State-of-the-art. CebPac’s aviation training center at Clark. Contributed photo
ADRIFT IN the doldrums was the Clark Freeport for much of 2012, the impermanence at the helm of the Clark Development Corp., arguably, taking its toll on prospective investments.
Performing CDC president-CEO Antonio Remollo was replaced in April by former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban Jr. albeit in an OIC capacity, and was in turn replaced in mid-December by businessman-lawyer Arthur Tugade. Like the banana republics of yore, the constant changing in the CDC leadership gives the wrong signals to investors, to say the least.
Providing the only redeeming value to the Clark Freeport in 2012 was – is – Cebu Pacific Air, the Philippines’ largest national flag carrier.
On December 4, CebPac opened its Philippine Academy for Aviation Training (PAAT), a P1.8-billion joint venture with CAE (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE), world leader in aviation training. Aptly capping 2012 with the greatest promise of a bullish 2013 for the Clark Freeport, as well as the Clark International Airport.
“PAAT will definitely put the Philippines on the map when it comes to world-class, state-of-the-art aviation training,” said CebPac president and CEO Lance Gokongwei at the inauguration rites.
“This is the first CAE aviation training center in the Philippines, and we are very proud of this joint venture.
It will be essential in meeting the training requirements not only of our growing number of aviation professionals at Cebu Pacific Air, but also of other aircraft operators in the region,” furthered Gokongwei.
2,500 pilots
PAAT will initially cater to Airbus A319/320/321 series pilot type-rating training requirements and will provide “wet” instructor-led type-rating training to CebPac’s current and new-hire pilots, and to other aircraft operators of the region. It is envisioned to train over 2,500 airline pilots and other aviation professionals annually.
Gokongwei said CebPac alone will need from 300 to 400 more pilots in the next five years. It currently has some 500 pilots.
“In the next 20 years, the Asia-Pacific region will need about 70,000 pilots,” he said, underscoring the prime positioning of PAAT in the region’s aviation industry.
CebPac will take delivery of a total of 50 Airbus A320, A321neo and A330 aircraft until 2021. It is scheduled to launch its long-haul flights in the 3rd quarter of 2013.
The state-of-the-art PAAT is initially equipped with one Airbus A320 full-flight simulator. Delivery of a second A320 simulator is planned for 2013. The facility can well accommodate two additional simulators.
PAAT offers “initial, recurrent, conversion and jet indoctrination training” to Airbus operators. Training for other aviation personnel such as cabin crew, dispatch, ground handling personnel and cadets is also planned.
“CAE is very pleased to partner with CEB to serve their expanding training needs,” said Jeff Roberts, CAE’s Group President of Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services.
“The new training center will be a one-stop training facility for CEB and a hub for training services for other airlines. We are confident the training provided will enhance aviation safety and operational efficiency in the region.”
‘Total hubbing’
CebPac’s establishment of the PAAT completed what former Clark International Airport Corp. executive vice president Alexander Cauguiran called as “total hubbing.”
“CebPac first set up flights from Clark, then partnered with SIA Engineering Company to put up SIA Engineering (Philippines) Corp. MRO (maintenance-repair-overhaul) facility, and now PAAT, covering all facets of aviation right in one place—Clark,” said Cauguiran.
CebPac flies from Clark to regional destinations Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore and to Cebu in its domestic run.
Starting its operations in 2009, the SIAEP’s “suite of capabilities” include aircraft certification and scheduled heavy maintenance checks, airframe structural inspections, repairs, modifications, paint-stripping, painting of aircraft exteriors and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) checks.
“If not the largest in volume, CebPac’s investments in Clark makes the greatest impact on the socio-economic development not only of the Freeport but of the whole Central and Northern Luzon, given their pivotal role in trade, transport and tourism, in the enhancement of skills and in employment generation,” said a local business analyst who asked for anonymity, given his airport consultancy job.
For the many people in the communities contiguous to Clark, CebPac “provided the pep to an otherwise lethargic year at the Freeport.”
