CebuPac seeks more flights to UAE

MANILA, Philippines - Budget airline Cebu Air Inc. is seeking more flight entitlements to the United Arab Emirates as the low cost carrier continues to expand its long haul operations.

In a petition before the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), Cebu Pacific is applying for reallocation of two unused weekly frequencies previously allocated to national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL).

 “Notice is hereby given that Cebu Pacific has filed with the CAB an application for reallocation of additional entitlements to UAE of two unused weekly frequencies previously allocated to PAL in accordance to the existing Confidential Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of the Philippines and UAE in September 2012,” CAB said in a notice of hearing.

The Philippines and UAE concluded air talks with UAE last September 2012. The new air pact doubled the flight entitlements to 28 per week from 14 per week between the two countries.

Cebu Pacific, which is currently flying to Dubai, is pushing more long haul flights with the launch of flights to Kuwait on Sept. 2 and Sydney in Australia on Sept. 9. It is also looking at mounting flights to the US and Europe.

The low cost carrier is in the middle of a $4 billion massive refleeting program involving the acquisition of close to 50 aircraft. The airline has a fleet of 52 Airbus aircraft consisting of 10 A319, 30 A320, four A330, and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft.

Meanwhile, the AirAsia Group is set to expand its four times weekly flights between Kalibo and Kuala Lumpur to seven times a week starting Oct. 23.

AirAsia Berhad head of commercial Spencer Lee said the daily flights would provide travellers with added convenience as they are now able to access and return from Kalibo and Boracay anytime of the week.

“With this additional frequency, guests who are travelling on this route can connect to both Kuala Lumpur and Kalibo on a daily basis, and this will enable them to further take advantage of our vast route network, especially via Kuala Lumpur,” Lee said.

AirAsia connects Malaysia to the Philippines with direct flights from Kuala Lumpur – Manila and Kuala Lumpur – Cebu with two times daily and three times weekly flights respectively, while guests from Kota Kinabalu can connect to the capital city of Manila with daily flights.