AirAsia believes that the Philippines, being a premier destination for nature and experiential tourism has the opportunity to grow more in terms of tourist arrivals, as the recent pandemic allowed destinations to rest, recover, and flourish.
However, responsibility for environmental protection and sustainability lies on all stakeholders, including airline companies who contribute over 2% of the global CO2 emission. It is for this reason that AirAsia Philippines acknowledges the importance of doubling efforts to lessen carbon emission and fast track the use of SAF among other measures to lessen carbon footprint.
Speaking before other stakeholders in the 2024 Philippine Tourism and Hotel Investment Summit, AirAsia Philippine CEO Ricky Isla pointed out that technological infrastructure development, policies, regulations, investment opportunities, and technical capabilities for SAF are still in their early stages here in the Philippines.
Despite this, Mr. Isla noted that the airline is still on-track with AirAsia’s Net Zero program which aims to use SAF throughout the whole group to include the Philippines, from a low of 2% or 40.62 tonnes next year (2025) to a maximum of 70% (1.90 million tonnes) by 2050.
“Looking ahead, we remain committed to raising the sustainability bar. Among others, we will be pursuing regulatory approvals for CORSIA offset management, regional expansion of our aviation sustainability campaign, and incorporating renewable energy at ADE’s maintenance facilities. At AirAsia Foundation, we look forward to expanding our partnerships for sustainable travel”, Mr. Isla stressed.
In the meantime, AirAsia Philippines has taken up several measures to ensure its proactive actions towards sustainability such as Fleet Management or the utilization of more efficient aircraft such as the A321neo, optimization of aircraft operation or Green Flight Operations. AirAsia has also ventured on small steps to promote sustainability in all of its flights. Mr. Isla said they encourage guests to bring reusable flasks, coffee cups, and even utensils onboard.
The AirAsia chief also noted that collaboration between airline operators and other stakeholders is a very important key especially in creating awareness among travelers.
Meanwhile, AirAsia Philippines welcomes the Civil Aeronautics Board’s (CAB) decision to lower the Fuel Surcharge from Level 6 to a notch down at Level 5 for the month of July.
Over the past five months, Fuel Surcharge remained at a high of Level 6. The reduction to Level 5 next month means that guests can now anticipate lower fees ranging from PHP 151.00 to PHP 542.00 for domestic flights and between PHP498.03 to PHP3,703.11 for international flights, depending on the destination.
AirAsia Philippines, being the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline for an uninterrupted 14 years, remains committed to cushion the impact of the Fuel Surcharge by offering our guests with the lowest fares such as our monthly Double Digit Sale and Flash Sale. These and other exciting offerings via the AirAsia MOVE App and airasia.com are designed to entice more guests to fulfill their travel goals towards the end of 2024.