
On January 2, 2008, Asian Spirit Flight 321, a 70-seat Japanese-made NAMC YS-11 turboprop from Manila, piloted by Captain Alexandro Tiglao with First Officer Dominick Mendoza as co-pilot, overshot the runway at Masbate City airport at 7:30 a.m., due to heavy tailwind with gustiness to 14 knots during landing at runway 21. Although none of the 47 passengers were seriously injured, the accident destroyed the aircraft’s nozzle, the plane’s right propeller, and its right and nose wheel, and caused the plane’s fuel tank to leak.[14]
[edit] Destinations
[edit] Fleet
The Asian Spirit fleet includes the following aircraft (at 3 June 2008):
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Economy) |
Routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAe 146-100 | 3 | 83 | Domestic; Cebu-Palau; Davao-Palau |
| BAe 146-200 | 1 | ||
| BAe ATP | 1 | 70 | Domestic |
| CN-235 | 1 | 40 | Domestic |
| de Havilland Dash 7-100 | 5 | 50 | Domestic |
| Let-410 UVP-E | 3 | 19 | Domestic |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 1 (which is operated by Khors Aircompany) | 127 | Davao-Seoul; Kalibo-Seoul; Laoag-Seoul |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1 | Davao-Seoul; Kalibo-Seoul; Laoag-Seoul | |
| NAMC YS-11 | 2 | 60 | Domestic; Zamboanga-Sandakan |
As of June 2008, the average age of the Asian Spirit fleet is 22.5 years ([1]).
[edit] Previously Operated
On November 2006, the airline also operated :[15]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-03-27, p. 78.
- ^ Asian Spirit History. Asian Spirit Website. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Asian Spirit. Tony Lopez, ABS-CBN Interactive. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Asian Spirit: The Niche Player. Makati Business Club. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Asian Spirit to acquire more aircraft for regional expansion. Manila Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Asian Spirit joins refleeting bandwagon. Manila Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ Asian Spirit sold for 'around P1B
- ^ SEAIR, Asian Spirit merger looms
- ^ Yao Group to acquire Asian Spirit
- ^ ASN Aviation Safety Database. aviation-safety.net (December 7, 1999). Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ Philippines crash claims 17 lives. BBC News (8 December 1999). Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ ASN Aviation Safety Database. aviation-safety.net (September 4, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
- ^ ASN Aviation Safety Database. aviation-safety.net (November 14, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
- ^ Plane overshoots runway in Masbate City. abs-cbnnews.com (January 2, 2008). |accessdate=2008-05-07}}
- ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
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