TRANSPORTATION NEWS

Singapore Airlines to auction seats on eBay

Singapore Airlines, the first carrier in the world to fly the new superjumbo Airbus A380, will auction all seats on its inaugural flight on eBay, and donate the proceeds to charities, the airline said.

The history-making return flight to Sydney on the double-decker airliner –the world’s biggest passenger jet – will take place in October. The date of the flight will be fixed soon, after final notification from Airbus about the delivery date.

‘’In response to requests from people all over the world to be passengers on the first flight, Singapore Airlines will auction the seats on global online marketplace, eBay,’’ the statement said.

Singapore Airlines said it has secured support from three partners – ExxonMobil, eBay and Paypal –for the charity flight.

ExxonMobil Aviation will donate the fuel for the flights while EBay will subsidize the fees and charges from the auction of the seats. PayPal, a global leader in online payment solutions, will rebate a portion of its fees and charges, the statement said.

All customers who win bids to get on the flight will receive a personalized ceremonial certificate confirming they were part of the first commercial A380 flight.

It ‘’will be a moment in aviation history. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, on an aircraft that will mark a new chapter in air travel,’’ said Singapore Airlines chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng.

The proceeds of the auction will be given to three charities: one-third to the Singapore Community Chest; one-third shared equally by the Sydney Children’s Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney; onethird to Doctors Without Borders, an international group.

The statement invited people interested in preregistering for notification on auction details to register on the Web site www.singaporeair.com/a380.

Singapore Airlines will receive the A380, which seats 555 people, after more than a one-year delay due to production problems. To date, Airbus has received 173 orders from various airlines for the superjumbo. (AP)

SuperFerry ticket sale

SuperFerry brings back its Todo-Todo Sail Sale with lower prices for open-dated tickets.

"Indicators from our call center and other channels showed that customer interest increased over 200 percent compared to our last promo," said Andrew Deyto, SuperFerry AVP for sales and marketing.

A ticket from Manila to the Visayas now sells for P599; while a ticket from Manila to Mindanao now sells for P799. The same rates apply for return routes.

Visayas ports are Bacolod, Cebu, Coron, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, and Tagbilaran.

Mindanao ports are Cagayan, Cotabato, Davao, General Santos, Iligan, Butuan, Ozamiz, and Zamboanga.

SEAIR ties up with Escondido

Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) and Escondido Beach Resort jointly announced the discounted weekend package to Boracay which includes roundtrip airfare, three days/ two nights accommodation, and daily breakfast for as low as P7,800++ for single occupancy and P6,550++ for double occupancy. Promo is valid until Oct. 25.

The airline is also offering a special discounted one-way rate of only P1,890++ for all flights to Boracay (Caticlan). Selling period is Oct. 15, with travel period valid until Nov. 15.

Escondido Beach Resort is located in Station 1 and is only a minute walk away from the white beach. It has 14 elegantly designed rooms which features furnishings from different parts of the country. The resort is famous for its mouth-watering seafood menu and has recently opened its new Boracay Crab House (the only crab house in Boracay) where one can feast in scrumptious crab and prawn dishes.

SEAIR currently has in its fleet four Dornier Do328 planes. This state–of–the-art 35-seater twin engine turboprop aircraft allows SEAIR to fly its passengers from Manila to Caticlan (Boracay) in only 35 minutes—the fastest flight to Boracay offered by a local airline.

SEAIR now flies 18 routes to 14 local tourist destinations: Manila, Caticlan (Boracay) and Cebu in Visayas; Clark in Northern Luzon; Busuanga, Cuyo, El Nido, Puerto Princesa and Rodriguez in Palawan Province, Camiguin, Cotabato, Zamboanga, Jolo, Tawi-Tawi in Mindanao. For inquiries , visit www.flyseair.com.