Cebu Pacific gets additional flight entitlements

CEBU Pacific Air bagged additional flying rights to destinations in the Middle East, Russia and Asia, a company statement showed.

Cebu Pacific said the government, through the Civil Aeronautics Board, granted the airline added entitlements from Manila to the United Arab Emirates, Taipei and Kaoshuing in Taiwan, as well as in Moscow and Vladivostok Russia.

“We’ve always maintained that traffic rights are valuable resources that must be rationally allocated to carriers that are willing and able to utilize and operate flights,” Cebu Pacific vice president for corporate affairs JR Mantaring said in the statement.

“We look forward to mounting additional flights to meet the growing travel demand in communities we serve, and opening new routes to stimulate travel in emerging markets,” he added.

Specifically, the budget airline gained seven flights weekly from Manila to the UAE, which would allow the airline to launch flights to any point in the UAE. At present, Cebu Pacific is fully utilizing its entitlements with daily flights between Manila and Dubai.

Moreover, Cebu Pacific’s request for rights to operate direct flights to Taipei from Caticlan, Clark, Davao, Puerto Princesa and Tagbilaran, as well as direct flights to Kaohshiung from Caticlan and Cebu, was granted. The airline presently flies 10 times weekly between Manila and Taipei, and thrice weekly flights between Cebu and Taipei.

Cebu Pacific was also designated as an official Philippine carrier to Russia, and granted thrice weekly flights each from Manila to Moscow and Vladivostok.

In the same board meeting, the CAB approved the carrier’s request to be designated as an official carrier under the Asean Multilateral Agreement on Air Services, or MAAS.

“As soon as the Philippines completes the ratification of the relevant protocols of the MAAS, CEB will be able to operate unlimited flights between capital cities within the Asean region,” Cebu Pacific said.

Cebu Pacific offers flights to a network of over 90 routes on 60 destinations, spanning Sydney, Dubai, Doha, Bali, and Tokyo (Narita).

On Dec. 17, 2015, the airline launched three new routes: Manila to Fukuoka, Cebu to Taipei, and Davao to Singapore. It is also slated to launch direct flights from Manila to Guam, its first US destination, on March 15, 2016.