SkyJet: The Philippines' First Boutique Leisure Airline is Back

SkyJet Airlines finally resumed flights at the end of last month after a more than three-month hiatus following an incident involving the airline's sole aircraft that overshot the landing strip on Balesin Island in October.
SkyJet Airlines
Image Source: SkyJet Airlines
As the company's sole aircraft was damaged in the incident, SkyJet was forced to cancel flights for the last three months to its three destinations of Basco, Virac, and Coron while a replacement aircraft was acquired. SkyJet eventually replaced its damaged 94-seat British Aerospace Bae 146-200 aircraft with a smaller 79-seat Bae 146-100 that arrived at the end of December. 

SkyJet bae 146
Image Source: SkyJet Airlines
With the arrival of the new aircraft, SkyJet Airlines successfully relaunched flights on January 31 to Batanes and Coron, Palawan from Manila. SkyJet now flies to Basco, Batanes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. According to SkyJet's new President, Dino Chua, the resumption of flights to Batanes is designed to enable tourists to experience winter in the region, being the only province in the country that can boast four seasons. "This is one of the best times to visit Batanes and experience winter in the Philippines," said Chua. 

SkyJet is focusing on offering a business-class flight experience to all of its passengers with spacious seats and comfortable leg room. As part of the SkyJet experience, passengers can now enjoy a variety of complimentary beverages including juices, brewed coffee, and champagne. Chua added that 2014 promises to be a better year for the fledgling airline as more flights are opened to other island destinations throughout the country. 

SkyJet Airlines
"SkyJet: Airline of the Stars"
Image Source: SkyJet Airlines
In addition to Coron and Batanes, SkyJet is expected to resume service to Cantanduanes later this year with regular flights to Virac, one of the gateways to the Caramoan Islands. The airline also plans to launch service to Caticlan, the nearest airport serving the world-famous island resort of Boracay.

"The vision of SkyJet remains the same: to offer business-class flights to all niche destinations. We are not a low-cost carrier," said Chua. "SkyJet sells experience, not only seats. We are here to promote destinations and culture and help our government achieve its tourism targets."

SkyJet bae 146
'Dr. Joel Mendoza and Dino Chua'
Image Source: SkyJet Airlines
SkyJet was founded by Dr. Joel Mendoza in 2012. Mendoza, a dentist and businessman, was inspired to create the airline due to the lack of regular and reliable flights serving Batanes. With the creation of SkyJet, Mendoza hoped to not only improve access to Batanes but to provide tourists with an opportunity to see a picture-perfect Philippines as it was some fifty years ago. 


SkyJet Airlines
Image Source: SkyJet Airlines

1 comment:

Powered by Blogger.