Cebu Pacific increases GenSan-Manila flights

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines - Budget airline Cebu Pacific Air is increasing its flights from this city to Manila starting next week as it capitalizes on the growing investment and tourism potentials of the city and neighboring provinces. This will bring to four the regular flights from this city servicing the Manila and Cebu routes. Nathaniel Y. Nazareno, chief of the Air Transportation Office here, said the Gokongwei-owned carrier would add morning flights starting July 11 on a thrice-a-week frequency. Cebu Pacific started serving the General Santos-Manila route in October 2006 with daily flights in the afternoon. By next week, Mr. Nazareno said, the budget air carrier would offer morning flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving from Manila at 8:55 a.m. and departing General Santos 30 minutes later. Cebu Pacific’s latest service will compete with flag carrier Philippine Air Lines (PAL), which has been offering similar daily flights. Air Philippines, a sister company of PAL, has stopped serving the GenSan-Cebu-Manila route after the flag carrier introduced in May its low-fare brand PAL Express. Cebu Pacific’s latest announcement came on the heels of PAL Express’s widening of its Cebu network by adding five new routes on July 1, as it tries to lure more Filipinos to travel locally by air. The addition will double the reach of its main hub and expand the PAL domestic network to 30 routes across 21 destinations nationwide, PAL has said. The new services will be between Cebu and Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Ozamiz, Cebu and Dipolog, Cebu and Zamboanga, and Zamboanga and Davao. Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific’s new offering "is a good indication that the city is booming and economic activity is strong," Mr. Nazareno said. Cebu Pacific’s new flight can carry about 160 passengers one way, he said. Francis D. Sablon, operations manager of Zion Travel and Tours, said the budget carrier’s additional flights reflect the growing tourism potentials of the South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos growth area. "The travel or tourism industry has seen more arrivals of tourists, many of whom are Australians who are married to migrants from the area," said Mr. Sablon, whose travel agency is the largest in the growth area. Orman O. Manansala, a local bank manager here, said Cebu Pacific’s additional flights would be good news to passengers. "Competition is always good, the customer benefits. GenSan will also benefit because we will be more accessible and rates will be affordable," he added. The city’s airport, whose runway measures 3,221 by 45 meters, can handle wide-bodied jets. It has been cited as a factor in the progress of the tuna industry. Earlier, Jose Emmanuel M. Santos, president of Santa Cruz Seafoods, Inc., said the entry of Cebu Pacific would make freight rates competitive with other Southeast Asian tuna suppliers. Local government officials welcomed Cebu Pacific’s expansion in the city, saying this would boost the city’s chances of luring more investors and tourists. — Romer S. Sarmiento, BusinessWorld