AirAsia PH ends Clark-Kota Kinabalu flights

Rappler.com

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The Philippine unit of giant regional budget airline AirAsia announced it will end its 7x weekly Kota Kinabalu–Clark flights effective February 1, 2013

ROUTE RATIONALIZATION. AirAsia Philippines is changing its route network amid volatile oil prices and foreign tourism boost. Photo by KD Suarez

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine unit of giant regional budget airline AirAsia announced it will end its 7x weekly Kota Kinabalu–Clark flights effective February 1, 2013.

AirAsia, then one of the pioneer foreign carriers operating in Diosdado Macapagal Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga, started flying to the Malaysian destination in 2005.

“The route suspension is for the Group to realign its business plan and strengthen its operations to focus on markets where it can build a leadership position in 2013,” the budget carrier said in a press statement on Friday, December 7.

This rationalization of the route network of AirAsia Philippines — which commenced operations as additional unit of the regional budget carrier last March 2012 — has been going on in the past months.

This has been explained as part of efforts to beef up AirAsia Philippines’ own regional operations and reduce its flights to local destinations. It cited as reasons the volatile oil prices and the growing demand for foreign tourism.

Last October, AirAsia Philippines said that from its hub in Clark, it will suspend its flights to Macau and Puerto Princesa in Palawan, and reduce its flights to Davao and Kalibo, the gateway to tourist haven Boracay island.

It then started flying to Singapore by December 1 and to Taipei by December 15, as well as increased its flights to Hong Kong.

The local carrier said passengers who are affected by the withdrawal of the Clark-KK route will be offered 3 options:

  1. Move their flights to an earlier date to or from Kota Kinabalu or Clark without any extra charges and subject to availability
  2. Be offered a credit shell for the value that they paid with a validity of 3 months
  3. Full refund

– Rappler.com

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