International passenger volume rises amid higher flying costs

MANILA, Philippines - International passenger volume in the Philippines rose from January to September 2008 despite the higher cost of flying, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said. Data from the air travel regulator showed that international passenger traffic stood at 9.17 million from January to September, 8.56 percent higher than the number of passengers who flew to and from international destinations in the same months of 2007. Inbound international passengers stood at 4.37 million as of September 2008, 19.75 percent higher than the incoming traffic as of the same month in 2007. Outbound passengers rose at a slower pace of 6.92 percent with the 4.79 million passengers leaving the country for international destinations as of September 2008. Lucio Tan's Philippine Airlines carried the most number of international passengers at 2.74 million as of end-September 2008. The Gokongweis' Cebu Pacific served a little over one million international passengers. Top international airlines which served the Philippines as of end-September 2008 included Cathay Pacific with 1,067,270; Singapore Airlines, 415,828; Northwest Airlines, 383,104; Emirates Air, 321,191; Korean Air, 314,808; and Japan Airlines, 312,670. The CAB said 43 international airlines are authorized to serve the Philippines market but only 35 carriers operated from January to September 2008. Lufthansa Airlines was the last international carrier to cease operations in the Philippines in April 2008. Other carriers which no longer serve the Philippines despite their existing authority include Vietnam Airlines, Air Nauru, British Airways, SwissAir, EgyptAir, and P.T. Bouraq. The CAB is still collating the full-year figure for 2008 but CAB deputy executive director Porvenir P. Porciuncula said the growth rate may have reached only ten percent. The country registered an 18 percent growth in international passenger volume in 2007. Porciuncula said an even slower growth in international passenger traffic is expected along with a more adverse economic environment in 2009. "With what is happening in the United States and Middle East, we may expect that there will be a slowdown in terms of traffic growth," Porciuncula said. - GMANews.TV