AirAsia Zest

Logo of Asian Spirit

AirAsia Zest was established as Asian Spirit in September 1995 by three friends: Antonio "Toti" Turalba, Emmanuel "Noel" Oñate and Archibald Po, who contributed $1 million each to start up the Airline Employees Cooperative (AEC). They arranged for 36 of their friends, mostly former Philippine Airlines employees, to run Asian Spirit through a salary-to-equity swap deal. The Po family held the majority of ownership.[5][6][7]

It started operations in April 1996 with two second hand Dash 7 aircraft servicing only one scheduled commercial route with two flights per day from Manila to Malay, serving the fledgling resort island of Boracay. To maximise its aircraft utilisation, it introduced new routes to the present-day towns of San Jose, Virac, Daet and Alcantara, and the cities of Cauayan and Masbate, regarded as secondary and tertiary routes by Air Transportation Office, and not serviced by major airlines. In 1997, the cooperative changed to a corporate set-up with the establishment of Asian Spirit, Inc., whose registration was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2005.

Asian Spirit NAMC YS-11 airliner, at Loakan Airport, Baguio City, July 2006

At the time, Asian Spirit has the distinction of being the first scheduled airline to serve Boracay. Other operators served the airport on a charter basis then. It became the Philippines' fourth flag carrier (after Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines) in 2003.

An Asian Spirit NAMC YS-11 at Lumbia Airport

Zest Airways Airbus A319 at the Bacolod–Silay Airport

Asian Spirit was sold to AMY Holdings (presently Mazy's Capital Inc.), a holding company controlled by businessman Alfredo M. Yao, in March 2008.[8] After the success of the takeover, Yao expressed interest in merging Asian Spirit with South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR). The two airlines had been in merger talks.[9] Yao had been expected to purchase a sixty percent stake in SEAIR,[10] although the deal fell through because of a stolid response from SEAIR management. The merger talks failed and both airlines continued to operate independently.

On September 30, 2008, Asian Spirit announced that it would be re-branding itself as Zest Airways. Reports said the name switch reflected the Yao's stake in the company, as well as an allusion to Yao's flagship business Zest-O Corporation. The firm's board approved the name change in August, while the Civil Aeronautics Board approved the switch earlier this month.[11]

The airline wanted to fly to three international points to Sandakan, Malaysia from Zamboanga, to Seoul from Kalibo, Laoag, and Davao, and Macau from Angeles City. However these international routings never took off.[12] It also intended to commence international expansion to Bangkok and Singapore from Manila in 2009.[13]

On March 12, 2013, Zest Airways signed a share swap agreement with AirAsia Philippines, a domestic airline with foreign ownership interest. The share swap deal involved exchange of shares between the owner of Zest Airways, Filipino shareholders of AirAsia Philippines, Inc. and AirAsia Berhad of Malaysia.[14][15] As of May 2013, AirAsia Zest suspended its chartered flights between Boracay and Taipei because of the political tensions between the Philippines and Taiwan.[16]

AirAsia Zest Airbus A320-232 at Incheon International Airport

AirAsia Zest Airbus A320 in Manny Pacquiao livery

Asian Spirit British Aerospace 146 in 2008

Less than a year after the strategic alliance with AirAsia Philippines, the airline was rebranded "AirAsia Zest". AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes announced that AirAsia Philippines was moving to Ninoy Aquino International Airport's Terminal 4 in Manila after winding down its domestic and international flights in Pampanga. During its initial phases, ZestAir's website carried an image of an aircraft featuring AirAsia's signature red livery and the Zest title on the body and AirAsia's signature red livery on the tail. The rebranded airline has a new theme "AirAsia Zest, the right way to fly."[17]

On August 16, 2013, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines suspended Zest Air's air operator's certificate due to a series of safety breaches.

Among the violations were:[4]

• No qualified Accountable Manager since July 19, 2013
• Failure to check aircraft logs, flight manifest, weather, etc.
• Failure to present to the CAAP the airman license (Aircraft Mechanic License) during ramp inspection
• Series of occurrences that affected several flight operations
• Refueling with passenger on board involving RP-C8989 on August 14, 2013
• Excessive flight duty time case under the enforcement and legal service

On August 20, 2013, it was reported that Zest Air was allowed to fly into the skies again.[18]

• On December 7, 1999, Asian Spirit Flight 100, a Let L-410, crashed between Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya and Cabarroguis in Quirino, killing all 15 passengers on board and 2 crew. The plane was headed for Cauayan Airport in Cauayan City. The accident forced the closure of the Manila-Cauayan route, which remained closed until Philippine Airlines restarted the route on August 15, 2008.[22][23]
• On September 4, 2002, Asian Spirit Flight 897 was the last flight of the day to Malay, departing Manila at 3:36 pm for a one-hour flight. During the approach to Malay, the right main gear failed to deploy. The approach was abandoned and the crew decided to return to Manila for an emergency landing. The plane circled for about 35 minutes over Las Piñas City to burn off fuel. The crew then carried out an emergency landing with the right gear retracted on Manila's international airport runway 24. After touchdown the aircraft swerved off the runway onto a grassy area.[24]
• On November 14, 2005, Asian Spirit Flight 587, a BAe-146-200, reportedly hydroplaned and overran runway 04/22, a 4,429-foot (1350 m) long concrete runway at Catarman National Airport. The aircraft came to rest in a muddy rice field.[25]
• On January 2, 2008, Asian Spirit Flight 321, an NAMC YS-11 departing from Manila, overshot the runway at Masbate Airport at 7:30 a.m., due to heavy tailwinds with gusts reaching 14 knots while landing on runway 21. Although none of the 47 passengers were seriously injured, the aircraft was badly damaged.[26]

• In January 2009, a MA60 operated by Philippine carrier Zest Airways crashed at Caticlan airport while trying to land on January 11, 2009. The aircraft landed too short on the runway, skidded out of control and crashed into a concrete barrier. The aircraft caught fire and suffered extensive damage to its wing, landing gear, undercarriage and one engine. Several passengers were injured in that accident.[27]
• In June 2009, a MA60 operated by Zest overshot the runway while trying to land at Caticlan airport. As a consequence of this accident, the runway was lengthened and a hill that obstructs one of its approaches was flattened.[28]

• On December 30, 2014, AirAsia Zest Flight 272, an Airbus A320-216 registered RP-C8972, overshot the runway during landing at Kalibo International Airport. All 159 passengers and crew survived uninjured.[29]