Airline expands E. Visayas operations

MAASIN CITY – Air Juan Aviation, Inc. is expanding its operation in Eastern Visayas by opening new routes and adding flights to provinces, its top official said on Monday.

Air Juan Chief Executive Officer John Anthony Gutierrez said the company will launch the Cebu-Maasin flight on August 1, cutting land travel time from five hours to only 30 minutes by air.

Next month, the company will add flights to the newly-opened CebuBiliran route, Gutierrez said during a meeting with local officials here.

Gutierrez said that the Cebu-Biliran flight is very inspiring because after only three weeks of operation they have decided to increase the number of flights from three to five times weekly.

“This is one of my favorite stories after our Cuyo experience,” said Gutierrez, referring to Cuyo Island in Palawan where the aviation company offers daily flights.

Air Juan launched their Biliran operation last June 19, offering nine seats of their 12-seater Cessna plane. Gutierrez said the new route has the most inquiries after it was launched.

The airline is the first company to use the Biliran Airport. Through this flight, the province can be reached from Cebu for only 45 minutes.

In the past, tourists have to travel two to three hours to get to the nearest airport in Ormoc or Tacloban to catch a flight to Cebu.

Air Juan is a pioneering aviation company in the Philippines that provides fast and hassle-free air transport services to some of the Philippines most beautiful and less-chartered destinations like Baler, Balesin, Boracay Island, Busuanga, Coron, Cuyo, Mamburao, Marinduque, Puerto Galera and Subic.

The company, the first commercial seaplane operator in the Philippines, is a licensed scheduled airline by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Civil Aeronautics Board, and also accredited by the Department of Tourism as a Tourist Air Transport provider. (PNA)