Ramos backs creation of regional airline

Ramos backs creation of regional airline

MANILA (AFP): President Fidel Ramos yesterday endorsed the creation of a joint Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippine airline to serve the region, saying it would be a demonstration of regional cooperation.

Speaking before aviation professionals, Ramos said "aviation can help flesh out and advance the East ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Growth Area concept that we are pursuing."

"I am sure that if we succeed in operating a transnational airline that could well be called BIMP or Brinmaphil or Maphilinbru airlines ... we will put in place a unique cooperative project for countryside development and demonstrate to the world our capacity for regional cooperation."

Ramos also said he welcomed "the recommendations to liberate our skies, that is allowing the entry of other carriers."

But he added that "liberalization however must be carried out as we redouble our efforts to maintain the dignity and character of our flag carrier outside our shores."

This was an apparent reference to Philippine Airlines (PAL), which is now controlled by private investors but which remains about 40 percent state-owned. PAL has been suffering from a sharp drop in income.

Some of the private owners of PAL have been calling for the scrapping of some unprofitable international routes and have opposed plans to acquire new planes to service these routes but some government officials and their appointees in PAL argue that the routes should be retained.

Last month, the government lifted PAL's near-total monopoly over domestic routes by allowing two new airlines to operate. PAL, however, argues that with such competition, they should also be allowed to raise their fees or drop unprofitable domestic routes.