APX seen to remain fastest-growing budget carrier in PH

Airphil Express is expected to remain the fastest-growing low-cost carrier in the country despite the entry of new foreign airlines into the market.

APX senior vice president for marketing and sales Alfredo Herrera said that while traffic growth posted by all Philippine carriers had increased by 11 percent last year, APX fared better.

With the deployment of six A320s and eight Q300s/400s last year (its first full year of operations since its re-launch in 2009), APX’s market share has surged 353 percent to 1.9 million passengers in 2010. APX cornered 11 percent of the domestic market last year, or nearly four times its market share of 2.9 percent in 2009, making it the country’s No. 3 airline.

An independent industry think tank, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said APX’s rapid growth had come at the expense of the top two players that have seen their market share declining due to rising competition from new players.

Following its capacity expansion, APX’s market share has so far surged to 19 percent. It is expected to expand further with the plan to add six more A320s before the end of the year.