CEB to take services sky-high down under

CEB to take services sky-high down under

Cebu Pacific has its heart set on expanding its services down under.

The Philippines’ airline has experienced growing passenger traffic from Australia, with January 2015 carrying almost 14,000 passengers, more than any other carrier operating direct flights to Sydney from Manila.

CEB started operating four times weekly non-stop flights to Sydney in September last year, and added a fifth frequency after just three months.

Between September and December 2014, Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure Trade and Regional Economics reported a 42% increase in passenger traffic between Sydney and Manila.

Prior to CEB’s entry, passenger traffic in the route had been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8% over five years.

CEB is set to participate in talks that are being held in Canberra on April 28, with GM of long haul division Alex Reyes saying CEB is ready for more.

“In the first four months of operations, CEB’s low fares and direct, non-stop services significantly stimulated inbound traffic into the Philippines and Australia,” Reyes said.

“We look forward to expanding our services and further growing inbound tourism into our countries.”

Stats from the Centre for Aviation indicate that routes between Australia and the Philippines are underserviced, with around 5800 weekly one-way seats currently available between the two nations.

By comparison, other popular tourism destinations in Asia, such as Indonesia and Thailand, have around 36,000 and 22,000 weekly one-way seats respectively.

CEB’s 55-strong fleet is comprised of 10 Airbus A319, 31 Airbus A320, six Airbus A330 and eight ATR 72-500 aircraft.

Between 2015 and 2021, CEB will take delivery of seven more brand-new Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft, as well as being slated to launch twice weekly direct flights between Manila and Doha, Qatar, starting June 4,2015.

The airline will be the only Philippine carrier flying between these two cities, to serve more Global Filipinos in the Middle East.

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