The Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (PSE:CEB) will increase its turbo-prop flights to select destinations beginning April 8, 2011, strengthening its position further as the largest turbo-prop operator in the country.
CEB will increase flights from Manila to Boracay (Caticlan), making it 14 times daily from April 8-June 8, 2011. The airline’s Manila-Coron (Busuanga) flights will become twice daily, while Manila-Naga flights will become thrice daily during the same period.
These routes utilize 100% brand-new ATR 72-500 aircraft from Toulouse, France, of which CEB has eight in its aircraft fleet.
“With the new flight frequencies, CEB will operate an average of 82 turbo-prop flights a day, as compared to Philippine Airlines and Airphil Express’ combined 64 flights. We also utilize our ATR aircraft for 22 destinations and 25 routes, more than PAL and Airphil Express combined,” said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.
“Cebu Pacific continues to play a big role in Philippine tourism, by opening destinations such as Siargao, Pagadian and Cauayan (Isabela) to air travel, and by consistently forcing competition to lower fares whenever it enters the market such as what happened in Coron (Busuanga) and Boracay (Caticlan),” she added.
“These inter-island flights serviced by our ATR turbo-prop aircraft allow passengers to connect from different provinces to main cities such as Davao, Cebu and Manila. The movement of travelers from one city to another within the country greatly stimulates the tourism and economy,” Iyog said.
CEB operates 12 turbo-prop routes from Manila including those to Catarman, Tuguegarao and Virac. It also flies from Davao to Cagayan de Oro using an ATR aircraft.
From Cebu, CEB operates the most number of turbo-prop flights to the most number of routes and destinations. These are flights to Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Boracay, Dipolog, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Legazpi, Ozamiz, Pagadian, Siargao, Surigao and Tacloban.
For bookings and inquiries, guests can go to www.cebupacificair.com or http://funtours.cebupacificair.com (for Fun Tours packages), or call the reservation hotlines (02) 7020-888 or (032) 230-8888. The latest seat sales and promos can also be found on CEB’s official Twitter and Facebook pages.
Iyog also encouraged guests without credit cards to book online and pay through CEB partner banks and payment centers. “Travelers can also select seats in advance and avail of CEB’s web check-in service for their travel convenience,” she said.
CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 15 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. By the end of 2011, CEB will be operating a fleet of 37 aircraft – with an average age of 3.5 years – one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2012 and 2014, Cebu Pacific will take an additional 16 Airbus A320 aircraft.