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AirAsia seeks international flights moved to Terminal 1

LOW-COST carrier AirAsia Philippines is requesting the reassignment of its international flights to Terminal 1 to ensure on-time performance and lessen costs.

“Ang Terminal 3 po namin mananatili roon ang aming international flights sa kasalukuyan. (Our international flights will stay at Terminal 3),” AirAsia Communication and Public Affairs Head Steve F. Dailisan said during a media briefing on Thursday.

He said the airline is asking the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to let it move international flights to Terminal 1.

Under the schedule and terminal assignment rationalization program of the MIAA, the domestic flights of the carrier will be moved to Terminal 2, while its international flights will remain at Terminal 3.

At present, the airline’s international flights are in Terminal 3, while its domestic flights are in Terminal 4.

Mr. Dailisan said that if the plan pushes through, they are expecting the reassignment to incur more costs and dampen on-time performance.

“Magiging malaking hamon naman po ito doon sa aming aircraft movement lalo na for international (This is going to be a challenge for our aircraft movement especially for international flights),” he said.

AirAsia’s international and domestic flights share the same air fleet, with the Airbus 320s used for both locations, according to Mr. Dailisan.

“So ‘yung rotation ng eroplano maaari pong magkaroon ng dagdag na oras sa kasalukuyan (Because of this, the airfleet rotation would take more time), he added.

The airline said it is preparing a time and motion study to be presented to the MIAA in a meeting next week.

The study aims to present the efficiency of moving AirAsia’s international flights to Terminal 1 once all its domestic flights are moved to Terminal 2.

“Di hamak po kasi na mas malapit po ang Terminal 1 sa Terminal 2, so mas madali po ‘yung passenger movement, mas madali rin ang movement ng cargo (Terminal 1 is much closer to Terminal 2. So that will result to easier passenger movement and cargo movement),” Mr. Dailisan said.

He added that if AirAsia’s international flights remain at Terminal 3, this would affect the airline’s on-time performance and create more costs.

“We are also studying the costs. For one, we will pay more for passenger buses since Terminal 3 is far from Terminal 2,” Mr. Dailisan said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“Iisa naman po ang layunin namin (We only have one goal): passenger comfort and improved customer experience,” he added.

Earlier this week, AirAsia posted an outstanding on-time performance of 99%, which it attributed to the commitment and dedication of its employees. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

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