Tuesday, November 13, 2007 Cebu Pacific opens 3rd hub in Davao By Nelson C. Bagaforo
DABAWENYOS traveling to Singapore and Hongkong do not have to go to Manila or Cebu to get access to air service to reach their destination.
Cebu Pacific (CEB), the country's leading domestic airline, is set to expand its operations in Davao by making it the third hub after Manila and Cebu by May 8, next year.
The airline will base an A-319 aircraft and its necessary crew and support at the Davao International Airport (DIA) to service direct flights from Davao City to Singapore, HongKong and Iloilo.
Such move is expected to boost Davao Region's economy, with the future influx of tourists and prospective investors from both neighboring Asian countries.
"This is part of our commitment to develop Davao as a gateway into the Philippines and make Philippines, particularly Davao or Mindanao, a more attractive destination for tourism and trade," said Lance Gokongwei, CEB president and chief executive officer, in Monday's press conference at DIA.
The decision to make Davao as the airline's third hub is in preparation for a more expansive inter-island connectivity, as they plan to acquire more aircraft in the next few years.
He said their direct service from Cebu to Singapore and HongKong have been "very successful and there's no reason we can't do it in Davao."
"We recognize Davao as very attractive in terms of promoting trade and tourism... Davao offers the same potentials as Cebu," Gokongwei said.
Gokongwei said about 30 percent of the 75 percent traffic for direct international service to HongKong and Singapore comes from Davao.
New jobs for Dabawenyos will also be generated, he said, adding that support crew is needed for the maintenance of the aircraft.
"From our 40-man ground crew at present, we will increase it to about 60 as we need engineering support to the aircraft," he said.
The airline will also offer direct domestic flight to Iloilo.
Both services from Davao to Singapore and Iloilo will start on May 8 next year while service to HongKong on May 9. These new services will be introduced with a seat sale from November 13-20 this year.
"We will continue to expand our operations to achieve our goal of flying more travelers. And, with our continuous aircraft acquisition and base expansion, we hope to boost the country's tourism and trade agenda in the region," Gokongwei stated.
The airline also continues to pursue a 4th operational hub in Clark as soon as all the necessary government approvals to operate to Bangkok, Macau, Taipei, HongKong and Singapore are granted.
