Cebu Pacific to add holiday season flights to Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia

MANILA, Philippines – Gokongwei-led budget carrier Cebu Pacific will add more flights to its existing Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia routes from the 4th quarter of 2017 to the 1st quarter of 2018.

The airline announced on Thursday, August 31, that it will start flying 6 times a week from Manila to Osaka by adding a Friday flight, starting November 3 until December 6. It currently flies to Osaka every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

The Manila-Osaka route will increase further to daily operations by December 15, 2017 to March 2018, in time for the Christmas season.

For the Manila-Nagoya route, Cebu Pacific will fly 6 times a week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday), up from the current 4 times a week (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) starting October 29.

For the Manila-Tokyo (Narita) route, the budget carrier will be flying twice a day instead of once a day starting October 29, 2017 until March 24, 2018. Cebu Pacific added that it is securing approval to fly to the Haneda Airport in Tokyo as it is closer to the city center.

The budget carrier will also increase flights to and from Bali (Denpasar), Indonesia, from the current 4 times a week to 5 times a week starting December 4, 2017 until March 6, 2018.

Finally, Cebu Pacific will also mount daily flights between Manila and Hanoi, Vietnam from December 1, 2017 to January 9, 2018.

“We constantly review our route network and frequencies to respond to changing market needs and operational requirements. Depending on seasonal factors, we make flight schedule changes as necessary, while keeping in mind the bookings of our passengers, many of whom book flights way in advance,” Cebu Pacific vice president for corporate affairs JR Mantaring said in a statement.

The airline is also planning to sell 3 Airbus A319 planes over the next year. These will be replaced by brand-new aircraft, the first of which are set to arrive by the 1st quarter of 2018.

Cebu Pacific is awaiting delivery of 7 Airbus A321ceo planes in 2018, as well as 32 Airbus A321neo planes from 2018 to 2022. – Rappler.com