THE PHILIPPINES, FEBRUARY 2, 2012 — Cebu Air Inc. has unveiled its plans for low-cost long-haul flights, providing a budget-friendly alternative for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who cannot afford to come home to the country more often. More popularly known as Cebu Pacific, the airline has a commanding hold on the country’s domestic market, and currently flies more passengers daily than flag carrier Philippine Airlines.
According to president and CEO Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific will lease up to eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft for the new market, and will offer the lowest fares possible for this new service – up to 35% lower fares than other airlines, and as much as 80% lower for promotions. The airline is looking at an additional 1 million passengers yearly for the first batch of A330s that will arrive in 2014. The complete fleet of eight A330s is expected to come in by 2016. Presently, Cebu Pacific has a fleet of 10 Airbus A319, 19 Airbus A320, and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft.
Specific routes have yet to be revealed pending the airline’s application with the Civil Aeronautics Board. However, potential international destinations for these new Cebu Pacific flights are Australia, the Middle East, and select areas in Europe and the United States like Guam and Hawaii, in addition to the 18 international routes that Cebu Pacific is currently plying.
Gokongwei said that more than half of the Filipinos in these locations often travel with multiple stops and connecting flights because there are no home carriers that offer non-stop flights. He further added that Cebu Pacific can tap the 4 million OFWs in the US and 2.5 million in the Middle East.
“We were already examining long-haul flights very carefully. Is there a market? Yes, there is. Our primary beneficiary will be the OFWs. With cheaper fares they will be able to come home more often,” said Gokongwei.
But until the ban on Philippine carriers is lifted, Cebu Pacific cannot fly to these countries. Gokongwei remains positive, however, that the restrictions will be lifted by the end of the year. “We are very confident that before the end of the year the significant safety concern issues and EU blacklisting will be lifted. Our objective is to start flying by third quarter of 2013,” he said.
