Dragonair plane PHOTO FROM AIRLINELIST.ORG
CLARK, Philippines—Dragonair, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways, began its daily flights from the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Pampanga to Hong Kong on Tuesday, with 183 passengers aboard its Airbus 320 that took off at 11:20 a.m.
The maiden flight signaled more flight connections for the Clark airport, according to Victor Jose Luciano, president and chief executive officer of the state-owned Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC)
“Dragonair is a renowned China expert. The airline has routes to mainland China and to some 130 destinations all over the world,” Luciano said.
Luciano said that aside from budget airlines, legacy carriers are beginning to take a “serious look” at the Clark airport.
Asiana Airlines of South Korea was the first to fly via CIA. Airphil Express of Philippine Airlines flies three times weekly to Singapore and four times weekly to Hong Kong.
South East Asian Airlines (Seair) launched its flights to Kalibo in Aklan as well as to Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Kota Kinabalu.
The CIAC expects to serve 1.5 million passengers at the end of 2012 because of more flights logged in by Air Asia Philippines, Airphil Express, Seair-Tiger and Dragonair.
A total of 292 local and international flights go through CIA weekly.
Cebu Pacific Air uses CIA for its international flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Macau. It also serves the Cebu route via Clark. Asiana Airlines and Jin Air fly to Incheon, South Korea, also via Clark.