Cebu Pacific to launch new route to mainland China

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Pacific will soon launch a new international route from Cebu to mainland China, a top official said.

Michael Ivan Shau, chief operations officer, announced the budget carrier is now on final stages of mounting the new route.

“We are also in the final stages of launching a new route between Cebu and mainland China. We’ll have more details on that soon,” Shau said at the Routes Asia 2019 conference currently taking place in Cebu City.

Cebu Pacific had earlier stated it would ramp up capacity in its Cebu hub by as much as 20 percent in 2019.

Routes in development for its Cebu hub are focused on North Asia markets such as China, Korea and Japan.

“The Philippines is the closest tropical destination from North Asia," the COO said. "Cebu and the 166 islands within the province alone boast of some of the best tropical getaways in the world. It’s a logical choice to be our ‘beach hub’ with easier access to world-class beaches, dive spots and resorts.”

Cebu Pacific is the largest carrier operating in Cebu, with 20 direct domestic connections, including some of the best tropical destinations such as Boracay (Caticlan), Camiguin, Puerto Princesa and Siargao; as well as flights to Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo (Narita), Singapore and Incheon.

Moving forward, the Gokongwei-led carrier further sees opportunities in expanding inter-island connectivity within the country.

"There’s still a lot of opportunity for expansion within the Philippines - inter-island connections from key cities like Clark and Cebu. We believe that there is a significant untapped market in northern provinces in the Philippines," Shau said.

"Creating direct links between domestic destinations and our other hubs will spur tourism and movement of goods and investments, whilst doing away with having to pass through the main hub in Manila," he added. (FREEMAN)