Tuesday, April 08, 2008 Airline adds 2 new destinations
WITH Cebu’s capacity to draw more tourists, an airline is launching two more routes to serve the growing demand of travelers.
Taking a cue from over 250,000 Filipino arrivals in Macau, Cebu Pacific (CEB) inaugurated last Saturday a new direct flight from Cebu to Macau, making it the only airline to offer a non-stop air travel for the Cebu-Macau route.
Candice Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and product, said the new offering increases the airline’s number of international flights to 12, with six from Cebu.
For the Cebu-Macau maiden flight, 84 passengers were booked.
They were a mix of overseas Filipino workers and tourists.
Macau, according to Jet Cabuslay of the Macau government tourist office, is a multi-faceted destination not only for the gaming market but also for adventure seekers, culture buffs and sports enthusiasts.
Some 27 million tourists visited Macau in 2007 and Cabuslay said that they aim to achieve a growth of 16 percent this year.
“The direct flights will help our arrivals,” she said.
CEB also introduced the Cebu-Bangkok flight last Sunday to get a share of the pie of tourists traveling to Thailand.
“We are really strengthening our Cebu hub,” Iyog said. “Cebu, being central geographically, will be attractive for tourists,” she added.
CEB continues to look for more international routes to offer its clients as it expects a total of 25 aircraft—including four ATRs and six A320s—to add to its fleet this year.
To date, it already has 18 planes charting the domestic and international routes.
Iyog said that they want to service a destination where other airlines have no presence yet.
The company also wants to offer a direct service at a lower rate instead of a connecting flight, which may cost the traveler more.
Domestic
In beefing up its fleet, Iyog said it might be able to add more flight schedules to existing domestic routes, like the Cebu-Bacolod route.
“Our priority right now is really to open more routes, whether domestic or international,” Igot added.
By May, CEB will also open its Davao hub and will introduce direct international flights from Davao to Singapore and Hong
Kong.
The Cebu-Macau route will have a year-round seat rate of P1, 499, which is about 60 percent to 70 percent less compared to traveling through connecting flights, Iyog added.
She also said that the company is also “getting by” amid the shortage in pilots in the airline industry.
Filipino pilots are being lured by other international airline companies which offer bigger salaries.
But Iyog said that CEB has partnered with the Clark Aviation School to offer scholarships to deserving students, who wish to take the cadet pilot program.
CEB also encourages employees who want to become pilots to study and then work for the company.
“We’re okay with the pilots. (The resignations are) not at a rate that’s alarming,” she said. Although, there were pilots that left them, there were also some who came back because of the kind of culture the company offers.
CEB projected a 7.4-million passenger volume in both domestic and international flights by the end of 2008.
They also intend to get an 84 percent load factor this year and achieve an 85-percent efficiency on time performance. (DME)
