Manila, Macau forge air service agreement

The Philippines late Thursday sealed an air service agreement with Macau that would effectively increase the number of passengers ferried to either destinations.

In a text message, Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said that the agency signed a memorandum of understanding that would increase the number of seat entitlements between Manila and Macau to 4,500 a week from 3,500.

In addition, the agreement calls for unlimited seats between Macau and all international airports in the Philippines except Manila.

Under the previous agreement, seat entitlements between Manila and Macau were limited to about 1,000 seats, Arcilla said.

“Macau is a small but key and important market for the Philippines, being a gateway to Hong Kong and China. There are about 17,000 Filipinos working in Macau,” Arcilla said.

The country’s major carriers—Philippine Airline and Cebu Pacific—currently fly directly to Macau, a major gaming hub that now ranks the largest in the world, with revenues from gambling reaching $38 billion just last year alone.

The successful talks came on the heels of the CAB’s recent announcement that the Philippines and Brazil had signed an air agreement.

Under the agreement signed by the Philippine air panel recently, a total of seven flights a week are now allowed between Manila and any point in Brazil.

The agreement also includes an unlimited number of flights between the Philippines and Brazil.

The deal is the first air service agreement between the two countries.

Discussions were initiated by Philippine Airlines, which has expressed a keen interest on further expanding its long-haul destinations.