Tuesday, October 28, 2008 PAL returns to Cebu-Osaka route
MARKET demand has dictated the decision of Philippine Airlines (PAL) to finally reopen the link connecting Cebu and Osaka, Japan.
More than seven years after the flight connection was halted, PAL re-introduced the Cebu-Osaka service last Sunday at Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.
“We are responding to the persistent demand by Japanese travelers and local hoteliers to open the route to encourage frequent travel between Osaka and Cebu,” PAL president Jaime Bautista told reporters.
This will make Osaka another major market for tourists and investors, and Cebu, a leisure destination for the Japanese, he added.
The Cebu-Osaka service was first introduced in 1994 but was discontinued in October 2001 when Japanese government travel advisories were issued in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, discouraging the Japanese from traveling and weakening the tourist market.
Slowdown
However, Bautista noted that even before the tragedy, the Asian financial crisis in 1997 had resulted in a slowdown in the market and prompted PAL to close some flights and reduce frequencies to many destinations. Eventually, the Cebu-Osaka line was affected.
Despite the ongoing global economic crisis, PAL is optimistic that more and more local and Japanese travelers will take advantage of the renewed service for leisure and business purposes.
Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 Director Patria Aurora “Dawnie” Roa said the government will do its part by organizing familiarization tours with PAL’s help for the Japanese working class.
The Cebu-Osaka flights will initially operate twice weekly—Thursdays and Sundays—on a newly delivered Airbus A320 aircraft that has the capacity to accommodate 12 passengers for business class and 144 for economy class.
Expansion
“We have decided after careful review to pursue a selective expansion of our operations that started several years back.
This is marked by the newly completed modernization of our domestic fleet and acquisition of additional airplanes,” Bautista said.
PAL started this acquisition in 2007 with a P1.2-billion budget. The airline company is expected to operate a total of 50 aircraft by 2012, including new planes.
“We have 45 aircraft now. Some planes are leased so we will return them to their owners, while some will be sold as there is also a demand for second-hand aircraft by Third World countries,” said Bautista.
Tokyo
PAL also operates a six-times-weekly service between Cebu and Tokyo, Japan as well as a four-times-weekly service between Cebu and Seoul, Korea.
Once the downgrading of the Philippines to a Category 2 rating by the US Federal Aviation Authority is lifted, PAL is planning to mount additional flights from Cebu to the United States.
Under Category 2, PAL is barred from increasing its 33 flights a week to the US and from changing the type or increasing the number of aircraft used on these routes.
PAL is also studying the possibility of opening up a link between Cebu and Singapore. After a Manila-China flight connection will be well-established, PAL might also study the prospect of having a Cebu-China link, said Bautista. (NRC)
