Cebu Pacific to fly to ME, Australia by Q3 next year

MANILA, Philippines - Tycoon John Gokongwei’s Cebu Air Inc. Cebu Pacific is on track to launch low-cost, long-haul flights to the Middle East and hopefully Australia by the third quarter of 2013.

During COL Financial’s special briefing for clients, BJ Sebastian, senior vice-president of Cebu Air’s parent firm JG Summit Holdings Inc., said that while the group remains cautiously optimistic due to tight competition in the industry and relatively high jet fuel prices, Cebu Pacific is still raring to start long-haul operations by the third quarter of next year.

Sebastian said the carrier intends to provide more affordable, direct flight options to some 11 million Filipinos working or living overseas.

Cebu Pacific will take a total of 44 additional aircraft to be delivered on programmed basis over the next nine years.  Four Airbus A330 wide-body jets will be delivered from 2013 and 2014.

In an earlier interview with Bloomberg, JG Summit president Lance Gokongwei said Cebu Pacific was looking to capture 25 percent of the P50-billion Philippine-Middle East market by 2015.

No Philippine carriers are currently plying the Middle East routes. 

Cebu Pacific will be competing with Emirates Airlines, the only airline with direct flights from Dubai to Manila.

Emirates will fly thrice daily non-stop between Manila and Dubai beginning January next year.

Aside from the Middle East and Australia, Cebu Pacific is also eyeing Hawaii and Guam as potential long-haul routes.

Sebastian said Cebu Pacific will continue to increase flight frequencies and add new destinations in addition to its 34 domestic and 19 international routes, namely Bangkok, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Incheon (Seoul), Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka, Shanghai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei and Xiamen.