Cebu Pacific to deploy flights for minor routes left by PAL

MANILA, Philippines—Cebu Pacific is mounting more flights between minor domestic points as it tries to fill the void left by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), which plans to realign its operations by focusing only on major destinations.

The company said it has been aiming to prevent any disruption in services to passengers that could jeopardize the development of trade and tourism in the countryside.

“We have enough planes and more are coming this year and in the next few years to cover key local destinations and mount additional flights,” Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.

Cebu Pacific said it would be open to adding flights or exploring more route opportunities to and from Butuan, Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tacloban, and Zamboanga.

Cebu Pacific has already announced more flights out of Cagayan de Oro, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban and Zamboanga, as part of the 10 domestic routes CEB is launching in the second half of 2012.

The airline recently introduced new routes, namely, Cagayan de Oro to Zamboanga, Puerto Princesa to Iloilo and to Davao, and Tacloban to Iloilo.

Government data showed that Cebu Pacific’s domestic passenger base grew by 18 percent in the first half of 2012.

“Through Cebu Pacific’s 60 domestic routes and constant seat sales, local and foreign travelers can take advantage of the airline’s accessible options to travel to different parts of the country, via our hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao, Iloilo and Kalibo,” Iyog said.

This growth was driven partly by the airline’s Cebu-Mindanao passenger traffic, which rose by 36 percent year on year. Traffic between Cebu and other points in the Visayas, meanwhile, rose 53 percent. Passenger traffic between Luzon and Cebu also grew by 49 percent, while Luzon to Manila traffic grew by 27 percent, Iyog said.