CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – Reciprocity in air rights negotiations is a continuing clamor of two of the country’s biggest air carriers even as they urge that amendments be made on Executive Order (EO) 29, which spells out the adoption of an open skies policy by the government.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Air officials expressed their sentiments backing reciprocity so that local carriers could compete fairly with international players during the Department of Tourism’s Open Skies Policy roadshow held here recently.

“We at PAL believe that the initiative on the ‘open skies policy’ is noble since it opens up the country’s secondary gateways,” said PAL Assistant Vice President for Government Affairs Jose Perez Tagle. “However, while we grant more foreign flights to come to our country, the Philippine government must ensure that local carriers can also increase their air access rights in other countries so that we can have a win-win situation,”

De Tagle said EO 29 grants unlimited rights to foreign air carriers to fly in and out of the country and “all we want is for government to set fair rules for everyone considering that local carriers are the ones pouring in investments for the country in terms of tourism,” the PAL official stressed.

Similarly, Cebu Pacific representatives said they will continue to push for two-way open skies.

In a statement issued to local media, Cebu Pacific underlined that “since the beginning, we have made it clear that we will never support one-way open skies, which is what EO 29 represents. With one-way open skies, the Philippines gives foreign carriers’ unlimited access to our airports, while our own carriers get nothing in return.”

The airline added that it is confident that it can compete with any carrier – whether domestic or foreign - so long as a “true open skies policy prevails where there is reciprocity and a level playing field. Cebu Pacific is investing billions of dollars in the country and employs thousands of Filipino workers and professionals. We help guarantee increased tourists because whenever we enter a route, we lower air fares in the market. Tourists benefit from the year-round low fares that we provide. But if we can’t compete, we can’t lower air fares,” the airline said, pointing out that Hong Kong carriers can now mount as many flights as they like to Cebu, while Philippine carriers are limited to 2,500 seats per week.

De Tagle stressed that for as long as the open skies policy issue is left unresolved, local carriers will continue to “fight for our right to survive” and that “this might even become an opportunity for local carriers to set aside competition and unite for a bigger cause.”