Cebu Pacific expands in Mindanao
Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) is planning to undertake a major expansion of its operations in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
This summer, the low-cost carrier will increase connectivity to three destinations on the island – Zamboanga, Tawi-Tawi and Davao. From 15 June 2013, CEB will add two weekly flights between Cebu and Zamboanga, taking the total frequency to six weekly flights, and then from 1 July, it will add a further three weekly services to Zamboanga from Manila, boosting to route to 24 flights per week. CEB will take its Zamboanga-Tawi-Tawi service daily, up from four flights per week.
Also from 1 July, CEB will commence four extra weekly flights between Cebu and Davao, taking the total frequency to 32 weekly flights.
“Cebu Pacific continues to develop its routes and hubs in Mindanao, to further benefit Philippine tourism and trade. These additional flights mean more choices for our guests, be it same-day returns for business meetings or more opportunities for travel due to seat sales,” said CEB’s vice president for marketing & distribution, Candice Iyog.
CEB noted that in the first quarter of 2013, its passenger traffic to and from Zamboanga increased 17%, while demand for its Davao flights grew 20%, and travel within Mindanao surged 45%. This followed the launch of a series of new flights in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Just last week, CEB also announced plans to launch its first flight to the Thai resort island of Phuket.