By Ashley Erika 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 greater flexibility and comfort.
“This is a niche market; it is not for everyone. But the market is improving. It is a slow slope, but there is an increase,” Mr. Schwab said in an interview with BusinessWorld.
Established in 2015, the sustainable seaplane company was born out of Mr. Schwab’s long-time passion for aviation.
“I decided to do that because I like seaplanes. I like the Philippines and I like aviation. I’ve been passionate about aviation for a very long time,” he said.
He noted that building trust and securing regulatory approvals were among the company’s early challenges.
“Trust is very important. It’s something that takes a long time to create 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 a DHC-2 De Havilland Beaver aircraft designed for operations in remote and rugged island locations.
“We only have one seaplane this time. It’s an experience just to see it, to fly it. We are in the process of buying a second seaplane, a smaller one for training so we can train more pilots,” Mr. Schwab said.
The company has been seeing year-on-year growth in passenger numbers, most 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 continue to rise.
“The Philippines has over 7,000 islands but it’s not many places where you actually can operate seaplanes because it’s open ocean. It’s not many places where it’s protected for landings, takeoffs. Palawan has many islands, and has a few 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 airlines’ long-distance flights.”
