AIRLINE OPENS CEBU TO TWO DIRECT ROUTES TO CHINA PORTS
The Cebu-Canton direct flight will start this June 28, while the Cebu-Shanghai route will commence in Oct. 18 . Two more new routes will be launched this year. China Eastern Airlines general manager Channe Chen described the CebuShanghai route as the “mo
Cebu will soon have direct flights to Shanghai and Canton and back, opening more traffic to Chinese tourists as China Eastern Airlines commences on Oct. 18. The airline will fly four times weekly using the Boeing 737 aircraft. The two routes are part of the four routes that CEA, the other two include the Kunming-Manila and Shanghai-Clark routes, which will fly starting September and October.
Cebu can expect more Chinese nationals and vice versa as China Eastern Airlines announced yesterday two new routes connecting Cebu to Shanghai and Canton.
The Cebu-Canton route will commence this June 28, and the Shanghai-Cebu route will begin in Oct. 18 this year. Both will fly four times weekly using the Boeing 737 aircraft.
The two routes are part of the four new routes that China Eastern Airlines add to the Philippines this year. The other two include Kunming-Manila and Shanghai-Clark which will fly starting September and October, respectively.
‘Most important route’
The airline’s country general manager Channe Chen has expressed anticipation on the Cebu-Shanghai route, describing it as the “most important route” for the Philippines this year.
“Cebu is very popular in China. With this new route, we hope to contribute to Philippine tourism,” said Chen, speaking to local travel agents at the Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu yesterday.
The expansion of China Eastern Airline in the Philippines is part of the 60th anniversary celebration of the company. Likewise, the airline, dubbed as the world’s second airline with the highest passenger volume, is also expanding its routes to different parts of the world, said Chen.
The official said that aside from bringing tourists to and from Cebu, the airline is also looking at business travelers, as well as Filipino-Americans who may choose the Cebu-Shanghai flight to connect to the airline’s wide network destinations in North America like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Huge Success
China Eastern Airlines started operating in the Philippines through the Manila-Shanghai daily flight four years ago, which Chen described as a huge success.
She added that since President Rodrigo Duterte’s frequent visit China, the volume of passengers from the Philippines has, likewise, increased.
Aside from Manila-Shanghai, the airline also operates three other existing routes namely the Canton-Laoag, Chengdu-Cebu, and Chengdu-Manila.
Globally, China Eastern Airlines serves 1,062 destinations across 177 countries.
Growth for Cebu
Andrew Harrison, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. chief executive advisor, said the new routes to China will bring in growth and generate business in Cebu.
At present, there are four Cebu to China flights, but before the end of this year, Harrison said, number will increase to 10.
Currently, Mactan Cebu International Airport is connected to 18 international destinations and 29 domestic routes with 21 partner carriers.