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1. Cebu in the front seat

The Philippines largest flag carrier Cebu Pacific has recently been named the largest airline in terms of seat capacity operating from and within the Philippines by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
CAPA named the top ten airlines in the Philippines by capacity, or seats per week, CEB offers 258,120 seats, with its fleet of brand new 8 ATR 72-500, 10 Airbus A319 and 15 Airbus A320 aircraft which represents 30,000 more seats than other airlines operating in the country.
“CEB is now the largest airline operating to, from and within the Philippines, based on not only the number of domestic and international passengers flown, but also total domestic and international seat capacity,” CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.
According to Air Transport World’s World Airline report in July 2011, CEBU ranked fifth most profitable leading value airline in the world.
Operating a total of 73 flights to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau the airline has reportedly flown more than 555,000 passengers between Philippines and Greater China in the first six month of 2011.
“Our 1st half 2011 profit figures remain in the black despite high fuel costs earlier this year, a feat we owe to reduced operational costs and higher ancillary revenue. CEB will continue to grow its domestic and international operations for the benefit of more passengers,” Ms Iyog said.
Later this year the airline is set to open its 50th destination Tawi Tawi, and launch its newest domestic route Cagayan de Oro to Iloilo which will coincide with the delivery of four brand new Airbus A320 aircraft.
Looking ahead the airline is set to take delivery of 23 Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders, and 2 Airbus A320 aircraft on operating lease agreements.

2. Ex-judge admits giving bribe money to help Arroyo win in 2004

A former Shari'a court judge has admitted helping distribute alleged bribe money to help Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo win the 2004 presidential polls.

During Tuesday's Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the PNP choppers mess, Judge Nagamura Moner said that on May 13, 2004, former Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general Alfonso Cusi called him up to help Mrs. Arroyo.

"I received a call from Alfonso Cusi (at) about 9:30 p.m. telling me that I should go to Cotabato City, Tawi-Tawi, and Sulu to find a way to what can be done for the elections for president in those areas because then President Gloria Arroyo was losing in those areas," Moner said.

He said Cusi was then the manager of the Philippine Ports Authority, where his brother-in-law, Efren Bollozos, worked.

A day after, he said Cusi called him again but this time he passed the phone to former First Gentlemen Mike Arroyo, who talked to him briefly.

“He just told me to do everything for the President (Mrs. Arroyo) and after the elections I will take of you and your family," Moner said.

As of posting time, GMA News Online was still trying to reach the camp of Mrs. Arroyo. The former Philippine leader has repeatedly denied involvement in any poll fraud.

At the hearing, Moner said he had refused at first but later on was forced to follow the order because he feared for the safety of his family members.

Widening the lead

He said he was first asked to "find contacts with election officers and if necessary pay them off" in several places in Mindanao to help Mrs. Arroyo win the presidency. He said he usually gave out and handled money in sums of P100,000, P300,000, and P3 million.

"At that time, the result of the counting [at the] precinct level showed FPJ winning by [a] landslide. [So the money] was to pay the election officers... for them to change the results of the elections," he said.

Mrs. Arroyo won in the 2004 presidential elections after garnering 12,905,808 votes over the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.'s 11,782,232 votes. Poe claimed that Mrs. Arroyo had robbed him of his victory. He died on Dec. 14, 2004 but his widow, Susan Roces, pursued the protest. In 2005, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) dismissed the protest.

In an affidavit submitted to the Senate, Moner said that among the areas he had visited during the canvassing of votes were Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu — which he said had a voting strength of 1.8 million voters.

His contacts included Abdul Wahab Batugan, Diana Datu-Imam (Marawi City), Amerhasaan Doro (Tawi-Tawi), Judge Bensandi Arabani (Tawi-Tawi), Manual Dirindigun (Iligan City), Judge Casan-Ali Limbona (Cotabato City), and Lomala Macadaub and Minupun Batugan (Jolo).

Bribery operation

Moner first went to Marawi City where he paid 17 election officers P5,000 each, not knowing that somebody else had already paid them P15,000 each to ensure Arroyo's victory.
During Tuesday's hearing, he said he only found out who gave the money after the elections and that the person was an incumbent government official, whom he refused to identify.

In an interview after the hearing, Moner said that they had a budget of P8 million for the whole operation, from which he pocketed P1 million. He said he specifically spent P400,000 for Tawi-Tawi and P500,000 for Sulu.

He said that the money was usually deposited to his account or brought by someone from the Presidential Security Group. He identified the person as "Dave."

But aside from the poll operation, he said he was also asked to introduce Mr. Arroyo to several political leaders who could be persuaded to switch allegiances.

3. 9/11 made Philippine airlines more efficient, cost-effective

MANILA, Philippines—Exactly a decade after the country woke up to the new realities of the post-9/11 world, the hard-hit local airline industry claimed it had already recovered from the massive adverse effects of that fateful September 11 event.

According to airline executives, carriers like Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have emerged stronger in the 10 years since the day that the landscape of air travel was changed forever.

But there is no denying the fact that the effects of the terror attacks on the United States continue to be felt to this day even by Filipino travelers embarking on the shortest of trips.

“The most obvious change for the industry is that it has become more expensive for everyone,” said Philippine Airlines president and COO Jaime Bautista.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the international aviation industry was faced with the need to implement a major overhaul of security procedures—from installing bulletproof cockpit doors secured by electronic locks to acquiring more x-ray machines and hiring more people to man them.

According to Bautista, the impact on PAL was estimated to have cost an additional $20 million a year over the last decade. Some of these costs were borne by the passengers, while the rest had to be absorbed by the airline.

“We were able to pass on maybe around $10 million to our passengers through additional fees, but the rest we had to absorb,” he said.

The “additional costs” included higher insurance premiums that airlines had to pay for their aircraft, passengers and “third party liabilities” that could arise out of any terrorist-induced event.

“There was even a time when airlines were asking for governments to issue guarantees to insurance firms who refused to insure aircraft after 9/11,” Bautista said.

To help cushion the blow of the higher fees to passengers—at least psychologically—Bautista said airlines had to resort to the practice of “unbundling” where airline tickets would give a detailed breakdown of every single expense for clients to see.

The practice of unbundling also helped PAL save on the commissions it paid to travel agents, who would get paid based only on their airfare and not on other fees like insurance and fuel surcharges.

Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing Candice Iyog said the country’s largest budget carrier was now unbundling its fees and charges as a common practice.

“When you book on Cebu Pacific nowadays, it is automatically [set] for zero bags. But you have the option to buy baggage allowance,” Ms. Iyog said.

“If anything, we have become more efficient over the last few years,” she added.

However, for a carrier like PAL, it had to make some investments for things that would normally be shouldered by the government, such as equipment for security.

Additional costs notwithstanding, both executives from PAL and Cebu Pacific agree that 9/11 helped the industry become more efficient and cost effective—traits that helped them survive in the face of high fuel prices.

“There are positives and negatives after 9/11,” Bautista said. “But because of it, we are better prepared for the challenges.”

4. Beijing Builds World's Biggest Airport due to Necessity

China can take great pride in the robust growth of its economy, its successful path towards peace and prosperity, along with garnering more global attention from tourists, scholars and the world at large. Beijing, the capital city, represents the heart of China. Beijing stands at the forefront of a new Asia that is emerging, which coincides with a shift in power and money flowing from the West to the East.

Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that China's central government has just launched construction of the world's largest airport anticipated to be completed by 2015. Yet what's more surprising is that the city already operates a major international airport. The new airport would simply resolve the overflowing aviation traffic congestion problems.

The new Beijing Daxing International Airport is being constructed out of necessity, not for public relations' purposes. Let's take a look at some figures to understand why.

The Daily Telegraph of London quotes Professor Cao Yunchun of China's Civil Aviation University, as saying, "the existing airport in Beijing has an annual capacity of 75 million passengers. Last year it handled 73 million. In two years, it will be totally packed. And it cannot be expanded infinitely."

Professor Cao is referring to Beijing's Capital International Airport (BCIA). The minister in charge of the country's Civil Aviation Administration, Li Xiaxing, explains that the schedule has become so tight that it has become impossible to add "even one more flight."

Hence, even at full capacity, the Beijing Capital International Airport could only handle approximately 205,000 passengers per day. Therefore increasing capacity to 370,000 passengers per day with the new airport would come out of necessity and nothing more.

The Beijing Capital International Airport, covering 21 square kilometers, remains as no longer sufficient, although the recently constructed Terminal 3 alone is actually larger than Heathrow Airport in London, England. The fact that the local air traffic has surpassed that of the major European airports means that Beijing must adapt to changing circumstances. The city is in the midst of expanding its already large metropolis into a megacity to improve business conditions. Building a larger airport would suit the city's long-term goals.

As Breaking Travel News reports, the new 54-square-kilometer site, located towards the south of the city, will serve Beijing, Tianjin and parts of Hubei province. Discussions are underway to provide the site with a high-speed rail link to downtown Beijing as well as Tianjin, Shenyang, Shijiazhuang and Shanghai."

China's remarkable economic growth stems mostly from rapid technological progress and urbanization. Millions upon millions of migrants from rural communities of Western and Central China have been swarming into the big cities, and lately Beijing has transformed into the most popular destination for them. Beijing is growing too crowded, so building a megacity offers more living space for residents and provides the perfect opportunity to build the world's largest airport.

Another unique factor of China's aviation industry, which has come into play, deals with geographical size. Most Asian countries are smaller, which includes Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. When passengers fly from airports in those respective countries, passengers are either international travelers or domestic ones intending to fly in or out of the country. These airports focus on international flights, while China's airports play a reverse role.

"The majority of traffic going through Beijing is made up of domestic Chinese travelers. So far this year, Chinese passengers have outnumbered international travelers four-to-one at Beijing's Capital Airport," according to the Telegraph.

China's aviation industry has also reaped big profits and is poised for greater growth. Last year, the industry enjoyed combined profits of 43 billion yuan, which is three times the figure from the previous year. China is forecast to purchase at least 4,300 new jet aircraft over the coming two decades, while Beijing has recently raised its target for the country by 25 per cent.

Professor Cao offers a correct assessment when he said, "we are expecting Beijing to play a major role in transport for the Asia-Pacific region."

In comparison to the rest of Asia, China has a key advantage to keep its economic engine running into high gear. The country covers a large mass with big cities dotting the landscape. For Chinese business people, they must often fly to other domestic cities. Reducing travel times could enhance the efficiency of their business excursions.

China's business community largely relies upon face-to-face meetings and attending social events to obtain better business deals and witness first-hand if potential partners are providing accurate accounts of their operations. More efficient air travel could sustain national economic growth and continue on with its expansion of global trade and investments into and out of the country.

One should understand that Beijing is not building the world's biggest airport simply for bragging rights, but due to a necessity to meet rising demand for air travel through Beijing.