Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ single largest domestic airline and biggest carrier to the ASEAN region, can exceed its goal to carry seven million passengers this year if it is allowed to match the Clark-Hong Kong service of Hong Kong Express that started last week.
Hong Kong Express | photo by Rick Schlamp (Flickr)
Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and product, said “It is unfortunate that a Filipino airline does not have the same privilege a foreign airline enjoys in the Philippines.”
Cebu Pacific’s application last year to fly from Clark to Hong Kong, among other destinations, was turned down by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation due to the lack of entitlements.
Hong Kong Express, however, can mount the same service because of Executive Order 500A which virtually opened up Clark to foreign carriers.
“But the favor has not been returned. In our case, the foreign governments turned down our application to fly from Clark, making it a nonviable 4th hub for CEB at this time. We would like to see reciprocity and fairness.” she said.
Iyog added that making Clark the staging point for various international destinations is strategically important since
- Those from Northern Luzon do not have to travel all the way to Manila to catch their international flights.
- This will unlock economic opportunities in the North.
- This will prepare Clark for its eventual expanded role as an international gateway.
She said that Cebu Pacific has always been for reciprocal open skies and agreeable to a competitive set-up because this would give the Philippine carriers the same opportunity being given to foreign carriers in vying for passengers and operating new routes.
Now in its 13th year, Cebu Pacific continues to have the youngest fleet in the Philippines. It flies to 12, soon to be 15 international destinations, with the addition of Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, and Kaohsiung. Cebu Pacific also operates flights to 21 domestic destinations.