ZestAir acquiring bigger airplanes

SHANGHAI, China – Zest Airways Inc. is considering the acquisition of bigger aircraft for new medium to long-haul flights that will be offered beginning next year.

In a press conference at the Huating Hotel, ZestAir chairman Donald Dee said that the airline is initially adding flights to Australia and New Zealand to beef up its regional destinations that now include China, South Korea and Taipei.

“We will fly longer hauls by next year,” Dee said.

He said ZestAir intends to become a major regional player in the coming years by bringing passengers directly to tourist destinations in the country.

He said this will help the Department of Tourism to attain its target of bringing in 10 million visitors by 2016.

Brian Hogan, the airline’s chief executive advisor, said ZestAir wants to acquire bigger aircrafts such as Boeing 777 or Airbus 330.

The fleet acquisition of ZestAir would be a combination of lease of brand new aircrafts and purchase of brand new units.

He said ZestAir is on the prowl for better priced second-hand airlines especially with the closure of India’s King Fisher Airlines.

Hogan said that after launching the inaugural flight to Shanghai, the airline plans to fly to 15 major cities in China over the next few years. The airline is also eyeing the Middle East.

ZestAir chief sales and marketing officer Alfredo Herrera said the airline is in the middle of a rebranding program that would reduce the steps from booking to flying to four steps instead of 11 steps.

“Compared to other low cost carriers we have better service,” Herrera said.

ZestAir president and CEO Alfredo Yao said the airline is in the advanced stages of talks with two of three foreign investors including Hainan Air for the acquisition of a 40 percent interest in the low-cost carrier as it prepares for listing in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in the next two years.

“It is still ongoing we don’t know what will happen. Hopefully (we complete negotiations) this year. In the airline business you cannot do it by yourself and it is better if you have a partner,” Yao said.

After taking in a foreign partner, the company would lay down the groundwork for the listing of its shares at the PSE to raise funds for its capital intensive business.

The budget airline intends to acquire three aircraft per year to beef up its existing fleet of 12 Airbus A320 and four turbo-propped engine aircrafts.

ZestAir is current implementing a five-year refleeting program which aims to add up to three aircraft to its fleet every year.

The new planes would be deployed to additional five local destinations and three to four regional destinations set to be launched this year.

This would expand ZestAir’s domestic destinations to 24 from 19 and its international network to eight to nine from five.

ZestAir flew 2.5 million passengers in 2011 from 1.23 million passengers in 2010.