Cebu-Pacific Air opens new route

THE Cebu-Pacific Air (CEB) on Saturday has opened a new route servicing Zamboanga City to Cagayan de Oro City and vice-versa.

CEB corporate communications assistant manager Michelle Eve De Guzman said they will serve the Zamboanga-Cagayan de Oro route with an A319 airbus three times a week.

The plane departs Zamboanga City to Cagayan de Oro City at 6:05 a.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, De Guzman said.

Its return trip from Cagayan de Oro to Zamboanga City is scheduled at 7:45 a.m., she added.

CEB Advertising and Promotions director Charlie Manio said one of their priorities in opening the new route is to help make Zamboanga City a top of mind destination for domestic and foreign travelers, especially as a hub for tourism, trade, government and education.

Manio said they plan to achieve it by providing more connectivity and access through air travel and offering low-fare, great value proposition to even more travelers.

The travelers who travel to and from Cagayan de Oro City coming from Zamboanga City have to endure a 12-hour bus ride.

"We believe this (route) will open up more opportunities in the region, since these two cities will now just be an hour and 10 minutes plane ride away as compared to buses and other forms of land transport," Manio said.

Meanwhile, he said the continuous support of the riding public has enabled them to become the largest airline in the country in terms of passengers flown and seat capacity.

He said that last year, they have flown close to 12 million passengers.

"When we started as a domestic airline in 1996, our vision was primarily to bring travel closer to people, by offering affordable fares, and by linking islands and destinations through air transportation," he said.

"We now fly to 19 international destinations and 32 local destinations," he added.