By Ashley Erica O. jose, reporter
Horizon Sun Charters, founded by aviation entrepreneur Raymond Schwab and described as Palawan's first seaplane charter company, is seeing a steady increase in demand for private charters as travelers seek more flexibility and comfort.
“It's a niche market; it's not for everybody. But the market is improving. It's a slow slope, but growing,” Mr. Schwab said in an interview. businessworld,
Founded in 2015, the sustainable seaplane company was born out of Mr. Schwab's long-time passion for aviation.
“I decided to do it because I like sailing. I like the Philippines and I like aviation. I've been interested in aviation for a very long time,” he said.
He said building trust and getting regulatory approvals was one of the company's initial challenges.
“Trust is very important. This is something that takes a lot of time to build with people, with authority. It took time to build, it was a challenge,” he said, adding that limited infrastructure also posed difficulties in getting the business off the ground.
Horizon Sun Charters operates flights to Balabac, Busuanga, Coron, El Nido, Port Barton, Puerto Princesa, Roxas and Taytay in Palawan.
Its current fleet consists of DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver aircraft designed for operations in remote and rugged island locations.
“We only have one seaplane right now. Seeing it, flying it is an experience. We're in the process of buying a second seaplane, a smaller seaplane for training so we can train more pilots,” Mr. Schwab said.
The company is seeing year-on-year growth in passenger numbers, the majority of whom are businessmen and foreign tourists visiting the country's island destinations.
Mr. Schwab said Horizon Sun Charters is also exploring the possibility of expanding its services to other destinations such as Siargao, where tourist arrivals are continuously increasing.
“The Philippines has over 7,000 islands, but there aren't many places where you can actually sail because it's open ocean. There aren't many places where it's safe for landing, takeoff. Palawan has a lot of islands, and there are some places where it's good for landing,” he said.
“That's the thing – seaplanes are a good satellite base model. They don't compete with the airlines' long-haul flights.”
