GREAT DESTINATION. AirAsia CEO Maan Hontiveros and Filipino journalists end their three-day tour of Taipei City with a visit at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial on Wednesday. The Taiwan Department of Tourism and Information hosted the tour.
TAIPEI CITY – At least 250 more workers, including pilots and cabin crews, will be hired by Philippines’ AirAsia in preparation for the arrival of its three brand-new planes in 2013, AirAsia CEO Marianne Hontiveros disclosed on Tuesday.
Hontiveros, who along with the Taiwan government hosted 12 journalists and six bloggers for a familiarization tour of this capital city from December 16 to 19, said they need “80 to 90” workers for each of the Airbus A-320 that will be delivered to their hub at the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Pampanga beginning April.
Hontiveros, who operates the airline on two A-320 planes and at least 232 workers, said the arrival of their planes will allow them to open new routes and increase frequencies to certain destinations.
“I always stress to our workers that teamwork is a must,” said Hontiveros when asked about what she frequently asks from their people.
Hontiveros said they will begin operations to Bangkok City in Thailand in April. She added that they offer 10 flights per week to Hong Kong.
AirAsia offers daily flights to Singapore and flies four times a week to Taipei. The new destinations were both launched on December 15 (Singapore) and Taipei (December 16).
Hontiveros said they will have daily flights to Taipei starting January 15. AirAsia has regular flights to Davao City and Kalibo in Aklan, the gateway to Boracay Island.
Asked for her comments about this city, Hontiveros said “I highly recommend it.”
“It’s not just the attractions and the great food. But the people are kind. Taiwan like the Philippines is rich in culture,” said Hontiveros.
At least 103,000 Filipinos visited Taiwan, officially known as Republic of China (ROC), in 2011. The Taiwanese market is the 5th biggest visitor volume in the Philippines, providing 190,000 visitors from January to October 2012 as stated in the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Industry Performance.
Hontiveros and Ambassador Raymond L.S. Wang, head of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila, expressed optimism that the new route will benefit both Taiwan and the Philippines in terms of economic and tourism aspects.
Ireneo Reyes, head of the Department of Tourism (DOT) office in Taiwan, said their office will continue to help increase passengers on both routes. He added that the direct flights from the Philippines to Taiwan are from Manila, Kalibo and Cebu City and now in Clark.
