Aboitiz Group takes control of AirAsia Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — After acquiring the operations of the Cebu airport, the Aboitiz Group has expanded to the airline business by becoming the majority owner of low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines.

The Aboitiz Group is spreading its wings in the aviation segment by pushing for the privatization of several airports in the regions as well as jumping on the airline competition.

Multiple sources told The STAR that the Aboitiz Group controls AA Com Travel Philippines Inc., the firm that bought a 60 percent stake in AirAsia Philippines in June.

An industry source said the Aboitiz Group made the buyout in support of its proposal to rehabilitate and upgrade the airports in Albay and Bohol. Under Aboitiz ownership, AirAsia Philippines will increase its flight routes and volumes to and from Albay, Bohol and Cebu.

Last year, Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. (AIC) announced that it would invest at least P25 billion to take over GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., which has the 25-year concession to develop, operate and maintain the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

AIC expects to acquire by the end of 2024 the full ownership of GMCAC from the joint venture of Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Airports International BV.

In 2018, AIC filed an unsolicited proposal worth P148 billion to manage and sustain four airports in the regions: Iloilo International Airport, Bacolod-Silay Airport, Laguindingan Airport and the Bohol-Panglao International Airport.

AIC secured the original proponent status for the upgrade of Laguindingan Airport and is eyeing to get the same for the Bohol and Bicol airports under the Marcos administration.

According to another source, Aboitiz Group president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz talked to AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes during the latter’s visit in the Philippines in June. There, the Aboitiz head vowed to infuse the capital needed by the airline to keep up with competitors.

The Aboitiz Group committed to inject the cash that AirAsia Philippines requires in building up its fleet. At present, the airline manages a total of 16 aircraft, all  Airbus A320s.

AirAsia Philippines aims to double its fleet by 2024 and the addition of the Aboitiz Group in the mix gives it an additional source of capital.

In the future, AirAsia Philippines plans to add wide-body aircraft, particularly A330s, in its fleet to scale up the number of passengers that it can fly in one go.

Likewise, both sources confirmed that the Aboitiz Group will increase the manpower of AirAsia Philippines given the demand for additional pilots and staff to service the incoming aircraft.

In June, F&S Holdings Inc., owned by Rep. Michael Romero and his wife Sheila, announced that it sold its shares in AirAsia Philippines to AA Com Travel Philippines. The Romero family said it would focus on its ports and power investments moving forward.

With this, AA Com Travel Philippines becomes the sole local owner of AirAsia Philippines with a share of 60 percent. Capital A Berhad, led by Fernandes, holds the other 40 percent.

From a 15.7 percent ownership in AirAsia Philippines, F&S Holdings took majority ownership in 2019 when it consolidated the 28.7 percent shares of Zest-O founder Alfredo Yao and business executive Marianne Hontiveros, as well as the 15.6 percent stake of Antonio Cojuangco.

AirAsia Philippines is the third largest airline in the country, operating more than 100 flights to local destinations every day.

Based on records, the airline served 2.01 million domestic passengers and 198,093 international travelers in 2022, just behind flag carrier Philippine Airlines and low-cost operator Cebu Pacific.