Cebu Pacific sets return to key Asian destinations
MANILA, Philippines — Budget carrier Cebu Pacific on Thursday announced it will fly again to key Asian destinations from Manila next month in a bid to "slowly rebuild its international flight network" as the aviation industry faces a long haul to recovery.
In a statement, the Gokongwei-led airline said planes will take off from the capital to Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Osaka starting August 1 on top of its once-a-week flights between Manila and Dubai which resumed in mid-July.
"We are taking a conservative and agile approach to rebuilding our international network," Candice Iyog, company vice president for marketing and customer experience, said.
"While demand remains soft, there is latent demand for travel, particularly from stranded individuals and those who are eager to come home to visit their families,” Iyog added.
Starting August 1, Cebu Pacific will mount Wednesday and Saturday flights from Narita International Airport in Tokyo to Manila. On August 6, the carrier will likewise fly twice-a-week between Manila and Singapore on Thursday and Saturday, and every Thursday from Seoul to Manila.
A day after that, weekly flights on Wednesday and Friday between Taipei and Manila will also take off. One-way flights to Manila from Osaka are also scheduled to begin on the same day.
“We have taken extra precautions and assure travelers that preventive measures are in place so we can start rebuilding the trust and confidence in air travel,” Iyog said.
In the first quarter, Cebu Pacific swung to a net loss of P1.18 billion on the back of 15% year-on-year drop in total flights taken during the period, demonstrating the heavy toll of the coronavirus pandemic on the once blossoming travel sector.
Bigger losses meant larger job cuts. After some downsizing at the start of pandemic in March and this month, Cebu Pacific willl let go another 800 people next month to survive. Once undertaken, the budget carrier would have cut its entire workforce by a quarter.
With the end yet to be in sight for the pandemic, Cebu Pacific said it adjusted policies to give passengers more flexibility in managing their flight bookings, including unlimited rebooking and extension of the Travel Fund validity to two years.
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