Cebu Pacific starts Manila-Busan service

Gokongwei-led budget carrier Cebu Pacific launched its 24th international route this week, cementing its position as the country’s largest airline.

In a statement, the company said its Manila-Busan service started with the maiden flight on Wednesday taking off Manila at 4:15 p.m. and arriving in Busan at 8:40 p.m.

“Cebu Pacific offers the lowest fare from the Philippines to Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city. We are very optimistic about our Busan operations, especially since this is our fourth route to South Korea,” Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.

“We can see that the market for Cebu Pacific flights can really be stimulated by our trademark low fares,” she said.

The airline operates its Busan-Manila flights every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The company said its fares to Incheon, also in South Korea, and Busan were only one-fifth of the fares of other Philippine carriers, and one-fourth of those of foreign airlines.

Aside from the Manila-Busan service, Cebu Pacific also flies four times weekly from Busan to Cebu, twice daily from Incheon to Manila and daily from Incheon to Cebu.