AirAsia Zest to fly to S’pore from Cebu, Kalibo

MANILA, Philippines - Low cost carrier AirAsia Zest, jointly-owned byAirAsia (Philippines) Inc. and Zest Airways Corp., is set to mount flights to Singapore from Cebu and Kalibo as part of efforts to expand the airline’s international destinations.

The budget airline has filed a petition for authority to impose fuel surcharge on its international passenger tickets before the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

 AirAsia Zest is set to impose a P1,800 fuel surcharge on passengers of Cebu – Singapore as well as Kalibo – Singapore routes.

 The low cost carrier earlier launched new domestic routes from its Cebu and Kalibo hubs. It started flying to Davao and Cagayan de Oro from Cebu as well as to Davao from Kalibo.

 AirAsia Zest chief executive officer Joy Cañeba earlier said in a statement that the airline is committed in connecting communities in the Philippines.

“With our newest routes between Cebu and Mindanao we would like to provide much-needed connections and tap into underserved markets, grow it, as there is definitely great tourism and business potentials between these awesome cities. Let’s paint these cities red and make traveling more affordable, fun, convenient, reliable and on time,” she said.

 AirAsia Zest also services flights from Cebu to Manila, Incheon/Seoul, South Korea and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“This is just the beginning of our new plans for Cebu as we are set to expand our presence here with new international direct flights and offer ‘fly-thru’ products to connect all Filipinos to the rest of AirAsia Group’s massive network covering over 88 destinations stretching across China, India and Australia,” Cañeba added.

 AirAsia Zest and AirAsia Philippines currently operate a combined fleet of 14 aircraft servicing domestic destinations of Kalibo (Boracay), Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Tagbilaran (Bohol), Cebu and Tacloban.

 It has international destination in Asia, China and Korea from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Kalibo International Airport, and Mactan Cebu International Airport.

AirAsia Philippines holds 49 percent stake in AirAsia Zest after a partnership agreement was signed in March 2013. In the same year, Filipino Low Cost Carrier ZestAir was fully rebranded as AirAsia Zest to reflect its partnership with AirAsia.

Parent firm AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with 88 destinations. It has carried over 230 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to over 160 since it started operating 12 years ago.