COME October, Cebu Pacific (CEB) will be the first Filipino carrier to fly direct from Manila to Dubai, also the budget carrier’s first longhaul destination.
Emirates and Etihad Airways began daily direct flights from Dubai to Manila in December 2012 and January 2013 respectively (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 16, 2012).
Beginning October 7, the daily flight will depart Manila at 16.40. Dubai-Manila flights take off at 23.10. An Airbus A330-300 in a 400-seat, all-economy configuration will service the route.
“With CEB’s direct services to Dubai, Filipinos overseas can look forward to going home more often. Their relatives and friends can also visit them in Dubai more often,” said Alex Reyes, general manager-longhaul division, CEB. He added that there were over 700,000 Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates.
Said Reyes: “Dubai is the largest longhaul market to and from the Philippines. IATA PaxIS data indicate more than 70 per cent of passengers in this route take multiple stops and connecting flights because no home carrier offers a non-stop service.”
To herald the introduction of the service, CEB is offering over 3,000 seats to Dubai starting from 888 pesos (US$22) available for booking until January 20 or while stocks last, for the travel period of October 7, 2013 to January 15, 2014.
