SEAIR to install more doors on planes, discontinues flights to five areas

Starting Wednesday, Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) will discontinue service to five destinations for the installation of additional exit doors in planes flying to these locations. The airline’s flights to El Nido in Palawan, San Fernando in La Union; Marinduque; Zamboanga City in Mindanao; Tawi-Tawi; and Jolo will be discontinued on June 30, Wednesday, the company said in a statement. The service disruption was announced after the company complied with an order issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). The order, which covers all Czech-made LET410s planes operating in the Philippines, requires the installation of "15 cabin and aircraft systems safety modifications," the company said. Of these modifications, "the most major and costly is the installation of two additional exit doors in each aircraft." LET410 owners operators were given three weeks to comply, the company said. The statement made no mention of the airline’s flight resumption to these areas. A text message sent to a company representative regarding this matter has remained unanswered as of posting time. More than 1,100 LET410s have been produced, 14 of which are used in the Philippines. Four companies own and manage LET410s in the country, SEAIR said, adding the aircraft is the most popular 19-seater plane in history. The statement also made no mention of the number of LET410s it owns and runs. The LET410 and the Dornier 328 are capable of Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) in about 750 meters with full pay load. These aircrafts are the most appropriate for the small runways of Caticlan, Palawan, and other destinations where bigger commercial planes are unable to land. At the same time, SEAIR emphasized that flights remain operational to Caticlan; Batanes; Tablas, Romblon; Clark; and Cebu. SEAIR has daily flights to Caticlan and Batanes, with at least seven flights a day to Caticlan. SEAIR also announced that it will be bringing in additional 32-seater Dornier 328s starting August 2010 to beef up operations in the growing markets of Batanes, Caticlan, and Romblon. The acquisition of new planes is part of the SEAIR fleet expansion program. - RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV