Singapore, PH, agree to more flights

More flights between the Philippines and Singapore are now available after both governments concluded air talks late Thursday, an official said Friday.

Civil Aeronautics Board executive director Carmelo Arcilla said in a text message that the Philippine and Singapore governments signed a new memorandum of agreement calling for the expansion of commercial rights between the two countries.

“From the previous 13,800 seats per week for each country, we increased to about 17,600,” Arcilla said, referring to the additional 3,800 seats for the Manila-Singapore route.

The Philippines and Singapore last held air talks on Aug. 16, 2012, which ended in a “deadlock,” Arcilla said.

He added the current talks were necessary given that the original 13,800 weekly flights were “almost fully utilized” by the carriers.

At the conclusion of their deal, the Philippines and Singapore expanded the so-called fifth freedom traffic rights. For Singapore, expanded rights include China, apart from Osaka in Japan and Seoul, South Korea.

For the Philippines, the rights cover Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand.

“Points outside Manila shall be unlimited in accordance with current Philippine policy and the Asean multilateral agreements on air liberalization,” Arcilla said.

A fifth freedom right allows an airline to fly passengers from its home country to a second country, where it has an existing air service agreement, and further to a third destination.

Lower level rights involve carrying passengers between two countries under an existing agreement. The most basic is a first freedom right, which involves the right to fly over another country without landing. Miguel R. Camus