BUDGET airline Zest Airways is setting aside P10 billion this year for fleet expansion.
The airline will add two 180-seater Airbus A320 jets to its fleet by July; two others will be delivered by year’s end.
It may also later acquire two Boeing 767 or 757s for use in Middle East operations, possibly the Bahrain and Dammam routes.
ZestAir chief operating officer Alfredo Yao said the expansion will allow the airline to carry three million passengers this year from last year’s 1.23 million.
ZestAir plans to end 2011 with 10 Airbuses in its fleet and with revenues of P6 billion. Last year, revenues were P2.2 billion.
By 2012, the airline will add another four aircraft to its fleet; by 2015 it eyes 20 to 25 Airbus planes.
ZestAir currently flies to 19 domestic destinations, which it plans to increase to 24, and to six international destinations.
This year, Zest Air is increasing its flights to South Korea, China and Taiwan and has introduced new services to Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga and General Santos.
By July, the airline will launch its Kalibo-Taipei, Kalibo-Chengdu, Cebu-Shanghai, Manila-Chongqing; Kalibo-Incheon, Cebu-Incheon, and Kalibo-Pusan flights.
At the moment, ZestAir has a fleet of five A320s, one Airbus A319 and four propeller-engine MA60s.
