Airline pioneers
By FLORO L. MERCENE
August 1, 2011, 12:50am

MANILA, Philippines — There was a time when the Philippines had pioneers in whose veins ran aviation gasoline, such as Laurie Reuben Nielsen who in l937 built what was then Asia’s biggest and best-equipped airport, later named after him.

Then followed Don Andres Soriano, founder of PAL, trailed by other aviation luminaries such as Benigno Toda Jr.

Somewhere along the way, we faltered and now the torch seems to have been passed on to Malaysian Tony Fernandes, the bubbly CEO and founder of AirAsia, the region’s largest low-cost carrier.

Last June, AirAsia inaugurated the $200-million Asia Aviation Academy near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The academy will turn out some 12,000 aviation graduates every year, with 400 of them ready to be certified as pilots to feed the need of the growing airline industry.

The demand for pilots and other related jobs is particularly true of low-cost carriers which has grown surprisingly well despite the many factors that impeded growth such as high fuel prices and the uncertain world economy, Zapanta said.

Air Asia signed a joint agreement with CAE Civil Simulation Products Training and Services, a company with 32 branches worldwide, providing simulators.

Its CEO and Group President, Jeff Roberts, announced that in the next 15 to 20 years, some 375,000 to 400,000 pilots will be needed to fly the estimated 50,000 airplanes that will be produced by the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus.

At the moment, the AAA has four A 320 simulators and four more are expected shortly.

Such foresight by Malaysian entrepreneurs appears to have been lost on the Philippines, which has prided itself as the first Asian nation to mount a commercial flight, to have the first flying school in Asia, and the first to fly commercial across the Pacific.

The country lost its birthright as Asia’s aviation trailblazer when AirAsia set up the AAA,” according to an airport insider, who said that Clark would have been an ideal site for an air academy.

To start with, the country already has some 56 flying schools catering to foreign students, mostly from India, with others coming from Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and the Middle East.

Jul-28-2011  Morgan Stanley

Lim, Chin

New TP      3.92
Old TP 3.90

More budget hotels built in Indonesia as demand grows

A high demand for budget accommodations is pushing hotel operators to expand by building more low-cost facilities.

Publicly listed property developer PT Intiland Development plans to build 10 budget hotels this year while targeting to operate 60 low-cost hotels by 2016.

Intiland corporate secretary Theresia Rustandi said the company had seen an increased demand for budget hotels over the past few years.

“The increasing number of low-cost flights has boosted the demand for budget hotels. After spending their money on airplane tickets, people usually think twice about staying in a five-star hotel but also refuse to stay in a one-star hotel,” Theresia said as quoted by kontan.co.id.

“That’s why we’re focusing on building premium two-star hotels.”

Intiland plans to develop the budget hotels under the Whiz Hotel brand in Jakarta; Surabaya, East Java; Manado, North Sulawesi; and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

Whiz Hotels in Bali and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, are currently under construction.

Intiland already has one budget hotel in Yogyakarta offering rooms from Rp 280,000 (US$32.92) to Rp 450,000 per night, and is finishing one hotel in Semarang, which is expected to begin operation in November.

“The brand is the most important thing. We can offer franchise rights or joint venture cooperations to build the hotels,” Theresia said.

One budget hotel costs between Rp 40 billion and to Rp 50 billion to construct.

Meanwhile, Tune Hotels operator PT Tune Hotels Regional Services Indonesia said it would build five new hotels next year.

Tune Hotels Indonesia director Sendjadja Widjaja said that the company, which already has two hotels in Bali, planned to build more hotels in Jakarta, Bandung, West Java; Makassar, South Sulawesi; Palembang, South Sumatra; Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

Tune Hotels Indonesia has allocated $4 million to $5 million for each 120-to-150-room hotel.

Sendjaja said the occupancy rate for two-star hotels reached an average of 75 percent on weekdays.

“Now people prefer low-cost hotels so they can spend more money on other things,” he told kontan.co.id, pointing to the increasing numbers of domestic and international flights as another factor increasing demands for low-budget accommodations.

“People are now looking for convenience instead of expensive prices. Both students and their parents are staying in our hotels when they are in Bali. This way they can spend more money on shopping,” he said.

Tune Hotels prices their rooms at Rp 150,000 to Rp 160,000 per room per night.

Tune Hotels is part of the Tune Group, the private investment group of Tony Fernandes, founder and Group CEO of low-cost airline AirAsia. Tune Hotels is aiming for 100 hotels in its global portfolio by 2015. (swd)

10:13 AM  CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets Khalim, Norly

Target Price

New TP: 3.95
Previous TP: 3.92