PLANES of Filipino budget carrier Cebu Pacific are set to land on American soil for the first time next year, as its president announced on Wednesday that the airline will start flying to Guam on March 15.
Cebu Pacific President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei said the four weekly flights to Guam out of Manila will help increase the tourism thrusts of both countries, as the service will encourage more people to fly, especially those who are working on a small budget.
“Having Guam in our network sets us off on another expansion path across the Pacific. With the launch of Guam, we offer fares that are up to 83 percent lower than those of other airlines. Fares this low can only mean more tourists to both countries, more Filipinos visiting home and more opportunities for everyone,” he said.
Guam has a sizable Filipino community, which comprises about 26 percent of the island’s population.
Recent data showed that the Manila-Guam route is relatively underserved, compared to other destinations with smaller Filipino populations. There are about 5,900 weekly seats currently available between Manila and Guam.
Cebu Pacific’s entry into the market adds 1,440 weekly seats to this pool, boosting air traffic between the two countries further.
The airline initially planned to tentatively launch the service this quarter, with Gokongwei saying that the prospect will depend on how fast regulators would act upon the airline’s petitions.
The additional route, when launched, would be Cebu’s sixth long-haul destinations, joining four in the Middle East and Sydney, Australia.
Cebu Pacific, according to aviation think tank Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (Capa), had its eyes focused on launching flights to US territories since the Federal Aviation Administration, in April 2014, upgraded the Philippines to a Category 1 safety rating.
Its desire to expand to the US was also reflected, according to the research agency, on its recent certification for extended diversion time operations of 120 minutes, which is needed to use the most direct and efficient routing for long-haul routes.
Cebu Pacific’s Manila-Guam route will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will utilize the airline’s brand-new Airbus A320 fleet.
The airline’s network now spans 64 destinations on 98 routes, including flights to Sydney, Doha, Beijing, Tokyo, Bali and Dubai. Cebu Pacific’s 55-strong fleet is comprised of eight Airbus A319, 33 Airbus A320, six Airbus A330 and eight ATR 72-500 aircraft. Between 2016 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of five more brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and 16 ATR 72-600 aircraft.