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Zest Airways, Inc., operated as AirAsia Zest (formerly Asian Spirit and Zest Air), was a Filipino low-cost airline based at
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...
in
Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...
,
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
in the Philippines. It operated scheduled domestic and international tourist services, mainly feeder services linking Manila and
Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
with 24 domestic destinations in support of the trunk route operations of other airlines. The airline was founded as Asian Spirit, the first airline in the Philippines to be run as a
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
. After its acquisition by AMY Holdings of businessman Alfredo Yao in 2008, the airline was rebranded as Zest Airways. In 2013, the airline was rebranded as AirAsia Zest and became an affiliate of
Philippines AirAsia Philippines AirAsia, Inc. is a Philippine low-cost airline based at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay, Metro Manila. The airline is the Philippine affiliate of the Malaysian AirAsia. The airline started as a joint venture among three F ...
operating their brand separately. The airline was merged together with AirAsia Philippines to form
Philippines AirAsia Philippines AirAsia, Inc. is a Philippine low-cost airline based at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay, Metro Manila. The airline is the Philippine affiliate of the Malaysian AirAsia. The airline started as a joint venture among three F ...
in 2015.


History


Beginnings as Asian Spirit

Asian Spirit was established in September 1995 by Antonio "Toti" Turalba, Emmanuel "Noel" Oñate and Archibald Po, who contributed US$1 million each to start up the Airline Employees Cooperative (AEC). They arranged for 36 of their friends, mostly former
Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...
employees, to run Asian Spirit through a salary-to-equity swap deal. The Po family held the majority of ownership. 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 Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
to Malay, serving the fledgling resort island of
Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...
. To maximise its aircraft utilisation, it introduced new routes to the present-day towns of San Jose, Virac,
Daet Daet (), officially the Municipality of Daet (; ), is a municipality and capital of the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,700 people making it the most populous in the province ...
and Alcantara, and the cities of Cauayan and
Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...
, 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 The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
in 2005. At the time, Asian Spirit has the distinction of being the first scheduled airline to serve Caticlan Airport, the nearest airport serving Boracay. Other operators served the airport on a charter basis then. It became the Philippines' fourth flag carrier (after Philippine Airlines,
Cebu Pacific Cebu Air, Inc. (), operating as Cebu Pacific (stylized in lowercase), is a Philippine low-cost airline based in Pasay, Metro Manila. Founded in 1988, the airline was the first low-cost carrier in Asia and is also the largest airline in the Phi ...
and Air Philippines) in 2003. The airline planned to fly to three international destinations to
Sandakan Sandakan () formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the sta ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
from Zamboanga, to
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
from
Kalibo Kalibo, officially the Municipality of Kalibo (Aklanon language, Aklanon: ''Banwa it Kalibo''; Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Kalibo''; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, ...
,
Laoag Laoag (), officially the City of Laoag (; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,651 people. It is the province's most populous settlement, ...
, and Davao, and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
from Angeles City. However these international routings never took off. It also intended to commence international expansion to
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
in 2007.


Rebranding as Zest Airways

In January 2008, Asian Spirit was sold to AMY Holdings, a holding company controlled by businessman Alfredo Yao. The acquisition was completed on 29 March of that year. After the success of the takeover, Yao expressed interest in merging Asian Spirit with South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR). Yao had been expected to purchase a sixty percent stake in SEAIR,Yao Group to acquire Asian Spirit
,
Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' () (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...
, 21 January 2008
but the merger talks failed and both airlines continued to operate independently. On 30 September 2008, Asian Spirit announced that it would be re-branding itself as Zest Airways to reflect the stake of the owner, Zest-O Corporation, in the airline. In 2009, Zest Airways intended to establish a hub at Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.


Partnership with AirAsia and merger

On 11 March 2013, Zest Airways signed a share swap agreement with AirAsia Philippines. 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. On the same day, the airlines announced a strategic alliance that would integrate the operations of both airlines while still operating as separate entities. The deal closed on 10 May 2013. On 16 August 2013, the
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP, ; ) is the civil aviation authority of the Philippines and is responsible for implementing policies on civil aviation to assure safe, economic and efficient air travel. The agency also in ...
(CAAP) suspended the airline's air operating certificate due to safety issues. The suspension was lifted on 20 August. Less than a year after the strategic alliance with AirAsia Philippines, on 21 September, the airline was rebranded as "AirAsia Zest". 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." AirAsia Zest eventually merged with AirAsia Philippines in 2015 to form Philippines AirAsia. This merger effectively phased out the AirAsia Zest brand. Both airlines completed the transition to a single operating certificate in September of that year. AirAsia Zest then ceased operations on 6 December 2015.


Destinations

Zest Airways served the following destinations prior to August 2013, when its operating license was revoked:


Fleet

AirAsia Zest and its predecessors operated the following aircraft during its existence:Zest Air eyes DMIA as hub for int'l flights
, Manila Bulletin, 2 August 2009.


Accidents and incidents


As Asian Spirit

*7 December 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. The accident forced the closure of the Manila-Cauayan route, which remained closed until Philippine Airlines restarted the route on 15 August 2008. *4 September 2002: Asian Spirit Flight 897 was the last flight of the day to Malay, departing Manila at 3:36pm 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 Las Piñas (, officially the City of Las Piñas (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of ...
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. *14 November 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. *2 January 2008, Asian Spirit Flight 321, an
NAMC YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...
departing from Manila, overshot the runway at Masbate Airport at 7:30am, due to heavy tailwinds with gusts reaching 14
knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...
while landing on runway 21. Although none of the 47 passengers were seriously injured, the aircraft was badly damaged.


As Zest Airways

*11 January 2009: a
Xian MA60 The Xi'an MA60 (, ''Xīnzhōu liùshí'', "Modern Ark 60") is a turboprop-powered airliner produced by China's Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The MA60 is a stretched version of the ...
operated crashed at Caticlan Airport while trying to land. 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. *25 June 2009: a Xian 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.


As AirAsia Zest

*30 December 2014: AirAsia Zest Flight 272, an Airbus A320-200 registered RP-C8972, overshot the runway during landing at Kalibo International Airport. All 159 passengers and crew survived uninjured.


See also


References


External links


AirAsia Zest

Zest Airways
(archive)
Asian Spirit
(archive)
AirAsia Zest Fleet
{{Navbox Airlines of the Philippines Defunct airlines of the Philippines Airlines established in 1995 Airlines disestablished in 2015 Airlines formerly banned in the European Union AirAsia Employee-owned companies Defunct low-cost airlines Companies based in Pasay 1995 establishments in the Philippines 2015 disestablishments in the Philippines Philippine companies established in 1995