MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Low-cost Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific Air announces interest to further expand operations in Australia by seeking more seat entitlements in the country.
Cebu Pacific, a publicly-listed subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings, said it is fully utilizing its seat entitlements to Australia and will participate in air talks that will be held in Canberra on 28 April.
The airline’s expansion plan was based on the number of passengers it carried to Sydney from Manila in January 2015. That month, Cebu Pacific said it carried 13,875 passengers, more than any other carrier operating direct flights from Manila to Sydney.
“In the first four months of operations, CEB’s low fares and direct, non-stop services significantly stimulated inbound traffic into the Philippines and Australia. We look forward to expanding our services and further growing inbound tourism into our countries,” said Alex Reyes, Cebu Pacific General Manager, Long Haul Division, said.
Cebu Pacific also noted a 42 percent rise in passenger traffic between the two cities in September to December of last year, citing data released by Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure Trade and Regional Economics.
The airline added that the routes between Australia and the Philippines are underserviced, with about 5,800 weekly one-way seats between the two countries, citing an analysis from think tank Centre for Aviation.
In a statement, the airline said: “This compares with other popular tourism destinations in Asia, such as Indonesia and Thailand, where there are approximately 36,000 and 22,000 weekly one-way seats, respectively,
The airline was established on August 26, 1988, and started operations on March 8, 1996. Republic Act No. 7151, which grants franchise to Cebu Air, Inc. was approved on August 30, 1991.
Cebu Air, Inc. was subsequently acquired by JG Summit Holdings (owned by John Gokongwei). Domestic services commenced following market deregulation by the Philippine government.
It temporarily ceased operations in February 1998 after being grounded by the government due to an accident, but resumed services later the next month following re-certification of its aircraft. – BusinessNewsAsia.com