Turbulence in Hong Kong: PAL, CebuPac cut flights to Chinese territory
Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have quietly cut back on the number of flights to Hong Kong amid the continuing civil unrest in the Chinese territory. The two Philippine carriers are not alone. “Mainland Chinese carriers since late-October filed service changes for flights to Hong Kong due to ongoing situation,” industry tracker Routes Online reported over the weekend.
PAL has cut its daily flights to Hong Kong from five to four because of reduced passenger load.
Cebu Pacific also followed, reducing its Clark-Hong Kong frequency to 10 a week from 14, and the Cebu-Hong Kong flights to seven a week from 10.
According to the grapevine, PAL plans to return the fifth daily flight starting Dec. 16, in time for the Yuletide peak travel season.
The Gokongwei carrier, likewise, plans to return the slashed frequencies for the Cebu-Hong Kong route also on Dec. 16.
Amid the Chinese carriers’ cutback, regional carriers have also followed the herd.
Routes Online reported that Air Asia, Spice Jet, Jeju Air, Thai Airways, and Garuda Indonesia have also instituted flights reductions to Hong Kong up to mid-December.
Those brave enough to endure disruptions and whiffs of tear gas while shopping will find good-value fares to the territory, even when booked at the proverbial 11th hour when airlines normally inflict the rack rates to desperate passengers.
For instance, low-cost carrier Air Asia was still quoting yesterday noon a P6,298 round-trip economy fare, valid for one week, departing NAIA this morning for Chek Lap Kok airport.
Wenceslao ups Sangley bid, waves P500M to DU30
Contractor-turned-developer Delfin “Ding” Wenceslao Jr. has upped the ante in the race to redevelop Sangley amid the Cavite provincial government’s push to keep the national government out of the project.
Wenceslao, who reclaimed what is now the casino row/Ayala Mall Manila Bay area, has offered P500 million cash to the national government, zero development costs, and 10 percent share of the net income to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines should he be awarded the contract to rehabilitate the Sangley airport.
Interestingly, Wenceslao submitted his enhanced proposal to President Duterte, rather than to Cavite Governor Juanito Victor Remulla Jr.
The Wenceslao proposal is two-pronged: Redevelop Sangley into both domestic and international gateway and, at the same time, reclaim, in a joint venture with the Philippine Reclamation Authority, the inner-side of Sangley as a deep international seaport.
In other words, the landfill for the extra runway and terminal space for Sangley would come from landfill excavated from the side of the airport.
To placate the local constituents and spread the gravy, the city of Cavite, in turn, will be entitled to “10 percent carried free interest” of the planned seaport.
For the development of both airport and seaport, Wenceslao is asking that he and his partners be given a 30-year franchise, renewable for another 30 years.
“All related development expenses shall be shouldered by our company at zero costs to the government,” Wenceslao said in his letter submitted to Malacanang last week.
Invoking the memory of his late father, a decorated World War II veteran, “I, as a senior citizen, have decided to concentrate my extra time to this world to render service to God, country, and family,” Wenceslao said in his letter to Duterte.
It also helps that Wenceslao is now sitting in the lap of luxury, with his listed D.M. Wenceslao and Associates having a market value of P34.7 billion.
Heard through the grapevine
Bangko Sentral Governor Benjamin Diokno has taken direct operational supervision of the Security Plant Complex in Quezon City, where the peso notes are being printed, amid the increasing mismatch of ink and paper supplies versus printing capacity and still growing demand for paper money.
One stop-gap measure being considered: Outsource the printing to a security printer in Europe, with the crisp notes hopefully being airlifted and delivered in time for Christmas.
A bidding has been scheduled for Dec. 2, with the Bangko Sentral allocating a budget of euro 72.96 million for the printing of 1.621 million notes in P1,000- to P50denominations.
E-mail: moneygoround.manila@yahoo.com