Cebu Pacific ramps up Visayas-Mindanao flights by 35%

MANILA, Philippines — Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has widened its flight network outside Metro Manila by more than a third in anticipation of a demand boom as the Christmas holidays near.

According to Cebu Pacific chief commercial officer Xander Lao, the firm will reactivate its flights from Davao to Cagayan de Oro and Bacolod starting Oct. 30 and 31, respectively.

Lao said the resumption increases by 35 percent its flight volume in the Visayas and Mindanao regions as part of efforts to revitalize its operations outside Metro Manila.

The Davao-to-Bacolod plane will fly thrice a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On the other hand, the Davao-to-Cagayan de Oro route will operate four times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Lao said the additional flights would expand the domestic connections from Davao, which includes Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo, Manila and Zamboanga. By Oct. 30, the low-cost carrier will reinstate its direct flights to Singapore from Davao for the first time since the pandemic.

Lao said Cebu Pacific is expediting the reopening of its domestic routes to capture the expected resurgence in air travel, especially come the Christmas season.

“We are very happy to share this good news with every Juan as we continuously see sustained confidence among the traveling public,” Lao said.

“As we approach the holiday season, we expect that more people will want to fly and come back home, thus we made sure we are more than ready with additional flight connections,” he said.

Aside from Davao, the airline owned by the Gokongwei family will enhance the reach of its Cebu hub by raising the flight frequency from the province in November. Cebu Pacific eyes to grow its flight volume from Cebu to Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, General Santos and Puerto Princesa.

At present, Cebu Pacific operates 22 domestic destinations from Cebu. On top of these, the firm flies to two international points, namely Singapore and Seoul.

Cebu Pacific expects all of its pre-pandemic flights to be reactivated by the second semester of 2023, hoping that China will reopen to leisure travel by then.

For 2022, Cebu Pacific plans to spend P32.8 billion for capital expenditures, mostly for the addition of seven new aircraft.