CAB to take up proposed Cebu Pacific NZ flights

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) is set to decide next month on seat allocations to New Zealand being sought by budget carrier Cebu Pacific Air, a government official said.

CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said in a text message the matter would be taken up in their next board meeting in August.

Cebu Pacific, which has been ramping up its long-haul operations, wants to fly daily to New Zealand, Cebu Pacific general manager for the long haul division Alex Reyes said in a text message Thursday.

Cebu Pacific made its long-haul debut via flights to Dubai last October and it plans to fly to Sydney, Australia, four times weekly starting Sept. 9 and three times per week to Kuwait on Sept. 2.

“Yes, we have aircraft with the range for a direct service to New Zealand. The market is attractive because of the growing Filipino community in New Zealand. We look forward to stimulating tourist traffic between our two countries,” Reyes added in a text message.

The move comes as the Philippines and New Zealand signed a new air deal to increase weekly flights on top of additional commercial agreements, early this year.

Arcilla said at the time that weekly flights between the Philippines and New Zealand would rise from three times per week to 21 times.

The deal, which replaces a previous agreement signed in 2007, also allowed for “unlimited” flights to areas outside Manila.

Moreover, both jurisdictions enhanced their so-called fifth-freedom rights.

Arcilla noted that there were still no carriers mounting direct flights between both countries.