FLAG-CARRIER Philippine Airlines (PAL) launched on Sunday, March 25, its maiden flight between Davao City and Siargao, the country's surfing capital.
The flight will be scheduled four times weekly -- Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday -- and will utilize the all-new state of the art Bombardier Q400 Next Generation aircraft.
"This is happy news for us. But we Dabawenyos will have to step up our game too like offer tours and services to complement what they don't have in Siargao and entice tourist to come visit Davao," Generose Tecson, Davao City Tourism Operations Office officer-in-charge, said.
Davao Tourism Association (Data) president Gatchi Gatchalian said the airlink is definitely a welcome addition to the many attractions of Mindanao.
"This is good because it strengthens Davao’s position sa a gateway to other tourist attractions. After discovering Davao Region, it gives us the chance to highlight other beautiful places of the island. We see Davao as the hub of the island offering many options for visitors," he said.
The airline said in an earlier statement that the service between Davao City and Siargao is in support of the government's goal to further ramp up the promotion of top travel spots in Southern Philippines.
"We envision Davao to become a major hub in our network in the years to come that will spur tremendous economic and tourism activities in the region," said PAL Senior Assistant Vice- President for Visayas and Mindanao Sales and Services Harry Inoferio in a statement.
In line with the launch of the new airlink between Davao City and Siargao, the airline is offering Introductory Fares for as low as P1,000 plus for a round trip flight between Davao and Siargao running until April 15, 2018.
"Avid Lovers of sun, sea, diving, international game fishing and surfing can take PAL's Manila-Davao, Cebu-Davao, or Clark-Davao flights and enjoy the King City of the South for a few days before taking a short hop to the beautiful and sparkling jewel island paradise of Siargao," Inoferio said.
Last year, the airline launched three domestic flights between Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City, Tagbilaran City, and Zamboanga City utilizing the same aircraft.
The airline flies between Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City daily. While the flight between Davao City and Tagbilaran City was initially launched with a four times weekly schedule, the airline will now operate the flight daily starting on March 25, 2018.