Cebu Pacific adding more Southeast Asia flights

MANILA, Philippines – Cebu Pacific sees opportunity to launch more flights in Southeast Asia following the government’s move to ratify the ASEAN’s Open Skies agreement.

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said the ratification of the ASEAN Open Skies agreement provides opportunities for the low cost carrier to expand its operations in the region by offering more flights.

President Aquino signed Protocols 5 and 6 of the ASEAN Multilateral Agreement on Air Services or ASEAN Open Skies agreement on February 3.

The agreement allows designated carriers of ASEAN countries to operate unlimited flights between capitals.

With Open Skies, Cebu Pacific said the airline can add more flights to and from key destinations in ASEAN to meet the growing travel demand within the region.

Passengers from international destinations may also take advantage of Cebu Pacific’s network to easily connect to any point in the Philippines.

At present, Cebu Pacific offers the most number of flights and destinations to ASEAN from the Philippines through its services to 11 destinations in the region such as Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia (Siem Reap), Indonesia (Bali and Jakarta), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu), Singapore, Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), and Vietnam (Hanoi and Saigon).

Through Cebu Pacific’s interline agreement with Tigerair Singapore, the airline is likewise providing flights to Myanmar (Yangon) via Singapore.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the agreement also allows carriers to upgrade its ASEAN flights to wide-bodied aircraft and to increase capacity without having to hold air talks.

The streamlined process is expected to allow airlines to focus on expanding its operations, stimulating passenger traffic, and improving customer experience instead of spending valuable resources on negotiations for additional air rights.