Federal Express (FedEx), Asia's No2 express operator, yesterday strengthened its commitments to two airports in the Philippines but said Guangzhou's new 18-billionyuan complex remained in the running to be the carrier's regional hub.
FedEx extended by three years the lease at its present hub in Subic Bay and signed a four-year option for the right of first refusal on a 42-hectare site at Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), the former Clark Airforce base.
The signings come just days before the United States and China on June 9 begin three days of talks on a new air services agreement that could potentially award FedEx and other American carriers the regulatory flexibility to set up aviation hubs on the mainland.
'We have not made a decision on the location of our Asia-Pacific hub,' FedEx Asia-Pacific president David Cunningham said. 'We continue to evaluate our options.'
Mr Cunningham said a dual Asia-Pacific hub was an option FedEx was considering but he ruled out a dual hub in the Philippines. 'If we opted for a dual hub in the region, it would be Clark-Guangzhou or Subic-Guangzhou; the other options are single hubs at either Clark or Guangzhou.'
The extension takes FedEx's commitment at Subic Bay to 2010.