A ROBUST growth of passengers flown in and out China during the third quarter prompted the budget airline of the Gokongwei family to plan an expansion of its operations.
In a statement, Cebu Pacific said on Thursday it plans to grow the China market, after realizing a 30-percent growth in mainland China passengers from July to September this year, compared to the same period in 2010.
It had just announced plans to increase flights to Beijing, after its first year of operations last September 5. Its Manila-Beijing-Manila flights, meanwhile, will be a four times weekly service starting January 7, 2012 to cope with the increased demand.
The airline currently flies thrice weekly to Beijing and Guangzhou, and daily to Shanghai. Its Greater China operations extend to daily flights from Manila to Taipei, up to six daily flights to Hong Kong from Manila, Clark and Cebu, and 11 weekly flights to Macau from Manila and Clark.
“China is the next growth area for us. We already serve northern and southern China with our current routes, but additional connectivity between our two countries will only benefit tourism and trade,” said Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog.
“The Philippines is the nearest tropical destination to China, and this is evident in the influx of tourists to Boracay and some of our top beach getaways. There are also a lot of enterprises in the Philippines that source out their materials in China. There is a lot of potential for growth, as we take delivery of more planes,” she added.
In the meantime, Cebu Pacific cuts fares to China and Taipei by as much as 63 percent in a seat sale from October 21 to 23, 2011 or until seats last.
For travel from January 1 to March 31, 2012, passengers can buy P1,488 seats from Manila to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Taipei. The airline currently flies thrice weekly to Beijing and Guangzhou, and daily to Shanghai and Taipei.
Meanwhile, for those with more immediate plans of travel this December 1 to 31, 2011, P1,888 seats are also available from Manila to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Taipei. It also holds a select domestic seat sale for travel from December 1, 2011 to February 29, 2012. Up for grabs are P388 seats from Cebu to Dumaguete, P488 seats from Cebu to Pagadian, Surigao, Ozamiz, and Dipolog, P588 seats from Cebu to Butuan, and from Manila to Cebu, Dumaguete and Roxas.
Those coming from Manila to Dipolog, Pagadian and Surigao can also buy P888 seats.
Cebu Pacific currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 17 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500s. Between 2012 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 23 Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo orders, and two Airbus A320s on operating lease agreements.
