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.