Airlines in the Philippines are under pressure to raise ticket prices to offset rising fuel costs and the peso’s plunge to an almost 12-year low, risking lower demand from travelers also hurt by the currency’s decline.
“We will have to adjust prices accordingly,” said Lance Gokongwei, president of Cebu Air Inc., which owns the nation’s largest budget carrier. Cebu Air and market leader Philippine Airlines Inc. said they’ve applied for regulatory approval to add fuel surcharges imposed on customers.
Philippine Airlines, owned by tycoon Lucio Tan, incurs $11 million a year in additional costs for every $1 increase in the price of a barrel of fuel, President Jaime Bautista said in a mobile-phone message. The nation’s largest carrier consumes about 11 million barrels a year, while the price of jet fuel has risen by $13 from January to April, he said.
Cebu Air’s costs are increasing by $13 million a month from a year ago with jet fuel prices hitting $87 per barrel and the peso declining to 52.50 against the dollar, Gokongwei said. The currency’s decline is already diminishing Filipino consumers’ appetite for air travel, Bautista said.
Women look to make mark in pot industry
JUNEAU, Alaska >> When Danielle Schumacher attended her first convention of cannabis activists about 15 years ago, she could count on one hand all the women in a room of older men.
The lack of diversity struck the then college student, who remembers feeling out of place but also determined to make her mark.
“That feeling just really stuck with me that this isn’t going to last. This is going to shift in my lifetime, and I want to be part of that,” said the San Francisco-based Schumacher, who in 2014 co-founded THC Staffing Group, a recruitment firm that encourages a more diverse cannabis industry workforce.
As cannabis has become more mainstream, Schumacher has seen a gradual shift, with more women working in the industry. Women-centric groups focused on networking or providing a space for women curious about cannabis have proliferated, too. But it remains a male-dominated industry.
The trade publication Marijuana Business Daily surveyed 567 senior executives, company founders and those with ownership stakes in cannabis businesses, and found the percentage of women in executive roles fell from 36 percent in 2015 to 27 percent in 2017. One possible reason: The executive structure of more mainstream businesses, where men hold most senior-level positions, is seeping into the industry, said Eli McVey, an analyst with the publication.
ON THE MOVE
Special Olympics Hawaii has announced the following:
>> Nip Ho has been promoted to senior vice president of programs from vice president of area programs. Ho will oversee area programs and athlete initiatives, including Young Athlete Programs, Global Messengers and Toastmasters.
>> Cindy Ujimori has been promoted to vice president of community outreach from director of volunteer and corporate relations. Ujimori will oversee volunteers, the Law Enforcement Torch Run as well as corporate relations.
>> Adrienne Laurion has been promoted to neighbor island regional director and will have the opportunity to oversee the Special Olympics Hawaii programs on Kauai, the Big Island, Maui, Lanai and Molokai.
>> Garrika Venegas is the new development coordinator. She previously worked in the social media and marketing industry. Venegas’ responsibilities include supporting events throughout the year by working closely with the Law Enforcement Torch Run team.
