Airphil Express, the fastest growing budget airline in the country, further strengthens its foothold in the industry by opening new domestic and international routes, new aircraft, value-for-money offers that contributed to the surge of its market share to 20% this year. It has also extended its operation base to Pampanga by signing a contract with Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC).
“Airphil Express will soon be offering domestic and Southeast Asian routes based in the Clark international airport, to serve the growing number of travellers based in the northern regions of the country,” says Alfredo Herrera, Airphil Express senior vice president for marketing and sales. “This is all in line with our expansion process and consistent with our growth strategy to solidify our position as a key player in the local budget airline market.”
With eight Airbus A320, three Q300s and five Q400 under its wing, the company is expected to increase operations thus create new itineraries as Airphil Express. One more new Airbus A320 is anticipated to come before the year ends. Airphil Express also boasts one of the youngest and most reliable fleets of aircraft, composed of Airbus A320, Q300 and Q400 units. With more aircraft acquisitions recently, the airline has been able to expand routes as well. Domestically, Airphil Express has commenced Manila-Tacloban flight, and will yet to launch Manila-Ozamiz and Davao-Iloilo routes. A Cebu-Hong Kong flight also debuted just last July.
Currently, Airphil Express flies to 26 domestic and 2 international destinations along with selected domestic flights originating from Davao and Zamboanga.
Airphil Express seeks to increasingly corner a considerable share of the budget airline market by offering budget travellers with compelling value propositions. Among these is the free 15-kilo check-in luggage allowance plus 7-kilo hand-carry baggage that used to be standard among budget carriers. “This is an extremely important provision that has been taken for granted and now much appreciated by our passengers,” explains Herrera. Customers can also avail of other conveniences that are usually only associated with large full-service international airlines, such as travel insurance, online reservations and seat selection, and online check-in.
One of the most beneficial value-added offers of Airphil Express is an airfare discount for students. “We offer 20 percent discount on airfare for bonafide, currently enrolled students,” says Herrera. “We have identified and zeroed in on this valuable market segment of student travellers, who are mostly based in provinces and who study or work in Metro Manila. This is our way of helping create value and improve the lives of our valued passengers.”
A customer loyalty program has also recently been launched, dubbed APX Rewards, where loyal Airphil Express travellers can receive a free ticket after logging in 10 trips under the program. “We are glad that the budget airline industry in the Philippines is burgeoning, and we are optimistic of its further growth in the next few years. We are encouraging more and more Filipinos to enjoy local and international travel through promotions such as these,” adds Herrera.
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