Cebu Pacific eyes Australia, Middle East for long-haul flights

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Budget carrier Cebu Pacific is prioritizing destinations in Australia and the Middle East for its long-haul plans.

This means the airline will not mount transpacific flights that are not only very lucrative for local rival Philippine Airlines, but also problematic for local regulators.

“Our plan is not to fly to the US anymore, just Middle East and Australia,” Cebu Pacific President and CEO Lance Gokongwei told reporters at the sidelines of the carrier’s annual stockholders meeting on Thursday, June 28.

“The key there is not really CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) but really more of the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board), which negotiates the [commercial flying] rights in behalf of the Philippine carriers,” replied Gokongwei when asked about how pending issues on the regulatory front affect its long-haul plans.

Philippine carriers are not allowed to mount new and additional flights to the US and Europe — destinations where Cebu Pacific do not fly to yet — since the US Federal Avation Authority, as well as the European Union, have respectively downgraded and blacklisted the ability of CAAP to oversee and enforce global safety standards on the local aviation industry.

Cebu Pacific — which already carries the most number of passengers within the country and is an active player in regional destinations less than 4 hours away —  earlier said it would launch long-haul services in 2013, targeting millions of Filipinos working in abroad. It will lease Airbus A330-300 planes for these flights.

“So far, the Philippine government is taking a pro-liberalization stance because they want to increase tourism [and] increase access. Also, the fact remains that there’s no Philippine carrier that flies directly to the Middle East,” the airline chief stressed again. 

However, Cebu Pacific is facing challenges with its plan to clinch flight entitlements to the Middle East. These flying rights are bilaterally negotiated government-to-government, then awarded to each country’s commerical airlines. 

Cebu Pacific has been eyeing the flight entitlements to Middle East destinations awarded by CAB to rival PAL. Recently, a CAB official said they have denied Cebu Pacific’s request.

“We have discussions with Saudi Arabia and UAE (United Arab Emirates,” said Gokongwei. – Rappler.com