Budget airline adds more Cebu flights

An AirAsia Zest aircraft is being readied for another flight at the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport. (intrepidwanderer.com)

With a plan to tap more opportunities for trade and tourism, budget airline, AirAsia Zest will add more flights in Cebu for both international and domestic routes.

Starting December 12, they will be flying twice daily to Cagayan de Oro and Davao from Cebu, said Joy Cañeba, AirAsia Zest chief executive officer.

Cañeba said at present they only have Cebu-Manila route and with the new flights, they should better contribute to Cebu’s tourism and trading activities.

Aside from the domestic flights, she said they are now also working to add more international direct flights from Cebu, starting with Cebu-Singapore by December this year.

“And soon Cebu-Hong Kong and Cebu-Bangkok which should be something very exciting for Cebu.”

Existing international flights include Incheon/Seoul in South Korea and Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia.

Cañeba said they have committed to help connect the different key destinations in the country including those in Mindanao.

She said they would like to provide much-needed connections and tap into underserved markets and help grow trading, tourism and business potentials in the areas.

“This is just the beginning of our new plans for Cebu as we are set to expand our presence here with new international direct flights and offer “fly-thru” products that will connect Filipinos to the rest of AirAsia Group’s wide network covering over 88 destinations across major countries including China, India, and Australia,” said Cañeba.

AirAsia Philippines acquired 49 percent of Zest Air Group in March of last year and later in September, Zest Air was rebranded to AirAsia Zest.

Meanwhile,  flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) plans to expand operations to other areas of the United States, where there is a huge Filipino immigrant population.

The carrier is set to fly daily to Honolulu starting December this year, Maria Socorro Gonzaga, PAL vice president for external affairs, said last week during a business forum organized by the Center for Philippine Futuristics Studies & Management Inc.

PAL currently mounts four flights a week to Honolulu and daily flights are set to begin on Dec. 11, information on the company’s website showed.

The move comes ahead of flights to New York, where the carrier will be returning after economic and feasibility constraints prompted PAL to scrap flights in 1997, just after one year of operations.