History
Air Philippines was incorporated on 13 February 1995, with the base of operations being the former Naval Air Station Cubi Point. Flight operations started on 1 February 1996 with a Boeing 737-200 between Subic Bay, Iloilo and Zamboanga.
In 1996 six NAMC YS-11 and four Boeing 737-200 aircraft were acquired by the company. In 1997 an additional one Boeing 737-200 was acquired. In this same year the airline carried over 675,000 passengers and over 773,000 in 1998. In September 1998 the airline was temporarily grounded by the Philippine Air Transportation Office, but was reactivated when U-Land agreed to purchase a stake.
It was in 1999 when Lucio Tan Group took over management of the Company. In March 1999, Air Philippines was granted approval to operate international services to Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the USA.
In May 2001 two Boeing 737-300 aircraft were delivered. In mid-2002, charter flights were started from Subic Bay and Laoag City to Hong Kong. Passenger numbers carried rose to nearly 881,000 in 2002. In July 2004 charter flights started from Subic Bay to Guangzhou.
Air Philippines significantly increased ties with Philippine Airlines (PAL), including the merging of frequent flier plans, timetables, and ticket sales. Air Philippines also recently moved into the PAL terminal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila). Some of PAL's major stockowners are also owners of Air Philippines. Though Air Philippines will officially cease to be part of the Philippine Airlines Frequent Flier Programme "Mabuhay Miles" as of the 1st of October, 2007. Air Philippines has said that they chose to back out of the Mabuhay Miles program to benefit their passengers, so rather than flying numerous flights to gain miles and wait to a certain point to receive bonuses, passengers can benefit with lower fares and more discounts with quicker bonuses, much more like today's modern day low-cost airline.On October 28, 2012, Airphil Express will resume "Mabuhay Miles" for passenger to earn and redeem their miles on any Airphil Express and Philippine Airlines.
On July 24, 2008, it moved all its operations to terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
On August 31, 2009, Air Philippines ceased all operations and folded operations into Philippine Airlines and PAL Express.
On October 27, 2009, Air Philippines began operating all PAL Express flights on behalf of Philippine Airlines.
On March 28, 2010, Air Philippines resumed operating services under their own right to Iloilo, Bacolod, Puerto Princesa and Cagayan de Oro, utilizing Airbus A320 jet aircraft under the name AirPhil Express. The airline subsequently operated eight Bombardier Aerospace turboprop aircraft and two new Airbus A320s, all of which originally belong to Philippine Airlines. There are 20 more A320s on order
GE Capital Aviation Services Limited (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, announced delivery of three new Airbus A320 aircraft to Airphil Express in January and early February 2012 to help the carrier expand its fleet.
Read more about this topic: Airphil Express
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