BUDGET carrier Cebu Pacific is poised to increase the capacity of its Manila flights to areas in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, where there is strong demand.
Cebu Pacific Spokesman Paterno S. Mantaring said his group is rationalizing the use of its planes by deploying bigger jets to high-demand destinations, and using its smaller ones for new routes.
Starting July 4, flights from Manila to Cauayan, Isabela; Legazpi, Albay; and Virac, Catanduanes, and vice versa, will be utilizing the 180-seater Airbus A320, translating to over 130 percent more capacity, or about 102 additional seats, from its original 78-seater ATR 72-600.
Cebu Pacific is the only carrier with a regular commercial-air service to Cauayan, Isabela, and Virac, Catanduanes.
The freed-up ATR aircraft from these three routes will be used to service five new interisland routes Cebgo recently announced, namely, Cebu-Masbate; Cagayan de Oro-Zamboanga; Davao-Dumaguete; Davao-Tacloban; and Cotabato-Zamboanga.
The five new routes are set to commence operations late next month.
“Utilizing larger aircraft will not only help meet demand for passenger air travel and logistics to move cargo across the country, but also allow more travelers to avail themselves of our year-round lowest fares,” Mantaring said. On top of the aircraft upgrade from ATR to Airbus jet service, Cebu Pacific will also hike the frequency of flights between Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao, by July 4.
From 55 flights weekly, 10 more flights would be mounted between Manila and Iloilo; while the Manila-Bacolod route would have six more flights, bringing the total to 54 a week. The additional flights to and from Iloilo and Bacolod would bring its capacity to over 5,700 seats.
In Mindanao eight additional weekly flights will be available between Manila and Cagayan de Oro, bringing the current 55 trips per week to 63. That will translate to over 2,800 more seats for flights to and from Manila and Northern Mindanao.
“The capacity expansion will mean more flights and more travel options for every Juan. We are optimistic this will make air travel more affordable and more accessible to a greater number of travelers,” Mantaring said. Last week Cebu Pacific announced it would shift to the 436-seater Airbus A330 for its Cebu, Davao and Hong Kong routes, also by July 4 resulting in 59 percent more capacity for each flight.
The airline currently offers flights to a total of 37 domestic and 26 international destinations, operating over 100 routes spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the US.