Cebu Pacific to fly to Beijing by September

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific will be flying to Beijing from Manila this September, making the Chinese capital its 16th international destination. In a statement, the Gokongwei family’s airline said the company will fly to Bejing thrice weekly, starting the first week of September. The flights are scheduled to leave Manila at 7:35pm, arriving in Beijing at 12:05am. The return flights depart Beijing at 1:00am and arrive in Manila at 5:30am. With this new destination comes a P1,999 ‘Go Lite’ seat sale from Manila to Beijing and vice versa. This is for sale from June 12 to 15, 2010, for travel from Sept. 5 to Oct. 31, 2010. “We are excited to bring Beijing closer to every Juan, especially with our trademark low fares and convenient flight connections. Aside from Beijing, we also fly to Shanghai and Guangzhou in China, fully promoting trade and tourism between the two countries," Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said. “Those who wish to see Beijing’s many historical attractions can avail of this seat sale to avail of the lowest possible fare. The P1,999 seat sale fare is 60 percent lower than the lowest year-round fare of P4,999," she pointed out. The flights to Beijing are the second new international destination that the company plans to add this year. Earlier this year, the company said it would start flights to Brunei Darussalam this August. The company said its new international flights were part of an aggressive expansion plan to help the company become one of the region’s top budget airlines. The company is also preparing for the inevitable implementation of an “open skies" regime in the region, which will bring in stiffer competition in the industry. In the next five years, Cebu Pacific plans to spend $1.4 billion for the purchase of 22 new jets that will double the size of its fleet. - GMANews.TV