PHILIPPINE low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific has launched a new four-weekly Manila-Busan service, its fourth route to South Korea.
The airline also flies four times weekly from Cebu to Busan, two times from Manila to Incheon, and daily from Cebu to Incheon.
Philippine tourism department secretary, Alberto Lim, welcomed the development. “South Korea has become an extremely important market for us. Cebu Pacific has likewise been on its toes in delivering on this market, now with 29 weekly flights to South Korea including this new service to Busan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific has signed an MOU with Airbus to acquire seven more Airbus A320s and 30 Airbus A321neos. The deal, worth US$3.8 billion, is the largest single aircraft order ever made by a Philippine carrier.
Cebu Pacific CEO and president, Lance Gokongwei, said: “Cebu Pacific has made the largest firm order for the Airbus A321neo aircraft in the world. These 220-seater aircraft will be a real ‘game changer’ for Cebu Pacific because the A321neo will have a much longer range. We will be able to serve cities in Australia, India and Northern Japan, places the A320 cannot reach.”
Cebu Pacific currently utilises 10 Airbus A319s, 15 Airbus A320s and eight ATR-72 500. If the deal is completed, Cebu Pacific will double its fleet by 2021.
The airline is also planning to launch two new domestic routes targeting central and southern Philippines, with services between Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi, and Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo, slated for October.
Cebu Pacific is targeting 12 million passengers this year, a 19 per cent increase over 2010.
