THE high volume of passenger traffic between Davao City and Hong Kong since Cathay Pacific launched its direct flight between the two cities last Oct. 28 has prompted the airline to add seven more flights to its current frequency of eight a week.

Ronald Lam, Cathay Pacific director for commercial and cargo, announced the additional flights last Oct. 28 during a short sendoff of the inaugural flight from Davao City to Hong Kong at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport.

Cathay Pacific through its regional airline Cathay Dragon flies direct eight times a week between Davao City and Hong Kong on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

In a press conference on Oct. 29 at Marco Polo Davao, Lam clarified that the seven flights will be spread between December and January and will not be permanent.

“The advance bookings are doing pretty well,” Lam said. “It is a good sign for a new route.”

Airlines have seen a higher demand for passenger seats for Davao City since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016. He goes home to Davao City frequently and receives local and foreign visitors there.

But even before Duterte became president, Cathay Pacific had already considered opening a route in Davao because it saw a growing traffic of passengers coming from Davao who flew to Hong Kong via Manila, Lam said.

A direct flight between Davao City and Hong Kong costs $189 economy. Although a Manila-Hong Kong economy flight may cost a few dollars less, the cost of travel from Davao City to Manila is removed.

The direct Davao-HK flight “opens up a gateway to Hong Kong to other international destinations,” Cathay Pacific country manager Rob Bradshaw said.

Cathay Pacific has its hub in Hong Kong. The “ease and convenience” of the direct Davao-HK flight makes the route attractive, he said.

Cathay Pacific is extensively promoting Davao in Hong Kong whose people know little about the Mindanao city, Bradshaw said.

“Davao is a new route and that makes it attractive to travelers,” he said.

The additional seven flights between December 2018 and January 2019 will address passenger demand during these holiday months, airline executives said.

The inaugural flight from Davao City, Cathay Dragon Flight KA348 had all 172 passenger seats booked.

Bradshaw also suggested that another way to strengthen traffic between Davao City and Hong Kong is to install key government offices in Davao City where documentary requirements can be processed without need for passengers, especially overseas Filipino workers from Mindanao, to go to Manila to do it.

The Oct. 28 inauguration of the direct Davao-Hong Kong flight happened on the same day a new Chinese consulate opened in Davao City. (MPS)