AirAsia lands first commercial flight to Davao from Clark

DAVAO CITY—Budget airlines, AirAsia, flew in here on Wednesday its inaugural commercial flight from Clark, Pampanga, to add to the growing list of destinations served by the airline. 

Business executives from Clark and AirAsia took the inaugural flight to Davao and proceeded to the Marco Polo Hotel for the ceremonial signing of the sister-airport agreement between Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport and Davao City’s Francisco Bangoy International Airport.

Victor Jose Luciano, chief executive officer and president of Clark International Airport Corp. led the ceremonial signing of the agreement.

The agreement also called on “enhancing connectivity between the two key cities Davao and Angeles [in Pampanga].”

Davao City is one of first two domestic destinations AirAsia would serve, including Kalibo City, Aklan.

AirAsia would fly Davao City twice daily.

This city’s Mayor Sara Duterte and other local government and business leaders joined the Clark flight to Davao.

The regular commercial flight between Clark and Davao was initiated in the first Davao City Investment Conference last year, when Luciano was invited to talk on the Clark experience, and when he also floated the possible air link between the two cities.

Airphil Express followed suit shortly, said Jason Magnaye, chief of the Davao City Investment Promotion Center.

He told the BusinessMirror on Thursday that the Lucio Tan-owned carrier would fly the same route three times a week.

“The next step is to convince AirAsia to complete the route, connecting Davao City with either Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu, all in Malaysia, that AirAsia has also recently served,” he said.

Magnaye told the BusinessMirror last month that a delegation from the Sabah Tourism Board paid a visit to his office to float the same wish of the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Entertainment to persuade AirAsia to connect the two Malaysian routes with Davao City.

Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph