FBO in Philippines Offers Asian Alternative

A new FBO at Subic Bay in the Philippines promises "landing approvals in hours rather than days, with technical-stop turnarounds in just 45 minutes and at rates that are a fraction of those charged in places such as Hong Kong and Tokyo." U.S.-based Aviation Concepts, which also has an FBO on the island of Guam, operates the 100,000-square-foot facility. According to CEO Terry Habeck, the Subic Bay operation is a response to the lack of support infrastructure for business aircraft in Asia, which is resulting in operational headaches and rising costs. The situation seems likely to worsen over the next few years, as new aircraft are delivered into the region. Much of the traffic using Subic Bay will be coming to or from Hong Kong, which is about 80 minutes away by air.