CAB Orders Cebu Pacific to Submit Concrete Plan to Prevent Further Mass Flight Cancellations

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Due to the recent spate of flight cancellations, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has ordered Cebu Pacific to submit within thirty (30) days a concrete plan detailing corrective measures in its operations to prevent further inconvenience to passengers.

The order proceeds from the report submitted by CAB to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) after the conduct of two formal hearings to explain circumstances behind the flight cancellations.

CAB likewise prescribes that a stern warning be given to Cebu Pacific to exercise diligence necessary in maintaining stability and reliability of air transport service to the riding public.

Cebu Pacific applied for cancellation of 172 one-way domestic flights from 28 April through 10 May 2019. This is equivalent to about 14 flights a day, out of its more or less 400 daily domestic flights.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade emphasized that the formulation of a concrete plan will help the whole airline sector to address similar issues that might occur in the future.

“We are hoping that Cebu Pacific will immediately comply with the order to resolve this issue. Hindi na natin maibabalik pa ‘yung dinulot na inconvenience these cancellations have caused. But moving forward, we aim to have more substantial actions so that our passengers will not have to suffer,” Secretary Tugade said.

In the investigation held on 2 May and 6 May 2019, Cebu Pacific cited that ongoing efforts to improve on-time performance (OTP) have led to its decision to cancel hundreds of flights.

For the DOTr’s part, Secretary Tugade has directed the daily publication of airline OTP in major airports nationwide.


Declining On-time Performance

During the hearings, Cebu Pacific noted reasons for the downturn in its on-time performance. It explained that the time it takes from the aircraft's closing of doors to actual lift-off can reach as long as 66 minutes: 19.6 minutes of which is spent from the closing of doors to the “blocks off” or the time the aircraft vacates the parking position; while 46.6 minutes from the blocks off to the lift-off. Meanwhile, the shortest time between closing of doors and actual lift-off is at 49 minutes.

The hour-long stay on the tarmac was observed to have pushed Cebu Pacific’s OTP to an average of 51.16%, with lows of around 30% in March.

This record, according to Cebu Pacific during the hearings, impelled the airline to finally come up with the decision to cancel flights. It said that the flight cancellations will "create space" in their flight and crew inventory, "make way for operational recovery," and "minimize rolling delays." The airline made clear that the factors adversely affecting its OTP are largely within its internal operational sphere.

To further analyze the circumstances, CAB scrutinized several areas such as airline assets and crew.

In terms of assets, CAB found Cebu Pacific adequately equipped. The airline even has among the younger fleets among Philippine carriers. Additionally, Cebu Pacific is set to receive three more new aircrafts in the future.

For its crew, CAB questioned Cebu Pacific on its compliance with the regulations of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), to which the airline responded affirmatively.

The Board was convinced with the scenario that the additional time spent by on-duty crew on the tarmac consumes the working hours and reserves that were supposed to be utilized at a much later schedule. Hence, it is in this sense that CAB finds Cebu Pacific to have "crewing problem."

Meanwhile, affected passengers' concerns were found to be handled properly by Cebu Pacific in compliance with the Air Passenger Bill of Rights. Thus, imposition of penalties was not considered at present.

While the Board understands the cancellations as a recuperative measure for the airline, CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla points out that it cannot be made at the expense of the riding public.

"We want to remind airlines to consider the welfare of its passengers by avoiding short notice. The people have paid for these flights and have made their schedules accordingly. While we understand the corrective measures being made to improve OTP, maximum effort should be done so that these measures are not at the expense of our passengers,” Executive Director Arcilla said.

PPA Remits Record PhP9.41 Billion in Dividends and Taxes for 2018

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The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) continues its strong fiscal performance, as it remitted PhP3.51 billion in dividends to the national coffers in 2018.

On top of this, the state-owned agency likewise paid PhP5.9 billion in taxes for 2018, more than half of the total taxes it paid in the last 10 years.

Overall, the PPA is contributing a record-breaking amount of PhP9.41 billion in terms of dividends and taxes to the National Government (NG) for the past year, which can be used for the government’s various social welfare, health and other projects.

Latest data from the PPA showed that total dividends for 2018 amounted to PhP3.51 billion, setting another all-time record for the PPA. In 2017, PPA remitted some PhP3.1 billion, its highest recorded dividend then in the last 30 years. However, dividend payment for 2018 overshadowed the previous year’s, and now marks PPA’s highest dividend payment in history.

While growth percentage slowed down for the period covered, the increase in dividend remained high as the 2018 figure is 13% higher than the 2017 dividends remitted.

PPA is mandated to remit at least 50% of its annual net income to the NG after it was granted fiscal autonomy during the term of former President Corazon C. Aquino.

Meanwhile, total revenues for 2018 reached PhP17.49 billion or 8.13% higher than the target for the year. The amount is also higher by 14% compared to the total revenues recorded a year earlier.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade lauded the PPA for its robust fiscal performance which, in turn, shall contribute to the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” Program.

“As I previously said to the men and women of the PPA, their agency’s future fiscal performance shall be measured against their latest records. The agency has achieved so much in terms of dividends remittance despite the massive infrastructure spending for port rehabilitation and development. This kind of fiscal management shall truly aid the government in achieving the ‘Golden Age of Infrastructure’,” Secretary Tugade said.

According to PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago, the agency’s performance in the last two years has placed the PPA on stable financial ground, which will enable the agency to continue sustaining port services of the highest standards.

“The streamlining of port processes coupled with strategic port development and modernization have greatly contributed to this strong performance as we aim for our operations to be on par with global standards,” GM Santiago expressed.

GM Santiago added that the overall remittance of Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) is a positive indication of the country’s growing economic status worldwide.

“This is also a testament to the resiliency of the Philippine economy as it continues to thrive despite external pressures from different foreign economies,” Santiago added.

With this, the PPA is expected to once again land in the higher echelon of the "Billionaires' Club" of GOCCs contributing billions of pesos in dividends to the NG. PPA is a consistent member of this club in the last decade but belonging only to the bottom half of the club. It only upped the ante when the Duterte administration took over in 2016.

Transport Ad Startup Taps Lenovo to Revolutionize Commuter Experience

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As part of the company’s plan to revolutionize the local advertising industry, AdMov Transport Marketing Solutions, Inc. has partnered with global innovation leader Lenovo, to deliver highly interactive and personalized advertisements to commuters via tablet devices.

A startup that is making waves in the local advertising industry, AdMov uses tablets to show suited content and advertisements to commuters as its method of bridging the gap between brands and customers. Tablets are attached behind the front seat headrests of cars that are on ride-hailing services such as Grab, and its software can analyze the passenger’s gender, age, and even mood through facial detection technology.

The software then allows AdMov to present the appropriate content based on the information gathered. The program also uses geo-fencing to consider the vehicle’s real-time location. If, for example, the vehicle is traveling within Taguig City, the tablet will show content about nearby establishments. Integrated augmented reality technology is implanted in the software to further add interactivity.

“Personalized and interactive ads are simply more attention-grabbing as they greatly enhance the experience of those watching. Augmented reality, for example, allows interested buyers to try on products like accessories while inside the car,” says Ellard Capiral, co-founder and CEO of AdMov.

Despite data being examined, they are not stored by any means in which AdMov and its advertisers do not see the faces of passengers. If a person wishes to buy the product after seeing the generated advertisement, the software will provide links to the advertiser’s e-commerce site or social media accounts via QR codes, coupons, and email lead generation, so the passenger can conduct the transaction at his or her own time and device.

“It is a great opportunity to showcase Lenovo’s innovative capabilities in the advertising industry, where digital technology is steadily being integrated into the creation of new content,” said Lenovo Philippines Country General Manager Michael Ngan.

According to Ngan, with people being flooded with tons of content every day, it is difficult for brands to connect with their audience. “The interactive advertisements shown by AdMov helps them stand out because the software has increased the efficiency of their ads in terms of reaching out and attracting potential customers, and we’re very excited that our products are part of this development within the advertising industry.”

Streamlining the process

Until the discovery of Lenovo Tab 4, AdMov had trouble in finding a tablet model that could support its program. Yet with the popularity of Lenovo Tab 4, the company still had to deal with multiple stores to fulfill its hardware requirements. Under this partnership, Lenovo is streamlining the whole device acquisition process by directly providing AdMov 10,000 Lenovo Tab 4 tablets. Through this, Lenovo is helping AdMov to reach its goal at a faster and much more efficient rate.

“Our services are built on a flexible framework that helps us develop the best solution for our customers’ requirements and business goals. By providing AdMov with a device that is powerful and robust enough to handle its software and facilitating direct acquisition, we help them to be on track in targeting their clients’ preferred audience,” said Ngan.

Lenovo Tab 4 is perfect for AdMov’s current requirements. It runs on a 1.40GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8017 processor and has 2GB LPDDR3 RAM for memory, 16GB internal storage, 2MP front camera, and LTE connectivity. With a 7000mAh battery, it does not overheat easily, which was the main problem with the first tablets AdMov tested. And by getting the product directly from Lenovo, the company no longer has to worry about buying individual units in different stores.