Cebu Pacific adds flights to Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific is increasing frequencies on selected flights to Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia from the fourth quarter of this year until the first quarter of next year to address higher demand during the peak season.

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said it would be increasing flights between Manila and Osaka to six times per week from five times weekly for the period Nov. 3 to Dec. 6.

By Dec. 15, Cebu Pacific would have daily operations on the Manila to Osaka route until March of next year.

The carrier will also be flying six times per week on the Manila to Nagoya route from the current four times weekly, starting Oct. 29.

As for Tokyo (Narita), Cebu Pacific will be flying 14 times per week from seven times a week from Oct. 29 to March 24 next year.

It will also have more flights to Bali (Denpasar) in Indonesia. In particular, it will have flights five times per week from the current four times weekly, from Dec. 4 until March 6, 2018.

It will likewise offer daily flights between Manila and Hanoi in Vietnam from five times per week for the period Dec. 1 to Jan. 9 next year.

“We constantly review our route network and frequencies to respond to changing market needs and operational requirements. Depending on seasonal factors, we make flight schedule changes as necessary, while keeping in mind the bookings of our passengers, many of whom book flights way in advance,” Paterno Mantaring Jr., vice president for corporate affairs of Cebu Pacific said.

Cebu Pacific earlier said it was planning to expand operations in Japan by mounting flights from Manila to Tokyo (Haneda) given strong demand to fly to the Haneda Airport which is closer to the city center.

Over the last two years, Cebu Pacific has been asking the Philippine government to hold bilateral talks with Japanese counterparts.

Aside from increasing frequencies to select international routes, Cebu Pacific is also planning to sell three Airbus A319 aircraft in the next 12 months.

The move is being undertaken to make way for brandnew aircraft, with the first scheduled to arrive by the first quarter of 2018.

Cebu Pacific expects to take delivery of seven Airbus A321CEOs (Current Engine Option) next year.

From next year until 2022, Cebu Pacific will have an ad- ditional 32 Airbus A321NEO (New Engine Option) planes.

It also has an existing order for 10 ATR 72-600 aircraft from Franco-Italian manufacturer Aerei da Trasporto Regionale, set for delivery from this year until 2020.

As of the first semester, Cebu Pacific carried 10.1 million passengers, roughly the same volume in the same period last year.

Of the total, 7.5 million were on domestic routes, while 2.6 million travelled to international destinations.