Cebu Pacific suspends more Middle East routes

MANILA, Philippines - Budget carrier Cebu Pacific will suspend flights to destinations in the Middle East such as Kuwait next month, as well as in Doha in Qatar, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in July, citing oversupply of seats.

In a statement yesterday, Cebu Pacific said the last flight on the Manila-Kuwait route is on June 13, while the final Kuwait-Manila flight is on June 14.

Cebu Pacific’s last flight on the Manila-Doha-Manila route is on July 1, while the last flight on the  Manila-Riyadh route, is on July 2.

 “The entry of Cebu Pacific into these markets benefitted passengers with lower fares and more choices. Of late, other carriers have aggressively added more flights, which has resulted in substantial oversupply of seats and fares that are so low, hence making the routes unsustainable,” Paterno Mantaring, vice president for corporate affairs at Cebu Pacific said.

He said Cebu Pacific continues to review the routes being served to ensure they are viable.

 “At this point, it makes more sense for us to redeploy the aircraft used for our Riyadh, Doha and Kuwait service to routes where we can further stimulate demand and sustain our low fare offers,” Paterno said.

Cebu Pacific is getting in touch with passengers affected by the suspension of the service to the three destinations. – With Rudy Santos